The following are some tips i keep in mind when taking travel shots:
1. Go on free and easy trips because tour groups are usually very rushed, crowded and bring you to the place at the worst time of the day (when the sun is in the wrong direction -.-). It's common to hear the tour guide say, "you have 15 mins here!" 15 mins???? shoot what??
2. Look through posters, travel brochures and postcards for "inspiration" and try to reproduce the same effect/composition etc.
3. Don't be afraid of people getting in your photos, include the human element.. This can add life to your place of visit.
4. Shoot details. When everyone is shooting the temple building, walk around and shoot the details.
5. Make sacrifices. If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain. Want to shoot sunrise = wake up early.
6. Be careful not to risk your life when trying to get that shot. Climb, crawl whatever but don't fall off the cliff or into the river. You die is one thing, your camera will peechiah and photos will be all gone LOL
7. Bring a tripod everywhere. It's like an umbrella. When you need it, you have it. Great for couple/group shots (it's funny when people wonder why i don't have live view or try to zoom my 50 mm -.-) and low light surroundings. Acts as walking stick too on treacherous terrains...
8. Grab the shower cap from hotels... It acts as a raincoat for your camera in case it drizzles.
9. For typical "I was there" shots, do not place the person in the centre but rather, at the side (we all know this right?) unless you're trying something different.
10. Most important of all, enjoy yourselves =) When you're happy, your photos show it too ^^
My favourite place in Japan is Kyoto 京都. For this trip, we stayed at a ryokan (traditional inn, sleep on tatami kind) facing Biwako 琵琶湖 (Lake Biwa). From our room, I saw sunrise!! =D ("I" because the husband slept through it LOL)
I also went back to my favourite castle, the most beautiful castle in Japan, Himeji Castle 姫路城(I was there 5 years ago), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you have time to visit only one castle, visit this one. The granddaughter of Ieyasu Tokugawa was married to the Toyotomi family at age 7 and lived there. What's special about this castle is that it's in it's original form because it has never been involved in the evils of war =)
After Kyoto and Osaka (Osaka is for shopping and food LOL), we based ourselves in Nagoya and visited neighbouring sites.
Ise Shrine 伊勢神宮 and Meoto-iwa 夫婦岩
hehehe... in the following picture, the kawaii Japanese girls were posing for their friend's camera so i quickly stole a shot =P
Takayama 高山. I ate snow in Takayama hehehe... tasted like plain ice kachang. Did yo know that a snowflake is a fractal, a Mathematical model in which the pattern repeats itself when you magnify it? A fern leaf is another example of a fractal that occurs in nature. Coolz!
UNESCO World Heritage Site Shirakawa-go 白川郷 was covered in snow too! =D
We built our very first snowman ^^
