Today Jess brings us the ultimate Thursday treat, taking us to New York, New York and giving us a lesson in seeing things differently. If you haven’t already, be sure to pop over to the Skip Town website for more excellent tips and examples of beautiful travel photography. -Jenny x

New York. It’s one of those cities. So cool, so iconic, so photographed. The last thing the world needs is another perfectly exposed photo of the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building, don’t you think? A big part of the Skip Town philosophy is about looking for new perspectives, avoiding cliches and stepping outside the traditional rules of photography.

Here are some photos from a day we spent in Manhattan that hopefully illustrate what we mean.

The first stop was Time Square which was incredibly busy and a bit of a sensory overload. As happens in many cities, the reflective surfaces of high-rise buildings bounce light around, much like a professional photographer would use a reflector. These are a series from the same street corner, hopefully giving some indication of the colour and chaos of the location.

To escape the mayhem we went upwards. The top of the Rockefeller Centre is considered by many to be the best view in Manhattan – better than the Empire State because you can you can actually see the Empire State, you see. But more on that later…

In this photo the frame is filled to the edges with buildings to emphasise the scale and claustrophobia of Manhattan.

Photos of people taking photos are always interesting, especially in this case because you only get a glimpse of what they are looking at. This is a good example of looking for different perspectives, as is the shot below.

Less obvious subject matter can still give a powerful sense of place.

But of course we couldn’t witness one of the great city views and not take a photo.

The “correct” technique for this type of shot would be a to use a high aperture so that everything was sharp, but this was shot at  f5.6 to give some vignetting and draw the eye to the Empire State.

Back to our flat in just in time to watch the sunset from the rooftop. Here a classic Brooklyn water tower fills the foreground but the skyline is unmistakably New York.

- Jess x

Today Jess gives us a lesson in light while traveling through one of the most beautiful parts of the world, New Zealand. Remember that you can buy the brilliant and comprehensive Skip Town Travel Photography Field Guide here – it’s a must for any creative traveler! - Jenny x

One spring afternoon in the New Zealand Alps, as the afternoon sun gave way to evening, we wandered along the lake-side, cameras in hand, and captured the landscape in the changing light.

We started early in the afternoon when the sun was still strong and high, and even though this type of light is generally not very good for landscapes, it sure did emphasise the amazing bright blue colour of Lake Tekapo.

A few hours later, the lower sun illuminated the lupins (they grow everywhere up there!) and we were able to take advantage of some lovely backlighting.

The golden light of early morning and late afternoon can improve just about any photo. Of course, the problem with travel is that you can’t always be at the right place at the right time. But, if you are out and about during the ‘golden hours’, make sure you look around you and see if anything could make a great photo, because sometimes light can be as important as the subject.

Later still, we caught the last remaining pink in the sky.

And finally, flying home, we were treated to rainbow mountains (not natural, sadly!)

- Jess x

Jess continues this weeks Skip Town Travel Photography Guest Blog with a trip to Vietnam! During the visit Jess provides some great examples to help us brush up on the basics of using our cameras. -Jenny x

Today we’re giving a quick overview of the main camera settings that you should know. You’re probably already familiar with terms like ‘aperture’ and ‘shutter speed’, but hopefully this post will be a helpful brush-up.

These photos from a boat-ride in Vietnam illustrate several of the basic techniques that you can use creatively to take unique and professional looking photographs.

The term ‘aperture’ refers to control over how much of the photo is in focus (the ‘depth of field’) through the selection of an f-stop number. A low f-stop provides a shallow depth of field, which looks great for portraits or food photography where you want something to stand out against a blurry background. The beauty of a low f-stop is that more light is let into the camera, allowing you to shoot in near dark without the need for flash.

The two photographs below are good examples of aperture manipulation. The first image (high f-stop) is in focus all the way through to the distance, while the second image (low f-stop) focuses on the boat in the foreground, while the background being very blurry.

Next, as an example of shutter speed, notice that in the image below, the fisherman’s net is frozen in mid-air. Generally, you’ll need around 1/1000th to freeze action.

All of the images in this series were taken using a 50mm f1.4 lens on a Canon 5D MkII. This is a perfect travel lens because it is light, sharp and good in low light. Shooting a series of images with the same lens makes for a more cohesive looking collection, too.

Finally, let’s talk about ISO, which affects the light sensitivity of the camera. The higher you set the ISO, the less ambient light is required for a good exposure.  This is especially good for low light situations, like the beach scene below. The sun was going down and we didn’t have a tripod, so our solution was to increase the ISO so that we could still use a fast enough shutter speed to hand-hold the camera (this generally requires a shutter speed of at least 1/30th of a sec).

So, next time you’re in a low light situation, don’t go straight for the flash – have a go at combining a high ISO with a low aperture instead. However, be aware that a high ISO can cause ‘noise’ which shows up as fine speckles on photos.

- Jess x