Travel blogging and the importance of detail

Whenever I’m commissioning a writer in my day job as editor of a travel magazine I always ask them if they can get ‘detail shots’ from wherever they’re going; anyone can take photos of famous landmarks and of course it’s fun to try and get your own, unique view of the Trevi Fountain or the Eiffel Tower. But detail shots – an unusual aspect of a building, something you ate or drank, a local person in a ‘caught moment’, a stunning wall tile or door or decoration – can really elevate a layout and help the reader feel as though they’ve been taken on a journey to the destination.

It’s the same with travel blogging, and it’s something I try to do whenever I’m visiting somewhere, as with this post on St Petersburg, this one on Athens and this one on Barcelona. It’s about looking for something a bit different that captures the essence of a place, without necessarily showing the obvious, and what it forces you to do is to look – really look – at what’s around you. And if you are taking a photo of a really well-known landmark, try to get an unusual angle.

 

 

 

I took this photo of the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the Disney Cruise last summer, and it’s still one of my favourites; not just because it was so clean and sparkly (there isn’t a filter on this photo, and the sky really looked that blue) but because it shows the detail of the stonework.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and this one, taken inside a temple in Ho Chi Minh City, does I think help conjure up the atmosphere inside, where it’s very quiet and the air is filled with the sweet scent of the burning incense.

*This is my entry to the Gallery and the theme this week is ‘detail’.