Your in a strange country......

Hello again,

 

You save up and go to a country you have always wanted to go to. You know very

little and only know what you have seen on travel shows and seen in travel

pictures.

 

You have a time limit of 3 days max in each place you want to see which are

iconic to that country, it is all self drive and a map and partner are your

only contact unless you stop for petrol or accomadation.

 

What do you use to find more of what you are looking for in order to shoot as

much as you can of the things you would love to see and experience? Lets limit

it to wildlife and landscape for this example?

A Lonely Planet book, (even if they aren't what they use to be), and going to the tourist information center, prior to anything else as soon as you arrive.

I would consult internet memoirs ahead of time, and I would make it a point to consult as

many locals in petrol stations as possible.

In Europe, I would take the Michelin Green guides with me. I would also go to a library or large bookshop and see what else is available.

 

But what would be of even more use, would be spending time doing research before hand and really getting a handle on the places you are going.

 

Although seeing iconic sites is a perfectly reasonable aspiration, you stand to miss an awful lot that can be a lot better. If you came to the UK and only saw central London you would have missed out on soooo much. Similarly if you went to Venice and saw only St Mark's Square, you would miss out.

 

But the bottom line is do your research in advance.

 

My 2p

 

P

Check Google Earth to see others' photos of the area and assess whether there's something

there you want to shoot.

Get a good pair of walking shoes, some large scale walking maps and leave the car behind...and spend some time mourning the death of the apostrophe.

Contact the Embassy/Consulate (in your country) of the country you plan to visit in good

time before the trip and ask for as much tourism and travel info they can offer. Mention if

you have any specific interests. You can also contact the Embassy of your country located

in the country you're visiting and ask got any information they can assist with. Most

European country have some sort of nationwide travel and tourism office/department that

also can be a great resource.

 

Embassies and Consulates are a great - often overlooked) resource that can be of

wonderfully useful help and advice when needed.

 

Also, check the Travel forum on this site and ask if there are fellow P-netters that live in,

or have recently visited, the country you'll be traveling to.

 

I fully agree with what Peter Meade is saying bout doing research up front. Make sure the

books/websites you go through aren't outdated.

 

Hope that helps.

Frommer's "Europe on $5 Day"? Well, that was a while ago.

Agree with everyone, research is everything. For what you have suggested, Google Earth is a

great tool. You can actually see the countryside as you move through it, get a sense of what

you will experience. I am planning a trip to the Pyrenees for this fall and we use it every day.

For our uses, we actually plot the individual places, and then paste in information on the

specifics of the site, so we have a GE library. That can even be printed out.

Walk Walk and Walk. Go to markets, alleys and NON-tourist traps.

DON'T FOLLOW A GUIDE BOOK WORD BY WORD. Is it your trip or the guide book's?

[[and spend some time mourning the death of the apostrophe.]]

 

Ha!

 

[[You save up and go to a country you have always wanted to go to. You know very little and only know what you have seen on travel shows and seen in travel pictures]]

 

What photographer saves up for a trip and doesn't know anything about the place they're going? I find the premise dubious.

 

However, if you're already in-country then you use local resources, of course. You talk to your guest house owners and your friendly waiter. You visit the tourist info stands to get leads on who to talk to next about your particular subject requirements.

Internet and travell posts will help a lot. Detailed research, months before the travel is better.

Nowadays, I check travel posts even for a local trip. Single hit in google, results tonns of pages.

I don't believe that the apostrophe was allowed an assisted passage to down under Michael L., I usually look in the local shops at the postcards and find the local beauty spots that way.

1) Internet sites that are specific to what I like to do, such as photo.net for photography -- to get a photog's insights into what may be worth capturing.

 

2) Intenet travel sites that highlight the places I want to visit

 

3) Internet travel blogs to discuss the day-to-day logistics.

 

4) A copy of DK's Eyewitness Guide (so far, one of the best guides I've seen for photographers, since it includes a bunch of pictures).

I find that asking for photographic advice from anyone other than another photographer is mostly a waste of time. Ask the locals for recommendations about back roads and drivers, but not about photography. Go to those "iconic" areas, but arrange for your own transportation at that point. Make sure you can stop and explore anywhere you want. Make sure that you can spend the time you want. How many times have we all been chased away from the beautiful evening light because everyone else wants to go eat?

 

Get away from the tourists, take your time, trust your own eyes. Indulge.

David, what country are you visiting? If England or Wales or Scotland, I can suggest some places to visit.

I'd ask on here, I would troll the internet looking for information on the country/region I would be going to, I would look at Eyewitness travel guides for the area (the background information is nice and the illustrations can be quite handy) and maybe try out a lonely planet guide to the region. I would also try to pick the brain of anyone I knew who had gone to the location before.

 

And since I travel with my wife except for business I would probably also consider asking her where she might be interested in going. That is if I don't want her to leave me behind :D

Agree, research, research and then some more research. And why not specifying? If you came to Holland for instance I would be happy to show you and I guess there are enough people here who would do the same. Nothing to lose, is there?

Hi all, sorry for the delay I had to sleep then work, what a pain.

Unfortunately I am not travelling, we did that over a year ago for the first time in 6 years. It will probably be another 6 before we do it again.

 

I was just asking to see how everyone else goes about it and maybe get some funny stories on how you went about it.

 

When Di and I did go we did all of the above, but once there we used photo books that are available in the gift shops, postcards were really handy to check and ask where that is, and looking where the buses were heading and going when they did not and driving a lot slower. Also we looked for people with bigger gear than us and spoke to them.

Many times we looked at a map and went totally off the highway as long as it eventually joined up again, it was much quieter that way.

I work with the locals, so I ask them, except in Qatar, where the locals don't work, and there isn't anything to see except rocky desert.

Hi Ton,

 

I must apolagise to you I keep writing Tom, sorry I should wear my glasses more often!

David, please don't apologise. You're no the only one and I don't care that much.