Summertime is travel photography time

Summertime is travel time for many and for most that means travel photography. Fifty years ago my first travel photography began casually with a Kodak Baby Brownie in Europe. And truth be told, for many decades my photography continued in a pretty relaxed manner.

By 2003 I had decided to take my photography more seriously and signed up for my first  photography workshop with Santa Fe Workshops during their annual month in San Miguel Alliende in Mexico.

The workshop instructor was Bob Krist for “Spirit of Place”, travel photography. During that week I found Bob to be the consummate teacher. I couldn’t have chosen better for a first photography teacher. Even as an award winning travel photographer, published in National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian and Islands he taught without ego and with great generosity, sharing his years of knowledge.

I arrived at Bob’s workshop, a newbie in the realm of serious photography, feeling very much an outsider with my glistening little silver Pentax SLR among all the other participants toting big black Canon’s, Nikons and tripods.

After the workshop participants’ final slide show on Friday, Bob quietly said to me, “you’re going to do just fine with that camera” and confided that he would have been happy to have made one of the photos I had captured that week, himself.

Followup: I seldom used that Pentax film camera again as 2003 turned out to be the change-over year for me. It was digital from then on. In 2009 a Canon 40D.

“Dancing Colors”  Dia de la Revolución parade, San Miguel Alliende, Mexico ©2003 Ann Brooks

And my photo from that week that Bob had so admired (above) turned out to be my lucky break. National Geographic found it and licensed it on several occasions for use in one of their international publications. Speak about beginners luck!!

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Though I was able to participate in a travel photography workshop from Bob Krist in person, here are some ways you can get some great tips from him today. In April Wall Street Journal interviewed him. Check it out.

And you can see a multi-media slide show of Bob’s work with good information on getting the  travel photos you want.

Don’t miss Bob Krist’s blog with ongoing travel photography tips, information, workshops.