Great Escape Publishing

Posted May 24th, 2015 by Bonnie Caton & filed under Travel Photography.

Jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, uplifting, spiritual, simply amazing… I’m out of superlatives to describe today. We were up by 4:30am… on the bus by 5:30am… and waiting at the gate by sunrise. Though we ALL had to take a few breaks and lean on each other while climbing up the hillside… the view of Machu Picchu when the sun first spilled into the valley was so worth it. Two travel photography tips for taking magazine-quality shots of world landmarks:

If you can go to a location twice when you travel, do it. I’m sure glad we did, because our first day was cloudy with flat light.
Get yourself out of bed early. Catch the first light of the morning. It’s a little painful leaving the hotel when it’s still dark out, but your photos will look 300 times better. You’ll thank me later.

It’s our last day here and we all feel incredibly lucky. We packed so much into the week. Peruvian chocolate… markets… weavers… craftspeople… ancient Incan ruins… lessons with top photographer Efrain Padro on taking better photos AND selling them… and one of the most impressive landmarks in the world. What a life this is. Though our week is ending, it’s just the beginning for attendees. They’ll leave Peru with all the tips, tricks, and knowledge of what it takes to create a saleable travel photograph. There’s nothing like seeing a destination with like-minded people who you enjoy being around. People who don’t mind if you stop to take photos… because they’re stopping, too. And this is probably why so many people travel with us again and again. They keep coming back for more tours because they like the people we attract… the instructors we hire… the unique insider experiences we find together… and they like traveling with a purpose. (And heck, it’s also nice to be on a first-name basis with experts like these who genuinely care whether or not we succeed and are around to help answer our questions and push us forward on this journey toward pro photographer.) If you’ve traveled with us before, you know our expeditions are far above and beyond a generic travel tour or workshop you might find elsewhere. Share on Facebook