Travel photography and great shots/total shots

[mav3r1ck]

Thank you all for great suggestions and points of view! Will digest and keep in mind!
Happy new year!

 

[Derrel]

There is plenty to think about in the above responses. I'll just add a couple of thoughts. First off, you might indeed be becoming more-critical in how you evaluate your photos. Second, perhaps you could shoot more photos and "work the scenes" you encounter, as a way to go from initial experience, to a good vision of the scene, to final and satisfying shots of the scene. Maybe you are rushing things, or not fully coming to the best-possible set-ups and compositions?

Third, and this is something that comes with experience and time, perhaps you've over-complicated your gear and lens set to the point that you have too many lenses, or you've acquired a very wide-angle zoom that makes everything look small,boring,and far-away. I mean that seriously; perhaps years ago, you used a simple lens set, or jut one or two longer focal length lenses, and your photos had more impact. I personally think that is one wants to make more-impactful landscape and travel shots, the 14-24mm zoom needs to be kept in the bag, and the 24-70 or 70-200mm zooms need to be used much,much more-often.

I find wide-angle travel shots to be boring,many times, especially if the scene is deeper than 30 or 40 meters. What a very short focal length lens "sees" is often...pretty boring once the shot is back at the computer.

Is it possible that, in earlier years, you had less equipment, or simpler equipment, and that over time you've moved to high-end equipment that makes boring photos?

 

[mav3r1ck]

The point on longer focal lens is indeed true: as for writing, putting less in the frame (less words) requires way more effort than deciding what to leave out (synthesis).... and surely I have a wide angle on most of the times

will keep it in the back of my head

Also: many claim that a fixed lens (as opposed to a zoom), besides the better quality, forces you to move more around and therefore think more about the scene.... could be an approach as well, even though not very practical at all times

 

[n614cd]

The point on longer focal lens is indeed true: as for writing, putting less in the frame (less words) requires way more effort than deciding what to leave out (synthesis).... and surely I have a wide angle on most of the times

will keep it in the back of my head

Also: many claim that a fixed lens (as opposed to a zoom), besides the better quality, forces you to move more around and therefore think more about the scene.... could be an approach as well, even though not very practical at all times

I use a 35mm prime for this exact reason. It forced me to move.
My other primary lens is a 70-200. Which makes up less than 2% of the shots I keep.

Tim

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[dunfly]

I also take my 35mm prime, but I never use it. When I am travelling, I never have enough time to wander around a scene looking for the perfect spot for the 35mm. My primary travel lens is an 18-140 mm, which covers 35mm, but I don't have enough time to waste it "zooming with my feet". Then again, I am just documenting my trip with nice photos, not trying to publish a travel log.

 

[ac12]

I also take my 35mm prime, but I never use it. When I am travelling, I never have enough time to wander around a scene looking for the perfect spot for the 35mm. My primary travel lens is an 18-140 mm, which covers 35mm, but I don't have enough time to waste it "zooming with my feet". Then again, I am just documenting my trip with nice photos, not trying to publish a travel log.

I bring a 35/1.8, but for a different reason, low light indoor photos.
The 18-140 does poorly in low light, because of the slow aperture.