Shoot local. Everywhere is photogenic
In this blog I’ll talk about how shooting in your local area can make you a more well-rounded photographer.
Where was your camera in March/April 2020?
Before the pandemic, the camera was only taken to special occasions. To events with family or friends. To your favourite locations at home and abroad. Then, from mid-March 2020, the camera stayed at home, like most of us. It most likely gathered dust due to inactivity.
The only time we used the camera during confinement. Something to remember our day-to-day during those weeks.
Local freedom!
Post lockdown, daily walks for exercise became the routine. In my case, it was the start of taking the camera with me everywhere. Taking more photos than ever before.
As we all got to know our local areas in ways we never imagined before, the camera was used to capture moments and areas we never noticed or appreciated before. Whatever your photographic style before COVID (mainly sports in my case), this was an opportunity to learn and practise new styles and techniques.
pack light: your camera and a water bottle. Do you really need your tripod?
look for a circular route
put on some comfortable shoes
if you’re going alone, find something to listen to. Podcasts made me feel like I had some sort of company
A waterfall 15 mins away from where I live - which I’d never seen or heard of before. Start of the long exposure obsession. Realised I wanted an ND filter to control the highlights.
Mental and physical wellbeing
Daily walks became a way to keep sane and also motivated. Something to look forward to every day. Daily walks = daily motivation. To keep photography going despite limited exploring capacity. The daily walks went from being a breath of fresh air to a carefully planned part of the day.
Things to consider:
Which route to take? Circular route? Greenery or town centre? Flat or hilly?
What time? Golden hour? Harsh sunlight? Nighttime?
What to pack? Your camera, a bottle of water, headphones and a playlist, adequate footwear
First shot with 10 stop ND filter at a roundabout right in front of where I live. Taken at golden hour as I wanted lighttrails in some sort of daylight.
Adapt to your circumstances
Coming from sports photography I was very used to shooting all the action in front of me. A small town in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t going to be full of action. Winter meant less sunlight, lower temperatures and less activity on the streets, but on the other hand more opportunities for night photography. This coincided with the purchase of a new lens. 30mm F1.4, which made shooting at night easier and slightly expanded the possibilities. Shooting with a prime lens for the first time forced me to learn and adapt. To learn new compositions. To adapt to the circumstances and move my body instead of the zoom ring. To become more deliberate with my choices.
The more you get out there, the more opportunities you are giving yourself to take your next best photo. Be at the right place at the right time, right? The shot below was taken at my local park, Parc de l’Agulla. In the carousel below, you’ll see that it’s a very photogenic park, and my own social media feeds were filled with photos of the park.
One afternoon, everything lined up. The colours of the sky, the pack of migrating birds resting at the lake that day, and just happened to fly in formation just as I was walking past. Camera already to hand. I knew I got one of my new favourite shots right there and then, and was buzzing on the walk back home to take a look at it. But nobody else has this photo. Nobody else was at the right place, at the right time.
Use social media to get inspired
Use your time on social media to be inspired by other photographers and apply techniques and styles in your local area. The same way as kids we would watch football on TV and practise the skills or try to recreate our favourite goals on the playground the next morning. Next time you go out, you’ll have an idea to then execute.
search for hashtags for the type of photography you’d like to practise and take a look at the top and recent nine posts.
save the photos in a list or collection for you to refer to later
follow any photographers that you are consistently inspired by
unfollow any accounts that aren’t worth your time whilst you’re at it
First attempt at cinematic photography on a rainy night.
A new take on the same surroundings
Tourist locations have been over photographed. The park down the road has been photographed by almost nobody, and this will make your shots more unique. Shooting locally can give you a new perspective of your town. Just your plain, mundane local neighbourhood and its surroundings. No planning mild adventures a short drive away for the weekend. Your local town the way it is. No frills.
Normally overlooked places can be photographed. Streets walked down hundreds of times without ever considering photo potential. Once you start shooting you will start to see compositions that others are missing. You’ll soon realise that local subjects can be just as fascinating as the tourist hotspots. You’ll be transforming everyday views into interesting photos.
Everywhere is photogenic
You will look at landscapes differently once you can move around again. Going to a favourite place or ticking off a location from the bucket list will be very different now. In my case, going back to London will be different. I can’t wait to photography little old Colindale. It’s oddly exciting.
This process may even help you to accept the limitations caused by Covid-19 and make the most of them. Everywhere is photogenic if you look hard enough. I’ve probably enjoyed photography more since March 2020 than all of the previous years before it. Shooting with whatever I have to hand, even with the mobile phone.
Taken on my mobile phone (Google Pixel XL2) one rainy Saturday afternoon on an emergency run to the shops for chocolate.
Practise local before going global
So why did I bother with this blog (my first ever blog entry). For those of you who have read up until here, to tell you that it’s not too late to start. At time of writing, the pandemic is far from over. So you still have time. You can start right now with whatever camera you have. If not right now, then whenever it is safe to do so in your area, but start soon!
Let your local area be your training ground. Be the photographer you want to be before going to your favourite places. You’ll enjoy the process and the end result a lot more. Why wait until you get there to practise?
Your local area is accessible. Use your locality to your advantage and your future images will benefit from it.
Was this blog helpful? Did you take anything away from this? Take a look at how my photography has evolved on my Instagram. Write me a DM and let me know your thoughts.
