Are good pictures easier to take when you're out of town?

[rlemert]

I find it easier to find interesting subjects to shoot when I'm traveling, probably because nearly everything is new and different to me. I also find myself drawn to (good) pictures of places I've never seen - often the more exotic the better. An old beggar in India on the side of the road will be more interesting to me, for example, than an old beggar here in the States.

Does anyone else find it easier to "get inspired" when they're on the road - or find that "road" pictures are more interesting?

 

[cgipson1]

Road pictures are going to be "new", but beauty is everywhere, you just need to learn to see it. Many of my "best" shots are right out of my front yard.

 

[LaFoto]

I certainly feel more inspired to get out the camera when I'm away from home!
Around where I live I feel I have already photographed about every leaf and every blade of grass there is little to nothing new for me to find.
Which - of that I'm also convinced - is not true, only don't I feel so compelled to look for new things that I do when I actually SEE new things (as I do while travelling).
So yes: shake hands on that!

 

[Derrel]

Yes, I have heard the old beggars in India are quite spectacular. There is an old, old, old saying here in the USA. "Familiarity breeds contempt". Your post brings up an interesting side of human nature!

 

[PlanetStarbucks]

I so feel the same way, and it's really sad sometimes as I live in a area that has plenty of great things to shoot. I think even more to the point then simple familiarity is the constant feeling that because it's nearby I can shoot it whenever I want. Like I'm always waiting for that perfect moment for the light to be precisely how I want. When you're away you always have the thought that you might never see this ever again, and so you shoot.

 

[Rexperry1]

Now-a-days taking good photos is very easier because in todays generation many new facilities are available in the market like Cameras, Mobilesetc with so many addition al features.

 

[fjrabon]

On the one hand, I feel like I can take pictures that I find more interesting when traveling, but on the other, I know that if I was tasked to take a shot that I could sell tomorrow, and I could travel anywhere in the world or shoot it right here, I'd be better off shooting it right here. A) I know the area and know how the light is going to fall and when B) the fact that I don't find just about everything as shiny and new means I'll stick to truly inspiring shots.

I also find that I almost never enjoy travel photography. People generally just take the same trite photos over and over again. Whereas when they're shooting their home turf, they're forced to get creative, which can make for some truly breathtaking shots.

 

[LaFoto]

It may well be that in travel photography many actually do take the same cliché photo over and again. I'm sure the Eiffeltower (just an example that springs to mind for no apparent reason at all) has been photographed a billion times by now (and more). Anyone who's in Paris WILL get their photo of said tower. So yes, that is true!

I can only speak for myself, though, and I feel that for example in the area of "street photography" I am MUCH (!) braver and foreward and daring and whatnot when I'm travelling than I could ever even IMAGINE myself being in the area where I live! I need not even travel abroad. A trip to the next big city will help me being more "adventurous" with my camera than I'd ever dare to be in this tiny place where I live...

 

[davisphotos]

I would say when I'm in a new place, I probably tend to pay more attention to what's around me then when I go about my day to day business where I live, and I'm also more likely to have my camera out. But if I were to go take a walk around my town, really paying attention, and with my camera out, I could get some images just as good, if not even better than what I might get if I traveled somewhere. Like others have said-when in a new location, it's hard not to go for the obvious shots, while when you are in the area you live, you have to dig a bit more to find something new and interesting.

 

[Tamgerine]

Joel Sartore was "discovered" by the photos he was taking in his own back yard. If you can take excellent shots there, you can take them anywhere.