A Sense of Place

Not everything has to be sharp, you know.

Looking through my photos from past trips to Chicago, I came across this one from 2014:

This photo reminds me of an important axiom in travel photography, which is to establish a sense of place. Take one look at this photo, and you’ll immediately know where I was. Locals probably know the street, but even then you still can tell it’s from Chicago. The iconic marquee of the Chicago Theatre is an unmistakable city landmark. But while this is a photo of Chicago, it’s not a photo of the Chicago Theater in the traditional sense. Instead, I chose to focus on the display of lights from across the street and I chose a telephoto lens for the shot. The result was an image with a blurred background, but you can still make out the sign.

Establishing a sense of place is important for travel photography, but it doesn’t have to mean getting everything sharp from front to back. When there’s a recognizable landmark in the photo, it can still provide context even if it’s not the main focal point of the image. This is true no matter where you might be traveling, and can help with shots that might otherwise look like snapshots, or cliché compositions. Stop and look for those little scenes that you can add to your gallery; scenes that convey the sense of place without being overly straightforward about it.