Photos are in your everyday experience, so you might as well look through your lens. One part is finding your location. Here are five great options:
1. Rural Areas/Smaller Towns
The benefit of a rural area is its isolation. There aren’t many people so you can take however long you need to get the photo just right. Also, this type of area is not very popular for photography so the possibility of getting a unique shot is high. It is interesting to explore these areas and see what you can find. When taking your photos, there are a couple of things you have to be careful of. Watch out for posted signs and the people living in the area. Make sure to be respectful of their privacy. Two options in our community are Mansfield and the countryside in Mahomet.
2. Lake of the Woods- Buffalo Trace, Mahomet
This is a great place to get nature shots, plus it is a beautiful spot. You can practice camera adjustment with the various trails and environments presented. There is shade, sun, prairie and forest. The rolling hills and low trails give many opportunities to practice how perspective influences the emotion of the photo. Usually, the park is mostly empty, so you will have plenty of time to experiment and adjust to get the perfect shot. The park is big, so if you are looking to take a lot of shots, prepare for a hike!
3. Downtown Champaign/Campus
The main thing with these areas is that usually, a lot of people are in these areas; this gives plenty of opportunities to practice telling a story with your camera of people interacting with the environment. Another benefit about these areas is that there are varying types of architecture, AKA different vantage points. For a high vantage point (bird’s eye view), a parking garage is a great option. Then, for a lower vantage point, maybe even a worm-eye view, there is the street level. The first photo was taken from a parking garage near the Virginia Theater in downtown Champaign. The second was taken from street level on campus.
4. Parades and Protests
What is the most difficult when getting into photography is finding opportunities to take pictures of people in action. Fortunately, protests and parades are excellent opportunities for that. It is somewhat common knowledge that the participants are subject to be photographed. The Labor Day parade in downtown Champaign is a great parade to attend. These events are also good for another reason; they are places to practice telling a story through the medium of photography. They are places where people are in action and are showing emotions due to a specific subject/event. The first example is from the Labor Day parade, where people are celebrating and showing support. The second is from a protest in Mahomet where teachers were fed up with their contracts, and a meeting between the school board and the teachers was being held in this tiny room. Some were not allowed into this room, so they got even more frustrated and went outside to look through the windows.
5. Night Photos/Your Neighborhood At Night
When you’re starting photography, taking pictures at night presents a whole new challenge. Learning how to adjust the camera in order to compensate for the lack of lighting as well as the mix of lighting from the traffic and streetlights, is something that only comes with practice. Practicing anywhere at night is good. However, because it is a whole new challenge, starting to practice in your neighborhood or a familiar area would be the best. Of course, make sure to be safe and to be aware of your surroundings. On that note, a very good ability to practice is while you are looking through the viewfinder of the camera with one eye, practice keeping the other eye open to monitor your surroundings. The first picture is from a familiar neighborhood at the start of practicing. The second is from an unfamiliar neighborhood after practicing more often.
Photography is a very hard art to master, getting into it and understanding your specific camera is the hardest part of getting great photos. However, we all know practice will only help, so grab your camera and get out to start exploring your community.
