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10 Travel Street Photography Tips
Dear friends,
With the new COVID variant out and about, it seems this is the reality:
There will always be some sort of COVID out there.
Then the question:
In spite of COVID and ongoing pandemics … how can we still keep traveling (safely) and embarking on more travel street photography adventures?
1. Get your vaccine and boosters
No no no, getting the vaccine won’t put some 5G chip in your brain by Bill Gates. Even if there is a small health downside to the vaccine, my thought:
It is the price I am willing to pay in order to vaccinate myself, to travel.
Having a vaccine makes life a trillion times easier. Same goes with getting your boosters. Not only that, but having a vaccine does afford a certain level of peace of mind, especially when traveling for photography.
Even a simple pro tip– Walmart (of all places) makes it easy to just walk in, and get your booster (where Cindy and I got our boosters for our Moderna vaccine).
2. Where to travel?
Mexico City as perhaps the easiest destination for Americans. And also one of the best cities in the world for travel, food, and street photography.
In America, New Orleans is almost like getting a taste of Paris stateside.
Also, you can do other popular American cities for street photography:
- New York City (I like SOHO, and the Bryant Park Area)
- SF (The Mission as my favorite)
- Downtown LA (stay at the ACE HOTEL, and shoot all in Downtown, and Santee alley)
- Chicago (the great American city)
3. Take a road trip!
A simple road trip does well! Even one of my most fortuitous adventures was moving from Michigan back to California (Great American Road Trip). Plan your own road trip. You can travel locally, and even check out some local National parks. Rent a nice AirBnb, and use the day to go on travel photography adventures.
If you’re in California, Joshua Tree, Yosemite are great destinations. Or drive over to Zion National Park.
4. Wear your face mask
It really doesn’t hurt to wear your mask. When you’re in some crowded area (like Downtown Pike Place in Seattle), just put on your mask. The funny upside of shooting street photography with a mask–
You become more stealth, like a ninja.
So in some ways, shooting street photography with a mask has a huge upside!
Shooting street photography with a mask makes you more invisible.
5. Practice shooting from a distance
Social distancing street photography — practice layers, minimalism.
Street photography composition is always a fun challenge!
6. Travel street photography clothing
All black merino wool everything. Outlier.nyc black merino wool shirt, black merino wool leggings and black merino shorts on Amazon.
Travel minimally — just one backpack. The ThinkTank Retrospective backpack seems very good.
With clothing, just two pairs of everything. Two shirts, two pairs of boxer briefs (ExOfficio).
7. Leave the laptop at home
As much as I love the laptop, assuming you’re going on a short trip (less than a week), leave the laptop at home. You can get a lightning to SD card adapter if you want to review your JPEG photos on your iPhone.
If you plan on being semi-nomadic (staying at a place for longer than 2 weeks), then I recommend bringing the laptop.
8. Shoot small JPEG
Just shoot small JPEG for the trip. RAW is a pain in the ass. This will expedite your photography workflow, and allow you to shoot more during your trip, with less concerns about running out of space on your SD CARD.
Also, better to have multiple smaller SD cards (64GB seems fine), than having fewer big SD cards.
9. TRAVEL NOTES
Travel Notes: Mobile Edition OPEN AND FREE (for good ideas). Also get inspired by the print edition.
I do like the idea while you’re traveling to jot down some notes, or a small journal. You can do it with your phone, or in a moleskine, or one of the HAPTIC PRESS BOOKS.
One of the biggest upsides of traveling and photography — a chance to disconnect, and to think, and meditate on life, and of course … make photos.
10. Go off the grid
As a fun idea:
No social media during your trip.
Being off the social media grid, finally a chance for your mind and soul to recover.
ERIC
ERIC KIM WORKSHOP
Embark on an epic ERIC KIM ADVENTURE >
Travel ideas
- Traveling as a Means to Discover More of Yourself
- Via Negativa Traveling
- Heavy, Bulky, and Big is Bad
- Travel Photography Project Ideas
- What Should I Pack Before a Photography Trip?
The best travel street photography equipment
- RICOH GR III x ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II
- HENRI WRIST STRAP PRO
- Street Hunt Print // Mobile
- HENRI SHOULDER STRAP (in PHANTOM BLACK x CREMA BROWN)
Films to watch
- Ford vs Ferrari (really enjoying it, just bought it via the iPhone TV store)
- SNAKE EYES (not a good movie, but enjoyed the Japanese visuals)
- FREE GUY: Good philosophical film
What is on my mind
Other thoughts
- Perhaps my archimedes lever is blogging, so I should inspire more people to start their own blog?
- What new blogging innovations have yet happened?
- Minimalism 3.0 in the global pandemic
START HERE
STARTUPS
- Arsbeta.com: Join the photo revolution
- Why app?
- HAPTIC PHOTO SUPPLY COMPANY >
If this motivated you, gave you a good idea, or inspired you somehow, feel free to forward to a friend!