How do I get maximum utilization of limited photography time on a official non-photography trip?

Question

I will be flying to Switzerland in a few days on a official trip. I will have only 4 days of free time including a weekend. On the other days I'll have to attend regular office there (9AM-5PM) but should be free in the evening. This is going to be a tough tour with a lot of official works to do which will bring the available time for photography to very limited. How should I plan if I want to utilize this short time as much as possible? I love to shoot portraits, streets and landscapes.

EDIT: I will stay at Basel and my office is located at Allschwil. I will have access to my camera all the time, even during office time.

Answer 1

So as requested my comment as an answer:

If you are working all the day think to take a tripod and go out after work shooting pictures in the golden hours and also night photography. Most of Swiss cities have old town part and you will be able to get great street shots (As exemple here is a shot from Geneva I took with the tripod: http://dubath.net/Photos/picture.php?/103/category/13). Swiss cities are quite secure (you may go out by night with your DSLR without risks)

Depending of where you stay there is also many local viewpoints to reach in the evening, I can give you some more precise advice but I need to know where you will stay.

For the week-end get a full access train ticket http://rail.myswitzerland.com/userdata.php?passid=1 (So you are free to step in any train/bus/boat at any time) or choose a region and get a limited access card http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/holidays--short-breaks-in-switzerland/swisstravelsystem/swisstravelsystem-buchung.html and visit the Alps (Pictures from the top of the Weissmies http://dubath.net/Photos/picture.php?/79/tags/8-montagne)

You may enjoy

• Interlaken and go up to the Jungfraujoch
• Zermat (You have certainly already seen pictures of the Matterhorn)
• Rochers-de-Naye (above Leman (Geneva) Lake)
• ...

It will depend where you stay and how many time you are ready to stay into the train.

you may have other suggestion from the official swiss tourism site http://myswitzerland.com/en/accueil.html (including excursion offer, discount and booking possibilities) This site will give you some oportunities to find the requested "package tour to do in 2 days/1 night" the exact price will depend on the place you start from.

Also check the weather http://www.meteosuisse.admin.ch/web/en/weather.html and if you need a map print it from the official map http://map.geo.admin.ch/ (In particular when zooming you will found the curve level...)

Answer 2

Your opportunity is great. On the work days you will be available to shoot at the best possible time since sunset and sunrise will be outside of your working hours. You should use this to visit the site around the city, do street photography and catch daily life as it happens.

The weekend is your opportunity to go further and this is where a good travel guide will be very useful. Find out the most interesting landscapes that you can reach and go. The best is to hire private transport or drive yourself so you can stop at a whim and control your schedule exactly. Buses and trains rarely drop you off at the best time for photography.

Answer 3

I read a few of the other answers, and took notice that none of the other users come from the region.

Since I have been living in basel for more than 20 years I will give you detailed spots on where you can take great photographs given that you have a limited time frame.

Portrait Hotspots

Basel is a very touristic town with many people roaming the streets on a good and sunny day. The people are friendly and I have had mostly success when asking if I can take a portrait. You will have daylight up until 9 o'clock in the summer. I have been doing several projects in the area of portrait like the 100 strangers portrait challenge.

Here are various Hotspots in the center of town with a link to googlemaps:

Freiestrasse http://g.co/maps/3b423

This is a very long street with a broad variety of photographic opportunities.

Oberer Rheinweg http://g.co/maps/y62vq

Along the rhine especially in the evening you will find people enjoying a drink, cooking meat on a grill,swimming in the rhine (from july-august), and maybe even jumping from the mittlere Brücke. All in all the people are very pleasant especially after work. The best times to take photographs is between 5-9pm.

Steinenvorstadt http://g.co/maps/df5p8

This is a similar good spot like the freiestrasse. People will go out after a hard day of work and enjoy the evening.

To sum things up, those three places offer great opportunies for portrait and/or street photography. You will have people from many different cultures in a relaxed and great ambience. Of course there are a lot of other places to take pictures, but if you have a tight time frame, then I suggest that you walk from one of these spots to an other.

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Landscape

Without leaving basel, there are some great places from where you can take pictures of the rhine during sunset.

Münsterplatz http://g.co/maps/wjerp

From this spot you have two options. During the day you can go all the way up on top of the münster church, from there you will have a 360° view of Basel.

Opening hours during summer time:

Monday to Friday: 10.00-17.00 Saturday: 10.00-16.00 Sunday and festivities: 11.30-17.00

An other option, If you walk behind the Münster you will have a great view of the rhine. From there you can capture stunning pictures of the rhine banks and the "mittlere Brücke"

You don't have to go in the Münster, you can also walk around it.

I hope you have a great stay in basel and will benefit from these photo opportunities. Maybe I might even see you walking down the streets avidly taking portraits.

Answer 4

Each to their own - when I am 'overseas' I take my camera everywhere. In an unknown land there are photo opportunities on every occasion night and day. City streets provide material quite unlike 'at home'. Finding things worth photographing is never a problem :-).

Landscapes !!! - If you want landscapes and can fit this in a weekend you are unlikely to forget it for a decade or so. (I did it 9 years ago and the memory is still marvellous). Wherever you travel from and regardless of the mode you will have photo opportuniies along the way. Then -

Via Interlaken to (see map below)

A Lauterbrunnen
B Murren
C - D Winteregg
F Schilthorn?!!! - only if low level weaher uis superb.
G Gimmelwald.

Fantastic Swiss mountain views (Eiger, Jungfrau, ...), 1 x funicular railway (scary/fun), 1 x mountain railway, several cable cars including the biggest and steepest you'll ever meet (probably).
{Funicular gone in 2006 now cable }

Very touristy but also enough real Swizerland to last a lifetime. You don't say where in Switzerland you will be but with enough will you can get to this.

Lautergbrunnen is fabulous enough. Even if there is a blizzard the experience will be great. Photo opportunities galore. Doing the whole loop except Schilthorn would be worthwhile in any weather - but fine is much better.
From Lauterbrunnen take the 45 degree ish funicular rail ride to the vally wall top,
then quaint train along the wall top with Eiger and Jungfrau and much more views across valley and in due course descend by single span "I can't believe it's safe (but it is) cable car back to valley floor and short bus trip back to Lauterbrunnen.

In the middle if weather allows the trip to Schilthorn plus the destination gives you views unimaginable.

If the weather is completely completely completely fine take the expensive cable car to the James-Bond (built for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service") superb Schilthorn. If the weaher is not perfect don't go!

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Lauterbrunnen
Trummelbachfalle - underground river - you go to it - terrifying, amazing, wet. Photos ... and here and {Youtube ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KnRaddj4aE)

In Murren

Schilthorn:

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I see some photos of my 2003 visit are on the net.
Trip record / no merit claimed / YMMV etc - but gives an idea:
Lauterbrunnen looking up the valley. Photos ...
Eiger view. Photos ...
We slept here (4 people) Policeman came in night. We explained. He was very polite & left us be. No Swiss national believes us :-}
Trammelbachefalle - Death waits. Photos ...
Avalanche, sheltering from, for the use of... Photos ...
Cable ascent. Impressive. Photos ...
!
Gimmelwald descent. Wow!

Minolta 7Hi, 5MP. EVF, Marvellous in its day.

Answer 5

TPE is great for being able to pre-plan based on where the sun will be be at a given time:

http://photoephemeris.com/

Sounds like you'll be at work during the times of the least interesting light. Get up really early, and catch the sunrise each morning. Catch the sunset each evening. Rest in between. :)