Do you take a camera along on your travels? I do, and if there are any statistics on this question, I’d bet the overwhelming number of travelers do so, too.
Back in the pre-digital days, I was a confirmed Nikon user, with a range of lenses, a tripod, light meters—so much equipment that it all had to be carried in a fitted case of its own. Not especially convenient, but I was ready for any "photo op" (although no one had yet thought to use that term) that might come my way.
But one evening—I think it was after a day of climbing in the Scottish hills, camera case in hand—a hot bath and a large whiskey having put me into a state of intense contemplation, I experienced a genuine epiphany: "Why am I schlepping 25 pounds of camera equipment around with me every day? Some days, I "shot" nothing, nothing worth shooting, in my estimate, having appeared. On another day, I’d taken great pains to set up the perfect shot of Sacre Coeur de Montmartre only to see an even better shot on a two-franc postal card.
Well, that was enough. I soon sold all my equipment and went cameraless for a couple of years and got into the habit of buying lots of local postal cards.
Then along came the "point and shoot" cameras, which, being so light-weight and easy to handle, revived my picture-taking interest. But even better, it wasn’t too long after the point-and-shoots that the digital revolution gathered cameras into its orbit.
I now travel—and indeed carry with me at virtually all times—a good quality digital camera about the size of a package of cigarettes.
But the more important result of all my camera tribulations is the fact that now the only thing I want to photograph and keep in my memory books are pictures of people—friends old and new, someone just casually met—perhaps a pleasant waiter in a bistro—and even strangers who seem to personify their surroundings.
Best of all, I look at these photos again and again, with happy memories each time.
Tell us about your approach to travel photography, which may even be a ‘non’ approach. Do you look at your pictures after you’ve returned? Do you show them to friends?
Paula "Stop squinting" Gifford