Traveling to travel somewhere cool? Come home with great memories.

Travel photography Tips For Great Photos

Phase 1: Before you Travel

Anytime of the year is a good time to travel. You'll always find a part of the world that has good weather and good deals. The key is to find the right time to visit a place when you can avoid crowds, take in a local festival, and get good deals on flights and hotels. But, of what use is a great experience if you don't bring back beautiful memories of your trip! The digital revolution in photography has put a camera and the ability to take great shots in every one's hands. Take advantage of it. With a little awareness and some planning you can have art for your walls, an entry to a competition, or your own personal illustrated coffee-table book.

There are three phases, in my view, to set up your equipment and yourself for making great memories.

1. The planning and research before you leave for your trip
2. The way you maximize light, your camera functions, and basic shooting techniques while you are traveling
3. The way you organize and compile your photos when you return to create meaningful memories to share and treasure

Here's a list of things to remember before you embark on your journey. 

Phase 1: Before you Travel

A few of my favorite things...

• Get Power: Charge batteries; keep extra ones. Carry them along, don't leave them in your hotel room.
• Get Set-up: A good sturdy camera strap, a camera case for point-and-shoot cameras with space for extra batteries, a lightweight tripod for ambitious photographers, and a lint cloth to clean your lens - there are some basic things you need to be carrying in your backpack. In my view, Lowepro makes the best camera backpacks while Caselogic has the cases for most gadgets.
• Get Memory: The same goes for memory cards. You should have at least one extra card with you that you don't carry along. I often switch between cards every other day and don't carry all my cards with me when I am sightseeing. If you lose a card, you lose all your lovely memories. So guard them well, don't fill them up all the way and format them completely BEFORE you start using them. This will give you a clean slate and no data clutter. If you travel with a laptop or an iPad, it's always a good idea to download all your photos at the end of the day to you computer as a back up.
• Get Research: Find out what the weather is like, sunrise and sunset times, if there are any festivals or special things going on and be ready to take advantage of the colorful backdrop these things can provide for your photos.
• Get Inspired: Look at photographs of the places you will visit on Flikr.com or galleries of popular photographers. The National Geographic Traveler website is always a topper on my list of inspiring sites to see.
• Get A Story: Is there something that has pulled you to the place you are visiting? It may be the food, the architecture, or simply the beaches and good weather. Whatever it is, find your story and make a theme for your photos. Shoot pictures of your co-travelers, kids, and friends who are with you in the theme you choose. Having a story makes the experience a worthwhile memory.
• Get to know your camera well: Spend time with your camera and understand all the buttons and menu items. You don't have to be a pro photographer to take awesome photos. A lot of it is understanding what you camera can do for you and putting it to use at the right time. Take note of the automatic functions your camera offers you - landscapes, macro for flowers and bugs, portraits, etc. Learn to turn the flash on and off manually. The manual is a good place to start. Canon and Nikon have great online learning centers and you can find tips online for most camera models. Read up and experiment around the house. Have a complete command over your gadget. You rule your camera - not the other way around.
• Get around and shoot: If you are enthusiastic about bringing back good photos, it’s not a bad idea to take a morning off and go out and experiment. Go to a local historic area, an outdoor space, shoot pictures of your family members, shoot inside and outside your home to get comfortable with your camera, it’s settings and exposure quality.

You are set to go. Now it’s time to familiarize yourself with composition, exposures, and a few techniques for your winner shots. Stay tuned for phases 2 and 3 and more on making your own photo books.

Summer Recipes: Lavender Lemonade Pound Cake

It's summer! The sun, the heat, bright blue skies, and lots of outdoor fun. Summer's colors have inspired me to eat colorfully too. Here's a series of quick and easy recipes that have made my summer bright and cheerful so far. Life doesn't have to follow any order and so, I'll begin with something sweet.

Lavender Lemonade Pound Cake

This is my version of a reduced sugar basic Lemon Pound cake. Pound cakes make a great accompaniment for breakfast, a coffee break or a summer night picnic.

For 8-10 servings, you'll need -
2 sticks (1 cup) butter at room temperature
3/4 cup evaporated cane sugar
5 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest (zest the lemon before you cut it to squeeze the juice)
2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
11/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried lavender buds


Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan; I like to use a bundt cake pan for this because it looks prettier. 
2. Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light ad fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time while beating after each addition. 
4. Add lemon juice and zest. 
5. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl and add them to the mixture. Add the lavender. Beat until smooth.
6. Pour in to the pan and bake for 1 to 11/2 hours, or until it tests done with a toothpick or knife. 
7. Cook the cake pan for a few minutes; turn it out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. It tastes best when served warm with vanilla ice cream and blue berries. Or, try it with a fruit sauce or whipped cream.
9. Most importantly, ENJOY!

I swear it tastes like lavender lemonade that you get at fancy cafe in the summer.

Look out for more colorful recipes and a easy to fix Mexican meal.

I have a fridge magnet that says - "Love people. Cook them good food."

I do!

Future By Design - The Power of Doing, continued...

I was keenly looking for a bit of inspiration yesterday and it came to me. I wish everything in life would come to you that easy...if you keenly looked for it. More and more, I have begun to believe deeply in the power of doing, the power of moving your cheese. If I think of something and do one little thing towards accomplishing it, a lot of paths open up, ideas flow, connections get fired, and things start happening - like magic, if you believe in it. 


One such little action led to a great discovery yesterday. I came across a fascinating man's story; his name is Jacque Fresco. You may heard have of him, but I marveled at this self-taught multi-disciplinarian and design visionary on knowing that he is compared to the likes of Einstein and Da Vinci for his super-mind.


Last night, I chose to watch something interesting instead of reading before going to bed. I was inspired after a conversation with a friend about documentaries earlier that day, and started looking through my Netflix Instant Play choices when I stumbled upon a film called Future by Design. The name caught my attention and I was introduced to Jacque Fresco's incredible work and ideas. This 95 year old thinker and scientist is a controversy and his dreams seem unreal; nevertheless, he believes in them and lives them. Once again, if you focus on what the human mind can accomplish, he's a marvel. Check out his film and this New York Times article about Jacque Fresco.

The Power of Doing

Since I stopped my early morning commute, I have also gotten away from listening to Amy Goodman's Democracy Now and Sonali Kohatkar's Uprising - two shows that got the wheels turning for me every morning and reminded me that a whole world exists beyond my daily 150 mile commute.

This morning, as I was returning home after dropping off a friend at the airport for an early morning flight,  I took my opportunity to listen to my favorite public radio station. 6:30 am - Amy Goodman was on and it was like old times right away save the long road to reach work; I was going home. 

Goodman's stories are solid and controversial and what she was talking about this morning made me come home and go to her website right away not thinking even once about the cup of Earl Gray that usually starts my day. It was an interview with Assange and Zizek. Two people who have definitely changed how history will be read. Politics and opinions aside, I was reminded how people like Zizek, Assange, and Goodman, in spite of all the challenges they may face symbolize the power of doing...without wasting a second of their lives. 

One link led to another and I came across this incredibly powerful short film called "We Miss You" made by student film-makers from Germany, who have in their own powerful way, like Zizek, Assange, and Goodman, taken talent, wisdom, and courage to make a very important point. 

Watch "We Miss You"

Do. Doing is powerful.

"...Don't let others sway your heart..."

Discovering Fluevog shoes was like finding a new piece that fits in the puzzle called "Ideas and things that define me." It was a memorable moment of discovery of an idea, a value, something tangible that makes life a bit more interesting. My friends recently asked me to share my Fluevog story with them. Just a photo comment on Facebook is not a respectable way of talking about these things of beauty. Here's my story.


Few years ago, I was in Seattle for a teaching conference when my friend and I noticed a store window displaying interesting looking shoes. We took a break from the rain and I followed her inside the store to find shoes that looked like a Dr. Suess poem - dreamy, feel-good, and beautifully created. And, they came with a price tag to match the quality. Priorities were different then and I put this discovery down in my book of memories to keep.

Later that year, without being aware of what I was buying, I picked up my first Fluevog shoes, a pair of tan boots, for an unbelievable bargain at a liquidation sale. These boots are great for travel and for staying warm on a cool day. More importantly they come with comic relief - my man never misses to notice them when I have them on and address me as Lady Robinson Crusoe or something like that. I noticed the Fluevog signature imprint on the boots only after I had consciously bought my second pair and realized that the boots had the same signature mark of Mr. Fluevog on their soles. Hallelujah! I had joined the cult.


Imagine, and wear your imagination; two boots and two pumps later I have understood that life's too short to not wear Fluevogs and to not to be absolutely comfortable with who you are. I plan my Fluevog purchase when a design catches my attention. Thanks to hubby's sharp deal catching skills online, something tells me that it's not the end.

Your Fluevog pair comes to you in a simple white box with the Fluevog logo on the side, but what's inside is what matters. I love the felt shoe bags that come with each pair with a simple and personal message from Mr. John Fluevog.

There's no way I'd do it differently.