Does a location being "touristy" diminish the value of photographing it?

Old-N-Feeble said:

Touristy... as in Rome, Paris, Moscow, London, Yellowstone or Yosemite NP?

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Good point. If you can't find a picture (not just a photograph) at any of those places, you probably should have left the camera at home. But I have found, be a tourist first and find out why people visit those places. Unless you live in an area, you will never be the same as a resident, no matter how hard you try. Above all enjoy yourself and your surroundings and you might just be surprised with how "good" the exposures become.......Regards!

I have taken pictures of the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, and my daughter standing in front of the Mona Lisa. None of these are masterworks, but they all have meaning to me. Although these may all be considered “snapshots”, I did make every effort to frame the images to the best of my ability.

“Touristy” spots may seem cliche, but often adding in the tourists themselves can create unique images.

Sometimes you can make your touristy photo of a popular site unique by including something interesting and unexpected within the frame, or shooting at an unusual angle or vantage point the typical tourist won't do.

Here are couple of examples of photos that I made in most touristy places in Berlin, Hamburg, Tokyo and Rome:

Old-N-Feeble said:

Touristy... as in Rome, Paris, Moscow, London, Yellowstone or Yosemite NP?

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you forgot jellystone ...

And Banff National Park (especially Lake Louise), Jasper National Park (Maligne Lake w/Spirit Island), Toronto skyline (especially shots with the CN Tower), Calgary AB w/ the Rocky Mountains as the background. Heck, everything worthwhile has already been photographed...time to sell the gear and find a new hobby. Sigh...

I'm currently going through my father's slides. I see no reason not to enjoy photographing again locations that he photographed 40+ years ago.
One doesn't have to be the first, or completely unique, to create a photograph with value.

I have only one touristy image location in mind, for my whole career I have never seen a good rendition of The Leaning Tower of Pisa... I plan one day to make a tri colour gum print , of this tower.. I will clone out all the people, any reference to modern day and make it my own.
I must be weird as this is the only location that I desire to photograph that I imagine has over 5 billion done already... So to the OP , no not in the least if you can make something uniquely satisfying for yourself and others.

Eric Rose said:

Or an alarm clock so you get up before those pesky humans.

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+1

I've been to Jerome, Arizona. So has my dad. He was there in 6th grade, loved the beauty of the place, and named me after it. Yep, my actual first name is Jerome.

As for being photogenic, parts of Jerome are photogenic and absolutely gorgeous. Parts of it aren't. If you want to see something that at least in my opinion is more photogenic than Jerome, Arizona, but in the same general area, go a few miles north to Oak Creek Canyon. Crown King, AZ is also photogenic, but be prepared for a bit of a drive as it's 30 miles off of I-17 down (up?) a gravel road. A lot fewer tourists visit there compared to Jerome.

MattKing said:

I'm currently going through my father's slides. I see no reason not to enjoy photographing again locations that he photographed 40+ years ago.
One doesn't have to be the first, or completely unique, to create a photograph with value.

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+1. I was, of course, being entirely facetious, perhaps too much so? lol My love of our Rocky Mountain parks is such that I venture there several times a year; irrespective of how much they've been photographed, by myself and others, the thrill remains.Sometimes I return a little disappointed at the paucity of a particular excursion; other times, I'll hit the mark and can't wait to see the results from The Lab (Hasselblad E6) Like you, Matt, I. too, will often bring out my late father's slide archive just to look at how much the area has changed, and how much more photographic potential the place has.

When you are photographing a popular site, are you making a record, duplicating someone else's work, or are you making your own composition?

LeftCoastKid said:

And Banff National Park (especially Lake Louise), Jasper National Park (Maligne Lake w/Spirit Island), Toronto skyline (especially shots with the CN Tower), Calgary AB w/ the Rocky Mountains as the background. Heck, everything worthwhile has already been photographed...time to sell the gear and find a new hobby. Sigh...

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You mean like this?

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"Can touristy places still produce quality photographs?" Absolutely.
Just as OP photo, I have not so regular interest. But I prey on crowds, not on things.

On very popular sky resort:

Another three you most likely know where it is... :

Not a quality photos? I give no crap about it.

TheFlyingCamera said:

You mean like this?

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Well toasted! I have several attempts from OMNI building roof nearby on same subjects, but yours is really striking.

Wallendo said:

I have taken pictures of the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, and my daughter standing in front of the Mona Lisa. None of these are masterworks, but they all have meaning to me. Although these may all be considered “snapshots”, I did make every effort to frame the images to the best of my ability.

“Touristy” spots may seem cliche, but often adding in the tourists themselves can create unique images.

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That is because you were taking the most important images that a photographer can take: pictures of places you and your loved-ones are visiting. The rest, in the scheme of things, are meaningless. IMHO.......Regards!

You just need to get there early.

^^^ Bleh... not something I want to fight position for... me too... me too... me too... me too. I'll look for something more mundane and less known.

Anyplace can be the subject of good photos, touristy or otherwise.

It’s only at touristy places however that you can get good photos of tourists!

TheFlyingCamera said:

You mean like this?

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Great shot Scott! And good timing too, since I am planning a return trip to Toronto this fall - I need all the inspiration I can get.

mooseontheloose said:

I need all the inspiration I can get.

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Do you say this just for Toronto or did you mean it in general? I hope you meant just Toronto because you live in one of THE most photographically beautiful cities and countries in the world. I've just returned from Kyoto as you know and I'm already scheming for a way to get back to Japan. Such an amazing country...I could live there easily if given the chance.

RattyMouse said:

Do you say this just for Toronto or did you mean it in general? I hope you meant just Toronto because you live in one of THE most photographically beautiful cities and countries in the world. I've just returned from Kyoto as you know and I'm already scheming for a way to get back to Japan. Such an amazing country...I could live there easily if given the chance.

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Maybe both. I lived in Toronto previously, so I know the city pretty well, but I also know that it's hard to go back again (to places lived) - I end up chasing memories that don't live up to the expectations. So now when I revisit places I try to do it in a new way or with a new perspective. It's been 11 years since I left Toronto, where coincidentally, is also where I first learned how to develop film and print BW images (among other things). But I was just starting with that at the time, so I'm looking forward to re-exploring the city with new eyes (if that's possible).

As for living in beautiful places - I don't consider Kyoto a beautiful city. Take away the temples and shrines and it's just another concrete Japanese city, full of ugly sidewalks and overhead lines everywhere (this is something that Japanese complain about too). I'm not talking the main tourist areas like Gion, Higashiyama, and Arashiyama - those areas have been prettied up for the tourists. Everywhere outside of that, we have to live with the ugliness and pretend it's not there. There's very little left of "old" Japan in these neighbourhoods. I say this as someone who has lived in the smaller, completely off-the-beaten track places of Japan, where the past and the culture is much more present, and less sanitised than what you find in cities like Kyoto. But don't get me wrong - I would agree that there is a lot here to inspire the photographer, but I wouldn't call it a beautiful city. Similarly, I lived in a smaller city in eastern France which has a World Heritage Site, but it's mostly off the radar for English-speaking tourists, and I photographed it extensively. OTOH, although I have a love-hate relationship with Paris, I found it more difficult to shoot there because I've been so inundated with images of the city, it's hard to feel original. The other issue that I think a lot of photographers face, is that when you are living in a place, you see the same things every day, you become immune to what's around you. That's been true of every major (tourist) city that I've lived in. Now I know some photographers are great at shooting what's very local to them, but I'm not (although I'm working on it). The other issue is living in one of the most touristed cities in the world. I work long hours during the week, the last thing I want to do on my weekends is join the hoards...and they are spreading outside the normal tourist areas. The area in which I live has been a tourist-free zone, or was, until recently, because now I'm facing tourists on my ride to work in the morning, back in the evening, at my local spots, everywhere. Why? Because local air bnb type places have sprung up nearby (not surprising, considering the bed shortage here). Although I guess the good thing about that is that it is pushing me deeper to find more interesting things/areas to photograph.

mooseontheloose said:

Maybe both. I lived in Toronto previously, so I know the city pretty well, but I also know that it's hard to go back again (to places lived) - I end up chasing memories that don't live up to the expectations. So now when I revisit places I try to do it in a new way or with a new perspective. It's been 11 years since I left Toronto, where coincidentally, is also where I first learned how to develop film and print BW images (among other things). But I was just starting with that at the time, so I'm looking forward to re-exploring the city with new eyes (if that's possible).

As for living in beautiful places - I don't consider Kyoto a beautiful city. Take away the temples and shrines and it's just another concrete Japanese city,

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Well yeah, that's that the whole reason to go there! I've never done anything but visit temples and shrines in Kyoto. But there are so many of them, that you can spend a good half decade exploring them. Many of the most beautiful gardens are closed to the public except rare times every 2-3 years. Myoshin-ji is a great example. I was wandering around this temple complex in north Kyoto when I got so incredibly lucky. A few subtemples that are normally always closed, were open to the public. My. Freakin'. God. Absolutely gorgeous gardens, so beautiful that it almost made me weep to walk away from them. Staggering beauty. I'm talking Grand Canyon breathlessness, just on a smaller scale. Sadly, no photos were allowed. I sat in this one garden for almost 2 hours, just trying to absorb the sight. Who knows how many incredible sites lie just out of reach in Kyoto? I'd love to live there and find out.

mooseontheloose said:

. The other issue is living in one of the most touristed cities in the world. I work long hours during the week, the last thing I want to do on my weekends is join the hoards...and they are spreading outside the normal tourist areas. The area in which I live has been a tourist-free zone, or was, until recently, because now I'm facing tourists on my ride to work in the morning, back in the evening, at my local spots, everywhere. Why? Because local air bnb type places have sprung up nearby (not surprising, considering the bed shortage here). Although I guess the good thing about that is that it is pushing me deeper to find more interesting things/areas to photograph.

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Beat the hoards, get out before sunrise. That's what I do. I open up a temple every single day I'm in Japan. If I am not the first one in there, I'm number two or three. The temples are pretty empty at the beginning of the day. Sadly, I can only do this once a day so am limited by the number of days that I get to be in Kyoto. But you are there all the time! You can open up each and every temple. Or close them down, be the last person out the door.

I used this technique in China a lot. Their tourist sites are even more crowded than Japan's. Going to a Chinese garden in Suzhou is an exercise in absolute futility. Teaming masses of people at every corner, ruining completely the peaceful zen inspired experience. Then once I decided to hit a garden exactly as it opened up. WOW, no one was there! I had the whole place to myself for about 30 minutes. Then the tour buses arrive and the cacophony begins. Still, 30 minutes is enough to get a lot of good photographs like this:

This shot was impossible to take 30 minutes later. I tried with color film in my camera. Could not get the shot without at least half a dozen or more people in it. I waited 45 minutes for a possible break in the crowds. Never happened.



Here's a shot close to when I left the garden. You can see all kinds of people in the background. Going early eliminated all those people. Try it!

@RattyMouse: I do go early. I've been doing it for years, not only in Japan but everywhere I travel. Especially in Asia, where the best time (and light) of the day is right when the sun rises. But it's not possible on work days. I live as far away as I can possibly be from my university and still be within Kyoto city limits. I get up at 4:30 every morning most work days and I'm at work by the time most of the places open (some of them quite late, like 8 or 9 in the morning). When I go to Kiyomizudera, I'm there at 6 or 6:30, right when it opens. If you want to see what that big balcony is like without a single person on it, that's the time to go. But...I'm not a tourist. I don't have a burning need to go photograph everything because I have limited time. I used to be that way, when I was a tourist visiting here (and I visited Kyoto many, many times before moving here). But now that I live here, the pressure is not so great. And I'm more interested in pursuing something different, rather than just a classic shot of a place without people in it (although I do do that too, make no mistake).

mooseontheloose said:

@RattyMouse: But...I'm not a tourist. I don't have a burning need to go photograph everything because I have limited time.

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Limited time? I don't understand. I was in Kyoto for 6 days the past 2 years. THAT is limited time. You have weekend after weekend after weekend after weekend. To me, that's unlimited time. You get to experience the 4 seasons in Kyoto. Wow. I can only dream of that. You can spend time looking for places that very few people know about. I do that too when I walk with my camera in hand but I get only a few days worth of looking. You can have years.

In Shanghai, I spent 6 years walking that city until I knew it as good as Chicago, my home town. No, I did not learn the street names for all the tiny streets but I could navigate around the entire city without a map. Easily. I searched out every last shop, market, temple, or shrine I could find. I am certain very few, if any missed my camera. I have 8 binders full of negatives from shooting 4 years there (when I returned to film). Over a thousand rolls of film I'm sure.

Not only do you have Kyoto at your doorsteps, you have all of Japan as well. Do you have a car? I dream of one day road tripping through Japan. Seems like an easy place to drive once you get used to the wrong side of the road. The rural landscape is something I've never been able to explore. Yet.