Travel Photography How To

Somewhere along the line in a pro photographer’s career, or amid an enthusiast’s pursuit of picture making, you achieve a balance between geared up and weighed down when it comes to lens choices. You want versatility, but you also want to be mobile, even comfortable.

Mandy Lea is an American freelance photographer with a love of the great outdoors. She’s also a nomad of sorts, living and traveling in a stylish teardrop trailer as she searches for the majestic sights our country has to offer.

The September 25, 2016, issue of The New York Times Magazine was titled "The Voyages" Issue, and it featured an impressive collection of images. In the introduction to the issue, the writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus talks about the idea of the image as document or experience: this is what a place looks like as opposed to this is what it feels like to be there. He notes the cliché of “the traveler so busy with documentation that he misses out on some phantom called the ‘experience itself.’”

French photographer Aurelien Buttin has traveled the world, from Europe and Asia to the ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. He recently made a road trip across California with some friends, and did some really nice photography along the way.

About five years ago, travel photographer Jack Hollingsworth was on a resort shoot in the Caribbean. There’d be stills and video, lots of locations, and the client keeping an eye on everything. Nine cases of gear loaded on the plane.

Nighttime is often the right time for making dramatic images, especially if you know how to utilize long exposures to your advantage. And if you need some inspiration to give this technique a try, feast your eyes on these gorgeous shots from a British travel photographer.

The annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta offers one of the more extraordinary photo opportunities anywhere, and if you need a reason to attend this year’s event just watch the incredible time lapse below. The 2016 Festival runs from October 1-9, so you have plenty of time to plan a trip.