The Travel Photo Roulette Round #51 Winner Is....

December 5th, 2012

I first wanted to thank GQ Trippin for giving me the opportunity to host a round of Photo Roulette.  Another special thanks to all of those who commented or submitted their photos to the contest.  You are all a great group of talented photographers and bloggers!

The theme I chose was Friendship, and through this process I made a few new Twitter Friends, and found some new blogs to stalk!  

Okay okay, I'll stop pretending I'm Ryan Seacrest and avoid dragging announcing the winner....

and the winner of Round #51 is....(drumroll please).....

Jaime from Breakaway Backpacker!!

"I met them on Elephantine Island (near Aswan, Egypt) & watch them play around for a while and then joined them & talked to one of their grandparents. He let me know they are best friends from the village & were off from school for the holidays."

This reminded me so much of how I am with my own friends, laughing, being silly and likely up to no good. ;)

Congrats Jaime, and I can't wait to see the next round of Travel Photo Roulette!

Travel Photo Roulette Round #51 - Friendship

November 25th, 2012

I was so delighted to find out I won Round 50 of Travel Photo Roulette hosted by two of my favorite (now newly engaged) travel bloggers at GQ Trippin. It was my first submission to the contest, so I am so thankful to have won amid a group of such talented people!

So without further ado, I am pleased to announce the next round of travel photo roulette...

FRIENDSHIP

We just had our American Thanksgiving, and one of the things I was most thankful for were my unbelievably, amazing friends.  I have met so many lovely people all over the world, and I cherish all those friendships.   The theme is pretty self explanatory, so I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Here are some of my examples, appropriately including my own friends...

Jaco with a local dog in Namibia (pretty sure the dog just wanted his food though!).

 Rosa making friends with a local man in a small town in Africa

Vanessa making friends with a local on the Xi'an City Wall.  She ended up flying the young girls kite around the wall.

The Contest will run from November 25th to December 2nd, 2012.

For those new to the process, Travel Photo Roulette is a rotating event open to bloggers and photographers, and people generally interested in good work. See the rules below.

Contest Overview

The contest rotates through travel and/or photography blogs as such, the winner of the previous round of Travel Photo Roulette hosts the subsequent round on their own blog. The new host then chooses the next theme, a generic keyword or phrase and players submit their interpretations of the theme over course of the week of the contest.

At the end of the week, the hosting blogger chooses their favorite photo from the submissions and displays it as the week’s winning entry. They then include direction to the new host for the next round. Readers can attempt to lobby the author toward a certain photo via comments – the author can accept or ignore any lobby as they see fit. The game is repeated with the winner hosting the following week’s game and choosing a phrase for new photo submissions.

Guidelines

• One submission per Blog (so sites that have 2+ authors only get one entry).
• Post processing is permitted, but photo altering (ie. photoshopping) is not.
• Abstract submissions welcomed as long as it fits within the interpretation of the chosen phrase. Remember, the hosting blogger chooses the winner, so if they cannot understand the submission, you might not win!
• Please try and keep your images medium-sized and web-optimized (around 600px).
• If you win, keep these in mind when choosing a new theme: * Keep phrases general so that all bloggers can participate. Specific items like “Eiffel Tower” should be avoided but rather made open-ended like “monuments.” For variety, it is okay to say focused things such as “monuments at night” which most of us have pictures of. Phrases can be generic ‘signs’, or abstract  ‘religion’. *Abstract thoughts are appreciated, but keep it within the realm that all readers will understand. No “Kafka-esque”, or “Overlooking Creation”. Use something that is able to be interpreted by all.
• After 1 year, phrases can be reused, however new photos must be submitted.
• No obscene pictures or phrases allowed. Suggestive phrases and photography can be accepted, but please keep it within reason.
• Keep the ideas and photos fresh!
• Pictures from your entire portfolio are fair to submit. You do not have to take the photo within the week of the contest period to submit it.
• Most importantly, ALL PHOTOS MUST BE YOUR OWN.
• One last rule, since this is a competition for bloggers, we need you to be a blogger to be declared a winner. Sorry!

How to submit your photos

To enter in the Photo Roulette competition simply leave a comment below with a link to the image (whether Flickr, Picasa or your own site) and we will upload it to this post. Don’t forget to provide a brief description or caption for the photo so the viewers can get a little background as to what’s happening.

Check back here throughout the week to see all the entries as they come in and feel free to comment on them. The contest runs for 7 days from today, with the submission date being November 25th - December 2nd, 2012 (Sunday thru Sunday). The winner will be announced in a few days after the deadline, and they will host round 52.

Past Photo Roulette Winners and Hosts

The following is a list of the previously played rounds of the game and the hosting blogger for each. This list also doubles as a winner’s table as each topic host won the preceding round! Click the host’s link to go directly to that entry to see some stunning photographs from the chosen term/phrase!

1. Nov 4–10, 2010 – Living the Dream – “Animals”
2. Nov 17–24, 2010 – Skinny Backpacker - “Road Signs”
3. Nov 29–Dec 6, 2010 – Dream a Little Dream - “Street Art”
4. Dec 8–15, 2010 – Flashpacker HQ – “Festival”
5. Dec 17–24, 2010 – Over Yonderlust – “Landmarks”
6. Dec 26–Jan 2, 2011 – Don’t Ever Look Back – “Beaches”
7. Jan 5–12, 2011 – ThePlanetD – “Portraits”
8. Jan 15–22, 2011 – Travel with a Mate – “Motion”
9. Jan 26–Feb 3, 2011 – Johnny Vagabond – “Water”
10. Feb 8–15, 2011 – Ken Kaminesky – “Urban”
11. Feb 21–27, 2011 – Travels of Adam - “Friday Night”
12. Mar 7–13, 2011 – Itchy Feet Chronicles – “The Journey”
13. Mar 19– 25, 2011 – Brendan’s Adventures – “Changing Seasons”
14. Apr 4–10, 2011 - Shutterfeet – “Storytelling”
15. Apr 13–21, 2011 - 10 Times One - “Piousness”
16. Apr 26–May 4, 2011 – Beached Eskimo – “Learning”
17. May 21–27, 2011 – Travel Junkies – “Architecture”
18. Jun 1–7, 2011 – Destination World – “Transportation”
19. Jun 8–15, 2011 – Living the Dream – “Paradise”
20. Jun 21-28, 2011 - Vagabond Quest - “Clothes”
21. Jul 4-11, 2011 – The Unframed World – “Symmetry”
22. Jul 16-25, 2011 – Beached Eskimo – “Home"
23. Jul 31 – Aug 7, 2011 – BackPackerBanter – “Inspiration”
24. Aug 14 – 21, 2011 – WanderingTrader - “Darkness”
25. Aug 28 – Sep 4, 2011 – Finding the Universe – “Tranquillity”
26. Sep 12 – 19, 2011 – Fearful Adventurer – “Food”
27. Sep 23 – 30, 2011 – Adventures of a GoodMan – “City”
28. Oct 06 – 13, 2011 – Globe-Trekking.com - “Reflections”
29. Oct 17 – 24, 2011 – Scene With A Hart - ”Framing”
30. Nov 9 – 16, 2011 – Vagabond Quest - “Silhouettes”
31. Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2011 – Hecktic Travels – “Music”
32. Dec 11 – Dec 18, 2011 – Globetrotter Girls – “Love”
33. Dec 25 – Jan 1, 2012– Man on the lam – “Humor”
34. Jan 8 – Jan 15, 2012 – My Walkabout – “Winter”
35. Jan 15 – Jan 22, 2012 – The Art of Slow Travel – “Blue”
36. Feb 6 – Feb 13, 2012 – Ten times One – “Depth of the Field”
38. March 7 – March 14, 2012 – Nomadbiba – “Sunshine”
39. March 24 – 31, 2012 – Travel With Kat – “Local Character”
40. April 10 – 16, 2012 – The Travel Bunny – “Street Scene”
41. April 23 – April 30, 2012 – Adventure Crow – “Spirit of the Country”
42. May 7 – 14, 2012 – Food Travel Bliss – “Evening”
43. May 17 – May 24, 2012 – Matt Gibson – “Adventure”
44. May 30th – June 6, 2012 – Flashpacker HQ – “Once In A Lifetime”
45. July 23rd – July 30, 2012 – Skinny Backpacker – “Surreal”
46. August 10 – August 17, 2012 – 2away – “Smile”
47. Aug 27 – Sept 2, 2012 – Bridges and Balloons – “Excellent Splendour of the Universe”
48. Sept 8 – Sept 15, 2012 – The GypsyNester – “What the ?!”
49. Oct 22 – Oct 29, 2012 – Runaway Juno – “Sweet”
50. Nov 12 - Nov 19, 2012 – GQ Trippin – "Play" 

The more the merrier: Please share this article on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and G+ and elsewhere to get more people involved. We look forward to your entries!

Submit your entry in the comment section below. Images will be posted as they come in.

Good Luck!

Submissions

Entry #1 by Jaime from Breakaway Backpacker

I met them on Elephantine Island (near Aswan, Egypt) & watch them play around for a while and then joined them & talked to one of their grandparents. He let me know they are best friends from the village & were off from school for the holidays.

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Entry #2 Jeremy from Living The Dream

"Panda friends are my favorite kind of friends. They eat together, they play together, and they sleep together. There would be more, but that is just about all Pandas do in Chengdu, China"

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Entry #3 Daniël from globe-trekking

While traveling in the town of Hasankeyf in eastern Turkey, I got off a minibus and immediately became the tourist attraction, instead of seeing the sights of this town on the Tigris River. Everyone wanted to have their picture taken with me (I'm second from left), including this group of guys. Here's to making new friends in far flung places.

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Entry #4 Veronica from Gypsynester

Marine Iguanas are surprisingly communal beings, but these two seemed to share a special friendship!

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Entry #5 Rachel from Andalucia Explorer

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Entry #6 Andrew from A.D. Wheeler Photography

"Prairie Dog Kisses" Shot this at Zoo America in Hershey, PA. Stood there shooting these two who originally looked as though they were in a WWF match. Come to find out, they were just two, so in love... :-)

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Entry #7 Aggy from Dream Explore Wander

Found this two friends on my knee during a hot Summer day in Nantes, France. I'd like to think they were friends in love
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Entry #8 Megan from Meganotravels

 

This photo was taken a few years ago on Memorial Day in Washington, DC. These two veterans were standing in front of the Vietnam Memorial wall--one consoling the other. 

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Entry #9 Jade from Our Oyster

I had this bonding moment with a Kangaroo at the Lone Pine sanctuary in Australia - although I think his love for me was more due to my feeding him the majority of the food I had bought! 

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Entry #10 Greg from Adventures of a Goodman

We weren't the only ones to arise before dawn at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. I was amazed at how many Sikhs were just sitting together at the edge of the Amrit Sarovar (Pool of Nectar), gazing out at the majestic sign.

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This round of photo roulette is officially over!  Stay tuned on Wednesday to see the winner!  Thanks to all of you who submitted!

We're Sexy And We Know It

May 21st, 2012

There were a few things in China that I had trouble getting accustomed to, and near the top of that list was the endless stares everywhere I turned. I am used to getting some degree of stares when I travel, but I suppose what made it more noticeable in China was that even the poorest of people owned a digital camera.  It's no stereotypical surprise that Asians love taking photos.   If there was ever a time in my life that I would feel like a celebrity this would be that time.  Asian Paparazzi?  No Big Deal. 

In Shanghai....where the Paparazzi was in full force.

The first overnight train was the biggest realization that we were a rarely seen breed in China. We settled into our cabins that were in the middle of the train, and as we ventured out into the hallway we noticed that we were surrounded by a massive group of curious locals. Apparently many of them had never seen, or had only seen a handful of "westerners" in their entire lifetime.

One elderly lady thought we were from a scene of her favorite movie while we were on our moving train.  In a statuesque manner she stood in front of the opening of our cabin and stared at us for a few minutes chomping on her sunflower seeds.   We stared at her, confused, and she stared at us with her best poker face observing our every move.  

The curious locals on our overnight train

About two weeks into visiting China the honeymoon phase quickly wore off.  Do you want a picture of me?  Okay but please do not try to be sneaky or blatant about it, and simply just ask me so I can at least pose and smile!  When I travel I love taking photos of locals but I always ask for permission, and I would say 95% of the time I get a yes. 

A local trying to take a photo of my friend Chelsea without asking.  I warned her so she purposely covered her face.

One day while killing time and playing cards the LMFAO song "Sexy and I Know It" came on. When it hit the chorus my friend Bess said, "Hey that's totally us!".....

"When I walk in the spot, this is what I see

Everybody stops and they staring at me

I got a passion in my pants and I ain't afraid to show it, show it, show it, show it

I'm sexy and I know it."

So after that we coined the phrase "I was LMFAO'ed."

"We're so sexy that's why they are always staring at us!!"

Our views on our paparazzi followers started to change and we began to embrace our celebrity status.

Sometimes we took photos with the locals....

My friend Vanessa with a local in Xi'an

Other times we asked for an even trade, "If you take one of me I will take one of you"....

 I pose for you and you pose for me!

So next time you are traveling enjoy being LMFAO'ed!

Travel Photography Tips

August 30th, 2010

One of the BEST souvenirs you can bring home from your trip are your photos, so if you have a DSLR bring it!  When I took a photography class a few months back they asked why everyone was taking the class,  I told them I wanted to learn how to take home amazing souvenirs from my travels!  A DSLR is definitely a lot more hefty, but when you are back home from your trip you are going to forget all about that!

 On a train towards Machu Picchu

Here are some of my tips...

• Bring extra batteries and memory cards!  I take A LOT of photos and videos.  I now bring a netbook that helps me backup my photos so I don't have to lug around as many memory cards.
• Take pictures of signs for places you are visiting.  After running around Prague and going in and out of castles and churches all day the names start becoming a blur!  The worst is coming back home after a long trip and saying, "Where was this again?  What was its name?"  Simply take a photo of the sign and delete them when you have labeled your photo.  This has saved me NUMEROUS times!  You know how difficult it is to google image, "Prague, church" and have to go through all the photos to find the name of the one you had visited!  I  also take photos of names of restaurants, menus (to get the name of the food I tried), and drink bottle labels so that I am not struggling to remember all the unfamiliar names later on.  Plus I am a horrible speller so that helps me from mislabeling photos.

 Sign of Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland

• Before taking photos of 'locals' (especially in third world countries) make sure it is not a tourist trap and they don't charge you for money afterwards!  In St Kitts I saw some tourist get suckered in to take photos with tiny monkeys.  After they took the shot the kids followed them around until they got their $15 USD.  Crazy!!  When I do take pictures (especially of children) I try to make them laugh and/or comfortable (I work with kids so that comes natural to me...a smile and a good laugh are universal pretty much anywhere you go, and best part is that it requires no translation).  FYI...most kiddos in third world countries LOVE getting their photos taken, and they love to see it on your LCD screen afterwards.

 Little girl in a small town in Peru

My friend Ingrid with some local kids looking at her camera in Potosi, Bolivia.

• Jumping Shots are my expertise.  I hate to brag, but when friends want their jumping shot taken in one to two jumps they ask me to take it.  The trick is to press the shutter button halfway (usually till you hear a little beep) before the person has even jumped.  Then when they jump press the button completely. 

 My friend Lily jumping for joy in Sonoma Wine Country

• Invest in a waterproof camera (or case) if you can.  I love it.  I have been able to capture shots and videos of things not many other people can (weather and conditions permitting). It's also great for places with a lot of sand, cause you don't have to worry about the sand ruining your camera.
• Now after you head back home and you have edited your photos, the last thing to do is create a  Blurb book documenting your journey.  I have made two hardcover ones, and they beat any coffee table book out there.   My friends and family can't believe I made it!!  My mom even brought it to work to show her friends!

 Candles lit in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Buy A Professional Camera And Take A Photography Class

Me with my Canon 7D

I bought my first DSLR about 3 years ago.   I hardly ever used it, and when I wanted to give my DSLR another shot I realized that it was time to upgrade.  I bought the Canon 7D as a Christmas present for myself in December 2009.  I was overwhelmed by it, and decided I really needed to take a photography class.  I needed to go beyond Automatic settings. 

 My Photography Instructor

I found a class through craigslist offering one day photography classes.  Granted, you cannot learn photography in a day, and you likely can't learn it in a year either, but it was a path in the right direction so I went for it.  Our class was held outdoors in Coronado Island with the San Diego backdrop as our classroom.  The class I had initially signed up for had been rained out, so I was pleased to enjoy my class with sunny bright blue skies overhead. 

My Photography Class

My class consisted of mostly males, and most of us had little to no experience with DSLR's.  Three men had experiences with SLR cameras but not Digital SLR cameras.   We became each others models, constantly posing for each other in the most awkward of situations.  

We learned so much information in such a short amount of time.  Besides learning about aperture, shutter speed, white balance, exposure, and ISO, we also learned how to frame a photo, how to properly hold a camera, and taking photos using flash, tripods and even flash umbrellas.  In my personal opinion my photos dramatically improved after this course, and I haven't used the automatic setting since.  :) 

Date Accomplished: February 15th, 2010