Virtual Meeting, 'Getting the best Photographically..' - Tuesday 25th May 2021.
At its Zoom meeting on Tuesday 25th May, Morpeth Camera Club welcomed guest speaker, Alan Walker MPAGB,
ARPS, EFIAP,MPSA,BPE2* from Keswick Photographic Society who gave a superb illustrated talk entitled, ‘Getting
the Best Photographically from Your Travels’. A talk he had prepared with his wife, Julie, with the aim of giving
practical advice to photographers who wished to go on trips and come back with high quality, potential competition
winning images, rather than just holiday snaps.
Alan and Julie, are both highly acclaimed, award winning photographers, who have travelled extensively to many
parts of the world from Iceland to the Antarctic, including countries in South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and the
USA. Alan started by outlining his presentation which was in three main parts. The first part covered planning and
preparing for photographic trips, to help ensure photographers are in the best position to capture the photos they
want. The second and main part provided practical information on photographing different types of subjects while
away and the final part included suggestions on ways of using the images after returning from a trip.
The first section on planning and preparation was packed full with useful advice on how to plan trips carefully, to
help ensure that they were enjoyable and maximised the chances of photographers being able to capture the high
quality images they desired.
As well as the more obvious aspects, such as selecting appropriate photographic equipment to take and how to
protect it from the elements, Alan included a lot of other advice. This included factors such as planning trips with
realistic schedules to allow sufficient time in locations, stating that to get the best results it was often beneficial
to spend at least 3 days in an area at a time, and that it was best to avoid package tours in large groups, where
times at specific locations and photographic opportunities were limited. Other factors he recommended considering
included security for self and equipment, local transport arrangements, the need to be familiar with local taboos
regarding photographing inside buildings and people, mentioning, for example, that in some countries it may be
fine to photograph children but not babies etc., and the possibility of using local guides, preferably with some
understanding of photography.
After this introductory section Alan went on to give advice on capturing different types of photographs, which he
illustrated with some delightful images captured by him and his wife. Some of the many aspects covered in this
section included practical advice on capturing panoramic images, photographic landscapes at all times during the
day - from just before and just after sunrise, during the middle of the day and after the sun had set. He also spoke
about the importance of composition, using different elements to give balance to images, including the inclusion
of people to give a sense of scale and going in close to capture details.
Alan then mentioned the importance of being prepared to try something different like converting some images
into black and white and photographing reflections of sunlit buildings, using long exposure times to blur the
movement of water and taking photographs from different (eg.low) angles etc. In a section on taking photos
in buildings Alan emphasised the importance of checking what is allowed and what is not, such as the use of
tripods and flash photography.
After a short break Alan went on to give some practical advice on photographing people explaining that there
were three types of people pictures; interactive, organised and candid, showing some examples that emphasised
the importance of capturing engaging facial expressions and focusing on the subject’s eyes. In many cases this
involved some interaction with those being photographed to ensure that they were relaxed, in others it involved
careful positioning and timing to obtain a good image or series of images that told a story.
Alan then followed with a short section on nature photography where he covered the importance of photographing
birds and other creatures against a suitable background to make the subject stand out and taking pictures at eye
level to make the results more intimate.
Alan then finished off this part of his presentation by showing the value of capturing some close up abstract
images that can play an important role and add variety to a slide show of images from a photographic trip.
These included abstracts of plants in the middle of a sand dunes, parts of a gondola and carnival masks in
Venice.
In the final part of his presentation Alan focused on some suggestions on what to do with images after returning
from a trip or holiday. These included making slide shows (with or without sound), printing some images to hang
on the wall or go into conventional photo albums, making photo books, putting them into online photo galleries
and possibly entering them into competitions. He also advised that it is good to wait a little while until after the
emotion of the holiday has subsided before deciding which images to keep and reject.
Alan then finished with the quotation “Remember that travel photography is about communicating and experience
but … you have to have the experience first before you can photograph it.
At the end of his presentation Alan answered questions from the audience before chairperson for the evening Sue
Dawson and the other members present thanked Alan for an excellent, informative and enjoyable evening.
Glyn.
ARPS, EFIAP,MPSA,BPE2* from Keswick Photographic Society who gave a superb illustrated talk entitled, ‘Getting
the Best Photographically from Your Travels’. A talk he had prepared with his wife, Julie, with the aim of giving
practical advice to photographers who wished to go on trips and come back with high quality, potential competition
winning images, rather than just holiday snaps.
Alan and Julie, are both highly acclaimed, award winning photographers, who have travelled extensively to many
parts of the world from Iceland to the Antarctic, including countries in South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and the
USA. Alan started by outlining his presentation which was in three main parts. The first part covered planning and
preparing for photographic trips, to help ensure photographers are in the best position to capture the photos they
want. The second and main part provided practical information on photographing different types of subjects while
away and the final part included suggestions on ways of using the images after returning from a trip.
The first section on planning and preparation was packed full with useful advice on how to plan trips carefully, to
help ensure that they were enjoyable and maximised the chances of photographers being able to capture the high
quality images they desired.
As well as the more obvious aspects, such as selecting appropriate photographic equipment to take and how to
protect it from the elements, Alan included a lot of other advice. This included factors such as planning trips with
realistic schedules to allow sufficient time in locations, stating that to get the best results it was often beneficial
to spend at least 3 days in an area at a time, and that it was best to avoid package tours in large groups, where
times at specific locations and photographic opportunities were limited. Other factors he recommended considering
included security for self and equipment, local transport arrangements, the need to be familiar with local taboos
regarding photographing inside buildings and people, mentioning, for example, that in some countries it may be
fine to photograph children but not babies etc., and the possibility of using local guides, preferably with some
understanding of photography.
After this introductory section Alan went on to give advice on capturing different types of photographs, which he
illustrated with some delightful images captured by him and his wife. Some of the many aspects covered in this
section included practical advice on capturing panoramic images, photographic landscapes at all times during the
day - from just before and just after sunrise, during the middle of the day and after the sun had set. He also spoke
about the importance of composition, using different elements to give balance to images, including the inclusion
of people to give a sense of scale and going in close to capture details.
Alan then mentioned the importance of being prepared to try something different like converting some images
into black and white and photographing reflections of sunlit buildings, using long exposure times to blur the
movement of water and taking photographs from different (eg.low) angles etc. In a section on taking photos
in buildings Alan emphasised the importance of checking what is allowed and what is not, such as the use of
tripods and flash photography.
After a short break Alan went on to give some practical advice on photographing people explaining that there
were three types of people pictures; interactive, organised and candid, showing some examples that emphasised
the importance of capturing engaging facial expressions and focusing on the subject’s eyes. In many cases this
involved some interaction with those being photographed to ensure that they were relaxed, in others it involved
careful positioning and timing to obtain a good image or series of images that told a story.
Alan then followed with a short section on nature photography where he covered the importance of photographing
birds and other creatures against a suitable background to make the subject stand out and taking pictures at eye
level to make the results more intimate.
Alan then finished off this part of his presentation by showing the value of capturing some close up abstract
images that can play an important role and add variety to a slide show of images from a photographic trip.
These included abstracts of plants in the middle of a sand dunes, parts of a gondola and carnival masks in
Venice.
In the final part of his presentation Alan focused on some suggestions on what to do with images after returning
from a trip or holiday. These included making slide shows (with or without sound), printing some images to hang
on the wall or go into conventional photo albums, making photo books, putting them into online photo galleries
and possibly entering them into competitions. He also advised that it is good to wait a little while until after the
emotion of the holiday has subsided before deciding which images to keep and reject.
Alan then finished with the quotation “Remember that travel photography is about communicating and experience
but … you have to have the experience first before you can photograph it.
At the end of his presentation Alan answered questions from the audience before chairperson for the evening Sue
Dawson and the other members present thanked Alan for an excellent, informative and enjoyable evening.
Glyn.