skills
Sometimes even the most promising travel photos turn out badly. Some of the most frustrating ones come out blurry, and unless you are experimenting with creative photography techniques, that's probably not what you were hoping for. Unfortunately, you can't just crop out the bad part or work some quick magic to regain your lost clarity. And to make matters worse, it is highly unlikely that you can easily go back and retake them. You may think that these blurred photos are a lost cause, but I've got a few suggestions to help keep those shots out of the trashcan. While salvaging may be what you need right now, I've also got some tips to help you take better, non-blurry, photos on your next trip.
Are you planning on heading to an art museum on your next trip? Will you be carrying your backpack with you, complete with a laptop and a camera? I've got a few tips for you that will help you avoid any surprises at the coat check.
On my most recent trip to New York City, I was lugging a full backpack around the city for an entire day, with no place to rest; a tiring proposition at best. I saved a visit to the Museum of Modern Art for the early afternoon, when I would need the break from my pack the most. Ah coat check, you were to be my savior. But when I reached the counter and handed my backpack to the checker, he asked if I had any laptops or cameras inside. Why, yes, I did. "Well, you'll have to carry those yourself," he said. It turns out that to avoid liability for expensive items, MOMA requires you to hold onto these items for yourself while you're perusing their collection. Good for them, but for my tired and worn out self, it was quite a physical burden. Luckily my camera had a strap, so I could wear it around my neck. But I had no such help with my laptop, which at several pounds, quickly grew to be a little too much for me to carry around. Somehow, I made it through my visit without dropping and breaking my precious gear, but I want to help you avoid my sad situation with these helpful tips for your next museum visit.
When it comes to travel skills, finding a good place to eat is one of the most essential. But, when you're on the road, especially in a foreign country, making a good choice can be harder than you think. After all, when you don't speak (or read) the local language, menus and signs are less than useful. I've got a few tips and tricks to help you make better restaurant choices on your next trip.
Slowly, but surely, we're getting back in the habit of sharing our favorite travel related links. Here are my favorite from the past week:
Travel Handmade A series of posts and tutorials on how to make your own handmade travel gear. Love the first in the series, the duffel bag. Might have to break out the sewing machine and re-teach myself how to sew.
Vayable allows people to buy and sell experiences in cities where they're visiting. Instead of more formal tours, an individual does the showing around in an area of expertise.
Protect Thy Passport Audrey and Dan at Uncornered Market share some invaluable tips on keeping your passport safe and sound while on the road. I really love the idea of keeping a laminated photocopy of the page in your wallet to use in a pinch.
Maybe it's because I'm a farmers market nerd, but I always love when Eileen of Bearshapedsphere shares with us/gloats over her farmers market haul in Santiago. I'm always impressed and love seeing what's in season in her part of the world.
Sometimes when you're on the road, things don't work out as planned. Your perfect shot of that monument is blown out, it was too dark to capture that wonderful meal you had, or all of your shots just look...flat. For me, there's nothing more disappointing as coming back from an amazing trip and having non-amazing photos to show for it. But, not all is lost! Today, I'll show you how to take a grainy, high ISO shot and transform it into something you'd be proud to show off. Check out my how-to video below, or keep reading for a step-by-step rundown of how you can remove noise from your travel photos with Adobe Lightroom.
The desk I've been spending far too much time at.
Perhaps a more appropriate title for this post should be "Why Kelly has been a terrible blogger in 2010." You may have noticed that I've been in a bit of a blogging slump. I could give you a list of excuses, that I've been busy working on another project, The Wondermap or that I've been spending what's left of my time afterwards offline. Sure, that's part of it, but I came to realize a few days ago that my problem might be one that others share. I didn't have any trips planned. It's hard to inspire other people to travel when you yourself lack such inspiration.
Are you a first-time traveler who wants to take your first trip abroad? Before you go looking for tickets, planning an itinerary, or searching for hotels, you've got to get yourself a passport. But how do you go about getting the all-important little blue book?
I've had my passport for a while, but I still remember the joy I experienced when I was able to finally leave the country for the first time. To help you find that same joy with as little pain as possible, I've broken the process down into a few easy steps, so that you won't have any excuse NOT to get one.
If you carry around a professional (or professional-looking) camera when you're on travel, you've undoubtably been asked to take a picture of random strangers. It seems like no matter where I go, whether it's in Singapore or Seattle, I'm the friendly looking guy who has a cool camera. I must have a clue, right? I've got a few tips for you so that the next time you're asked, you can give those folks more than the standard travel snapshot.
Whenever I travel I always end up finding something I want to photograph. Anyone can take a picture, but it takes some skill to capture a photograph that you'll want to look at later. One of my favorite subjects while I'm traveling is the local architecture: churches, houses, or whatever really speaks to the essence of a place. This isn't always easy, as getting that perfect shot can be tricky. I've got a few tips that will help you improve your architectural photos.
