How do you handle photographing at a popular place with a bunch of other photographers?
I really don’t find myself shoulder to shoulder with other photographers all the much. I’m usually out and about on back-roads in Vermont or New Hampshire or stopping to photograph things that no one else might notice or even want to photograph.
In other words, I’m not standing on “Kodak Moment” spots. And even the places that I’ve heard stories about being crowded with other photographers, I haven’t seen any the times I’ve been there.
Take Jenne Farm in Vermont for example. It is suppose to be one of the most photographed farms in the world. I’ve seen photos of photographers lined up with their tripods jockeying for space. But I’ve been there a dozen times and haven’t seen anyone else around. I have seen the donation box though. Tips for the farm. So there must be a lot of photographers there sometimes.
Another place I see a lot of photographers are in the national parks. Yellowstone National Park in particular always seems to have a lot of photographers and a lot of photographers with lots of expensive gear. I suppose it is for the wildlife – huge bazooka lenses. I even saw this one guy with a whole “uniform”. From head to toe his outfit said to the world “whoa this guy is a serious photographer” – all tan clothing, photo vest, hat and even a special glove to dampen vibration to his three foot long white lens.
This summer at one of the popular look outs at Bryce Canyon National Park there were tons of photographers, but not so many at sunrise of course. 5:30 wake-up calls tend to weed out the herd a bit.
My advice for these crowded situations is to take the shot but look around. Look where the crowd isn’t looking. Take a short hike away from the “official” platform and see what else you can find. Don’t be an idiot and climb over barriers just to look straight down and say “golly gee it really is far down there”. No one wants those shots any way and why risk your life for a photograph? Especially for something dumb like slipping into a canyon.
One thing I can say is more annoying then a bus load of tourists who are dropped off right at your spot — or the random tourist walking in front of your camera at the peak of sunset — is the gadget camera guy coming up to you to “talk cameras” when you are trying to get a shot. I’d rather stand next to 20 silent photographers than one chatty guy who wants to talk about the latest gear.