Warm and welcoming in summer months, seaside in low season is a perfect place for travel and landscape photographers. Subdued colours, fantastic views and barely anyone around - isn't it a true paradise for thoughtful landscape hunters? Armed not only with their trusty camera, but also with good walking shoes and jackets, they head out in search of wintry beauty of nature...

In the previous article we discussed various composition rules and ideas to help you gain more confidence in photography. Knowing how to use the many technical features of a camera is one thing, developing your photographer's eye to actually recognize a good composition is another, and dare I say, is more important. Since there are more ways of composing a stronger image than fits in one article, here are some more ideas for a good starting point in your photographic explorations.

One of the first things a photographer learns is how to create sharp images. In fact, the vast majority of photographs that are exhibited for public view are sharp and in focus. Tripods, fast lenses, Vibration Reduction and Image Stabilisation technologies - all is meant to get maximum sharpness, and for a good reason. Does that mean, however, that if an image is not razor sharp, it is meant to be deleted? In other words, can a photograph with soft focus or some blur be interesting and worth keeping? The answer is yes! Let's have a closer look at some examples...

Paris is widely known as a multicultural city. Traditions and celebrations of various ethnic communities that have long become a part of Parisian life make locals and visitors feel like they are traveling without even leaving the city. Of course, such festivals and celebrations are a great way to practice street and travel photography, and capture some vibrant images! One of the most popular annual events is Chinese New Year, celebrated in February, and this year I decided to experience it through my camera lens. Dragons, Chinese Lanterns, dancing lions, firecrackers, illuminated lanterns... let the celebrations begin!

While the Seine river separates the left bank from the right bank of Paris, multiple bridges link the two parts of the city and provide a great subject for photographic exploration. There are 37 bridges within the city of Paris, 4 of which are pedestrian, and some others are rail bridges. Remember that often the best spot to capture a beautiful bridge is from a bridge next to it, so get your maps ready!

While in Paris, if you get tired of the hustle and bustle of the city or the crowds of tourists around the Eiffel tower, take a deep breath (and a few photos, of course) in one of the Parisian gardens. This city is definitely proud of its green spaces: from the posh Luxembourg Gardens to modern Parc de la Villette, from extensive Bois de Boulogne to the green path of La Coulée Verte, it offers a great choice of retreats not only for lungs, but also for photographers' eyes.

The Centre George Pompidou, also known by the locals as Beaubourg, is a complex and colourful building between Le Marais area and Les Halles. Besides housing the largest modern art museum in Europe, a vast public library, a center for music and acoustic research IRCAM, this 7 level high-tech structure also offers great views over the central part of the city of Paris.

Have you ever asked yourself what makes a travel photo stunning? Everyone has their own reaction and sense of aesthetics, however several key ingredients need to come together to create a great image: interesting subject, emotional impact, correctly selected camera settings and strong composition. Speaking of the latter, there is no single way to compose an image. Depending on your subject and the story you want to tell, different composition rules may be applied. Of course, rules are also meant to be broken. Here, we offer a variety of ideas for composing well-balanced images with more impact, and in a future post we will talk about breaking all the rules.

Many photographers have heard about the concept of Depth of Field (or DOF). Some only have a vague idea of what it means while others have a good grasp for it but still struggle to put it in practice. Understanding depth of field is fundamental for any photographer, travel photographers included, because it provides control over the resulting look of the image. So if you are ready to enhance your travel images and make the most use of the opportunities that come your way, it’s time to master the depth of field in your photography...

A dusty DSLR camera sensor is one of the worst photographer’s enemies. If you have ever spent time cloning out those endless ‘dust bunnies’ from a sunset sky on ten photos in a row, then you know what I mean. Dust gets inside the camera every time you switch lenses, or simply use your zoom as particles get sucked in the lens and finally end up on the camera sensor. All photographers face this issue, let alone travel photographers who spend most of the time outdoors. Knowing how to clean your camera’s sensor is something important that deserves special attention...

When I think about photographing London from the top, The Shard and the London Eye come to my mind first. These famous landmarks offer magnificent bird's eye views over the British capital if you don’t mind paying the ticket entrance, patiently wait in line for your turn to have a good look and a chance to take your own photos of the vista. However, there are a few other spots in the city that offer interesting vantage points to photograph London from the top with surprising panoramas. The good news is that they are all quite close to each other and yet offer different views...

While taking photos, have you ever asked yourself or a fellow photographer whether your image is bright enough or dark enough? How can one know if the image is correctly exposed? How not to overdo it in post-processing? The answers to all these questions hide in a little graph called the Histogram, which is a valuable tool for any photographer. If you still feel a little intimidated by it, continue reading and we will shed some light on this mysterious yet easy to use tool for photographers...