I’m wrapping up my time in Portugal. I’ve got one more full day here in Nazaré, then a final night in Lisbon before heading home. It somehow feels like I’ve been away for a month, in the best way. It’s been an incredible trip, but I’m ready to reset and settle back into home life.

As photographers, our cameras are usually not far away when we travel. They are in the camera bag and ready to go, or we can explore the city streets with the camera in hand. Travel photography is a fantastic combination of two things I love: travelling and taking photos. Once I have booked that next trip and the itinerary is ready, I can't help but get excited.

“You must be excited about your trip; it’s coming soon!” Next week, I’ll be on my way to Spain! And yes, I’m excited! I didn’t think that hit me until this past weekend. I partially believe this has crept up quietly because the weather has been unpleasant here. I thought it would be beautiful, sunny in June, and…well, summer. It isn’t. It isn’t at all! When I booked this trip in January, I felt it was so far away, and really, it was.

I discuss travel and travel photography quite a bit on this blog. I’m thinking about where to travel next, discussing details around what I already have booked, or discussing travel I recently returned from. Travel has become a big part of my life, and my satisfaction from doing so is unmatched. When I combine that with my love and passion for photography, they are incredibly fulfilling.

Reflecting on my travels, I’ve learned to adapt better to each new adventure. With each flight and each train ride, I discover more about how to make the most of my time and worry less about how to do so. Travelling for just a few days often brings common challenges, but it is possible to enjoy a destination in a limited time fully.

In September, I spent nearly two weeks photographing beautiful Italy. While there, I used two film recipes, one for Matera and one for Florence. I wanted to separate the two locations, creating a different feel while still maintaining my style of photography. With Fujifilm, there are many choices when it comes to shooting modes.

With some additional free time this month, I have been planning a solo trip these past weeks. When looking at how I could use this time, there were many destinations I was considering. Using Google Docs, I was working on multiple itineraries and flights to consider. What would be the best option?

It was May of 2019, and Lisa and I were assembling an itinerary for our upcoming Scotland trip the following May. We would land in Edinburgh and extensively tour Scotland, looping through many country areas. There were dozens of points on our custom Google Map of places we would visit. We booked our flights and waited until we would touch down in Scotland for the first time.

I was looking through my photo archives from 2023 and realized I had a great travel year. London, New York, Mexico, Chicago, and South Africa. I’m more than happy with the opportunities I had last year and the content I produced from those destinations. London was an entire week, New York was three days, and Chicago was only one day to shoot.

Flying out of Halifax across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe can be inconvenient for people who are unaware, and desperately so if doing it during the winter months. Leaving Halifax, we often need to travel west for a connecting flight to fly east to our final destination. That adds a significant amount of time to the total flight time. That may include flying from Halifax to Toronto, Montreal, or sometimes Newark, but all those connections easily add four to five hours of flight time.

I’ve travelled far from home many times and had great experiences, capturing many photos I adore today. However, there have been destinations I have travelled to where I did not get any photos that I considered very good or ones worth sharing. Some steps can be taken to get the best out of travel and what photos we come home with, and this post will look at five tips that can help you capture better travel photos.

Travelling can be a wonderful experience, but it’s not without challenges. Among the worst aspects of today’s travel are the inevitable flight delays or cancellations, lost luggage, jet lag, navigating unfamiliar airports, and crowds of people, mostly rushed, tired, and irritable. Those challenges can be stressful, with significant travel time and numerous connecting flights or long layovers.