Photographing While On-The-Move

We spend so much time on-the-move whenever we travel, in fact a big chunk of our time spent abroad is often on some mode of transportation. As photographers, we often find ways to shoot continuously, as if we have a daily shutter quota to hit!

I have traveled quite extensively in the past 2 years, spending many hours flying and "rolling" around in search of interesting sceneries and subjects. And many of my favorite photos were actually shot while on-the-move.

The next time you feel like sleeping in the bus... think of me :-)

This shot was taken while traveling on a cattle truck during a recent trip to Horqin Desert, Inner Mongolia. This shot has it all, the prison-looking truck, the people and the desert sand.

It was a privilege to be on board the National Geographic Expedition ship. This scene will look a lot less interesting if am to move forward to the bow, totally eliminating the foreground. Sometimes, including the vehicle you are traveling on completes the story.

As mentioned above, this photo will look like an ordinary sunset shot if I didn't include the wing of the aircraft. This was taken on a flight from Jiuzhaigou to Chongqing.

Shooting from a tour bus can be very frustrating sometimes especially when the lighting condition is not ideal and you have to shoot through filthily-stained window. Take a few shots if the subject is worthy, you can always rely on creative post-processing to salvage the photo. It may not give you an award-winning shot but it's still better than not having any.

It's thrilling for your viewers to be "on your shoes" especially when you are attempting something rather adventurous or outright silly. Took this shot while kayaking at the high Arctic Ocean. Would've taken a better shot if I could just concentrate and relax.

Always look for a seat next to a window which you can open fully. Lay your camera strap around your neck and go out there and get some shots. Having a rotating LCD/Liveview helps but it often focus too slowly for moving objects. This shot was taken while traveling around Jiuzhaigou. The slow 1/25 shutter speed will create a "booms" effect.

There are many cities which are renowned for bad traffic. Chengdu is one fine example. You can often find interesting local and cultural relics on tour bus. Include them all!

Shooting through a cable car window is quite challenging as the window is often curved, made of plastic (usually full of scratches) and you can't move around too much without disturbing others. It's definitely not an ideal scenario but you can never know what you will get until you press the shutter button.

The bus ride across Horqin Desert was extremely bumpy. I wanted to capture the journey in its true form. So I raise the camera above my head (to create a floating effect) and take a couple of slow shutter shots.