Travel photographer Bah Humbug!!!!

Queen Mary 2 in St Thomas.

Its been suggested in all the literature I read, to list myself as one thing, so that I am able to fill a niche. So I chose travel Photographer “as I do travel working on cruise ships”

I still don’t believe the title “Travel Photographer” is a very truthful one. If you’re shooting images that are not what others would class as travel, then what does that make you?

I’m just a person who creates images from the stunning things I get to see while traveling with ships.

When it comes to myself I love the thrill and the adrenalin rush that shooting wildlife brings (even the small things).

Wild Bear Alaska

Ladybug on a Sunflower

And Flowers “I have some spectacular shots: (I have to admit there is a little superstition I have, that whenever I include a flower in my shots they tend to come out better) “nonsense I know but that’s me.”

Sometimes I shoot whatever gets in front of my lens and I am quite happy to do that and just be glad I got the shot, sometimes I set up the shot spending hours working on test image after image trying to make sure everything is perfect before I start to shoot.

Falkland Island Penguins

I like others have made the mistake of not checking the settings on my camera and lenses and then found out I just shot the subject at too high an ISO allowing lots of noise that I didn’t need in the glaring sunlight available for the shot or some other simple mistake that stops me from getting that just right shot. I once photographed a small brown bear while standing on a platform, he was almost right under me, I was shooting with my favorite lens my canon 70mm to 200mm stabilized and I had the settings set to 2.5m instead of 1.4m and all my perfect shots were blurry.

Bald Eagle Alaska

I guess what I am trying to say is. In this quest for the perfect shot, some times we screw up, That’s the nature of most of us, yes there are a few perfect people who don’t make mistakes, I am not one of them. So to combat that here’s my plan, I’m going to write myself a self-help card that I read before starting to shoot that will make me check everything. Getting the settings I require before I set up for the first shot. Something to remind me that I am just human and as such I do screw

up.  As soon as I work out a ” So I Don’t Screw Up Card” I will place it on the blog for others to use and make sure they too don’t screw up to much.

My thoughts for today: Even though I use the term Travel Photographer. I don’t want to be shoveled into a nicely packaged niche all tied up in a pretty bow. I would rather never hear someone shouting at me  “Yes there he is the travel photographer”

Bah humbug!!

There are too many things out there that take my fancy and I want to be able to shoot it all. I have my goals like everybody. Some large some small.

Camel at Giza Egypt

I would like to try some outdoor action shots, with some of my own Ideas. They could even be allowed to flow from their own creativity.

I would also love to learn how to make that fancy lighting shot and capture the perfect moment in the strobe of the flash. To be able to understand Fill Flash, and to have the knowledge, of how, why and when to use it.

Some of these I have a small understanding of yet would still love to learn more.

The Treasury - Petra - Jordan

I know I’m afraid, as everyone is of that first step. Going through the “What if they don’t like my work, even if all my friends and family think my photo’s are great. I spend almost every one of my waking moments looking at those same pictures thinking, as I always do, is there a way to get a better shot. Then if I ever find myself there again “what would I do to make it better” though sometimes I feel that I got it just right anyway.

I have been able to capture some pretty amazing photographs. “If I do say so myself” and even though I think I am pretty good at editing “there are better image editors out there than myself and I easily give that to them”.

For myself I just believe that nothing compares to seeing an image taken from the initial photo to being edited to the final product. Though it can be very time-consuming and outsourcing some of your load may be the best way of making some time for all the other things in life.

Koala - Australia

butterfly's Abound

“One of my  Strongest goals is the   desire to experience       the exhilaration  of seeing  my work published  in print”