Popular Photography magazine (the web editions) usually has a plethora of reheated tips and techniques...but in light of my forthcoming Bali Photo Expedition, I though this one was both timely and relevant.
In the article Conquer the World (How to bring home pictures the way top travel photographers do), Jad Davenport writes:
"The greatest peril in travel photography is also the easiest to avoid -- the cliche. When asked adventure photographer Cory Rich how he freshens up familiar subjects, he said, "I shoot 360 degrees around my subjects, and then I hold the camera up overhead and shoot down. When I'm done with that, I lie on my back and shoot up at them."
Peter Guttman has another trick. I watched him set his battered Nikon on autofocus and self-timer, then clip it to a rickety tripod. He extended it out over the bow of the ship as it crunched through ice for a shot of the ship that only a puffin could take.
As I expect to photograph numerous religious festivals and celebrations in Bali, the "360 degrees" tip is very relevant. The frenetic activities at such events will surround me, and the most interesting action may not always be the one that's happening in front of me, but along the peripheries.