Photography when I travel

Right now I am in a different state and trying to find ways to use my camera. I can always take pictures. That is the easy part. However, I am not big on the old style tourist images made for slide shows. So I get stuck trying to figure out what I can photograph to create a nice image that won't get the touristy label.

This location is different from Arizona. The weather here is night compared to our perpetual day. Wet when we are dry. Lots of historical imagery is here while we plow ours under for modernization. The people are pretty much the same. I don't photograph the food and paste it on the web as some people do.

I can shoot buildings and churches, statues and all the things we do not have back there. But then, I become a tourist and not a "professional". What am I going to do? It is hard to decide.

I know there are people who want those shots of old buildings and historical landmarks. They want to see the oddities that we lack out west. They need the posed family shots. What do I need?

I need to feel challenged. To get around that, I give up the focus upon objects and subject matter. Since photography is about capturing light with patterns and contrast, that is what I look for. Maybe I will come away with one winner. Maybe one image will jump off the screen and demand to be printed. At least the camera will not be stored in the suitcase while I am out exploring.