Travel Photography Tips!

Introduction to travel photography and my top tips:

Planning is Everything: Whether you’re photographing for personal enjoyment, adding photographs to your portfolio, or wanting to market your images, planning ahead is very important. 

Research: Google is your friend and is a great resource for finding inspiration, researching locations and knowing their historical facts. Finding out opening times and even temporary closures for national monuments and/or places of interest is always a good idea.

Photography Restrictions: Some countries have different laws regarding what you can, and can not,  photograph. In Greece, I’m hearing that people are being asked not to photograph archaeological sites which is not necessarily legal or correct. Certainly, we are not permitted to photograph military establishments or even police emergency services. So it would be in one’s best interest to do a little research regarding potential restrictions of the location you want to visit.

Weather: The one phenomenon that we cannot guarantee is the weather. Obviously we need some form of decent weather to get the best images. My advice is to research two different weather forecasts online. By doing this you can make your own judgement from what each site says, but in the end it’s always a gamble.

Time of Day: So we know that there are two preferred times of our day to get the best shots. We know the morning provides an amazing soft, fresh light and that late afternoon/early evening provides those warmer, long shadows of light. I suggest photographing the same location TWICE. By doing this you will surely notice a big difference between your morning images and your evening ones. Unfortunately, having an expendable amount of time to do this isn’t always possible and may have to be done on separate occasions. Lest we forget night-time photography which proposes its own unique challenges: what subjects are you photographing, how much light do you have to work with (if any), will you be able to photograph with an additional flash. These are just a few examples out of many that come to my mind.

Equipment: An ongoing challenge for me is always the weight of my equipment that I carry. Previously I have found that having heavy equipment with me: photography bag, a variety of lenses, a tripod perhaps and  my filters have always weighed me down. To be honest, it’s quite uncomfortable and annoying when I’m  travelling around and on the move. For the past few years I’ve always bought good equipment, good equipment with its weight always in mind. I’ve found that light, carbon fibre tripods, a very light photography bag and a limited amount of lenses does the trick. I really believe that the more comfortable you feel the better the photographs will be.

Reflecting on the photo tours so far!

Athens photo tour – Shooting the Acropolis

So it’s now being in roughly a year since I’ve been running my photo tours around Athens. Its been wonderful meeting new people interested not only in photography but obviously this incredible city too.

So what have I learned from these tours so far? I’ve realized that a lot of the people are not necessarily aware of the full functions of their cameras and how it works, I guess this is a normal situation for many people who are not so familiarized with the technical aspect of photography. Its become very much about tuition as well as making the best route to find the best location spots to take the photographs. I guess there is no easy approach to making sure that I’m not spending so much time on tuition that it slows down or even effects the momentum of the actual photo tour. Indeed the tuition is very much something I enjoy and I really hope that the guest leaves with more knowledge to help them in the future, I guess it will be a small balancing act but also part of making the tour as enjoyable as possible for my guests.

So now I’m also planning to do to other types of tours of the beautiful mainland country and Islands of Greece. So now I’m starting to take bookings on occasional dates throughout 2022 and next year. The first Tour will be a 6-day Peloponnese tour which will involve photogenic and very beautiful places of the south of Greece. Taking in some mediaeval castles, beautiful seascapes, amazing classical architecture and places of interest. The Peloponnese really is an incredible part of Greece and never ceases to amaze me.

The second tour will be the island Odyssey tour and this will involve the two islands of Milos and Syros which are both very beautiful in their own rights and are very photogenic, both quite different to each other but also very amazing places to experience. I will always endeavour to keep the groups small and and they’re going to be available on many different suggested days or which I will list on the website as and when they’re done.

I’m also looking at putting together other tours over the next year of many other of the incredible locations around Greece that I have discovered. The list of Locations are endless! I am so looking forward to progressing these tours more.

Please get in contact for more information.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Martin

A trip to the Island of Syros last week.

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the greek Island of Syros in the Cyclades. From a five day stay I managed to get around three days of good weather so managed to get quite a lot of Photographs, in all around 220. See below for a small selection. I particularly enjoyed getting the Seascape images from the Rocks around the shores of the port as well as climbing the many steps to get above town to shoot the the town below and the incredible panoramic views of the neighbouring islands of Tinos, Delos, Mykonos, Paros, Andros and Naxos. Ermoupoli is the capital of the island. It has always been a significant port town, and during the 19th century it was even more significant than Piraeus. Ermoupoli stands on a naturally amphitheatrical site, with neo-classical buildings, old mansions and white houses cascading down to the harbour. The City Hall, where Miaoulis Square lies ringed with cafes and with seating areas under palm trees. The “City of Hermes” has numerous churches including the Cathedral of Agios Nikolaos. The quarter of the town known as Vaporia is where the sea captains lived. Along its narrow streets, stand numerous neo-classical mansions. Syros is a very interesting island that has a lot to offer any visitors as well as photographer types!

Photographs of Thessaloniki, Greece’s 2nd City.

At about a million inhabitants, it is considered Greece’s cultural capital, renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general. It is also a city with a continuous 3,000 year old history; preserving relics of its Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman past and of its formerly dominant Jewish population. Many of its Byzantine churches, and a whole district of the city in particular, are included in UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Thessaloniki (520 km. north of Athens) is the second largest city of Greece and the most important centre of the area. Built near the sea (at the back of the Thermaïkos Gulf), it is a modern metropolis bearing the marks of its stormy history and its cosmopolitan character, which give it a special beauty and charm.

A selection of images from Aegina Island, Greece.

This week’s Blog is photography of The Island of Aegina, not so far from Athens. An interesting Island with great beaches and small pretty villages as well as a fantastic harvest of Pistachios. Arguably one of the main attractions of Aegina is that it is a real living and working island. Thankfully not a victim of mass tourism, Aegina is the perfect destination for the independent traveller who yearns to experience some reality of the country she is visiting. Those who are well travelled in Greece will note that Aegina is not as “manicured” as some islands popular with foreign tourists. It hosts mainly Greek weekend visitors. This simply adds to the charm. Populair sites to visit are: the temple of Aphaia and the church of Agios Nektarios. Learn more about the traditions and culture of Aegina on this website.

Photographs of the island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea

Lesvos or Lesbos lies among the north-eastern Aegean islands and close to the Turkish mainland.
Also called by its capital town of Mytilini, It’s relatively isolated with the nearest islands of note being Chios to the south and Limnos to the north, both some distance away.
Big and beautiful, Lesvos is the third largest of the Greek islands and although it has stretched its arms wide to embrace the tourist market it still exudes a traditional small Greek island atmosphere.

Imagery of the Greek Island of Paros.

Paros in Greece is among the most popular islands of Cyclades. Located in the heart of the Aegean Sea, Paros island is ideal for young people, romantic couples and families, too. The Parian traditional villages, particularly Naoussa, Parikia and Lefkes, are perfect samples of Cycladic architecture, with whitewashed sugar houses, paved streets and blue-domed churches. The beaches are famous for the exotic water and the golden sand.
Source: http://www.greeka.com

A collection of photographs of Athens, Greece.

This is a collection of photographs that I have taken of Athens since I first arrived in 2013. I have around 600 images of this amazing city as well as the historical and bustling port of Piraeus. Here are a selection of those images. I hope these images represent some of the incredible architecture and ancient sites around Athens as well as showing the artistic and vibrant mood in the city. I hope to add further images of Athens over time as well as the many other photographs of the Greek Islands and the beautiful mainland. I hope you enjoy the imagery.

“The magnificent Acropolis, crowned by the iconic Parthenon temple, rises above the city, watching the sprawling modern metropolis evolve. This huge archaeological park has reconciled past and present, with the city’s cultural and social life once again taking place around the ancient monuments and surrounding neighbourhoods. Athens remains a city of contradictions, as frustrating as it is seductive. It is the oldest city in Europe, yet still in a state of transition. It’s one of Europe’s safest and liveliest cities – a heady mix of grunge and grace with an undeniable urban soul. Most visitors will leave impressed with its vibrant street life and relaxed lifestyle, where people take time out for endless coffees and evening strolls, dine out until late and enjoy the city’s nightlife, long after the rest of Europe has gone to bed. Athenians are the first to debate and lament their city’s many shortcomings – but most wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
Lonely Planet Website

Photography of Athens, Greece.

So my first image since my return to Athens. I departed very early Sunday morning hoping to catch this image with the new days sun streaming over the mountain and catching the Parthenon or the Acropolis in a sort of yellow sunbeam. I did manage to get some sun hitting the right side of the Parthenon but no where near as much as i was hoping for. Not a bad image but i will try to get the desired photo at a later time.

Return to Athens, Greece for another year of Photography.

Friendly Elderly lady

This was taken last year in Rethymno, Crete. The elderly people are normally very interesting looking as well as friendly people. This lady was so nice and did not mind having her photo taken at all. Almost flattered by it.