This week on this blog, we will be publishing a series of articles on understanding and learning the concepts of travel photography. We begin first with an attempt to understand what comprises travel photography.
Travel photography is a much used word. The term is used in a very fluid manner, often without clear boundaries of genres that it includes or excludes. Photographing images of people in streets and homes, portraits and lives of people at a location, photo documentaries that try to document a very specific aspects of life, landscapes, sights at a location have all been called ‘travel photography’ by photographers in many occasions. Even associated and derived terms like ‘travel photographer’, ‘travel photography session’, ‘travel journalism’ may not offer a clear definition, unlike a ‘fashion photographer’ or ‘wildlife photographer’. However, travel photography is commonly used term by photographers as well as non-photographers. It would hence be useful to create a well-accepted definition for the term. Also see the epilogue for occasions when a definition has a greater importance.
Perhaps a key reason for prevalence of the term is that there are a large number of professional photographers and enthusiasts, who travel frequently (or aspire to travel) and are interested in photographing a wide range of subjects which includes much or all of the above mentioned genres. Unlike wildlife, fashion or product photographers, they are not limited to a few genres and enjoy spreading their work to a wider choice of subjects.
A travel photograph depicting an activity at a destination.
Current Scope – a look at photographers and publications
A look at the National Geographic Magazine, perhaps the most well-known travel publication with a very high focus on photography, confirms the generic nature of the term ‘travel photography’. The magazine and its rich archives of images is spread over a wide range of subjects that includes exploring different cultures, documenting diverse languages, understanding geography in depth by getting into its as aesthetics (landscapes) as well as geology, heritage combined with corresponding history, people and professions, and many more. The magazine attempts to cover the chosen topics in depth and the scope for photography is all-encompassing. Largely speaking, only thing that doesn’t figure often is commercial forms of photography.
National Geographic website.
Another key to explaining the current scope can be found at the well-known Travel Photographer Of The Year awards, often simply called TPOTY. TPOTY is perhaps the most recognized travel photography award in the world and is acknowledged by many leading photographers. Browsing through the genres of images that TPOTY has been accepting in the last few years, it is evident that their scope of a travel photograph too, is all-encompassing, which includes landscapes, photodocumentaries, stree life, journeys, heritage and much more.
A well-known champion of travel photography on the internet, Tewfic El-Sawy takes a more focused approach in his scope of travel photography. El-Sawy promotes travel photographers through his widely followed blog, where he introduced his readers to portfolios of upcoming/well-known travel photographers and also announces his own travel photography tours. His coverage usually limited to very specific topics that involves documenting cultures and professions that are usually considered non-mainstream. For example, his tours have topics like “Kolkata’s Cult of Durga”, “The oracles of Kerala” or “Sufi’s of Gujarat”.
Tewfic El-Sawy’s travel photography tours are usually limited to very specific topics that involves documenting cultures
A similar approach is taken by Mitchell Kanashkevich, a very popular new generation travel photographer. While his work is diverse, it is usually focused around people, lives and professions from across the world. His works involve very specific topics or people, such as Rabari nomads of Rajasthan, Indian Wrestling or tribal people of some pacific islands.
Mitchell Kanashkevich’s travel photography predominantly focuses on people and professions.
Most of the above examples are works from people or entities seriously involved in the art of photography, and have considered photography as their mainstream activity. This perhaps explains how they often focus deeply on specific topics, even while they work with varied subjects. There is another section that uses travel images, which are more consumer and entertainment oriented but can not be ignored. This includes travel magazines such as Lonely Planet’s travel magazine, Outlook Traveller and National Geographic Traveller Magazine. They are largely focused on sights and people in action and less on in-depth coverage of a specific topic. While not being photography-centric bodies, they are a popular consumers of photographs and their views can not be ignored in trying to define travel photography.
Our View
A quick survey with the followers of Darter Photography’s facebook page, which predominantly consists of non-professional and serious photography enthusiasts, also reveals a tendency towards providing an all-encompassing definition to travel photography. (see poll)
In our survey, the most accepted definition (which was submitted by a page user) reads “Documenting a destination for the benefit of others. Includes all of the above.” Here, all the above included ‘culture, customs and celebrations’, ‘people and street life’, ‘heritage/monuments’.
Looking at all the broadly accepted definitions in the previous section, perhaps the first steps to arrive at an acceptable definition of travel photography can be through exclusions, even before we start looking at inclusions. Broadly, everyone seems to keep out commercial work. This immediately puts away fashion, products, commercial interiors, weddings and similar genres. While keeping product photography is fairly obvious, it may be possible to mix wedding, fashion and commercial interiors (such as hotels/resorts) with travel, so it is worthwhile making an explicit mention to keep them out.
Although some form of commercial photography may involve travel, most forms of commercial photography can be largely kept out from the definition of travel photography.
Next, something that sits in the borderline is the kind of images published by consumer travel publications. They may not publish the best images of a tiger in a national park; they are more interested in the picture of a family of tourists watching a tiger on a safari jeep. They may not be satisfied with picture of a variety of fish being sold at a busy fish market, but are likely to be interested in the same fish at display for diners at a restaurant. The thought process here is to show their consumers what they can do, rather than document what is there. Whether to consider such images within the confines of ‘travel photography’ may depend on whose perspective are we looking at. For the photo-editor and photo-researchers of the magazine, it may be doubtlessly important aspect of travel photography. Same is true with a large number of photographers who find this to be an important market. At the same time, this kind of images may stay outside the horizon of photography-centric people and entities, such as the ones mentioned in ‘current scope’ section.
Consumer travel magazines often highlight people in action at a location than features of the place itself.
There is another set of genres that may require higher degree of involvement from the photography and have greater sophistication, which, by virtue of their technical complexities and a need to dedicate energies full time into the genre, may have to be excluded from the boundaries of travel photography. Some examples of such genres are wildlife, macro and pure landscapes. Without doubt, being able to get good wildlife images requires a photographer to carry specific, sophisticated equipment beyond what other genres of photography demand. Also, making good wildlife images means that the photographer will have to dedicate all his/her time into making wildlife images at a destination conducive to wildlife photography alone, leaving him/her with little options to work on other genres. Same applies to macros as well. Pure landscapes are those, where nature photographers try to create highly involving, technically perfected images that necessitates instruments like a sturdy tripod and certain filters. While travel photography, to some extent, can stretch to include these, they may not become genres that are of significant importance to be part of travel photography. Much of travel photography can be very technology and equipment independent, and can be pursued even with a very basic camera.
Some genres such as wildlife and macro may be excluded from the definition of travel photography, owing to requirement of specialized equipment and a need for narrow focus in making high quality images of these genres.
This still leaves us with many important aspects that are generally accepted as travel photography. The remaining all-important genres that become part of travel photography can be
- street life
- people, portraits
- living – tasks people do in their everyday life
- culture
- heritage
- landscapes that offer a feel of the place. It could be urban landscapes for a city, images of countryside at the villages or forest landscapes in a national park; they are much unlike pure landscapes in nature photography.
The above also includes, to a good extent, documentary and photojournalistic style of photography as well.
Conclusion
While travel photography is a term that is often used without strict boundaries, the most suitable genres that can be included in the umbrella are people photography (which includes street life, people, portraits), photo-stories (or documentaries) on specific aspects of a destination, heritage and landscapes that offer a feel of the place.
All forms of commercial photography stays outside the scope, while travel magazine-style photography, wildlife and pure landscapes come close to being within the definition of travel photography.
 Landscapes that characterize a location. |
 working life and living of people |
 people and portraits |
 Heritage |
Epilogue – Why is the definition important?
In most occasions, a strict definition is not necessarily significant. A photographer can pursue an interest in landscape photography or street photography without ever worrying if his/her work can be called travel photography or not. The definition doesn’t change the value of his/her work in any way. However, there can be occasions when a definition can be immensely helpful. For example, it is worthwhile deciding the boundaries in advance when one wants to formally display or felicitate works in ‘travel photography’.
For us, defining and limiting the scope of ‘travel photography’ was important when we were announcing our ‘travel photography workshop‘ in Badami. Without a clear definition, the workshop could have become too generic or too limiting. So it was not only important to ponder on what is travel photography, it was also important to ensure that we choose a destination that offered ample opportunities to put all forms of travel photography into practice.
One Comment