What I like about travelling, or commuting, is that it's a rare moment with nothing you have to do yet still something happens. Once you step in that bus it will just go - you can daydream your way to destination. That's what I like to do. Daydream and take photos. To me it's basically the same.
My trip to El Hierro two weeks ago was quite a big one: a bus to Lisbon, a taxi to the airport, the plane to Tenerife and the ferry to El Hierro. With the waiting inbetween it took me 2 days to arrive. For some part of the trip I had my camera close. And as you can see, there is so much to see when there's nothing to do.
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Reflection in the bus, view on Sines | Playing around with motion blur | The sky above me | Arriving in Lisbon, view on the Cristo Rei statue | View from the red Lisbon bridge while in the bus | Going from light to dark high op in the sky | Dreamy clouds | The lights of the harbour in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
When I looked at the photos a couple of days later I realised that taking photos while commuting is how my interest in photography started and grew. Ever since I bought my first camera I tried to bring it everywhere and because I can be shy I only used it when I was alone. That's how I always ended up taking photos on my way back home.
I want to take you back in time with me to show you how my photography has evolved and how you can practise by playing around while you're on your way somewhere. It can be a good daily practise if you feel like you don't have time to go out and take photos. Bring your camera on your way to work :)
Photos from my trip from El Hierro to The Netherlands in February 2021 | Looking at these photos altogether I can see how my eye was drawn to lines, shapes and contrast. In most photos subjects are 'framed'.
The photos below I took when I just started exploring photography. I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know anything yet about settings and how my camera worked in general. I did shoot (half)manual at the time to practise. What I like about the photos I took back then is that it shows my state of mind. All things I photographed were close to me because I was not confident enough to take a photo while anyone was looking at me. I only photographed details at moments nobody was paying attention. It was like the photos were my secrets.
In a bus in Amsterdam | At Utrecht Central Station | The train window | Reflection of a building in Stockholm | Raindrops and light through the train window | My empty coffee mug in my dads car
I was commuting a lot at for a while. Always the same trip from Utrecht to Amsterdam. All places seemed so boring, I knew them all so well. But at some point I realised my perspective changed when I looked through the lens. Playing around with my camera in a setting that I didn't find interesting at all was definitely a breakthrough moment for me. Photography is all about perspective.
Photos I took in the very beginning. Playing with a slow shutter speed.