In this section of our three-part series about traveling with film, we’ll talk about the mode of travel most fraught with peril for film photographers: Flying. Back in the pre-digital days, flying with film was a no-brainer; you could pack your camera gear and buy all the film you needed at your destination (and perhaps get it developed there as well). Today, film is harder to find and airport security is tighter (and potentially more harmful to film), so airborne analog photographers have to do a bit more planning.

(Note that the information in this article is specific to air travel in the United States. Other countries may—and likely will—have different regulations and procedures.)

The primary problem facing film fans who fly

Related: How to travel with film by land and sea

Here’s the big problem for airborne film photographers: The scanners and X-ray machines used for luggage inspection produce light energy to which film is sensitive. These machines can potentially “fog” your film, causing dark spots or waves on the negatives (or light spots on slides) as if the film had been exposed to light. So the challenge when flying is to minimize or avoid situations that could potentially damage your film.

Note that only undeveloped film is subject to damage. Developed negatives, slides, and prints are no longer light sensitive and cannot be damaged by airport security equipment. 

Can you avoid X-rays altogether?

Depending on your destination, it may be possible to avoid bringing film through the airport altogether. If you’re traveling to a big city, you might be able to buy your film locally. If you’re staying at a high-end hotel with a concierge, they may even be able to buy film for you (but beware of hefty prices and fees). You may also be able to mail-order film and have it sent directly to your lodgings; check with the property first to see if they can receive packages (and bring a couple of rolls in case your shipment is lost or delayed). Likewise, if you use mail-order film processing, consider sending the film off for development from your destination before you leave for home.

Never put film in a ‘checked’ bag

Do not put unexposed or undeveloped film in checked baggage, ever. The scanners used for checked baggage are more powerful than those used in carry-on luggage and will very likely fog your film. Film and loaded cameras should always be taken in carry-on luggage.

Related: Going back to film? Here’s what’s changed

A related side note: When booking your airline tickets, beware of “Basic Economy” tickets, which do not always allow carry-on baggage beyond a small personal item. Buyers of these tickets often board last, when carry-on storage is full, and will sometimes be forced to check their baggage (for a hefty fee), where it could be subject to harmful scanning at stopovers. If you are traveling with film, make sure your air ticket allows you to bring carry-on luggage, and pack your film (and cameras) in a bag small enough to join you in the cabin.

Film in carry-on baggage: Ask for a ‘hand inspection’

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says that the X-ray machines it uses for carry-on baggage are safe for photographic film up to ISO 800*. We’ve had slower film scanned with no ill effects, but we also understand that the effects are cumulative and that multiple scans may cause fogging. (We asked TSA if we could run some test scans at our local airport; they politely denied our request, citing security concerns.)

Fortunately, there is one good way to ensure your film will not be damaged: Ask for your film to be “hand inspected,” regardless of its speed.

*Note that at some airports, TSA is introducing more powerful CT scanners for carry-on luggage, which can damage even slower-speed film.

The PopPhoto guide to hand inspections

First: We recommend being patient and polite with TSA agents. Remember that their first responsibility is security, not customer service—and also that they’re subject to a lot of vented frustrations from harried passengers. There’s no need to show fealty; simple politeness and civility will get you a long way.

Film photography is popular enough that most TSA agents should be familiar with hand-scanning requests, but it does slow their workflow. When traveling with film, we always allow an extra ten to fifteen minutes to get through security (a margin we rarely need).

We recommend carrying your film in a clear plastic zip-lock-style bag, with which TSA is familiar. Leave your rolls in their plastic canisters and/or sealed packaging whenever possible. We try to keep our cameras unloaded so they can pass through the X-ray machine, but loaded cameras can also be hand-scanned. Anything you’d like hand-inspected should be kept where it’s easily accessible; a backpack is preferable to a suitcase that must be unzipped.

Before we put our luggage on the belt, we remove our film and loaded cameras, catch the eye of the nearest TSA agent, and say, “I have some film (and cameras) I’d like to have hand-inspected, please.” If asked if the film is under ISO 800 we either say no or (to avoid fibbing) tell them it’s going to be pushed and shot at a higher speed. (They may not know what this means but will generally accept it.) 

After walking through the scanners we try to stand somewhere conspicuous without blocking the flow of passengers. Film is usually checked by the same agents inspecting bags that have been pulled for secondary inspection, so there may be a wait. The inspection usually consists of swabbing the individual rolls, then putting the swab in a machine that checks for explosive residue. We’ve occasionally had requests to open boxes and always say yes (so long as they don’t pull your film out of the canister or unspool your 120 rolls, it’ll be fine). Once the machine gives the agent the green light, you’ll likely be sent on your way. 

Going home: Have all film hand inspected

Once your film has been shot, it’s still sensitive to light and can still be damaged by scanners, so be sure to have all of your film, shot or not, inspected by hand. We must reiterate: Do not put undeveloped film in checked bags. 

If you’ve had your film developed while on vacation, there’s nothing to worry about—as we mentioned earlier, developed film, negatives, prints and slides are not light-sensitive. You can safely put them through the scanners or in your checked baggage.

What about lead-lined film bags?

Several manufacturers offer lead-lined film bags that claim to protect the film from X-rays. (We do not know if these bags protect against CT scanners.) We haven’t tried one in recent years, but if the bags do block X-rays, they will likely show up as a large dark blob on the security scan, which is likely to trigger a secondary inspection. We find it easier to simply request a hand inspection and avoid the inconvenience of having TSA unpack our bags.

Advice for other countries

While we’ve never had a request for hand-scanning denied in the US, we have been refused in Europe, and we don’t know if this was down to security procedures or a language barrier. For this reason, if you do travel with analog cameras overseas, consider bringing a slower-speed film, which is most likely to survive scanning with no ill effects. That said, we understand that some European countries are also introducing CT scanners for hand luggage, which is much more likely to fog film. 

Ultimately, it’s best to check the official website for the security agency of the country to which you are traveling. If they don’t have a clear-cut policy covering film, you might want to consider traveling with a digital camera or making provisions to mail your film home before you leave.

The post How to fly with film appeared first on Popular Photography.

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In June, Susan Meiselas received the PHotoEspaña 2022 Award for her career as a documentary photographer covering cultural hotspots including Nicaragua and Kurdistan. As part of the Per Amor l’Art Collection, her series Carnival Strippers commands its own room at Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid within PHotoESPAÑA’s Sculpting Reality exhibition. Here we talk with Meiselas about documentary photography, art, and being in the right place at the right time.

PHotoEspaña 2022 explored the interplay between documentary photography and art. How have you dealt with that division in your work?

It’s interesting to look at the history. Carnival Strippers was first produced and first seen in a gallery in New York City—and then in an experimental cultural space called CEPA in Buffalo, New York—as a series of framed pictures on a wall. In Buffalo, I incorporated the original audio that I had captured during the time I made the photographs for those three summers. There was a melange of sound, from the voices of the women to the men in the audience to the balkers, that was heard in the gallery spaces. That was in 1975; the book came out in ’76. It was excerpted for a couple of European magazines. So it’s had a life—call it fine art or documentary—across that territory its entire time as a body of work.

Some of the distinctions get confusing. There’s no question that I was making the work in a documentary tradition, capturing what I saw. I shared the contact sheets with the participants, so they saw them over time. The work wasn’t made as art. It was made to document something that was quite prevalent at that time and is now no longer. Obviously, the sex industry has gone on in multiple other directions. But this was an early expression.

When you set out to do it, what interested you in this world and what were you trying to show?

I did not set out to do it. I was traveling with my partner looking at state fairs, mostly in the Midwest. And when I came back and crossed the path of what were known as “the girl shows,” I was mesmerized by them—I had no idea they existed. I spent the next three years trying to do the best I could to travel with them, to meet the women and the managers, and have access to their working lives. [I wanted to know] how they felt about it and how they felt about themselves and how others perceived them at the time.

It’s amazing to experience the photos juxtaposed with audio. At the time, did you go for that double effect: recordings and images together?

Well, why was I doing it? Your guess is as good as mine. It was my natural instinct that what they were saying was as important as what I was seeing. Right from the beginning, I collected probably 200 hours of tape. And then I hand-transcribed, because there was no technology, and excerpted the transcripts from the tapes into the text that’s part of the original book. So obviously, my intention was to contextualize the photographs from the beginning with their words.

How did you get into that world so intimately? Did you befriend people first?

You build these relationships over time. The first summer I saw the girls show like anyone else would, on the fairgrounds, and I began to photograph. And then I came back the second summer and introduced myself, showed them work, etc., progressively. The girls themselves were changing very frequently. With the managers, it was key that they understood and invited me in because the women wanted me in the dressing rooms. These things are processes. If you have full clarity about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, that’s what leads to good work.

When you photographed in Nicaragua [in 1978-79], during the rise of the Sandinista movement, did you also try to develop relationships over time?

In the case of Nicaragua, it’s an insurrectional environment. Nobody tells you where they’re going to be, or what’s going to happen. You follow events in a very different spirit. You don’t have the same kind of relationship by any means. It’s a totally different set of conditions. But I could see that history was unfolding, so every day or every week throughout that year I was just moving through the country trying to grasp what was developing.

This was at a time when we didn’t have the global news spreading around like now. How did you zone in on that story?

I saw an article on January 10th about the assassination of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, who was head of the opposition newspaper [La Prensa]. It was assumed he was assassinated by President Somoza. That was a large piece in the New York Times—I was totally struck by it. But there were no images of what was happening that I could find at that time. Then I began to read about it. It took me five months to mobilize and go, but I was learning about it through the news. Not through the internet—where you see so much you’re probably not even compelled to go somewhere now. The fact that I didn’t see very many images is probably part of what motivated me to go. To find out about what was happening.

You found yourself witnessing this huge revolution. And then the same thing happened again in Kurdistan.

Well, that’s a different story, because, in Kurdistan, I went there after this exodus of refugees leaving northern Iraq to both Turkey and Iran. I went through Iran into northern Iraq to see what had happened, and then it led me on a very different process, to dig out the visual history of the Kurds for over a century. So it’s not as obvious as following the news. But nonetheless, [I was] connecting different people, history, and places over time.

Many years ago, I exhibited at PHotoEspaña my Kurdistan pictures. I loved working with the festival, and I came back later to install Carnival Strippers with another series in the sex industry called Pandora’s Box, which was about an S&M club in New York. I wanted to juxtapose those two bodies of work. What I love about PHotoEspaña is that it incorporates such a wide range of work in very different kinds of settings. So of course I was honored to be honored by them.

You’ve been quoted: “The camera gives you an excuse to be somewhere you don’t belong.” In a scene that might be fraught with tension, does a camera give you more access? Does it scare people?

It could do both. Sometimes it gives you more access; sometimes you can’t photograph at all. You have to figure out how important it is to make those photographs and figure out a way to do so. But I don’t mean surreptitiously. For me, it’s important that people know that I’m making photographs, and understand the nature of the relationship that I try to build in that process.

PHotoESPAÑA’ 2022 runs through August 28 in Madrid, Spain.

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Saturated pastels. Comfortingly charming symmetry. European flair (though not always). Vintage panache. From Switzerland to India, Singapore, and Tennessee, it all hints at a certain director—and with that, the popular Instagram account of Accidentally Wes Anderson (AWA), which documents the eponymous director’s quirky style found in real life, often by happenstance. Behind the account is Wally Koval, who now shepherds a Community of over one million Adventurers on a quest for the world’s quirkiest architecture. 

“I have had a love of Wes Anderson’s work since I first saw Rushmore with my dad many years ago,” Koval shares. “The fact that I see his style when traveling (in real life or virtually through photographs)…I suppose that’s a little bit of the magic I hope to share with the world.”

Everyone is an Adventurer

There are a few unique things about AWA—chiefly, its Community (Koval is adamant about the capital “C”) and its commitment to the story. In an age where everyone is saturated in pretty pictures, it’s hard to stand out. But, by taking deep dives into the history of the locations in each eye-pleasing photograph, AWA provides a depth that consistently engages its 1.6 million followers.

“Without the story, we’re all just looking at pretty pictures and have no way to make a deeper, more meaningful connection to the places themselves,” Koval says. And for the budding photographer who hopes to land on the AWA page?

“I usually say ‘you know it when you see it,’ but most generally, AWA photos have characteristics of symmetry, a bright or pastel color palette, and perhaps a touch of nostalgia. There is always something you can’t really put your finger on, but you just know it fits perfectly.”

Koval shares that about 80% of the featured images on the AWA page are shot by amateurs and hobbyists—proof that truly anyone can be an Adventurer, no fancy equipment required. As for his own gear, nowadays Koval acts more as a curator, but when he does need a camera, he’ll turn to his iPhone 13 Pro with a mini tripod for time-lapses. When out exploring, he’ll often bring a friend (and professional photographer), Marjorie Becker, who works on a Nikon D850 with an f/2.8 24-70mm lens.

Accidentally Wes Anderson in NYC and beyond

We’ve somehow managed to catch Koval, the full-time Adventurer in between trips to Seoul and Sun Valley. But when he’s not out exploring, Koval finds Wes Anderson in his own backyard. When asked about the most “Wes Anderson” spots in New York City, it’s hard to pinpoint just one landmark.

“The city is a treasure trove of very AWA locations,” Koval writes to PopPhoto. “From Vesuvio Bakery to the Joyce Theater the list goes on and on. Even after 15 years up here, I find new AWA locations almost every time I leave my apartment.”

What does the real Wes Anderson think?

Of course, one question burns more than most: What does Wes Anderson think of the community that bears his name? AWA has had a hand in helping to promote two Anderson films, and it turns out that the director is tickled. 

“While we haven’t met Wes in person yet (thanks, Covid), we’re email-penpals,” Koval shares. “He seems delighted by AWA and the lovely Community we have cultivated around this project. We were very lucky to work in collaboration with him and his team to visit the town of Angoulême where his most recent film The French Dispatch was shot and even had a small hand in promotion for Isle of Dogs when we were just getting started. The fact that he offered to write the foreword for our book…I smile every time I think about that.”

And it’s not just Wes Anderson who approves. AWA is the recipient of the prestigious Webby Awards in, you guessed it, the Art, Design & Culture category. 

So what’s the next Accidentally Wes Anderson adventure?

When he’s not busy combing through the 3,000+ submissions AWA receives every month, Koval and his wife, Amanda, venture all over the world on behalf of AWA, bringing the Community to places near and far.

Through various partnerships, the pair has visited the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy—just to name a few. So far, this year’s travels have taken them to coastal Delaware, Korea, Idaho, Colorado, and Rhode Island. And for the Adventurer feeling a little left out? Well, AWA has a postcard book coming out soon to cure the blues. 

For those new to the Wes Anderson aesthetic, any one of his films is sure to be an excellent crash course. When asked what he recommends, Koval said it depends—and with that answer, any good Wes Anderson fan will recall a certain scene from The Grand Budapest Hotel.

“The answer changes with the month or the season, likely based on my mood,” Koval says. “As of now, [my] top three or four, not in any order, I’d have to say are The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, and The French Dispatch. But check back in the fall and I’ll likely have a different lineup.”

The post Accidentally Wes Anderson: How Wally Koval built a photo community around the eponymous director’s aesthetic appeared first on Popular Photography.

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It’s nearly a no-brainer to pack your camera when you’re headed on vacation. Normally, the question is only, do you bring film or digital, or both? But some destinations are more welcoming to photographers than others. In Egypt, for instance, snapping street photos without a permit could land you in hot water, but that’s hopefully about to change.

Now, the Egyptian government is discussing new legislation that would legalize street photography without a permit—but on the flip side, it would also prohibit pictures that could “damage” the country’s reputation. Let’s dig in.

What the legislation entails

The legislation would affect three parties. The first group concerns locals, amateur photographers, and foreign residents and tourists. Under the proposed law, no permit would be necessary for photographing and filming in public spaces.

“Taking photographs using all kinds of traditional cameras, digital cameras, and video cameras will be permitted free of charge. No permit needs to be obtained beforehand,” says Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

However, there are caveats. Photographing minors is forbidden, and photographers must obtain consent from adults before clicking the shutter. Perhaps the most convoluted, vague, and questionable catch, though, is the decree mandating that “it is completely forbidden to take or share photographs of scenes that can, in one way or another, damage the country’s image.”

According to Egyptian Streets, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enani will “discuss it with the Council of Ministers for a clearer answer, however filming will be permitted, as long as they provide a license explaining why they are shooting in this area.”

The other two groups affected are the foreign press and cinematographers. The former must obtain a permit from the State Information Service, whose regulations are determined by chairman Diaa Rashwan. The latter must procure a license. The rate is $2,642 per month for local filmmakers and $7,925 per month for foreigners.

The proposed laws would address a recent backlash

Egypt has long been reported to have unfriendly policies regarding photography and videography in public places. In 2017, photojournalist Belal Darder published an essay detailing how he fled the country after receiving a 15-year prison sentence for documenting a protest in 2014.

A more recent (well-documented) episode took place last April, when, according to Middle East Monitor, food YouTuber Will Sonnebuchner, known as Sonny Side, had all his equipment confiscated despite having a permit from the State Information Service. Sonnebuchner also claimed that he endured a four-hour interrogation.

The outlet also reports that prior to Sonnebuchner’s incident, a travel and tourism content creator was harassed by plainclothes police officers in Giza. The country also reportedly missed out on the filming of the Marvel series, Moon Knight, due to bureaucracy surrounding film permits.

Whether the legislation comes to pass or not remains to be seen. However, it certainly would be a boost to the Egyptian tourism industry, which has suffered repeatedly over the years, from the 2011 revolution to the constant unrest and pandemonium of the pandemic.

The post Egypt to lift ban on street photography, but there’s a big catch appeared first on Popular Photography.

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So, you’re packing your bags—and your camera—for a little summer vacation. It’s only natural that you’ll want to document your trip, but, what’s the point of taking pictures at popular destinations when millions of others are, too?

PopPhoto chatted with award-winning travel photographer Susan Portnoy of The Insatiable Traveler, who has built her career on sharing thoughtful images that focus on the story of the places she visits. Portnoy’s work has taken her everywhere, from the Galapagos Islands to Peru. Here, she shares her advice for being a conscientious travel photographer and creating photographs that have depth beneath their beauty. 

Related: How to travel with a film camera

You’ve built a reputation for taking travel photographs that share a story. Why is that important to you?

It’s important because I think that one, it’s interesting to people what the actual story is. That’s in addition to whatever emotional reaction they may have to that photo. It’s no different than when people watch those behind-the-scenes documentaries for a big film. You just like to know how it happened.

Sometimes it’s the story behind the person. Sometimes it’s a story behind how you decided to capture the shot the way you did. Sometimes there is this incredibly crazy [moment], “how did they catch that second?”

Portraits can feel intimidating for the photographer and the subject. How do you get people to warm up to you and create natural, authentic portraits?

It’s really important to smile. I used to [have a really] serious face, but to the person on the other side, they don’t know if that serious face is you thinking about what your settings are or that you’re not liking the way they look.

If you’re with a translator and you’re meeting somebody, when you ask the question, you ask it to the person you’re speaking to. Even though the translator is going to be the one who speaks to you, you don’t look at the translator and say, “Well, what is it that they do or what happens next?” 

[I also think] knowing when to put the camera down [is important]. There was this wonderful Quechua community [on my recent trip to Peru] that allowed me to come by myself with a translator to see their Pachamama Festival for that community. It wasn’t some manufactured presentation. And at one point they wanted me to be involved. They were offering me Cocoa leaves and they wanted me to dance.

[So, what do you do?] You take the Cocoa leaf and you dance. I didn’t get any pictures of the dancing because I was dancing, but it’s important to recognize that it’s an honor and that they’re saying, “Okay, you want to come into our world? We want you to do that.” Sometimes you just need to put the camera down and respect the fact that they’re giving you their attention. Now, you need to give them 100 percent attention and not through the lens.

Trust me, when we were all dancing and they were spinning around, I was like, “I wish I was taking a photo.” [However], their obvious enjoyment, and the honor that they would [ask me to join] needs to take precedence. 

Related: Best travel cameras

What’s your advice for being a conscientious travel photographer and going beyond capturing just a pretty picture?

Do your due diligence. Make sure that you have a basic understanding of the culture, that you have a basic understanding of words, with whatever language. The “hellos,” “goodbyes,” the “thank you’s,” “how much?,” those kinds of things. Even if you murder it with your accent, people appreciate the effort.

Be respectful and understand that you are the guest. I think that’s what people forget. If you were in someone else’s home, you wouldn’t [just] behave the way you want to behave, that wouldn’t even occur to you, so why would you do it in another country? It’s really remembering that you’ve got to be conscious of what’s going on around you and that you are the guest.

In your opinion, what makes for a compelling travel photograph?

From an editorial [standpoint] and from my heart, what I think makes a good photograph is if it captures your attention. It’s perhaps the use of color, perhaps the angle, who knows? It needs to have something that captures attention and, it’s cliche but it’s absolutely [important] to have a sense of place.

I think if it’s people, to me I want to feel like I’m a fly on the wall. Even if they’re looking at the camera, I want it to be, hopefully, where my presence isn’t changing how they would normally smile at a stranger or how they would behave. I want them to think of me as if I’m there without the camera, if they’re going to think of me at all. I don’t always have people looking at me for portraits and things like that. I think people can get stiff quickly, so when I just say “I’ll figure it out, you just do your thing,” that’s when I have the most success.

Do you have tips for photographing popular destinations?

Don’t go to those places. That’s me. From a professional point of view, no one needs to see my photo of Paris. There are a million photos of Paris. If I’m there, I’m not going to walk in front of the Eiffel Tower. But, it’s really [about] doing a little homework. If you’re going to be at the Eiffel Tower and you consciously want to try to get something new, Google has all the photos; see where people are usually doing it.

There are a lot of night photos with the lights sparkling. Can you get there at a different time of day? Can you get there during a special event that will give it a different character that only happens once a year? Can you play with the surroundings? Can you have other buildings or things that lead your eye to it, but it’s not just like, “Woo hoo, here’s the Eiffel Tower”? Truly, I try not to go to any of those places. I rarely go to the New Yorks or the LAs to photograph because there is going to be a point where everything has been done. It just has.

What’s something you would share with someone interested in pursuing travel photography professionally?

Run.

I think travel photography as a profession is really hard, and I’ve been fortunate that I had a very successful career [prior to jumping into travel photography] that has allowed me to handle months of not working because of COVID. It’s not right, but photography is constantly getting devalued and so it’s anxiety-producing and uncomfortable. You have to be comfortable with all of that to do it.

If not, run because it’s not going to work for you and you’re going to waste a lot of time. But that doesn’t mean you should stop photographing, because if you love it, keep doing it. It just means you don’t have to make a living off of it. But, if someone really wants to do that, it’s important to think of storytelling and give yourself an assignment. Think about how to do that storytelling. Do I have the closeups? Do I have the details? Do I have an establishing shot? Do I have a closing shot?

Conferences are a great place to network and it’s not just about the brands and the destinations and things like that, even though that’s super important [too]. It’s the other travel photographers. You’re going to learn a lot from them, they’re going to have had an experience that you haven’t had and someday you’ll be able to ask that person for some advice and you’ll get it.

Share some core items in your gear bag.

I have a 5D Mark IV. I have a travel power strip that does both the plugs and USB, because I’m often in remote places [with just] one plug and I have multiple batteries and multiple things that I need to be charging. I never go anywhere without my travel power strip. I love my memory card holder. I never want to use a memory card twice on any one trip. It is one of my fail-safes, that and an external hard drive.

[If photographing] wildlife, my typical lens will be the 200-400mm with the 1.4 extender and that’ll be what I use 90 percent of the time when I’m on safari. [I also use] a 24-70mm for wide angle, environmental shots. If I am shooting people, it’s often my 24-70mm and my 70-200mm.

What’s the best photographic advice you’ve ever received? 

Nevada Wier, an amazing National Geographic photographer does incredible photos of people and I wanted to do a workshop with her. In the workshop she goes, “When you think you’re finished, just do one more.” That’s so true. There are plenty of times where you’re like, “It’s starting to rain. Eh, the festival’s over, whatever. I’m exhausted, I want to go home.” At that moment, go shoot one more. That one more always ends up being something and you don’t want to miss it.

What’s a photo you regret not shooting? 

I don’t have any one photo. I’ve felt that thing where I’ve walked around and I’ve had the camera and I’ve seen some beautiful light or whatever it is and for whatever reason, I’m feeling insecure that day. I don’t want to stop the people. There are those moments. It’s that kind of thing where it is usually some candid out-of-the-blue moment where I see it and I know it would make a great photograph and I even have my camera, but for some reason, I don’t do it and then I’m always like, “Ugh, I should have done it.”

Share one of your biggest photography catastrophes.

Thankfully, no major catastrophes in the field. That would suck. [A panic-inducing experience was] when my external drive malfunctioned. If I hadn’t had as many memory cards as I did to cover myself, I’d have been screwed.

What’s your biggest pet peeve as a photographer?

It makes me crazy when you are photographing something or someone and another photographer comes up behind you or to the side of you. Just that presence makes whoever it is that you’re having a connection with lose that connection or start looking at them. It’s rude. Wait till a photographer is done before you go run in.

What’s your current and/or all-time favorite camera?

I would say it’s a 5D Mark IV, other than the 1DX which I love, but it’s just a monster.

The post How to be a conscientious travel photographer: Creating thoughtful images with Susan Portnoy appeared first on Popular Photography.

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Welcome to part three of our series on traveling with film and analog cameras. In previous installments, we covered general guidelines for traveling with film as well as air travel with film. In this article, we’ll talk about travel by car and train, both of which are particularly film-friendly; and traveling by water, which requires a bit more care.

Traveling with film by car

Car travel is great for film photography, as you’ve got plenty of space to bring all of the gear you want, and unlike air travel, you don’t need to worry about sending your precious film through airport scanners that could potentially damage it.

Your film and film cameras will be fine just about anywhere in your car; however, film prefers cool and dark conditions, and if you can maximize those, all the better. Avoid packing film or film cameras where they will be in direct sunlight, such as near windows or under hatchback tailgates. If possible, cover your gear with a towel or blanket to protect it from the sun.

Some cars have “hot spots” in their trunks: Hybrids and electric cars may have batteries or motors that warm the trunk floor, while mid- and rear-engine cars may have front-mounted radiators that bake the contents of their frunk (front trunk). Before traveling, take your car for a lengthy drive, then feel around your trunk to check for hot spots. 

Related: 5 reasons you should develop your own film

If in doubt, keep your film and cameras inside the cabin; if it’s comfortable for you, it’s probably comfortable for your film. If it’s cold out, avoid putting film on the floor, as this is where the heater ducts blow hot air, as well as door pockets, which may be significantly colder than the rest of the car. As with digital, it’s a good idea to keep a loaded camera in the center console so it’s easy to reach. Avoid putting larger cameras in door pockets or near the edge of the trunk where they might fall out when the doors or tailgate are opened. (Yes, we’ve made that mistake before. Several times.)

When you reach a destination it’s a good idea to bring your analog gear along with you rather than leaving it in a locked car, where it could be at risk of theft and/or temperature extremes. If you do need to store equipment/film in your vehicle, be sure to keep it out of sight—a locking trunk or glove box is your best bet.

Traveling with film by train

Like car travel, train travel is fairly benign for film. In the US, Amtrak’s security procedures are primarily focused on verifying the ID of travelers. TSA has performed some luggage inspections in the past, but aside from sharp objects (i.e. scissors to cut film leaders), there is little film equipment that should cause a problem.

Amtrak does have some restrictions on photography; they don’t want you taking pictures of other passengers or railroad personnel. Railroad staff may be overly cautious about photography on station platforms, as many train buffs have wandered into the path of an oncoming train while trying to get that perfect shot. If you’re using your camera on the platform, be hyper-aware of your surroundings and avoid platform edges. Don’t ever go near railroad tracks to get a photo! Trains are significantly wider than the tracks they run on, and many modern trains are electric or pushed by locomotives at the rear, which means you may not hear them coming.

If you are checking bags with cameras, bear in mind that some Amtrak train routes are run by buses, which means your luggage will be crammed and stacked into the underfloor bays. On the trains themselves, carry-on luggage that does not fit on overhead racks may have to be stored in common areas that are out in immediate sight and accessible to all. We recommend keeping cameras in small carry-on bags that will fit near your seat. Amtrak’s long-distance coaches have lots of legroom and their sleeping cars offer plenty of personal space, so there should be no shortage of room for your gear.

Travel with film by sea

Cameras and film have two enemies on the water: The water itself and the salt air (if you’re on the ocean). You need to protect your gear from both. 

Small, fast boats can generate a lot of spray and give your camera a good soaking. A weatherproof camera like the Pentax IQ Zoom WR should be fine, as will a fully waterproof camera like a Nikonos or a Canon Sure Shot A-1. Obviously, sea spray should be avoided at all costs for non-waterproof cameras, as the salt water can find its way into crevices and cause fatal corrosion. Consider bringing a waterproof disposable like the Kodak Water & Sport or Fujifilm Quicksnap Waterproof—and definitely bring one if you’re planning to swim.

Dropping your camera into the water is a bigger hazard than you might imagine. Your author’s grandfather, an experienced sailor, put wrist straps on every tool he had on his boat. His rule was “Tie it to your if you don’t want it to go into the drink.” Whether you’re on a small boat or a big liner, every camera should have a wrist or neck strap. Neck straps can be used the traditional way or securely wrapped around your wrist. Remember, all it takes is one good jostle to knock your camera out of your hand and into the water.

If you’re traveling on saltwater, opening the camera exposes its innards to salt air. A little bit won’t do much harm, but it’s best to minimize exposure just to be safe. Film changes are best done indoors or below decks. Same for lens changes, but if you must change lenses on an open deck, take your time and be deliberate. Remember, a dropped lens will roll—likely somewhere inaccessible, including straight to Davy Jones’ Locker. Always assume you are in imminent danger of dropping your gear into the water (because you are). 

As with all forms of travel, consider leaving your best gear home and traveling with cameras that can be repaired or replaced if something bad happens. Happy travels!

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There was a time when traveling with film cameras was a no-brainer: Nearly all cameras used film, and you’d find all the support you needed almost anywhere you went. Today, the rise of digital photography and changes in transportation security make traveling with film gear more of a challenge.

In this three-part series, we’ll cover the specifics of traveling with film by air as well as traveling with film by land and sea. For this first part, we’ll discuss some general guidelines, including cautions about traveling with film and what you should bring on your trip.

The Perils of Traveling with Film

We love film and hate to speak ill of it, but the truth is that shooting travel photography on analog is not a sure thing. Unseen camera faults and mistakes in technique and/or handling can cause problems with your photographs, and unlike digital, you may not realize your photos didn’t come out until you get home. There’s also the potential for damage or mistakes in processing.

Does this mean you should avoid film photography for travel? Absolutely not! Film gives its own special look to travel photos and we wouldn’t miss that for the world. However, there’s nothing wrong with doing what our film-only forbears couldn’t, which is to use modern technology as a backup. If you’re facing that once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity, there’s nothing wrong with snapping an extra shot on your phone or a digital camera, just in case.

Traveling with film: What film to bring

Back in the day, no matter where you were headed, you could almost always find film—and often good-quality processing—at your destination. Not so today, so modern film photographers will most likely be carrying both new and exposed-but-unprocessed rolls. This is particularly tricky with regards to air travel, which we’ll cover in Part 2 of this series.

If you’re traveling with film, you’ll want to take plenty with you; running out of film on a trip is never fun. What kind of film should you bring? We prefer to stick to film stocks we know and like. We’ve experimented with unfamiliar emulsions while traveling, only to get home and find that new-to-us film didn’t give us the look we were looking for. Our recommendation is to experiment at home and travel with film you know.

Related: Going back to film? Here’s what’s changed

It’s a good idea to check the weather conditions at your destination to help determine what speed film you’ll need. If it’s bright and sunny, we’ll pack mostly ISO 100 film with a couple of rolls of ISO 400 in case the clouds roll in. If we’re expecting inclement weather, we up the proportion of faster film. For indoor photography, many filmies pack some ultra-high-speed film (such as Delta 3200 or T-Max 3200) or a flash. Another option is to shoot ISO 400 or 800 film at 1600 and push-process it. (Be sure to note which rolls need pushing!)

It’s worth noting, though, higher-speed films are more susceptible to the negative effects of airport X-rays. And if you’re bringing along film faster than ISO 400, we recommend carrying it on board (this goes for all film, actually) and requesting a “hand inspection” at security. We’ll cover this more in part 2.

Alternatives to bringing your own film

If you’re traveling to a large city, you may be able to buy film locally. Do a little Googling and be sure to call or email ahead to make sure local stores have adequate stock of your film(s) of choice. If you regularly mail-order film, you may be able to get your mail-order house to ship film to your lodgings; be sure to call ahead to your hotel to make sure they can receive packages for guests. Alternatively, you can mail film ahead to your digs. This method isn’t foolproof—packages do get lost or delayed—so it’s best to bring a couple of rolls with you, just in case.

If you use a mail-order lab for processing, consider mailing your exposed film to the lab directly from your trip. That’ll save some bulk in your luggage (and an X-ray inspection if you are flying).

The case for bringing more than one camera

Digital cameras offer variable ISO settings and can switch seamlessly between color and B&W, but film cameras can’t do that, and mid-roll film changes are time-consuming (and difficult or impossible on some auto-wind cameras). That’s the reason why, back in the film days, avid photographers frequently traveled with a second camera (or third). One camera might be loaded with color film, the other with B&W, or one with slow film and one with higher-speed film. If you travel with a second camera, we recommend keeping that extra camera unloaded until you know what you need it for, to provide you with extra flexibility.

Traveling With 35mm point-and-shoot cameras

If you’re a compact point-and-shoot photographer, you’re in great shape—after all, P&S compacts were designed with travel photography in mind. A compact camera with a zoom lens will give you the most flexibility, but the 35mm lens fitted to many fixed-focal-length cameras works nicely for travel snapshots.

Most point-and-shoot cameras are made to withstand a little foul weather, but if you are concerned about getting seriously rained on (some vacation!), consider a “weather-resistant” camera like the Pentax IQ Zoom 90 WR. There are other fully-waterproof compacts like the Canon Sure Shot A-1, but if underwater film photography is on your agenda, consider a one-time disposable camera like the Kodak Water & Sport or Fujifilm’s Quicksnap Waterproof—that way you don’t have to worry about your hard-to-replace camera getting damaged.

Traveling With 35mm SLRs

SLRs give you more creative control over your photos, but they do add bulk, which can slow you down while traveling. SLRs come in all shapes and sizes, and we recommend smaller ones for smoother travel. Older manual-wind cameras (particularly the Olympus OM-series and Pentax M-series) and later-model plastic-bodied SLRs (like those from Minolta and Canon) are among the lightest and easiest to travel with. Pro-level cameras like the Nikon F4 are bulky and heavy.

But isn’t pro-level gear best for travel? Not necessarily: A once-in-a-lifetime trip might seem to warrant your best film equipment, but there’s an argument to be made for leaving your nicer cameras home. Remember, with film—and unlike digital—it’s not the camera that determines image quality, but rather the lenses and the film stock. For travel, consider taking older bodies that you don’t mind getting knocked around a bit, and which will be easier (and cheaper) to replace if they get lost or stolen.

If you’re bringing a second camera body, it should be one that is lens-compatible with your primary body so there’s no need to bring a second set of lenses. Your backup camera need not be anything fancy or expensive. A $20 Nikon N65 makes a great backup for your Nikon F5 or N90s and takes up little extra space in your camera bag.

What lenses should you bring? If you’re using an autofocus SLR, a pair of zoom lenses in the 24-70mm and 70-200mm range should meet most of your needs. For manual-focus SLRs, the standard wide/normal/tele “prime trifecta”—28mm, 50mm, and 135mm —will suit you well. Again, consider the value of your equipment and the difficulty of replacing it in the event of breakage or theft. We’d much rather risk a $25 Vivitar lens than a $250 Nikon lens. Consider fitting a UV filter to all of your lenses to protect them from damage.

Traveling With Other Types of Film Cameras

35mm rangefinder cameras give you the portability of a compact, and most offer the creative control of an SLR, so they’re great travel companions. The only thing that gives us pause is their value: Some of us find it hard to relax and enjoy our trip while worried about damaging or losing our $5,000 Leica.

Point-and-shooters might want to consider a bridge camera, which offers the creative control of an SLR in a more compact package. Their wide-range zoom lenses make them great for travel, and they offer a variety of automatic, semi-automatic, and manual modes.

Instant cameras are great for snapshots, but not so great for landscape or architecture photos—and with the high cost of film, instant travel photography can get very expensive very quickly.

What about medium- and large-format gear? A small TLR like the Yashicamat or Mamiya 645 takes up only a little more space than a bulky 35mm rig, but bigger cameras like the Mamiya RB67 and Pentax 67 can really weigh you down, as can large-format cameras, which generally require a tripod. We tend to reserve the bigger gear for trips by car. If you do take large and expensive gear via commercial travel, be sure to keep it with you and avoid checking it at all costs.

What Else Should You Bring With You?

If you have extra space in your film kit, here are a few items you should consider bringing, in order of importance:

• Extra batteries. Manual-wind cameras use button batteries that last for years; one extra set should suffice. For auto-wind cameras with a higher power appetite, it’s best to know before you go how many rolls a set of batteries will get through, and bring lots of extras.
• Extra lens-cleaning cloths. Travel is filthy business!
• Filters. It’s a good idea to have a good-quality UV filter on all your film-camera lenses to protect from damage. A circular polarizer can be very handy for reflective surfaces (cars, windows, water). If you’re shooting B&W film, consider a yellow or red filter to bring more contrast and texture to the skies. 
• Film Changing Bag. If you have the space, a dark bag is a handy thing to carry. We’ve had old cameras jam while traveling, and a dark bag provides a safe place to open the camera and retrieve your film.

One Last Tip: Don’t Forget To Vacation!

We love traveling with film gear because it presents so many opportunities to take great photos, but we try to avoid seeing our entire vacation through a camera lens. Always be on the lookout for good photo opportunities, but make sure you take time to enjoy and experience the sights with your own senses.

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A vibrant, colorful scene can be one of the most fun things to photograph. There’s just so much going on that it’s hard not to find a good shot. And, if you’re looking for somewhere colorful to go, a recent, totally unscientific study has a few recommendations. 

About the study

This “study” was done by the strangest group imaginable: the mortgage comparison team at Uswitch. I can only speculate that it was some kind of Friday afternoon marketing Hail Mary—but however they managed to convince management to sign off on it, we’re writing about it. 

The study used a “seed list” of 20 colorful destinations from a couple of travel websites. The team then subjected it to three unrigorous (but fun) analyses to determine the most colorful places, the most searched for colorful places, and the most Instagrammed colorful places. 

To find the most colorful place, they pulled in the top 10 photos of each on Shutterstock and used a “color dropper tool” (presumably in Photoshop) to find the number of colors in each locations’ color palette. 

For the most searched for spot, they used SemRush to analyze the Google Search Data for each location. 

And for the most Instagrammed location, they used SemRush again to find the number of posts with the #placename.

Is this science? Nope. But it’s a fun way to look at some colorful places. 

The most colorful spots

According to Uswitch, Cinque Terre in Italy is the most colorful destination in the world with a grand total of eight distinct colors. Apparently, “Sitting on the Italian Riviera, the multicolored destination is home to an abundance of colorful houses that vary from red, dark and light orange, shades of yellow, green and blue.”

Next up, with seven distinct colors, was Kampung Pelangi (it translates to “Rainbow Village” in Bahasa) in Indonesia.

Then Guatape, Colombia; La Boca, Argentina; and Nyhavn, Denmark, rounded out the top five with six colors apiece. 

The remaining 15 destinations in descending order of colorfulness were:

• Little India, Singapore.
• Old Havana, Cuba. 
• Rainbow Village, Taiwan. 
• Burano, Italy.
• Procida, Italy. 
• Chefchaouen, Morocco. 
• Colmar, France. 
• Bo Kapp, South Africa. 
• Vinicunca, Peru. 
• Rainbow Row, USA.
• Grand Prismatic Spring, USA. 
• Wroclaw, Poland. 
• Balat, Turkey. 
• Willemstad, Curacao. 
• Gamla Stan, Sweden. 

Oh drab, drab Sweden.

The most searched for and Instagrammed

More interesting than the color analysis (and perhaps more relevant to photographers) was the popularity breakdown. 

It should surprise no one that the incredibly over-touristed Cinque Terre was the most searched for (718,000 searches) and second-most #hashtagged (170,695 #hashtags) destination, followed closely by Havana, Cuba, which was the third most searched for (334,600 searches) and most #hashtagged (247,642 #hashtags).

Colmar, Burano, Singapore, and Pelangi also featured highly on both lists. 

Finding color

As iconic as some of these destinations are, if you’re looking to take unique colorful images, the top spots are probably worth avoiding. 

By my equally unscientific assessment of this unscientific study, the most unique colorful destinations are:

• Rainbow Village, Taiwan. 
• Bo Kapp, South Africa. 
• Vinicunca, Peru. 
• Rainbow Row, USA.

They’re the only four places that are not featured on either the most searched for or most Instagrammed lists.

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This time of year, serious wanderlust starts to set in. I love my job here at PopPhoto.com, but there are times when the urge to pick up a camera and head off somewhere on a photo journey gets to be almost overwhelming. Naturally, that leads to a little bit of daydreaming, which is where today’s Open Post comes in.

Where is your dream location for photography?

Let’s assume you have a few weeks off for vacation and that you have a reasonable budget (and no, you’re not allowed to say, “I’ll take my budget to B&H and buy a bunch of new camera stuff”). Which destination would you pick and why?

My personal choice would be Whistler in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I’m a big mountain bike nerd and that’s pretty much the epicenter of the mountain bike world, at least here in North America. I’m not a big landscape guy, but I feel like I could get some landscapes, as well as some action shots, and a few portraits. I wouldn’t bring a lot of gear because wearing a pack full of cameras while hitting the trails is tough, but I would want to shoot some off-camera flash as well.

So, where’s your dream location? Do you have a plan to get there in your lifetime?

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Shooting in a massive public aquarium may be your only opportunity to net a sea creature as magnificent as Kyle Ford’s whale shark, above. The project will be fun, if fraught with challenges.

The good news? Ford, a fine-art shooter and photography professor at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, has catalogued a set of techniques that makes shooting in large aquariums doable. Here we offer a handful of his best.

• Arrive early—as soon as the aquarium opens—to avoid crowds. And if you have the choice, stick with aquariums that permit the use of tripods.
• Avoid distortion by placing your camera parallel to the glass wall of the tank.
• Turn off on-camera flash to prevent distracting reflections.
• Focus on nearby creatures.The more water between your camera and your subject, the softer the focus will be.
• Include human silhouettes. They’ll inject an important sense of scale and dimension.
• Concentrate on light, silvery fish rather than darker species, which can blend into backgrounds.
• Use a high-speed lens so you can set fast, action-stopping shutter speeds. Slow-swimming fish are easier to capture sharply than darters.
• Consider combining images with software, as Ford did for the image shown here. Because it’s hard to catch multiple species attractively in a single shot, he made separate photos of the fish in this tank. He combined them in Adobe Photoshop later using layers and masks.

Step 1

Scout the aquarium. The day before you shoot, visit the aquarium and decide which scenes to capture. Determine where to set your tripod and what equipment to bring. Gauge visitor traffic and determine the best shooting times.

Step 2

Set up your rig. On the day of your shoot, set up your DSLR and tripod. Focus, then check it by zooming into a test image on the LCD. When the scene is adequately sharp, lock focus by switching to Manual Focus. Make sure the MF ring doesn’t shift as you shoot.

Step 3

Meter and set exposure. Ford recommends spot-metering the darkest subject area for which you want detail and then closing down two stops. Shoot in RAW at the lowest ISO that will allow a shutter speed no slower than 1/60 sec. If you intend to combine images, use identical exposures for each.

Step 4

Get their best sides. Shoot when the fish are close to the glass and their body language is colorful and indicative of the species. “It’s a bit like hunting,” says Ford. “I wait for a series of decisive moments. It took three hours to make the 10 images that I combined for this shot.”

Final Step

Fine-tune in post. Adjust sharpness, contrast, and color balance, and clean up debris and bubbles. Making a realistic-looking composite image takes a lot of practice and patience to build your skills. “It’s a meticulous process that actually feels a lot like painting,” says Ford.

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