During my time as a motorsport journalist, I knew exactly where to go for a good lunch. With any of the Italian teams, although supposedly racing, they always had time for bread, olive oil, espresso and pasta. They troubled to cart these things halfway across Europe, and I remember being impressed. Clearly these people knew something about food.
I’m less convinced now. Not after Sicily.
Hold your stones, foodies! I speak from bitter experience.
The trouble started at the airport, where the car rental guy suggested I wouldn’t find a feed along the autostrada at night. Fearful of starving in the wilds, I grabbed a pizza at a Palermo servo. It was thick and square and filled with enough boiling mozzarella to anaesthetise one’s mouth for dental surgery. Chewy isn’t the word – it was like eating a hot shoe with salami on top.
That was as good as it got. Next day in Noto, my beautiful hillside base of 20,000 souls, I thought I’d find a charming trattoria for a cheap, relaxed lunch. Naïf that I am! Sure, I did come across a cosy restaurant down a cobbled alleyway that offered cucina tipica Siciliana. Just one problem: Ristorante Meliora was closed until the evening.
Noto was deserted. A beggar woman came to me, making an eating gesture. At last, a Sicilian who was thinking about food! She’d probably been looking for a restaurant for years. About 150 of them by the looks of her. I wanted to cry. If she was still struggling after all this time, what hope did I have of getting a meal?
I’m used to swathes of southern Europe being closed on random weekdays, but this was too much. I couldn’t even find a place claiming to serve food on days when the owners did get out of bed.
Was a bowl of pasta, or, God forbid, a risotto so much to ask? This was Italy, wasn’t it?
At last a good samaritan led me to a sort of pie shop, which was dark and echoed. Its owner just stood there. It was rather like the shopkeeper sketch in Little Britain, but I managed to emerge with a few take-away arancini and something resembling a Cornish pasty, but filled with spinach and ricotta. It was viciously dry. Yes, another truth Italy’s culinary apologists don’t want me sharing: Italians are not good at pies.
Exhausted from my lunch quest and refusing to face another restaurant hunt, I went home and made do with a packet of chips and cold arancini for dinner.
The next day, I drove into the hills. I saw amazing things: hermitages in caves, spooky convents, towering viaducts. I explored a deserted for-sale house and found – not kidding – a skeleton on the driveway. And yet, I couldn’t find a ristorante for lunch. Not even a place that would sell me a small take-away sandwich. No wonder southern Europe was in recession; I had a wallet full of cash and couldn’t find anyone enterprising enough to take it.
Grumpily I went back into Noto, where I stumbled on a cafeteria-style place that looked pretty dubious. Behind the glass counter, however, I spotted something resembling tortellini; pre-cooked, slathered in red sauce and dumped in a bowl. Still, it was something I could point my finger at, and I was hungry. It reached my table at an indifferent temperature and had the texture of stale orange peel. Maccas could do pasta better.
That night’s gourmet Italian dinner at the B&B was French bread, Dutch cheese and Greek yoghurt. I know, right?
Then it was the weekend, and I hoped the local eating scene might burst into life. I thought Ristorante Meliora might be worth another try. But no. Closed. A suspicious local leaned out a window and yelled words to that effect, while looking at me like I was bonkers.
I pushed past a portly teenager in a bid to secure a pizza at a place labelled “pizzeria”, but all I found was a woman doing paperwork. She didn’t look up and I didn’t speak Italian. So I pushed back past the large lad (at least someone in Noto was well-fed), and it was another doomed night.
Italy had one more day to leave a good taste in the mouth. I gave nearby Siracusa a chance for Sunday lunch. And lo, I found an open trattoria with ease! Then they cooked me a tasteless, watery ragu and brought me a sizeable carafe of wine I didn’t want, for which they then tried to charge me. Foodie fail.
Look, Italian food is fine when it’s in a Jamie Oliver cookbook. But if you’re planning on going to the country itself, you might want to do a little more research than I did. Unless you’re planning on a weight-loss retreat, that is.
The matronly woman sitting behind the glass-fronted reception booth in Kotiharjun Sauna looks me up and down. Already, I can tell she’s pinned me as a first-timer – just another tourist coming to try out Helsinki’s oldest public sauna – so there’s no point in acting otherwise.
“How does it work?” I ask her.
“Towels cost three euros to rent, and the change room is through that door,” she says, pointing to her left. “Come in and out as much as you like.”
Since I’ve also booked a massage, she offers me a choice. “Male or female?” she asks.
“Female,” I blurt out. “Definitely female.”
She picks up the telephone and makes a call. Upon hanging up, she addresses me once again. “Okay, her name is Frida,” she says, fuelling steamy thoughts of an attractive popstar sensuously kneading my back like there was no place else she’d rather be. “She will come and collect you when she gets here.”
I ask her what I should wear. “Nothing,” the woman answers. “Wrap a towel around you when you walk from room to room or if you go outside. Otherwise, you should be naked.” I swear she winks at me.
Inside the change room, the timber lockers look like they might have been the original installations from when the sauna first opened in 1928. I peel off multiple layers of winter clothing then stuff them inside, replacing them with a towel that I wrap around my waist for the walk to the adjacent sauna room. Others forego even that.
The sauna room is dark and clammy and the occupants are mostly older men. I can’t help but notice that all of them are completely nude, some more discreetly than others. When one of them asks me where I’m from – I haven’t said a word, yet he intuitively knows I’m not one of them – I tell him I’m from Australia.
“Oh, Down Under,” he replies. I reflexively cover my crotch.
The man, whose name I don’t ask, suggests I sit on the wooden upper level; the remaining three terraces are bare concrete. “We call it the pipe rack,” he says, referring to the hottest area inside the room.
It isn’t long before sweat begins to drip from my brow and pool at my feet. My nasal hairs also feel like they’re burning whenever I inhale and I start to wonder how long I can last when a tall, slender man pokes his head around the door.
“Anyone order a massage for three o’clock?” he shouts through the mist.
When no one answers, I gather he must be referring to me. “I did,” I reply, hesitantly, “but with Frida,” realising all of a sudden that Frida might be a man’s name in Finland, where they call their sons Kimi and Keke and Lasse.
“Your hotel rang and booked me directly yesterday,” he explains.
“Bugger!” I murmur, perhaps a little too audibly. “I guess it’s me then.”
I’m directed upstairs, where my masseur busies himself layering paper towels over a massage table that’s placed in the centre of an otherwise spartanly furnished room.
“Come. Lie here, face down,” he instructs.
“What do I do with my towel?” I ask.
“We can use it like a blanket,” he says to my relief; it means I won’t be completely vulnerable.
From that point forward, I’m able to relax while the 25-year trade veteran works on my back, neck and shoulders. Thirty minutes later and I’m wishing I’d booked an hour-long session.
When I leave the sauna and step outside, I feel great. My core temperature remains stable, my skin feels clean and my muscles are relaxed. Best of all, any fears I had about romping around naked in a roomful of strangers has been put firmly behind me. So to speak.
As timeless as it is quirky, Amsterdam is the kind of place romantics put on their bucket list, and the type of destination travellers want to come back to. Ignore the rise of river cruise ships. Forget about the coffee shops. Instead, enjoy the curiosities in a city where you can ride a bike through a museum filled with billions of dollars of art – on your way to dinner at a restaurant whose previous tenant operated red light windows, of course. While Amsterdam’s tick-the-box attractions can easily fill your days, take advantage of the country’s excellent rail services to venture a little further to less visited destinations like Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague to truly understand why the Dutch way of life is so desirable.
AMSTERDAM – DAY ONE
Amsterdam is a city conquered by water. Get better acquainted with the waterways by hopping on a 75-minute canal boat tour departing Amsterdam Centraal Station. Next, book in advance to visit Amsterdam’s most important and sombre attraction, Anne Frank House, where the young girl hid during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Afterwards, head to the nearby Begijnhof for some quiet reflection away from the din of bicycle bells. Considered the city’s worst-kept secret, the garden and private chapel is accessible by an unmarked heavy wooden door just off the plaza known as the Spui. When darkness falls, check out the Paradiso, Amsterdam’s cathedral turned live music venue, favoured by performers for its acoustics and atmosphere.
AMSTERDAM – DAY TWO
After an obligatory tiptoe through the tourists at the Bloemenmarkt, the city’s floating flower market, head to Museumplein to get your culture on. Seeing Holland’s best art galleries in a day requires strategy: pre-book and hit the Van Gogh Museum when it opens, follow with a lap of the underrated Stedelijk modern art museum next door, before rounding out the day at the Rijksmuseum when crowds have dropped off. At dusk, visit De Wallen, the city’s old Red Light District. Worthy of a visit but vastly overhyped, bypass the overpriced bars here and head down the cobbled Zeedijk, settling into one of the city’s old brown bars (so named for their wooden interiors) for a tipple of jenever (Dutch gin).
AMSTERDAM – DAY THREE
Keep the party going with a visit to the Heineken Experience, showcasing Holland’s best-known beer export. Along with organised tours and sample beers, you can pick up what is for many the ultimate souvenir: a bottle of beer with your name on it. Not quite your cup of brew? Those looking to fill their suitcases should seek out Amsterdam’s 9 Straatjes or Nine Streets, a stylish concentration of the city’s best local designer stores, art galleries, upmarket cafes and vintage shops. From there, put your pedal power to good use to explore the leafy green surrounds of the picture-perfect Jordaan residential and arts neighbourhood, or if you’re not museum-ed out, head to Hermitage Amsterdam, which hosts satellite exhibitions on loan from the larger Russian collection in Saint Petersburg.
UTRECHT – DAY FOUR
Jump on a train to Utrecht, a university town described by locals as Amsterdam without the tourists. Rent a bike from the tourist office, and head out along the River Vecht past the eighteenth-century windmills, historic country castles and tiny villages for a taste of local life in the Dutch countryside. In the afternoon, return your bike and climb up the 600-year-old, 112-metre Dom Tower, the city’s most famous landmark. After smashing the 400-odd steps to the top, reward yourself with a beer at Oudean, a medieval castle turned brewery on the canal in the historical centre. Finish the day at Olivier, a decommissioned church turned Belgian beer cafe.
ROTTERDAM – DAY FIVE
The Netherlands’ most futuristic city is an hour away from Amsterdam, but a world away in modern design. Take in its jarringly post-modern architectural highlights including Erasmus Bridge, the famous yellow cube houses and the enormous tunnel-esque Market Hall. While adventurers can abseil down the landmark Euromast observation tower, those after a slower pace should seek out the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. In the late afternoon, stretch out on a terrace for some premium people watching opportunities along the Witte de Withstraat, one of the city’s most vibrant bar and arts hubs. Once you’ve sunk your pint of Amstel, browse the collection of museums and art galleries, keeping an eye out for de Aanschouw, the world’s smallest art gallery, with works changing weekly.
YOUR TRIP Accommodation
Accommodation can get pricey in Amsterdam. Dorm beds at the Flying Pig start at US$15, while Hans Brinker, which once dubbed itself the ‘worst hotel in the world’ has twin share rooms for US$39. Our pick? Stay in a houseboat B&B on the canals. Prices vary depending on the season, with cheaper, more spacious options located out of the main canal belt with bike rental from US$108 for two. flyingpig.nl hansbrinker.com
houseboatrental.amsterdam
TOTAL = US$540 (or US$270 per person)
FOOD AND DRINK
Holland’s best culinary treats are cheap and cheerful. During summer, pickled herring (affectingly known as Dutch sushi) can be sampled for a few euros, while bitterballen (deep-fried gravy meatballs) are a popular bar snack. At 3am nothing beats a fried treat from a FEBO hole-in-the-wall coin machine, but for a filling, sit-down meal, try Caribbean-style Suriname food. Plan on budgeting around US$72 per day.
TOTAL = US$360
TRANSPORT
Return flights from Sydney to Amsterdam with KLM – US$1181
Return train to the airport – US$13
Train ticket Amsterdam to Utrecht return – US$21
Train ticket Amsterdam to Rotterdam return – US$37
Bike hire for five days – US$45
TOTAL = US$1297
TOURS AND ACTIVITIES
Anne Frank House – US$12
Canal Boat Tour – US$37
Van Gogh Museum – US$22
Rijksmuseum – US$23
Stedelijk – US$21
Dom Tower – US$10
Heineken Experience – US$21
The Hermitage – US$21
Euromast abseiling or ziplining – US$65
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen – US$20
TOTAL = US$252
GRAND TOTAL = US$2179
DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS
From the city to the coast and countryside, the Netherlands is one of the most liberal and forward-thinking European countries – it’s also an engineering marvel. While most visitors are aware Amsterdam is below sea level, few know that over a third of the country is too.
VITAL STATS
They say there are more bicycles than people in Amsterdam, with 800,000 bikes in the city – but what happens to them all is a mystery to most. Many are dumped, some stolen, but thousands are estimated to end up in the canals each year, so it’s worth not just locking but also securing your rental bike each time you hop off.
WHEN TO GO
Spring (coinciding with tulip time) and summer is peak season for the city, however with most attractions located indoors, Amsterdam is the perfect year-round destination.
TOP TIP
Visiting during summer? Rock your socks at Friday Night Skate. Rollerblading might have fallen out of fashion elsewhere, but lives on in Amsterdam. Each Friday evening during summer the streets are shut down and thousands show up to skate behind DJs in trucks blasting tunes along a kilometre-long route. It’s so popular, there’s also a Wednesday Night Skate in Rotterdam.
Think of Milan and you might think of fashion, art, Leonardo da Vinci and world-class museums. But despite being Italy’s second most populated city with a bustling centre, it also has some equally beautiful green spaces to escape to.
Parci Sempione is one of the biggest, covering around 38.6 hectares (95 acres). Located in the historic centre, this is where you’ll see two of Milan’s prized landmarks, the Arch of Peace and Sforza Castle. Also worth checking out here is the Civic Aquarium of Milan. Once you’ve had a wander, stretch your legs on running trails through the trees or chill out on the grass in the sun, before finishing up with an aperitivo at Bar Bianco.
At Parco Montestella, the Italians have turned what was once a mound of debris left over from bombed buildings in WWII into an artificial hill, dubbed “little mountain” by the locals, offering great views over the city.
If jogging is your thing, the Giardini Pubblici Indro Montanelli is the ultimate place to lace up your sneakers. It’s also home to the Civic Planetarium Ulrico Hoepli. For a taste of traditional Italian park life, head to Giardini of the Guastalla where you’ll find a Baroque fish pond and neo-classic temple hiding amongst centuries-old trees. Families will love the Parco Aldo Aniasi with its extensive playgrounds and picnic areas.
Whatever your thing, Milan has a green escape with your name on it.
If those blue waters of the Adriatic Sea weren’t dazzling enough to look at, try snorkelling in them beneath the white limestone cliffs of Cala Corvino Bay. With the help of a mask and snorkel you can explore the spectacular string of caves, arches and grottos that scatter the coastline. Thanks to its rocky base, the waters here are renowned for their clarity and aqua hue.
Professional guides know where to go to show you the best spots: sites such as the Aquarium, a semi-submerged cavern full of sea sponges, the Sirens and the Pacchi caverns. At the Grotto of the Fairies, a little-known pool on a tiny beach with fine white sand, you’ll even spot marine fossils in the rock.
A head torch will help you explore inside caverns while shallow pools are ideal for poking around in search of critters. Guides are knowledgeable in marine biology and will give you a heads up before jumping in so you know what to look out for.
Beautiful scenery doesn’t always make for an easy photo trip. Capturing winter landscapes can be challenging
– freezing temperatures and deep snow aside, the tricky lighting can wreak havoc and the sub-zero temperatures can affect your camera gear. That’s not to say that a well-composed photo of a glistening white-covered landscape can’t be made into a work of art.
Shoot RAW
Setting your camera to capture photos in RAW rather than JPG will offer greater flexibility when it comes to making adjustments to your images in post-production.
When everything is covered in snow, our cameras really struggle to figure out what colour the landscape should be. JPG shots won’t allow you to make amendments to the colour your camera chooses, which means you’re likely to end up with a blue-hued photo. In RAW files, however, the white balance (WB) can be adjusted in editing programs, and make snow look like, well, snow.
Nail the exposure
Getting the exposure right can be tough, but thankfully, most cameras offer various modes, which can help. When it comes to all-white, however, you’re limited to manual mode. The camera will struggle to pick up and filter the light, so manual will give you more control over the amount of light let in. I recommend keeping the light meter on +1 or +2.
If you have a camera with an electronic viewfinder (EVF), you’ll get a real-time preview of the image, which will make setting adjustments easy. Keep in mind it’s always better to overexpose winter landscapes.
I use the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, which has built-in EVF and takes the guesswork out of exposure settings.
Let it rain
If your winter comes wet, rather than pretty and white, make sure you have a weather-sealed camera, like the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II combined with a PRO lens. With this setup, you’ll never have to think about the weather. You can simply go out, layer up and shoot the shiny reflections and moody atmosphere a cold, rainy day offers.
Layer up
There’s no point venturing outside in the depths of winter only to find yourself chilled to the bone. Capturing good winter photos starts with the right clothing. Sticking to the path and under cover isn’t going to get you the best shot, so be prepared for anything. Rain, hail or shine, you want to make sure you’ve packed more layers than you think you’ll need; that way, you’ll never miss the opportunity for a good shot.
Keep the camera cold
Cold temperatures can put a lot of pressure on your camera gear. Not only does it bring down the battery life, but sudden changes in temperature between your camera bag and outside can cause your camera to fog up. This can be avoided if you keep the camera in the same environment as the one you’ll be working in.
As an extra tip, in extreme cold it’s best to remove the battery and keep that in a warm place (like your pocket). This will help you get more out of your battery life. Don’t forget to pack spares.
With or without a trace
Winter landscapes can be delicate, especially when there’s snow involved. It’s always a good idea to stop and plan what you’re capturing before you take the snap. The path ahead might look beautiful and smooth, but once you’ve driven or walked through the snow, you’ll be leaving a trail of tyre marks and footprints on your canvas. It’s not always a bad thing – sometimes your tracks can add interest to an otherwise plain white layer.
Don’t forget the detail
Did you know that every snowflake is unique? Winter is as much about the details as it is about the big views. If you want something a little different to the rolling white hills and forests dusted in snow, then grab a macro lens and try some up-close photography.
The M.Zuiko 60mm f/2 Macro lens by Olympus is ideal for close-up detail shots and it’s also weather-sealed, so you don’t have to worry about frost or moisture seeping into the lens.
Keep the scale
If you do want to shoot the bigger winter landscape, then all regular photography rules apply. Find a foreground that can relate to the background (remember those footsteps?), and then keep in mind repetition, rule of thirds, contrast and the rest.
Winter landscapes can sometimes seem empty, quiet and, from a compositional point of view, rather boring at first sight, but you can use this to your advantage. Minimal and abstract photos can be really interesting, especially when you can create a warped perception.
Make the most of it
Most importantly, snap it all. You don’t know when you’ll get to experience a dreamy white landscape like this again, so don’t be afraid to experiment and capture as much as possible.
Chris Eyre-Walker is a member of the Olympus Visionary Program, a team of award-winning photographers supported by Olympus.
From short Instagram stories to full-blown feature-length videos that capture the experiences and vistas of a country, video has become an increasingly important way to document travel. It is said that by 2020, 82 per cent of the content we consume on the Internet will be video. It is the future after all. But it’s not only the smart, future-proof way of documenting your travels, it’s also an incredibly powerful way to tell stories and get creative. Once you understand the basics, you’ll have a whole new box of tools at your disposal. As with anything, practice is key, but these basic video tips will see you on your way to creating your masterpiece and saving your family and friends from the dreaded holiday-return slideshow.
Story
As with photography, the story is the most important part of your video. This should always be your aim. A story has five basic but essential elements: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. These keep the story running smoothly and allow the action to develop in a logical way that makes it easier for your audience to follow. You could have the most beautiful footage in the world, but if it lacks context, it’s basically a moving version of a slideshow.
My biggest tip here is to consider your story before you start filming. As you embark on your travels, you’ll find yourself searching for creative ways to tie it in together at each location.
Movement
The big difference between photos and videos is, quite obviously, movement. This can be used to create emotion and context. For example, panning your camera left to right advances the story just like reading text, while zooming in emphasises the focus on certain objects or details. Don’t be afraid to still use static shots, too, as they can be a great way
to pause and let your audience take a breath.
Don’t overdo it with the camera movement – use it wisely to avoid it becoming a distraction. Essentially the motion should follow on-screen movement, reveal information or emphasise emotion.
The camera is your viewer’s eye, so always consider why you should, or shouldn’t move the camera.
Stability
Most of the videos I shoot are done using the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and the M.Zuiko 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO for the simple reason that the stabilisation of the sensor and the lens work together. This allows me to get super smooth movement without the need for extra accessories. This means I don’t have to worry about balancing a gimbal, carrying heavy tripods or packing unnecessary gear in my bag. Instead, I can just shoot my travels and enjoy the journey, knowing I’m capturing high quality, smooth shots along the way.
Camera Settings & Filters
When it comes to camera settings, the rule of thumb is to double your shutter speed compared to your frame rate.
So when you’re shooting a video at 30 frames per second (fps) then you want to be using a shutter speed of 1/60 seconds to get a natural looking amount of motion blur. If your shutter speed is too fast, footage will look choppy and unnatural.
For that cinematic look, it’s always nice to shoot at a wide aperture (f/1.2 or f/2.8). This gives nice background blur and the subject becomes the focus of the scene making it easier to focus you audience’s attention on one particular thing.
In order to achieve a low shutter and wide-open aperture, it’s highly recommended you use a variable neutral density (ND) filter. This will allow you to darken down the image without having to change the camera settings. Think of it like sunglasses for your camera.
It’s in the Details
I always try to think about how I would describe a scene with my words and then film those details. So, instead of shooting everything at once, I build up the story with the little details. If we use a market in Asia as an example, we think of the smells, the colours, the people, the spices, and the noise. Each of those elements may come from objects that might not seem worth filming at first, but when you put them together, they describe the story.
Putting it all Together
Editing a video together is usually the most daunting stage. If you followed our first steps and established your story before you started filming, then the editing part will be much easier. Every scene you shot will have purpose to begin with and the order in which you will use them will already be determined by your story.
Personally, I always like to find the music first. A good song will help me set the mood for my clip and find a pace for editing. Once that’s in place, it all comes down to telling the story piece by piece.
In general, I never show a scene for longer than three or four seconds, which is enough time to give the viewer everything they need to see before moving on to the next part of your story.
At the end of the day, this is an enjoyable and creative way to tell the tale of your travels, so get out there and practice, and above all else, have fun.
Chris Eyre-Walker is a member of the Olympus Visionary Program, a team of award-winning photographers supported by Olympus.
One of the beautiful things about photographs is that they always tell a story. Sometimes it’s all captured in the one moment; other times it’s a collection of images that paint a bigger picture. So instead of uploading a handful of your travel photos to social media and forgetting the rest, why not turn them into a photo series?
There are many ways to create a series. You can frame your story around patterns, shapes, locations, objects, repetitions, time, seasons – it’s really up to you to figure out what the photo series will be about.
A bustling market, tiny backstreet or being immersed in nature are just a handful of examples of times I have shot hundreds of photos in a single place to create a collection of shots that look good alone and when featured together. Then there are a couple of bigger series I have worked on over the years that have defined my style and will most likely never be completed because of their endless possibilities.
Here are a few tips on how to capture a strong series of photographs that tell the story of your adventures.
Find Your Theme
Sometimes a common thread can reveal itself to you, but if your intention is to create a series then selecting a theme before you start shooting can really help you focus on crafting the right shots. Ask yourself what moves you. Your theme could be as broad as observing the everyday life of people in a single country or as specific as honing in on your local forest during a single season.
Whatever you choose, your photo series will need that all-important thread – the one thing that connects each and every shot, but is delivered to the viewer with a slight variation each time so they understand why they’re moving through the series.
My work, for example, has always had an overarching theme of humans interacting with nature. Adding a person to a landscape to showcase scale, a sense of adventure and that human touch makes these distant places seem a little closer.
Stick To It
Once you’ve captured your shots, unity is key. An image that doesn’t quite fit will, more often than not, stick out in your collection. If a location or subject doesn’t connect with the bigger picture of the story, then don’t force it. A strong photo series is the result of you, the storyteller, carefully removing the images that don’t belong and retaining only the best and individually strong photos.
That said, you will soon findyou can push the boundaries of your theme. As long as the common thread remains consistent it can almost become a challenge to change everything else around it.
Get Creative
It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of needing a concrete visual connection between each shot, but there’s really no limit to how you connect your series. Techniques like shooting from a specific perspective (top-down, panorama, etc) and framing your shot around objects count just as much as having a physical drawcard.
You also don’t need to insert hundreds of photos into your story to convey what you’re trying to say or show. Sometimes a series of as little as three shots can be very powerful.
Think outside the box. The more creative you get with your series, the more powerful and unique it will become.
Take Your Time
Nowadays we’re all about instant feedback, instant uploads and instant likes. That doesn’t mean you can’t build on your series over time. Some of the best photo series are bodies of work that have been created over many years. Instagram is a great example of this as people share their images across a theme, allowing it to grow and evolve.
The more time you put into it, the more likely you are to be on the right track to producing a captivating series.
I’ve spent many months working on a series that featured a yellow jacket all around the world, including Iceland, the Faroe Islands, South Africa and Namibia,. The more places it featured, the better this series became. It’s a great feeling being able to tell that story and share it with the world.
Chris Eyre-Walker is a member of the Olympus Visionary Program, a team of award-winning photographers supported by Olympus.
Adventure photography is probably my favourite artistic pursuit. It combines the two things I’m most passionate about: travel and creating arresting images.
The moment you close your door and set off to experience something new, you’re embarking on an adventure. All you need to do now is compose an image that best represents your journey. I’ve spent years testing techniques to capture that excitement, so I’d like to share some of my tips to help you get excellent photographs of those wild activities and destinations you encounter while wandering the world. Needless to say, there’s adventure to be found all around you. All you need is the right frame of mind.
Share The Fun
The finest adventures, whether long and outlandish or simple and short, are the ones we share with friends. Not only is it great to have someone to reminisce with when you’re settled in back at home, but bringing a friend to photograph is the perfect way to demonstrate what your escapade is all about. If you’re doing anything active, whether it is kayaking, climbing, hiking or mountain biking, try to place a person pounding out the action in your frame. It makes the photo more alive, plus it’s much easier to coordinate than mucking around with a tripod and timer.
Make It Pop
It’s all about the person, activity and location. Shooting at the right time of day – usually those golden minutes around sunrise and sunset – will put the setting in the best possible light. Once you’ve got your setting sorted, the last thing you want is to lose your subject in the image, so it’s important to make use of colour and contrast to help your pal stand out as much as possible. I love using primary-coloured jackets and t-shirts (remember that’s red, yellow and blue). Our eyes are naturally drawn to bold tones, so a splash of scarlet will help your friend pop out of the frame. I also try to place my subject in the brightest or darkest part of the composition to create contrast around them. This combination will focus the viewer’s attention onto the most important part of the snap.
Don’t Switch Off
It’s often the scenes that occur before and after the action takes place that really tell the story. Never put your camera down! Some of my favourite shots are the ones I didn’t expect to capture. They often give the most accurate portrait, rather than the scene you’ve crafted, and nothing beats a candid photograph. Your best shot could, for example, be your friend dragging a kayak into the water rather than paddling on a pristine lake, or sparks bursting from a campfire on top of a mountain after a long hike. Think of yourself as a storyteller – don’t just wait for one moment, tell everything leading up to it and everything after it.
Go Green
You might be the only person on the beach but that doesn’t mean you’ll be the last soul to set foot there. Avoid damaging the environment around you. If a location has a fence or barrier then respect it. It may seem like common sense, but it’s incredible how often photos pop up on social media showing Instagram handles carved into natural icons or you hear of tourists damaging precious structures by climbing on them for an epic selfie. Hopefully your images will one day inspire others to visit that far-flung destination you were lucky enough to explore, and it would be a real shame if they were to find it looks nothing like it once did.
Show The Big Picture
If the location allows for it, take a step back and get up high. The bigger the frame in which you can place your subject, the more dramatic the scene will look. In some instances I’ve positioned myself a kilometre away from my subject to capture the right feeling and scale, but the distance depends on the location and the vantage points available. Framing and composition become very important, as it can be easy to lose your subject somewhere in the shot. If you’re focusing on a person make sure to follow the colour and contrast tip to ensure they stand out.
When you’re shooting from afar, the type of lens you use makes a difference to the quality of the image, so opt for a wide-angle lens if you have one. I take many of my adventure shots with the Olympus M.Zuiko 7–14mm f/2.8 PRO. It’s the perfect lens to capture a wide landscape and show the big picture. Communication is key, as you might need your companion to show off a few different poses. I love using walkie-talkies to stay in touch. They function in places that might not have phone reception, and they’re a great way to awaken your inner child. They’ll also help you to avoid shouting across a valley and disturbing the silence of a perfect sunrise. Your fellow travellers will thank you.
Pack Light
Memorable trips often come with a degree of uncertainty. That’s ultimately what makes an experience an adventure, right? I’m not phased by changes in itinerary but one thing I don’t want is something unforeseen to ruin my chances of taking quality shots. I reduce that degree of uncertainty by carrying a spare, fully-charged battery or two, and selecting a camera I know won’t fail me. At the moment, my camera of choice is the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II – it’s incredibly reliable, weather sealed, splash and freezeproof and basically made for adventure. This light-yet-powerful camera, in combination with Olympus Pro lenses, allows me to forget about my gear and focus on crafting the kind of shot I want to put my name to.
Pack your skis and hit the slopes of the Mediterranean’s highest peak, Mt Etna, on the island of Sicily. Though the Med usually conjures images of sun lounges and striped umbrellas, you’ll rise to the dizzying heights of 3340m above sea level on an active volcano. Always simmering away with the odd puff of ash or smoke, the combination of snow, black lava fields and glistening sea views makes for a truly unique ski touring experience.
Etna covers an area of 1190 square kilometres (459 sqm) so there are plenty of places to explore. Four major craters create long sloping flanks that offer ski runs up to a kilometre long, and adrenaline seekers will love the steep canals of Valle del Bove.
Return to base (literally) at day’s end for some fine Italian fare and hospitality, or spend the night at an on-mountain refugio.
Sure you’re skiing on an active volcano but that just makes it an adventure, right?
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