Recently we returned from a 2 ½ week trip of a life time experiencing the culture, food (oh the food…) and wonderful people of Italy. Being a photographer, I tend to look at every new excursion, every vacation, every field trip, as a photo opportunity; not as a participant. I vowed to change that mindset for this trip. I wanted to experience the trip as a person who may never get to do this again and experience every moment -not just be looking for that next great shot. In other words, I was determined to take snapshots to record the trip, not make photographs worthy of an art gallery. In truth, 99.99% of all my photos are NOT worthy of art galleries, but that doesn’t stop me from trying.
I not only learned a great deal about the country we visited, I learned a little about me as a photographer.

We were fortunate enough to select a tour company that catered to the real-life way the Italian people live, not just the tourist attractions.  Yes, we went to the Vatican, the Coliseum and other fantastic not to be missed attractions, but we also went to local restaurants, where the local people eat their meals and local hotels, not the multinational chains that are the same whether you’re in Rome or London.

In the end, I took 3,500 snapshots and spent the next two months when we got home reviewing them and trying to incorporate the 1,000 pictures my wife took into one “Italy Extravaganza”.    No easy task.  Even more difficult was trying to make sense of my camera’s file numbering system and how my computer’s alpha-numeric system differed from our Big Ass TV’s viewing system.  Even worse was trying to incorporate my wife’s pictures (which were often better than mine -especially of the people in our group).  She only used her cell phone.  It does a surprisingly good job (I HATE that!) and she has a great photographic eye.  To make matters even worse, my camera’s file numbering system turned back to 0001 after the first two days of the trip, throwing all my subsequent photos out of order.  I also made the rookie mistake of not updating my camera’s date/time function to local Italy time, giving me incorrect info about when the picture was actually taken.  I was thinking more about the pasta, not the pictures.

Of the 3,500 pictures, I managed to get a few nice ones. The 2 months I’ve spend grappling with the issues surrounding these pictures have somewhat dampened my enthusiasm, however.

Here are a few things I would have done differently.

Take less pictures.  That’s right -you read that correctly.  I lost sight of my goal of merely being present and not looking at this as a photo opportunity.  I crept back into my old way of thinking: I will most likely never be here again; I need to record every inch of the ground we covered.  The truth is that the ground we covered was stunningly breath taking.  There was an award-winning photograph around every corner.  Every face we passed on the street was a character study of the rich Italian way of life. My lifelong pursuit of that perfect photograph chased me down and buried me in the sheer volume of pictures I took.

Forget the gear.  When packing my gear, I tried to take just the bare essentials.  I did not want to carry 40 pounds of camera gear around, or need to hire a Sherpa to do it for me.  I should have packed even less gear.  I packed my large (heavy) telephoto zoom -I never used it.  I packed my most powerful flash -I never used it.  I packed all manner of gadgets and gizmos which I also never used.  My goal of “being present” only required my camera with the kit lens, a spare battery (which I DID need) and an extra memory card (which I also did not need -but would have packed anyway).  The rest of my gear mostly took up space in the hotel rooms or on the tour bus.  It did, however, make sure I spent plenty of time packing it for each new destination, cleaning it and making sure it was in perfect working order just in case I did need it.

Be a more impatient photographer.  Many of the places we went had crowds of people.  I hate strangers in my pictures.  I like my pictures to show this fantasy world where we are the only ones there.  Absurd, I know.  I spend a lot of time waiting for the hordes of people to GET OUT OF MY PHOTO! I may take the picture of some architectural marvel where the frame begins just above the heads of the thousands of people who are there visiting, just like me.  That sometimes results in a view that only includes half the marvel I’m there to visit.  That sometimes results in people in my party wondering where the hell I am because I’m standing there patiently waiting for people to GET OUT OF MY PHOTO, and they have long since moved on to the next architectural marvel.

Stop hating people pictures.  I am not a good people picture guy.  I love pictures of architecture, flowers, animals. People? Not so much.  This is because people are notoriously difficult to capture.  They close their eyes just as I press the shutter button.  They freeze their faces into a mannequin-like smile as soon as they see your camera come up.  Or, they just run away when they see my camera.  My wife captured such great people pictures because she unobtrusively used her cell phone camera just like the other millions of people taking pictures with their cell phones.  They aren’t intimated like when they see my “big camera” with the long lens.  I need to take more people pictures and get better at it instead of just hating to take pictures of people.  I tell my students all the time: photography, just like any new endeavor takes practice and diligence.  Don’t shy away from something just because it’s difficult and you aren’t in your comfort zone.  I need to heed my own advice.

Our trip to Italy was a trip of a life time.  We went with our family and got to know some wonderful people in our tour group.  The pictures I took were a treasure I will have forever.  The family I went with were a treasure I will have forever.  Hopefully the pictures we brought back with us will show that.

Our tour guide owns her own business and caters to people who want the small, individualized experience.  She could not have done a better job and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for this type of trip (no, I’m not giving out a paid endorsement here).  Her love of Italy was not only evident, it was infectious.  Her depth of knowledge was wonderful.  She made the logistics and complex tasks of showing us the country she loved seem easy.

Thank you Paola of Andiamo Tours.