North East Buses

I know we've got a thread for Cameras, but i thought I'd go ahead and create one for photography.

I personally tend to only photograph buses, but I know others tend to do a lot more than that. Although I quite often go through spells where I've got absolutely no enthusiasm to go out and take some shots.

When I'm out and about I'm keen to try and capture buses in as many different places as possible. I'm not a massive fan of bus station photography for two reasons: It tends to cause a lot of hassle (bus station management etc), and I personally find it difficult to just through photo after photo taken at the same spot. I don't mean to cause offence to anyone by that, it's just preference. Equally some people will dislike photos taken on route.

What's everyone else's preferences? What's people's favourite spots to shoot from? Has anyone had any bother?

I don't take photos of vehicles, never have done - but like looking at them.

My preference has always been 'on-route' photos, especially older ones - not only to try and identify locations and what has changed over the years, but also the different types of vehicles that have been and gone, some even unique or different to the other.
There is also the socio side of it that interests me - there might be a National driving alongside Wearmouth Colliery with its blind set to 'Workmen' or 'Miners Special' or a VR driving over the duck egg blue Tyne Bridge driven by an old man with a tab hanging out of his mouth, being followed by a 'dog turd' brown Ford Cortina with a chrome front bumper.

That isn't knocking anyone else, their topic, their location or the photo's they take - it's just the older ones aren't as common.
One of the many photographers sticking a Simplicity in Park Lane on a cloudy day onto their flckr - is just the same as someone else taking a photo of the same brand on a sunny day. There are millions of them out there, not much more unique than the last.

Maybe it's just me harking back to a bygone age and I will look at the Versa off route in the same nostaglic eye in twenty years time, who knows...

Having been previously shot down in flames for discussion on this matter on another platform, I'll not say anything too controversial.

Prior to taking photographs of buses, I used to go out on a lot of walks around Tyne & Wear with my mum and the dogs. General photography was very much a beloved hobby of mine, and I was especially keen on water. As sad and boring as it may sound; water actually fascinates me, and I used to love taking photographs of river scenes - hopefully with greenery in the background to complement the photograph.
I was very much a 'silent enthusiast' before August 2012. I looked for all the new buses while I was out and about, looked for repaints etc, but never actually took photos of buses. I occasionally commented on photos on Flickr, but used to avoid it in all honesty.

I decided towards the end of 2012, having taken photos of buses for three months, that I wanted a new camera. The camera I had was good enough for the type of photography I was using it for previously, but for dynamic photographs, it was simply no good. I upgraded (so I thought, anyway) to the Nikon Coolpix L810. I look back at the camera now and I debate whether it was actually the L810 being terrible, or whether it was just me using manual modes for the very first time incorrectly (my Sony DSC W180 wasn't that fancy!). Nevertheless, after a bad three-day experience, it was sent back and I had a massive upgrade to the Panasonic DMC-TZ30. For a Point & Shoot (as I've already said on the 'Cameras' thread), I really can't fault it. This, I feel, improved my bus photography massively. After a few months of having the TZ30, I managed to get sand in it, and I subsequently upgraded again to the TZ40 - paid £120 for the TZ30 to be repaired too, grr!

Back on-topic: bus photography. I'm not a fan of bus station photography either. I feel that a better photograph is taken away from a bus station, allowing the photographer's imagination to come into play. In my opinion, bus stations essentially - with a few exceptions - cut down any chance of the photographer being creative. You just don't (at least in the North East) have a bus station with an amazing backdrop. Equally, if a photographer gets him/herself away from the bus station but takes a daft amount of photographs at the same location continuously, I believe that's equally as tedious - no matter if the world's best backdrop is also pictured.
Everyone has their own way of doing things, but bus station photography just isn't my cup of tea. That said, I often feel that my enthusiasm for buses is not all down to the buses - it's down to another hobby of mine too: travelling. I love discovering new places and looking for nice, rural locations to take photographs both with and without buses pictured also. In addition to the points I've raised, I also agree with what you've said, which, until now, I've not actually considered. We've all heard countless stories of bus station management requesting people to leave the station or move elsewhere in the station etc. If you're outside of the bus station and on a public road, nobody can request that you move - you're not upsetting anybody.
I believe that it's all about the right balance. If you're wanting to get a fair few photographs in one day (I often return with over 100 photos - including duplicate photos I've taken to stand a greater chance of having the vehicle's blind come out), then I feel that you should aim to take photographs away from the bus station as well as in if you must. You'll find a fair few station photographs on my photostream and you'll see quite a few depot shots too, but I feel these are balanced out by the amount of photographs I take away from the stations or commonly used photo spots.

Although I have no preference on locations away from bus stations to take the odd photograph at, I do, as a general rule, aim to have good lighting conditions while taking photographs in locations away from bus stations.

Again, as sad as it may be, I have a list of locations that I want to take a photograph at. Originally using Google Maps as a method of finding places on a service's route, I have decided (in many cases) to test out the location and see if it's changed since the Google Maps van was there. Often discover new locations while doing so, and then I have a walk around the area too, in anticipation of finding further spots.
I'm looking forward to my summer break where I can put the 7-day Get Around ticket I won a few months ago to good use - getting nice photographs (providing the sun's nice to us all!) outside of Tyne & Wear etc etc.

My interest in transport photography has prevailed massively since first starting, and though I do often get bored and feel the need to take a break for a few days (or more), it's always good to get back into the sport when the sun's nice to us all and I have the time to get myself out and take some photographs away from the station. I've also noticed that the number of photographs I've taken of trains has increased in number too.

I'm not setting out to offend anyone here - apologies if you have taken offence by any of my comments!

Picking up on the theme of bus stations - are some of them too clinical now?

If you look at the older stations which have been touched on in another thread, the old Park Lane or Central Bus Station had something about them, which carried across into the photo. Worswick Street and Marlbrough Crescent had an air of being 'worn', possibly 'dirty' and again, that was portrayed in the images.
Or is it just me harking back and looking through rose tinted glasses again?

(02 Jul 2013, 6:25 pm)Daniel wrote [ -> ]Again, as sad as it may be, I have a list of locations that I want to take a photograph at. Originally using Google Maps as a method of finding places on a service's route, I have decided (in many cases) to test out the location and see if it's changed since the Google Maps van was there. Often discover new locations while doing so, and then I have a walk around the area too, in anticipation of finding further spots.
I'm looking forward to my summer break where I can put the 7-day Get Around ticket I won a few months ago to good use - getting nice photographs (providing the sun's nice to us all!) outside of Tyne & Wear etc etc.

It's actually a good idea that - not sad. There's been times I've wasted loads of time during the day trying to find a decent spot, simply because I've not known the area. Found this a problem when I was down in Brighton especially. I'll have a look on though as I'm thinking of heading up Tynemouth way one day this week.

(02 Jul 2013, 6:34 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]Picking up on the theme of bus stations - are some of them too clinical now?

If you look at the older stations which have been touched on in another thread, the old Park Lane or Central Bus Station had something about them, which carried across into the photo. Worswick Street and Marlbrough Crescent had an air of being 'worn', possibly 'dirty' and again, that was portrayed in the images.
Or is it just me harking back and looking through rose tinted glasses again?

Have to agree there. The Galleries and Concord Stations had character about them. Just dull and boring now. Not my photos, but;

I do not consider myself to be a 'bus spotter' (for lack of a better term - I hope it hasn't offended anyone) so, on the whole, pictures of buses do not interest me a great deal. However, I do enjoy a nostalgic look at old photographs as it evokes memories from my childhood. This includes old photographs of buses (and bus stations) set in their traditional, non-preserved settings. It is interesting to compare and contrast things as they were back then; and things as they are now. This not only includes the background scenery but the bus routes themselves. Although transport enthusiasts may be low in number, we must not forget that transport usage underpins the lives of many. People outside the enthusiast culture also have memories and opinions of the buses they used to catch when they were younger (or before they purchased a car). If one places a photograph of, say, a MK2 national operating on the 638, on any of the myriad of community sites there are on Facebook, it's really interesting to read some the comments it provokes. The comments are usually from people who used to use the service too, providing personal accounts of how they interacted with the service in question. These stories are far more rewarding than the typical enthusiast response of 'there's [enter fleet number here] in all her glory'; the type of comment usually found on photo-sites like Flickr etc.,

(03 Jul 2013, 5:54 pm)AdamY wrote [ -> ]I do not consider myself to be a 'bus spotter' (for lack of a better term - I hope it hasn't offended anyone) so, on the whole, pictures of buses do not interest me a great deal. However, I do enjoy a nostalgic look at old photographs as it evokes memories from my childhood. This includes old photographs of buses (and bus stations) set in their traditional, non-preserved settings. It is interesting to compare and contrast things as they were back then; and things as they are now. This not only includes the background scenery but the bus routes themselves. Although transport enthusiasts may be low in number, we must not forget that transport usage underpins the lives of many. People outside the enthusiast culture also have memories and opinions of the buses they used to catch when they were younger (or before they purchased a car). If one places a photograph of, say, a MK2 national operating on the 638, on any of the myriad of community sites there are on Facebook, it's really interesting to read some the comments it provokes. The comments are usually from people who used to use the service too, providing personal accounts of how they interacted with the service in question. These stories are far more rewarding than the typical enthusiast response of 'there's [enter fleet number here] in all her glory'; the type of comment usually found on photo-sites like Flickr etc.,

I always think there are different levels of spotters or enthusiasts though. I wouldn't class myself as a spotter, as I personally couldn't care less about fleet allocations or what number buses I've seen. Though I'm quite interested in the photography aspect, the business side of things, and liveries. Someone feel free to shoot me down if I'm wrong though.

I was going to add - do people notice that bus stations full of spotters are becoming a rarity these days? I can remember always seeing people standing with cameras, notebooks, etc. Rarely see it nowadays though, apart from the odd person standing at Gateshead. I know a lot of people from this site are out and about taking pictures all the time, but they're either very discreet about it or it's just me becoming oblivious to these things

Or is there perhaps something else behind it? I often find that there's a perception that photography is becoming less and less 'socially acceptable' these days, as you're obviously up to no good if you're taking photos.....