Composition tips

Composition tipsKeep a journal, including notes, to refer to on your trip. Then, tell a story with your shots, including the fun stuff. People shots require people skills, so be hospitable and sensitive to their feelings about being photographed. Keep the camera at eye level for people shots and try using a diffuser with fill flash to soften harsh light to make the eyes stand out. That's where the sharpest focus should be. If you want to eventually publish these images, get a release. An excellent way to do this is to have them printed on 3X5 note cards, or even the large Post-It Note Pads. But don't shoot just for that reason. Use the light to your advantage, and compose as a photographer, not a painter. For instance, try and take a different viewpoint of your subject than the average shot everyone else takes. Shoot both horizontal and vertical shots. Pay close attention to the background and keep the foreground strong. Reflections can often add impact. But, reflection on the front of your lens is a bad thing, so use lens shades that work with whatever filters you want to use, like a good polarizer. Be sure to label everything, both on your canisters and in your journal so you can keep up with it. And, remember to reduce your impact on your surroundings by not throwing your trash out, including film wrappers or the packaging it came in.
What film/cameras/lenses you should takeFirst, be sure to carry multiple rolls of various speed films, like ASA 400 or 800. Lighting is something that is often taken for granted in some of the more economically depressed areas of the world. Most interiors will not have the light needed to get a good image on slower film (ASA 100, 200) and with slower lenses (f/4 or higher). Be sure to carry at least 2 rolls of a name brand ASA 800 speed film. A single trip to a museum or religious building that does not allow flash photography or tripods will burn up a roll of 800 easily. The higher speed film will allow the camera to be hand held steadily enough to get a clear picture. I recommend staying away from ASA 200 film, as it has been neglected by the film manufacturers with the increase in quality emulsions. That means you'll get as good or better prints from ASA 400 than from 200, and get the added ability of having a sharper picture with slower lenses and lower light.
Some quick words on the shooting process/planning. In a word; Bracket. Film is cheap, and it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Also, try to split up your shots of a single location or event on more than one roll. Bracketing helps you do that. And, if a roll gets damaged (for whatever reason), you're not out all of your priceless images that were all on that one roll. Be sure to carry enough film to change one out in the middle of the roll, too. Again, this protects you from losing a whole roll of a single place or event. FYI, I shoot almost exclusively print film, and don't bother with slides because of the necessity of internegs to get them to prints, or the likelihood of poor knowledge of the positive transfer paper for prints. Unless your a working photographer planning on making money from submitting the images you shoot, stick to print film.
Most people touring other countries like to carry an instamatic camera. I do too, even though I also carry a pro camera like the Nikon F5 or the Pentax 67II. Carrying an instamatic is a good rule of thumb as a backup. But I want to focus on a higher end camera because of what and where you'll be shooting. Many times, the tours you'll be going on will be during the worst part of the day for quality photography and you'll be far closer to the site details than your instamatic camera lens will be able to capture. I'll not get into the different arguments for manual vs. autofocus, but I will recommend that you get a camera that will accept a variety of lenses. One lens in particular is a 20mm to 24mm fast (f2.8 or faster) wide angle lens. This will be your primary lens in trying to capture the grandeur of the Temple of Karnak in Egypt or the splendor of the Cathedral in Seville, Spain. For example: a 35mm lens has a horizontal field of view at 50 feet of roughly 62 feet across; a 20mm lens has a horizontal field of view of 105 feet at the same distance! That means more stuff on the print that would not otherwise be there with a longer focus lens. I recommend you put this fact to the test at any higher end camera store where they will let you look through the lenses for comparison. But remember: the faster the lens, the less light you need to get a good picture. This means that if you buy a wide angle lens, it needs to be f/2.8 or faster, so that you can get enough light to be able to hand hold the shot. Of course, expect to pay handsomely for this aperture, especially for perspective corrected lenses. The Nikon 20mm/f2.8 D AF was $500.00 when I bought it. My Pentax 45mm/f4 (equal to 22.5mm in the 35mm film format) for my 67II was a grand. But believe me; it's worth every penny when the prints come back, especially from a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
I usually carry a Nikon F5 kit or my Pentax 67II medium format (120/220 roll film) kit when I travel. I rarely take both, even though I'm a pretty big fella. I have 2 backups to my 35mm kit; a Fuji instamatic that I absolutely love and my trusty old Olympus OM2n. The key here is knowing the capabilities and limitations of anything you take with you, and you'll bring home what you intended; great pictures that will represent a trip of a lifetime. I took my F5 to Egypt and Greece and my 67II to Spain. The medium format images enlarge much better than 35mm, but the gear does weigh a ton to carry around in rough terrain. The F5 kit I took to Egypt was on the edge of being inconvenient, based on the physical demands of accessing the monuments. We went into the middle pyramid on the Giza Plateau and you had to literally crouch down to climb down to the tomb. A big camera and allot of gear is not what you want to haul around in Egypt, especially in the heat of the summer. Spain, on the other hand, allowed me to carry much bulkier gear and still be able to be mobile enough to enjoy myself without being overly inconvenienced by it's size and weight. The logistics of seeing the monuments and events there were not as demanding. Knowing these things in advance will help you decide what to bring along for the tours.
There are alternatives to all of the equipment you take with you to shoot with. The Contax G2 is a superb outfit, and you can get a variety of superior Zeiss manufactured lenses, including a 21mm/f2.8 for it. A cheaper alternative is an old and trusty Olympus OM2n and their fine 24mm/f2.8 Zuiko lens (which I have, and bought on ebay!). Just make sure you get the camera serviced and the light seals replaced (if it's not been done in the last 5 years), and put a roll of film through it before you leave. And, as always, take plenty of batteries. But in the end, you just have to understand what you're gaining and what you're giving up by making compromises. Knowing your camera's capabilities and limitations, before you depart for the trip, is the key to understanding these compromises. But most of all, remember that this is a vacation, not a job assignment. To be inconvenienced by a load of camera equipment will definitely suck the enjoyment right out of a really nice place to see and experience. If you're gonna work; work. If not, don't. Knowledge, here, is the key.
I realize that all photography experts say to put your camera on a tripod, or at least a monopod whenever and wherever possible. A whole industry exists around light travel gear such as that. Well, I'm letting you know here and now that they are very much frowned upon almost everywhere you'll go, especially in Egypt, and especially in any museum or large center of worship on the planet. Some places will not even allow them to be physically taken into the monument or facility, making you have to either check it with security or leave it outside somewhere, like back at the tour bus. Against some people's better judgment, I'm recommending that these items be left at home (or at least back at the hotel), and simply shoot faster film. Unless you have the luxury of being in a place you want to shoot for an extended period of time to scout it out, leave the tripod and monopod at home, and make an effort to find something to brace up against. That little technique will make all the difference in the world, and not bend the security people out of shape. After all, most of the touring you will do, initially, will be with an organized tour group, and time is often of the essence. Tripods and monopods are simply not conducive to this, regardless of how well they are designed or organized.