Digital_Camera_World_Issue_192_July_2017

B
is for Backpack
Carrying your photo kit and any
other essentials you need through the
day is an art in itself. A backpack spreads
the weight over both shoulders to make
heavier loads more comfortable, and
it allows you to organise your photo
and non-photo gear into different
compartments so everything is easy to
find. Many backpacks are designed
to stay within cabin
baggage dimensions,
so you can keep your
essentials with you.
While packing,
assume your hold
baggage could get
lost, and carry the
stuff you really need
in your backpack.
That’s your camera
kit, travel docs,
toiletries, spare
underwear and a
waterproof jacket.
You can survive on
that for a week!
C
The colour wheel is well-known
to designers, but is seldom
something photographers consider.
But the knowledge of which colours
oppose each other is of tremendous
value when composing images, as it tells
you which hues will provide maximum
contrast in colour terms.
In essence, there are three primary
colours (red, green and blue) and three
secondary colours (cyan, magenta and
is for Complementary colours
Mario Savoia / Shutterstock
yellow) that do not
contain a primary colour
in their make-up. Red and cyan are
complementary colours as they oppose
each other; the same goes for green/
magenta and blue/yellow. By looking
out for scenes that contain these colour
combinations, you’ll achieve maximum
colour contrast in the image, and can
achieve striking shots that will impress
your viewer.
Sylvia Kania / Shutterstock
D
is for Details
Faced with a destination you’ve
never visited before, it’s all too easy
to start snapping away like a tourist,
recording the well-known landmarks in
an unconsidered way. This is a natural
reaction when you’re faced with a new
set of visual stimuli, but often leads to
predictable eye-level snaps of sights
that have been shot many thousands
of times before.
To break out of ‘tourist’ mode, you
need to think like a photographer, and
consider what you want your pictures
to ‘say’. Look for approaches and
angles that reveal local customs and
flavours, and that take your shots away
from the ‘autopilot’ shots everyone else
captures. Look for details of everyday
life that reveal how the locals interact
with their environment. There are
always new ways to shoot famous
places, and by seeking them out,
you’ll be thinking visually rather than
responding to the same immediate
thrills as everyone else.
e
is for Extension lead
With cameras, smartphones, laptops
and tablets, modern life for today’s
photographer is entangled in a sea of
chargers – and with different socket types
throughout the world, you can spend a small
fortune on mains adapters. To save on costs,
cut down on fiddly gadgets and keep life
simple, buy a good-quality world adapter
that’ll convert anything to anything, and take
a humble four-gang extension lead. When
you get to your destination, stick the adapter
on the four-gang plug, and you’ll have four
sockets at your disposal, all of which will fit
your gear.
If you’re staying in a hotel where you place
your card key in a slot to power the room, use
any old card of the same size and shape to
keep the mains on. That way, you can still
charge things up when you leave the room.
48 Digital Camera JULY 2017 www.digitalcameraworld.com