Photography

Crossing the street in Hanoi can be a life-altering experience. With no traffic lights or crosswalks and all manner of vehicles — mopeds, bicycles, motorcycles, pedicabs, cars — converging in total chaos...

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They’re called smartphones for good reason

(First of two parts)

We joined six amateur and two professional photographers for the “Amazing Myanmar” tour offered by Jim Cline Photo Tours (San Diego, CA; 877/350-1314, www.jimclinephoto tours.com) in September 2015. This 15-day tour was led by humanitarian photojournalist Karl Grobl, the company’s cofounder, with the assistance of local guide MM of Santa Maria Travels & Tours.

Pre-trip preparations

Mark Varnau of Indianapolis, Indiana, wrote (April ’16, pg. 47), “What do others do with their old trip negatives and unused pictures? Are any groups interested in having them? Or should my wife and I just grit our teeth and toss them?” 

Several subscribers wrote to Mark and gave permission for ITN to share their advice. In addition to one letter sent in response to another subscriber’s related advice, the following are excerpts of what they wrote.

My wife and I were on the tour “Christmas Markets along the Elbe River,” traveling in Germany with Grand Circle Travel (Boston, MA; www.gct.com), when we stayed at the Maritim Hotel Berlin, Dec. 14-17, 2015.

Soon after our group checked out of the hotel, I realized I had left a small green bag containing a camera, a spare battery, a charger and a new memory card on a ledge above the bed in our room. I advised our trip leader, Maggie Polus, who promptly called the hotel from Potsdam.

As a nonagenarian, here is my advice to photographers.

Edit your collection while your eyes are still good and before your equipment and software go out of date. Put the photos on the most modern medium.

I waited too long to organize my photographs. The dates have faded beyond recognition, and I can’t read my own writing on the file guides.

I have glaucoma and AMD [Age-related Macular Degeneration]. While magnifiers compensate for poor acuity, nothing can be done about poor contrast sensitivity and I miss the shades that distinguish features; things go gray.

8-day, 7-night, small-group (3-6 people) photo workshop, May 16-23, June 28-July 3 & Oct. 16-23, 2016. (“Should have a good level of fitness.”) Highlights: In Ljubljana, Baroque churches, Ljubljana Castle/sunrise shoot at Lake Bled/Bled Castle/Vintgar Gorge, Lake Bohinj/WWI remnants along trail in Triglav National Park. Land, from €1,850 (near $2,064) ppdo. Single supp., €250 ($279). Luka Esenko Photography (Ljubljana, Slovenia; phone +386 41 561 020, http://lukaesenko.com).