Travel photography is one of the most rewarding genres, as it allows you to use your image skills in new and exciting environments. But there is more to it than just creating vacation snaps. Here are some of my approaches to better travel photography during a recent visit to beautiful Albania.
Some types of photography are easy to define. When it comes to portraiture, wildlife, and landscape photography, we have a good idea of what to expect. Travel photography, however, is a broad topic and encompasses a wide range of genres. It can be a blend of landscape, portrait, street, documentary, and even abstraction, with perhaps a sprinkling of wildlife and still life thrown in. It aims to convey a sense of a place that is otherwise unfamiliar to both the photographer and the viewer.
The aim is for the photographer to come away with a coherent set or sets of photographs that give an idea of the place they have visited. Of course, that idea will be restricted for three reasons.
Firstly, a set of photos is always limited in its ability to represent reality accurately; it never fully captures the sounds, smells, tastes, or feel of a place.
Secondly, the photographer’s interpretation of the destination is limited by the photographer’s own personal life experiences and biases.
Thirdly, in a typical visit that spans a week or two, one cannot fully get to know everything there is to know, let alone convey it in a series of pictures.
As with any genre, there are no hard and fast rules dictating what you must achieve in travel photography. It varies depending on the photographer’s personality and style. However, portraying the look and culture of a place is something most travel photographers strive for.
Camera Equipment
I’ve just returned from a visit to Albania. Beforehand, I thought long and hard about what to take. I shoot entirely with Micro Four Thirds cameras, and size and lightness were a priority, so my gear was well-suited for the trip. I packed my OM-5 Mark II with my 12-40mm f/2.8 and 40-150mm f/4 professional lenses, both of which are small and light enough not to become a hindrance, yet provide excellent image quality. I shunned the camera’s own strap in favor of the Peak Design sling, which works perfectly with that camera. I packed those in Cubes inside my hand luggage (a Peak Design Everyday Backpack). Two camera batteries were more than sufficient; I only needed to swap the battery on one day.
Another reason I chose those two lenses is that they both have a 62mm filter thread. I took my Urth magnetic filters with me, although I ended up only using the circular polarizing (CPL) filter some of the time.
I also carried a carbon fiber Peak Design Travel Tripod, intending to do some nighttime photography in the mountains, but ended up not using it.
Getting to Know Albania
I conducted research on the country, learning about its safety and finding the best places to visit for photography.
There is common sense that should be adopted when it comes to traveling with camera gear. In some countries, the value of an enthusiast’s gear could outweigh what a person earns in a year. I lived in Tanzania 20 years ago, and it was not uncommon then for people to earn less than $1 USD a week. Even now, low earners in East Africa can earn as little as $13 a week. So, in many countries, flaunting expensive cameras and lenses can make you a target for thieves if you stroll into the wrong areas. However, although small and not a wealthy country, Albania has a lower crime rate than Canada.
Not only did I always feel safe there, but it is a highly welcoming country with a diverse mix of people from different religions living in harmony alongside one another.
Sunni and some Sufi Muslims account for approximately half of the country’s 2.7 million people, which means that their religion has a significant influence on the culture. The Muslim call to prayer is called the Ezani in the Albanian language. Although not a song per se, in Albania, it is especially tuneful and adds to the atmosphere of the towns and cities. Of course, that sound is not something one can capture in a still image, but the essence of the religion is there visually.
Similarly, the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches play an essential part in the country’s culture. Other beliefs are also integrated into the culture. On my very first day there, a Buddhist Monk caught my eye on the street, smiled at me, and walked over to shake my hand.
Please be Respectful of the Places You Visit
As with traveling in any country, when visiting mosques or churches, be aware of cultural expectations, especially regarding clothing. In some African countries, men wearing shorts are perceived as walking around in their underwear. In many countries, it is not acceptable to enter religious buildings wearing shorts, and women are expected to have their hair covered. Therefore, it is always best to research and respect the local dress code.
Sadly, this was not always the case. In one Orthodox Church, there were multiple signs forbidding photography. I kept my lens cap on and my other camera slung over my shoulder. However, tourists clicked away with little regard or respect for the signs.
When running photography workshops, I always emphasize that the photograph is secondary to the welfare of wildlife. The same applies to any photography. The protection of the natural environment, people, local culture, and infrastructure is far more critical than the snap.
A Bit About Albania’s Past
Albania had a hard history, but during and after World War II. It was invaded first by the Italian Fascists and then by the Nazis. Interestingly, it was the only mainland European country in the War that had its Jewish population grow because they were welcomed and hidden by the Albanians, no matter their faith. That’s a lesson in humanity we could learn from today.
The country then suffered years of oppression under an extreme communist-nationalist dictatorship. That fell with the Iron Curtain. Like any country with a similar legacy, it commemorates its dark past and openly deplores that period of its history, which I won’t dwell on here. It may be tempting for some photographers to try to depict that dark history. But modern Albania is as far from that as you can imagine.
It’s a country of color and energy. Despite how busy they are, the cities are lush with greenery and have wide open spaces. The people are proud of their country, but they celebrate their nationality with welcoming kindness and acceptance, which is an integral part of their national ethos. It’s a country with its own rich traditions, but after the fall of the isolationist dictatorship, it has welcomed influences from its Mediterranean and North African neighbors without allowing those to drown out its own culture. That was one aspect of what I wanted to capture in my photographs.
Tirana and the Cities
My first impression of Albania was from its capital, Tirana. It’s a hot, clean, busy city perfumed with exhaust fumes. After decades of Albanians being denied ownership of motor vehicles, the country is now packed with cars, buses, and motorbikes. Additionally, bicycles and electric scooters weave their way through the traffic and among pedestrians. At first sight, it seems chaotic with nobody following the rules of the road, but somehow the helmetless travelers on two wheels mostly avoid hitting the cars and pedestrians. You must keep your wits about you, though.
It is clearly a fast-growing city. Modern buildings tower into the skyline, dwarfing the historic buildings and monuments. Although not everyone is pleased that the modern edifices dwarf the city’s Ottoman-era clock tower, I think the architecture of the new buildings is somehow in keeping with the old.
Many of the new buildings are built with the same sun-washed pastel shades of the tiled and cobbled streets. Furthermore, the buildings are not part of the architectural “blandemic” that pervades so many Western cities. The shape of the 89-meter (292 feet) new high-rise being finished in the center of Tirana resembles the bust of Albania’s national hero, Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. He was a 15th-century military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
I also visited Shkodër, a toned-down version of Tirana. Here, there are fewer cars, and drivers respect pedestrian crossings, which is not always the case in Tirana. Meanwhile, Berat, which I also visited, is a well-preserved historical city. It’s recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with its hilltop castle and the Ottoman Gorica Bridge.
In complete contrast to the bustle of the cities, I spent a few days in the Accursed Mountains, also known as the Albanian Alps (Bjeshkët e Nemuna). They are the southernmost extension of the Dinaric Alps, which stretch from Italy. The rugged, towering limestone and dolomite peaks with their deep valleys are a landscape photographer’s delight.
The Albanian Sunshine
In the summer, Albania is a hot country with baking sunshine.
The golden hours in Albania are beautiful, but they last much less than an hour. The dust-filled atmosphere at the end of the day results in the distant, hazy mountains being painted a deep red in the dying light. Nighttime clears the air, and sunrises are crisper.
There’s an old Noel Coward song, Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the Midday Sun. Being English, I had no choice but to head out while even the street dogs slept in the shade. Moreover, I appreciate the effects created by the strong reflections and harsh shadows, as they more accurately reflect how the country appears most of the time.
Fortunately, my camera’s dynamic range was sufficient to cope with these lighting conditions even when photographing the sunlight shining through a mountain waterfall. Nevertheless, on a couple of occasions, I did resort to using the camera’s HDR function, which brackets and merges different exposures. However, upon reviewing the pictures on my computer, I realized that was unnecessary. The raw files picked up the details in shadows and highlights, even in the most challenging conditions.
Camera Settings
The important thing for me about travel photography is that it doesn’t interfere with the experience of being in the country. Most of the time, I don’t want to think too deeply about the camera settings. Furthermore, I like a greater depth of field. In that way, the main subject appears with its surroundings, thus giving it context. Therefore, for most of the time, I set one of the custom modes to aperture priority and an aperture of f/9. The ISO was set to auto with a minimum shutter speed of 1/250th second, fast enough to stop the movement of people. Face and eye detection was enabled, which would override the small group of focus points I had set, located a third of the way up the frame. I was mostly shooting in continuous autofocus, but I would occasionally switch to single autofocus using the toggle switch located at the rear of the camera.
I also had +0.3 EV exposure compensation set. That was because the scenes were far brighter than mid-gray, which would otherwise cause the camera to underexpose.
These were by no means the only settings I used, but having the camera set this way was a helpful starting point.
Curating and Editing
Each of those four locations was very different from the others, so when creating coherent collections, I will separate them, something I have not done here to illustrate this article.
I am only at the start of curating and developing the photos I took in Albania. While I was away, the various raw development software was updated to include the new camera. Some of the mountain photos I will print, others I will use to illustrate articles, and some will remain as part of my personal travelogue.
In Conclusion
Years ago, when I was young, it was common for people to return from their holidays and create albums or slideshows of their trips. Many people would roll their eyes at being asked to see them, but I found them fascinating. However, I would not be looking at the portraits that Bill took of Betty, but the life going on in the background. Of course, in Albania, I snapped some pictures of my wife, who traveled with me; however, the vast majority of the photos were an attempt to capture the essence of the places we visited. For me, that is what travel photography is all about.
