Excursion Photography

[zorrosuncle]

I've taken a few courses, and they always stress taking time, setting the picture up, and using good light -- usually at sunrise or sunset. So, how does one take a good picture when you are on an excursion, and none of the above criteria are within your control --.. . and you are leaving the port at 5 pm!

 

ZU

[sparky-elpaso]

You just go with the flow. Lighting, weather, etc. will be whatever they are. Don't overthink it. I've ended up with some really nice shots "on the fly" - I've even gotten some pretty good ones thru the windows of a bus. Sometimes luck has to be on your side.

 

From our ship on a recent Panama Canal cruise.

 

 

From a boat in New Zealand.

 

 

[RoxnDox]

I've taken a few courses, and they always stress taking time, setting the picture up, and using good light -- usually at sunrise or sunset. So, how does one take a good picture when you are on an excursion, and none of the above criteria are within your control --.. . and you are leaving the port at 5 pm!

 

ZU

 

You just have to "Go with the flow"... Just like traveling with the spouse, you take far less time playing around at a stop than you would if you were solo. Besides, most travel photos, mine included, are snapshots and our own memories. Those courses are generally trying to teach you about taking photos for magazines or sales or "Art" purposes, where you have to strive for the best quality you can possibly get. I will try to get the best photo I can *in a given situation*, but if I only have a short time on a drizzley grey day, so be it.

 

Jim

[mskaufman]

I've taken a few courses, and they always stress taking time, setting the picture up, and using good light -- usually at sunrise or sunset. So, how does one take a good picture when you are on an excursion, and none of the above criteria are within your control --.. . and you are leaving the port at 5 pm!

 

ZU

 

I think I took the same course. I kept thinking that when I'm in port that I am there when I am there and the lighting is what it is. There are things you can do with harsh light but as a previous poster said, you have to make the best of the conditions you are given.

[ridgecrest]

After viewing many photography videos in my effort to improve my vacation picture taking, I purchased a circular polarizer filter to help with the harsh lighting. Hopefully it will make the afternoon sky a little more interesting and add more detail to the water. I'll get to try it out in a couple of weeks.

[foto451]

Well you have to compromise. There is not time on an excursion to take well-considered photos. Or indeed at the "golden hour" around sunrise/sunset. To do that you need to stay at a hotel.

You can take snapshots but mainly I would suggest that you take street photography style pictures instead. Otherwise you'll be running to catch up to your group all day! I know because I've done just that:D

 

Klaus

[pierces]

It is possible to get a great photo under almost any condition. Having all the control is nice, but developing a working knowledge of your camera, lenses and the way light interacts with subjects will allow you to adapt to the sometimes limited opportunities presented by excursions. You also need to develop an immunity to the dirty looks you get when you're always te last one back on the bus....:)

 

If you click the image in my signature banner, it will take you to my hobby website. Go to the galleries and look in the travel section for cruise photos. We take a lot of excursions and despite rushing point to point and taking what light and weather fate has to offer, you'll see that there's always something interesting to shoot. Maybe you'll get some good ideas!

 

Enjoy your next excursion!

 

Dave

[TruckerDave]

You can shoot in RAW and tweak them in post processing to get them little better if needed. It won't fix everything but it can help some.

[TruckerDave]

You just go with the flow. Lighting, weather, etc. will be whatever they are. Don't overthink it. I've ended up with some really nice shots "on the fly" - I've even gotten some pretty good ones thru the windows of a bus. Sometimes luck has to be on your side.

 

From our ship on a recent Panama Canal cruise.

 

 

From a boat in New Zealand.

 

 

 

I like the second shot. I think the third one could use a little processing to lighten up the shadows a bit.though.

[donaldsc]

I took a close look at your pictures. #1 is out of focus and blurred and #2 also looks slightly out of focus.

 

DON

[peety3]

I think I took the same course. I kept thinking that when I'm in port that I am there when I am there and the lighting is what it is. There are things you can do with harsh light but as a previous poster said, you have to make the best of the conditions you are given.

 

There's essentially nothing you can do about harsh light except possibly fill flash. That said, practice, mistakes, and experience will help you develop a flow that can make you quicker. Explore your options for control customization, as I've definitely made use of this. I shoot in Aperture Priority with manual ISO control (in other words, let the camera pick the shutter speed auto). Aperture control is on the little wheel by the shutter button, and I've changed it so ISO control is on the big wheel at my thumb. I keep the aperture as wide open as possible while still preserving sufficient DoF for the shot I'm taking and/or keeping the lens at least one stop below wide open (if needed for better optical results), then keep the ISO as low as possible while still providing a reasonable shutter speed for no blur. On the rare occasion that I need exposure compensation, it's a button-press away (i.e. a little slower than the stock setting of simply spinning the big wheel, but IMO less dangerous and I certainly change ISO more often than EC), or I simply aim at something darker or brighter as appropriate and use my thumb to lock exposure then recompose.

[zackiedawg]

Photography is always about lots of suggestions, tips, and advice on finding and controlling light, and there are always optimal times and not optimal times - but it doesn't have to mean you can't get great photos. It just means since you don't have the most perfect light to work with, you just think more about all your other settings, composition, and figure out how to make up for what you lack.

 

I've dealt with this for years as a bird photographer - it's always said that bird photography should be done in the early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is lower, warmer, shadows are longer, and the sun is more directional. But I generally find myself with the free time to go birding only on weekends, and usually between noon and 5pm. I could just not bother, or I could learn to work with what I have - I decided to work with what I have, and I've been very happy and successful in my pursuit of bird photography. I've even convinced some birding friends of mine to not worry about the advice and come out there with me in the afternoon to shoot.

 

Same with travel - as cruisers, we know we're often deposited on an island where the tours, excursions, or time to roam free seem to land between 11am and 4pm, just when everyone says photography should be terrible. My finding: not at all! Sand can warm harsh light, light filtered through trees and leaves can be significantly warmed, use of HDR or stacking can help counter harsh contrast, adjusting exposure to avoid blown highlights can allow you to pick up all the detail and just lift the shadows a bit in processing if needed, closeups, details, interior shots, macros, etc can all be done without as much worry about the harsher landscape light, and so on.

[peety3]

I've dealt with this for years as a bird photographer - it's always said that bird photography should be done in the early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is lower, warmer, shadows are longer, and the sun is more directional. But I generally find myself with the free time to go birding only on weekends, and usually between noon and 5pm. I could just not bother, or I could learn to work with what I have - I decided to work with what I have, and I've been very happy and successful in my pursuit of bird photography. I've even convinced some birding friends of mine to not worry about the advice and come out there with me in the afternoon to shoot.

Best thing I learned about bird photography came from Art Morris of Birds As Art. The shooting is best when the sun AND the wind are at your back. Since birds land and take off into the wind, this alignment means they're looking towards you and well-lit right when it matters most.

[zackiedawg]

Indeed - when shooting around their nests, standing with back to the wind will always help - or at least know the wind's direction if you want to catch them landing from the side too. For birds captured in midair, mid-flight, those rules don't always apply - but you get to know where they will typically feed, where updrafts occur that they might glide on, when they'll likely need to flap their wings to make up for lack of wind, etc. And other tricks can help dealing with harsh top-light - such as catching birds flying over very bright, big green leaves or open water, which will throw light up almost like a bounce card to help provide some light to the shadowed underside of the bird...or catching the bird just as it tilts 45 degrees to maneuver, which will provide more even illumination on the top and bottom.

 

With non-flying birds, I always like to take advantage of birds in shade or shadow, where the lighting is more even and diffuse, or birds within tall reeds and leaves, where the colder, harder light is filtered through the partially transparent leaves and warmed significantly. It can also help turn dark, swampy water into gorgeous blue mirrored water, as you can catch the blue sky reflecting in the water - mixed in with the reflections of the colored plants, you can make for beautiful OOF areas of broad color behind a bird, even in the dead-middle of the day with the sun right above.

[knittinggirl]

It's hard to shoot on a shore excursion. Most of the time, you're in the bus and it's hard to shoot through the window. With photo stops, they usually allow 15 minutes at most. I usually must shoot several different viewpoints, in only 15 minutes sometimes I can hit on the right shot, but other times, I don't. My first shot, is never the one I keep.

[mskaufman]

And sometimes you just plain luck out. Through the bus window on the Amalfi Coast.

 

http://i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff386/mmkbx75/IMG_1490_zps73a1c531.jpg

[Glaciers]

For what its worth, I note the sunset/rise, moonset/rise times for each port that we will be visiting. It doesn’t do a lot good on a cruise for excursions but on occasion I have been very glad I knew, particularly when a good sunrise or sunset is what I was looking for.

 

Know your camera and practice in different lighting conditions.

[tpwolfe]

Go with the light God gives you that day. If you wait for the best light you will leave the port disappointed because when you get back on the ship you will say "I wish I would have taken more images." Remember with digital if you don't like what you took you can delete them and the only thing it will cost you is time. On my last cruise I took 10,000 images and edited only about 2,000 of them.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2014 by tpwolfe

[Steviewonder1]

Watch and see what is coming up, keep your eyes open and head scanning. Here is one I shot from the top level of a HOHO bus in Paris in 2009. It is one of 8 shots I did in 5 seconds when the sun came to the right place on the tower. I have another taken 15 minutes later with a wide angle lens out front of the tower with the sun in the middle opening of the tower. The winner there was one of 10 shots in 8 seconds as the bus drove by relatively slowly.

[evan]

pierces,

 

I took a look at your "Cruise Sampler" photos. I really like your photo of the the ship's pool deck at twilight with some light in the sky and the ship's artificial light.

 

Did you use a tripod? Was there any problem using tripod on the ship?

[pierces]

pierces,

 

I took a look at your "Cruise Sampler" photos. I really like your photo of the the ship's pool deck at twilight with some light in the sky and the ship's artificial light.

 

Did you use a tripod? Was there any problem using tripod on the ship?

 

I'm not exactly sure which photo you are referring to but I can say with relative certainty that I probably didn't use a tripod. I usually take a travel tripod with me but with very few exceptions, I shoot hand-held sometimes using a rail or bracing against a pole. The few times that in the past when I have used a tripod, it was outside of "normal" hours on the ship when few people were out and about. I have seen people using them and in most cases the shooters were courteous about not blocking walkways and nobody complained.

 

Dave

[tpwolfe]

pierces,

 

I took a look at your "Cruise Sampler" photos. I really like your photo of the the ship's pool deck at twilight with some light in the sky and the ship's artificial light.

 

Did you use a tripod? Was there any problem using tripod on the ship?

 

On my shots I didn't use a tripod. Too many other things to pack. The on ship's twilight image of the pool deck with sunrise was iso 800 at 20th of a sec f2.8.

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/303453...7633248597769/