Depth makes for better vacations photos - a trip down memory lane

A good friend of mine recently returned from a beautiful multi-country tour - Egypt, Greece, Italy, etc. She also happens to be an AMAZING photographer. I absolutely loved looking through all of her photos. I realized that one of the key differences between good vacation photos and AMAZING vacation photos is depth.

Sara is wonderful at taking pictures of the city skyline of Jerusalem, but even better are the narrow alley ways of Venice, and even better are all the masks on the vendor's cart in Milan. The variety in depth really brings more humanity to the photographs. Rather than just taking all vacations photos from 20 feet away (you know how it goes..."Everyone line up I want to take a picture"...*snap*...), get in close, look for textures and variations in light, look for high contrasts in colors. And then those types of photos, coupled with the cityscapes make for a richer story of your vacation.

Thanks, Sara, for the lesson!

Here are a few of my favorites from my trip in 2005 to Italy...I've had a serious camera upgrade since then and have a few new tricks up my sleeve. Now all I need is another trip to Italy.

The Coliseum in Rome.
A column outside the Pantheon.
Grapes from a vineyard in Tuscany.

Beuoooootiful lasagna in Sienne.
And here's one for the "20ft" album - Pompeii.