June 29th is National Camera Day in the United States from where I’m from!
Today, I rounded up the Travelettes to pay tribute to our greatest companions on the road: our trusty cameras. And there’s no better way to celebrate our much-loved devices than by showcasing our favorite pictures and the memories they committed to eternity. Read on to learn more about which locations each Travelette dreams of shooting and what types of cameras we travel with. And don’t forget to record your memories today and check out our Instagram account for more visual inspiration!
Katja Hentschel
Model of camera: For many years, I used a canon 5D mark II for everything, along with a 50mm 1,4 lens which is a combination I can highly recommend. I have recently upgraded to the canon 5d mark III, which shoots even sharper, more vivid images but both cameras are great. I would highly recommend ambitious beginners and intermediates to invest in a used 5D and a 50mm lens, you will love the results. For more wide angle shots, I do take a 17-40mm lens with me on trips; it comes in very handy for shooting landscapes and hotel rooms, etc, but my go-to still is the 50mm for being light, handy and versatile.
Favorite location to shoot: I love love love markets, they are usually the place to go for wonderful photos of real people. It’s really people I love photographing more than landscapes or locations without anyone in them so yeah, any market is my top choice. .
The story behind a picture I love: It’s a photo of me and my son Atlas on a boat taxi from the ferry terminal in and I just love how much it stands for unity, anticipation, comfort, snuggles and love between a mother and her son. Ultimately I think this is photography’s main purpose – to freeze a beautiful moment in time.
© Katja Hentschel / Koh Phi Phi, Thailand.
Izzy Pulido
Model of camera: Sony Alpha a5000
Yet to take a picture of: Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia during the rainy season, when the salt flats are completely flooded and the water’s still surface mirrors the world above. There hasn’t been a photo of Bolivia’s Salt Flats that hasn’t left me in complete awe. It’s the most resounding illusion of infinity; in every photo, you have no idea where the sky ends and earth begins.
The story behind a picture I love: I love the idea of first encounters and this photograph encapsulates so many of them in one shot: daylight greeting the darkness, colors meeting an absence thereof, a humble stream meeting the great ocean, night turning to dawn, and two human beings saying hello. What a privilege it was to capture all of these chance interactions in one glorious shot on a sleepy beach south of Bangkok. Whenever I need a quiet moment, I return to this photo.
© Izzy Pulido / Hua Hin, Thailand.
Annika Ziehen
Model of camera: Fuji X-T1. It is my first mirrorless camera and I absolutely love it. It has great low light quality, has a cute retro look and I am in love with its wifi function. I am now saving up to buy another lens but to start with the 18-55mm is a great allrounder.
Yet to take a picture of: The Northern Lights. When I first saw the Northern Lights they disappeared pretty quickly and I didn’t know much about photography yet so the picture I took is a just one green blur. I would love to see them again and hopefully, have more time to get better pictures as well as see different colored auroras.
The story behind a picture I love: This picture was taken after a man invited us into his home to meet his family in Fort Kochi. but I just loved his mother’s face so much I knew I would regret it if I didn’t ask her. He translated my question for her and at first, I thought she refused when she pulled a scarf over her head but then I realized that she just put it on to pose.
© Annika Ziehen / Kerela, India.
Rose Palmer
Model of camera: Sony a7s ii. It’s a mirrorless full frame camera that’s small enough to carry around. It’s amazing in low light and it shoots great video. I use an f4 24-70 Zeiss lens. I’ve also just bought a vintage Canon AE-1 film camera off ebay and I’m looking forward to trying that too!
Yet to take a picture of: I’m desperate to shoot the salt flats in Bolivia. They look like the most incredible place ever and it’d be super fun to play with reflections, particularly on a starry night.
The story behind a picture I love: This photo was taken on the Brazilian side of the Iguazu falls during my trip there earlier this month. I snuck back into the park as it was closing to try and capture the sun setting over the falls. The experience of being there was truly breath-taking. To get this shot, I took a tripod and played around with shutter speed to try freezing and smoothing the cascades water. This picture was my favourite – the mist and pink sky give it a romantic, mystical feel. And I love how the slow shutter speed has captured the birds as a blur – they’re called Great Dusky Swifts and were swooping down and round to the back of the waterfall. .
© Rose Palmer / Iguazu Falls, Brazil.
Kathi Kamleitner
Model of camera: Canon 5d mark ii (secondhand), lenses: 50mm & 17-40mm.
Yet to take a picture of: I would love travel all around China to photograph the incredible landscapes as well as the people. I think it’s one of the most misunderstood countries in the world, and yet, we know so little about it. I’d love to learn more, hear people’s stories and share them with the world through photos.
The story behind a picture I love: It’s hard to chose only one photo, but here we are… I took this photo on . It shows one of my favourite hills at the entrance of the Glencoe valley. It’s called Buachaille Etive Mor and I’ve actually attempted to climb it before! It was a winter day and conditions were so bad, we had to give up before reaching the top. This time, the weather was perfect, but we were on a different trail. The West Highland Way is Scotland’s most popular long-distance trail and runs all the way from Glasgow to Fort William. The trail runs right past Buachaille Etive Mor and the views you get on your way from the King’s House to Kinlochleven are incredible! It was my first long-distance hiking experience and I was lucky enough to share it with two friends who had traveled to Scotland for the occasion. It was one of the best trips of my life!
© Kathi Kamleitner / Buachaille Etive Mor, Scotland.
Annapurna Mellor
Model of camera: I use a Canon 5D Mark III primarily, I also have a Mark II as my second camera and I occasionally shoot on film with a bunch of different second hand cameras.
Yet to take a picture of: Iran is really high on my list at the moment. I love traveling in Muslim countries as I find the people so open and friendly, and the culture so vibrant and interesting. Iran’s position in Central Asia fascinates me, and the fact that tourism has been closed off there for so long, and is now just starting to open up. I’d love to spend a few weeks traveling around the country, capturing the people and places which make it so unique. Bhutan is also somewhere I’m forever dreaming about, as is the Tibetan Plateau. And I’d love to see more of India, it’s my favorite place to photograph in the world and there’s still so much I haven’t seen there.
The story behind a picture I love: Choosing a favorite photograph for a photographer is so difficult! But this one sticks out in my mind the most. It was one of those magical moments where everything just comes together, the light, the setting, the birds wings catching each other and the man on the lonely boat in the water feeding them. I took it at sunrise in Varanasi, India. To view my full portfolio,
© Annapurna, Mellor / Varanasi, India.
Vanessa Graf
Model of camera: The model of camera i currently use is a Canon 6D, as well as a Sony Alpha 6000 (with Canon lenses only, though).
Yet to take a picture of: There isn’t really a particular location I’d love to shoot, but I would really like to do something adventurous and scary to get a good angle – like, I would love to go on a helicopter ride to shoot, even though I’m terribly afraid of heights. It’s more about finding cool perspectives and having a lot of fun while photographing for me, and less about the location (it’s beautiful all over the world after all).
The story behind a picture I love: The picture shows three of my best friends jumping into a river in Austria. I love this shot so much because of how much fun we had shooting it, how spontaneous the whole thing was (and yet, how long it ended up taking us to get everything right!), and how we all were so happy with the result. Also, I just love how each girl is in a different stage in her jump.
© Vanessa Graf / Location Unknown, Austria.
Phoebe Nygren
Model of camera: I actually usually use 3 cameras – a GoProHero5, a Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic (Polaroid pictured below), and a Nikon J5 Mirrorless camera.
Yet to take a picture of: I would love to photograph the entirety of Vietnam for an entire month, up and down the coast. Photographing human faces is always something I have been a little afraid of, but the way of Vietnamese life is so tough and vibrant and I want to capture every essence of it.
The story behind a picture I love: This photo carries me right back into a Barcelona afternoon – sun shining, vibrant street art shown among side alley streets, and the subtle touch of Gaudi’s masterpiece in the background. This is one of my favorite pictures because it encapsulates the feeling of my last trip to Barcelona in one vibrant splash of Catalan flavor.
© Phoebe Nygren / Barcelona, Spain.
Tabea Mathern
Model of camera: Here is a photo with my very first camera, that I got when I was 10 and that I still use (Olympus Mju). I also shoot with other 35 mm cams (Contax, Yashica, Nikon) and my main DSLR camera that I use for jobs—my main job is freelance photographer :))—and also bring for traveling is my beloved Nikon D800.
Yet to take a picture of: I love photos, that tell stories and I also have thing for slightly surreal photos, so I’d probably love to shoot on the moon or so. I guess walking around there with a colorful dress would bring epic photos!
The story behind a picture I love: It’s hard to name a favorite photo, because I don’t really have ONE fave photo, so it depends. I’d also separate between my studio photos and the photos I take en route. But if I had to choose one, it would be this photo taken with the Olympus Mju that I really like because a) I’ve had this camera for almost 20 years now, it basically showed me how much I like photography and b) the spot that it shows is very dear to me because it’s my favorite spot in Toronto: Evergreen Brickworks and Toronto is like my 2nd home that I always miss. I also like the colors here a lot. And the fact that it is summer.
© Tabea Mathern/ Toronto, Canada.
Caroline Schmitt
Model of camera: Canon 6D.
Yet to take a picture of: I would love to spend a month or two on an expedition in the Arctic and document polar ice in all its beauty. That’s more like a life goal really. Earlier this year, I’ve traveled Iceland for the first time and loved the wild nature and very different weather conditions. That’s what photography is all about to me.
The story behind a picture I love: Like all Travelettes, I take a lot of photos but there’s only so many that really matter to me. Just telling a story isn’t enough, there needs to be a hint of raw emotion and spontaneity in a picture to really get me. I took this one during a month where my best friend and I traveled through Eastern Europe by train. We were dead tired when I woke up in a packed train wagon one morning, grabbed the camera while still half asleep and captured these beautiful humans. Now looking back, this image captures the trip perfectly: It was bloody exhausting but we, because of being constantly on the move, had access to so many special moments we wouldn’t have had in hostels or hotels.
© Caroline Schmitt / On a train in Eastern Europe.
Snap those memories on June 29th and share them with the rest of the world using #NationalCameraDay and tag @travelettes!
