Photography has always been a sensitive issue for me. I love looking at photographs though I shy away from being photographed and I never travel with a camera. For me, the action of taking a photograph can often disrupt the moment. But, of course, photographs document where you’ve been, what you’ve seen and the people you’ve met, preserving it all for you and yours. I think it’s a personality thing – some folks can use a camera and blend into the moment, capturing amazing images. I am not one of those people.

But I do envy photographers that have been able to make a living of traveling the world shooting people and places. Robert Caplin is one such photographer and the Frugal Traveler (someone else with an enviable job) recently interviewed him. Caplin discusses the pros and cons of expensive versus inexpensive camera equipment. He also provides some neat tricks for shooting with iPhones and controlling the harsh flash of point-shoot cameras: “[My] iPhone’s camera sees the street as much darker, it overexposes the street, and then the sky blows out. So what you can do is point the camera at the sky real quick, then bring it down and take a picture immediately, before it has the chance to adjust its exposure”; “[t]here’s the beer bottle technique. You put your empty beer bottle up to your flash and shoot, and what it’ll do is, depending on the color of your beer bottle, is create an interesting color of light.”

What are your thoughts about shooting photographs while traveling? Is the camera a priority or a hindrance? Post your thoughts here. Or maybe you want to share some of your photographs on the Adventure Center Facebook page? You can also share photographs and tales at forthcoming Adventure Travel Meet-Ups, with one on October 25 in the Bay Area and one on November 10 in New York City.

Say Cheese!