Last week I talked about Beating the Crowds at popular Tourist Attractions.  This week I look at photographing at these busy locations from a completely different angle.  If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know I like to add people in my travel photography.  People do a couple of things.  They add interest and scale to a travel photo.

It is a rare day when the parks at Walt Disney World are not full of fellow guests. So why not include them in the composition?  People help to tell the story and add scale to whatever surrounds them.

Watching the Dream Along with Mickey show on the stage in front of Cinderella Castle with a few of my closest friends, I decided to include them.  I stood up on the bench next to the Partner’s Statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in the hub in front of the castle to get this angle.

Guests enjoy the Dream Along with Mickey show in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/80s, f/22, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 18mm focal length, polarizer filter.

The popularity of tourist attractions changes throughout the year.  When I visited Mount Rushmore National Monument near Keystone, South Dakota in late September of 2010, it was not as busy as it would be during the summer months. In talking with National Park Service people there, the monument is never deserted.

I really liked the leading lines the Avenue of Flags, an addition to the national monument during the United States Bicentennial year of 1976, to the mountain side Presidential busts in the background. The people walking through them add scale to the columns and to Mount Rushmore.

People walk through the Avenue of Flags at the Mount Rushmore National Monument near Keystone, South Dakota.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/60, f/20, ISO 200, EV 0, 40mm focal length, polarizer filter.

Try not to curse the crowds but work with them to create interesting photographs. Including people in your images can give the final photograph a different dimension.

I will continue this series next Friday.  Until then, do not let the crowds get you down!