About the book

My goal with writing this book (On Travel Photography - 101 Tips for Developing Your Photographic Eye & More) was to provide easily accessible information about how to improve one's travel photography, whether venturing around the world, or around the corner.  It's not meant to be a text book, and certainly not technical in nature, just a collection of good, solid hints and tips, many with representative images and interesting quotes, so that the reader can recognize and capture more and better photo opportunities and so return from a trip with better photographs.

Many Curves - I made this image near Portillo, Chile, just over the Argentinian border, as we drove from Mendoza, Argentina's wine region, to Santiago.  When we came upon this scene I asked the driver to pull over so that I could attempt to capture this extremely interesting landscape.  It's my understanding that there are 28 switchbacks on this road, but I could only count about 17 in this image, so there are still quite a few behind me.  I like the way the bus adds a sense of scale and what I like to call a "human touch," to the image, as well.

Quite the View - shot at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, Utah.  Here, a good friend of mine and I had this whole scene to ourselves one morning in late October, and as I was shooting away, I pulled back from the camera's viewfinder only to see him up on the arch looking down almost 1,000 feet to the canyon floor below.  I caught my breath, as if I was on the arch (I'm deathly afraid of heights), and had just a few seconds to capture a number of quick shots, using his figure to provide a sense of scale and add a human touch to the scene.

Island Church - this image was made in Lake Bled, Slovenia.  I made it when I walked all around Lake Bled, in about 3 hours, and was able to capture this wonderful subject from a variety of angles, with different backgrounds and foregrounds and in changing light.  I always say "Get Around" your subject, and this one allowed me to do just that.

About Ralph Velasco

From his base in Southern California, professional photographer and author Ralph Velasco teaches and speaks at a variety of institutions including the University of California Irvine Extension, the Irvine Fine Arts Center, Saddleback College and Santa Ana College, as well as the Orange County Fair, Distant Lands Travel Store and various camera clubs and Meetup groups, among others. Mr. Velasco leads a variety of photography tours to interesting places around the world, including Eastern Europe, Egypt, San Francisco and Chicago. Recently named Open Photographer of the Year 2009 by the Professional Photographers of Orange County, Velasco has developed several distinct businesses around photography: http://www.RalphVelasco.com http://www.Twitter.com/ralphvelasco http://www.OnTravelPhotography.com http://www.Facebook.com/ralphvelasco

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The first two photographs are from a work in progress titled Abandonment which was initiated in late 2007.  This work is intimately intertwined with a sister work titled The Fall of Farmers and Mechanics.  The work examines abandonment.  What is abandonment, beyond the obvious?  How does it affect us both directly and indirectly?  How in a way, it ties us all together in one continuum, like a cosmic thread.





The second set of four photographs is from a new work initiated in early 2009 tentatively titled In the Blink of An Eye.  It was initiated to address the question of contrast and how photographers interpret contrast.  Contrast in my mind can be interpreted in two different ways.  The first, technically, via high dynamic range for example.  The second via a combination of subject matter and perspective.  The project I initiated consists of a series of diptychs with an image of a typical everyday scene as one would observe in this part of the world and what could result from intentional or unintentional actions.




About Marko Susla
Marko Susla was born (1959) and raised in Connecticut, USA.  For his eight grade graduation trip into Manhattan, his father placed a Leica 35mm in his hands and a roll of black and white film showing him how to use it.  From here the interest in photography grew.  Marko was classically trained as a scientist obtaining a B.S. from the University of Bridgeport followed by six years of post graduate studies at Wesleyan University.  On entering graduate school, a professor asked him if he was a frustrated artist, continuing that this was a personality trait of those doing research in his field.  Working with spatial concepts, the rules of assembly, symmetry, asymmetry, learning how to look at things, to see things, graphic presentation of data, finding art and beauty from a perspective different form other fields of study, science was a natural conduit into photography.  A camera was a natural extension of using scientific instrumentation, that is how to make a piece of equipment work to achieve the desired results.  Also, how to visually present data capturing the desired elements.  Experimentation.  Marko’s current interests are disparate, including the beauty of scenic and landscape photography, editorial photography, and the dark side of documenting abandoned structures and places.  Perhaps this is a balance?

Marko Susla has been published in Supermassiveblackholemag (Issue #4)
and a print is going to an exhibit at The Center of Fine Art Photography.
Marko Susla website is http://susla.photoshelter.com/


Still time to send your submission
We have already mailed one print to Marko Susla
Who will be next – you will have to wait for one or two weeks!
It is still time to send in your submission to be showcased on the site – see more info how to showcase your work on PhotoQuotes.