Skipping the Tourist Cliché

I have been lucky enough to travel the world and photograph places I never even knew existed. Having this opportunity also means that I have trained my eye to find abnormal ways to capture the world's most photographed tourist attractions. However, sometimes you have to fall into the trap. Can someone travel to Paris and NOT photograph the Eiffel Tower? The answer is probably yes, yet I have traveled to Paris twice and must snap an obligatory Eiffel Tower picture. The monument itself is one of the most photographed structures in the world, so being able to alter angles and lighting in order to achieve a unique shot is imperative.

My first photograph was taken in 2015 on a family cruise which offered Paris as an excursion. This trip was my first with a real camera and the start of my interest in capturing quality photographs. I took the picture from an upward angle and captured lens flare. As tourist photos go, this was a more creative version yet still similar to many of the photos you might see if you were to Google #eiffeltower. The second photograph of the Eiffel Tower was taken in 2019 on a university trip to Paris while I was studying abroad. Playing with the shutter speed, aperture and light, I waited in increments of 10 minutes in order to capture the tower during the "twinkling light show". Since I was not using a tripod, my slight movements created blurring within the lights but also added to the character of the photograph. Experimenting with light and shutter speed is one of my favorite ways to create a unique photo. Although it is not an exact science, it is a system of trial and error that will lead to a unique shot every-time. The use of editing software in post production will also take your photographs from touristy to pro by retouching and color

correcting images.

Pro photographer, Peter McKinnon creates #youtube videos in which he explains tips and tricks in order to become a better photographer. His "Tourist vs Pro Photographer" video follows his trip to San Francisco in which he documents his process in order to achieve multiple shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. The video and his point of view are extremely insightful and show how angles and locations within photography can make or break a shot.

Photography is the ability to show others the world through your eyes. By taking advantage of unique light and angles, your photograph will tell a deeper story and evoke emotion. As people, we find beauty and interest in things that often cannot be translated into a digital medium. Many of my shots do not do justice to the landscape or object in which I was photographing. However, by changing my position while taking the photo and then editing afterwards, I am able to create an image which I am proud of. My favorite photographs evoke the same emotion I was feeling during the moment I took the picture and are the closest to what I was seeing with my own eyes. Travel photography, in particular, is my own personal portfolio and album of my life events. By taking photographs which are outside the norm, I allow myself to push my creativity and have the opportunity to come back years later to take the same photo in different ways. The Eiffel Tower photos are one of my best examples of a tourist monument which I have photographed on multiple occasions. They show my personal growth over the past four years and my ability to create new photos which I am proud of.