Most avid travelers are inseparable from their cameras, always on the lookout for different ways to capture the essence of a place. For a while, tilt-shift photography provided a unique perspective, "miniaturizing" everything from Red Square to the Statue of Liberty in countless vacation photos, but an old technique has recently been revived by a few talented photographers who turn off their flashes and use a slow shutter speed to convey the light, depth, and motion of night scenes. ]]>
There's something comforting about these vintage pictures of Disneyland from the fifties and sixties, which evoke a carefree era when father knew best and more doctors smoked Camels than any other cigarette. The park opened in Anaheim, California in 1955, blending classic Americana with future modernism and fantasy, and it defined the idea of the family vacation for years to come. ]]>
Do you know the nice looking family in the photo above? If you do, please tell us how to contact them, because there are a few thousand people who want to reunite them with their lost camera. If the internet can be trusted (of course it can), they lost the camera while on a recent vacation in Maui, and some random person found it and looked at the photos on the memory card. He or she then decided to share one of the photos on the social media site Reddit in the hopes that the vast community of Redditors can make the magic happen once again and locate the owners. ]]>
It seems that the people at National Geographic just love giving away Galapagos Island trips. Yep, the Galapagos are turning into a not-very-original (but still pretty damn good) prize from them these days, and this time all they want out of you is a scenic picture.
The Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest wants you to send in your absolute best photo which fits into one of six categories: Wildlife, Nature, People, Travel, Weather or Inspiration. The big prize is the Galapagos trip, plus your photo being published in National Geographic, but we can't ignore the ton of other finalist prizes, including framed prints, scanners, books, and long-life batteries.
If you haven't already taken the photo of your lifetime you'd better get out there, because entries close on June 30. In July, photo judge Jim Richardson will pick two finalists for each category, and come mid-July we'll all be able to vote for the one we like best. And then like all good contest winners, the best photographer will have to traipse off to the Galapagos Islands. Let the best budding photographer win.
Related Stories:
· Energizer Photo Contest [National Geographic]
· What Is A Trip With Alex Trebek To The Galapagos Islands? [Jaunted]
[Photo: sly06] ]]>
I love a good night out on the town, quaffing pints in pubs and swapping stories with friends, but I try to pack it in before things get ugly. I'd rather not be around when the drunken hordes spill into the streets, shouting at each other, getting in punch-ups, and vomiting at bus stops. Maybe that's why a series of photos by Maciej Dakowicz is so chilling. The Polish photographer created an unlikely viral hit with his Cardiff at Night series, capturing the dark side of partying with decidedly unglamorous scenes of blood, trash, and extreme inebriation on the lanes of downtown Cardiff, Wales over a series of Friday and Saturday nights. ]]>
When it comes to armchair travel, there's always The Travel Channel and those coffee table books featuring aerial views of European cities that you've probably got sitting around somewhere, but why not surf the Flickr Commons as an alternative to dusting off those books?
Just this week, Chicago's venerable Field Museum joined the Commons, adding over 480 images from their collection to the open-use, copyright-less area of Flickr. The Field Museum now joins other Commons partners like The Brooklyn Museum, The Smithsonian, National Galleries of Scotland, and Quebec's Musée McCord.
The move of some of these museum photography collections to the internet marks the development of a new sort of museum travel, whereby prospective visitors, the homebound, and those who are already fans of the collections may explore beyond visiting hours and guided tours. Even the avid photographers on Flickr are taking it upon themselves to capture a museum's content for posterity; The MoMA Project group on Flickr boasts a staggering 30,200+ photos taken within the confines of the New York City museum alone.
Flickrization is also another step to preservation of urban history in the virtual realm, as the Field Museum has added a gallery of their 1893 World's Columbian Exposition images and vintage photos of attractions like the Lincoln Park Zoo. With open and free access to these archives, staying in on a rainy day to indulge in a little armchair traveling has never seemed so enlightening.
Related Stories:
· The Commons welcomes the Field Museum Library [Flickr Blog]
· Flickr Commons Partners [Flickr]
· Photography Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
[Transportation Pavilion image: Field Museum]]]>
Losing a memory card at the end of the trip can be tragic. But what if you plan to leave it behind on purpose? The Photochaining project encourages photographers to willingly leave behind cheap cards for others to find and add to. It's like Where's George, but for pictures!
Currently there are 16 memory cards out there, some with people names (Ben, Lola) and others with themes (Gimme, Love, Landscape). Most of them have only been found once in places from Madrid (where a card with the above photo was from) to San Francisco. As much as we like to hang onto our cards, this could work as long as people remember to let their findings go. Yours could be next!
Related Stories:
· Leaving Camera Memory Cards in Public Places! [Photochaining.com]
· O'Hare Airport Stars in Chicago Photography Exhibition [Jaunted]
· TravelMuse Wants Your Vacation Snaps [Jaunted]
[Photo: "Anna" memory card]]]>