Haven’t I seen this place before? Tips for taking photos of iconic images

St Peter's Basilica, Rome. (Richard I'Anson)

By Richard I’Anson

One of the great challenges for the travel photographer is to capture images that in a single frame encapsulate a distinguishing feature of the country they’re visiting. Every country has natural landforms, buildings and monuments on its ‘must-see’ list.

The Pyramids, Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, Eiffel Tower, Uluru, Great Wall, Grand Canyon, Taj Mahal…places whose image is already deeply etched in our mind’s eye well before we stand before them ourselves.

These places are photographed millions of times a year by visitors from all over the globe and feature in books, magazines and brochures, on websites, postcards, tea towels, cups and place mats. So even people who haven’t been there or aren’t known to care much about image content will have high expectations as to how pictures of these places should look.

Famous places always deserve more than one visit. On your fi rst visit you’ll probably be inclined to blaze away at the subject from all angles. A second visit can be approached more calmly and deliberately.

A review of published material such as postcards and souvenir books after your first visit will make a lot more sense.

You’ll know where things are and where the light will be and what time you need to be there.

New and interesting pictures are possible; you’ll just have to work a bit harder to acquire them. Set yourself the triple task of taking a classic view of the subject that is as good as or better than the published images, then look for a different view from those you’ve seen before, and, finally, get close and fill the frame with a detail view to create an abstract, but recognisable, image.

Beyond the famous sights you can achieve a similar outcome by focusing on other unique elements of a country’s culture and environment: traditional dress, foods, festivals, sports, souvenirs, art and craft, and wildlife – all present opportunities for capturing iconic images.

I wanted to photograph Peru’s iconic site, the ruined city of Machu Picchu, without the people that swarm over the ruins on most days. Plus, I wanted to catch the early morning light as it rose above the surrounding mountains. It looks fairly straightforward but to get to the ruins two hours before they opened some effort was required. The solution came in the form of hitching a ride with the workers, organised the night before. 35mm SLR, 35mm lens, 1/15 f11, Kodachrome 25, polarising filter, tripod

This photograph clearly says Peru, or even South America. It’s fun to look beyond the famous places for subject matter that clearly represents a country, or even a continent, in a much more graphic and unique way. 35mm SLR, 100mm lens, 1/125 f5.6, Kodachrome 64

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