Monthly Archives: February 2014
How to Photograph a City In A Day From A Travel Photographer - A Vancouver Story
“You do what? Wow that is an amazing job. Do you need an assistant?” That is what people tell me all the time when they find out my job. What is my job? Well, I am a travel photographer. I am to photograph interestingly new places and events for the world to learn about. My job is to explore. Yes that sounds exotic, but it is actually hard work. With having to get up early, lug a bunch of gear, meet new people, which isn’t as easy as it sounds, and then keep going to the wee night. It is much longer than an a regular 8 hour work day. My exploration through Vancouver is a perfect example of this.
Waking up early
The alarm beeps. I hit the snooze. 9 minutes later it beeps again, I open my eyes to see blurriness and darkness. The sun has not come up yet, that is because it is about 4 am. Yup, you read it right, 4 am. You see the first thing to do in the morning is to get a photo of the sun rising over the city and the bay of Vancouver. I get dressed, pack my gear that weighs a ton, and head on my way. From my research I had done before arriving Vancouver, I start to walk to Vanier Park to catch a skyline of the city. I set up my Tripod and say hello to fellow morning walkers. And take some shots as the sun comes up to say hello to the Vancouver.
Breakfast and Walking the Streets
Now that I have the shot I want it is time to head the empty streets of downtown. I walk. I walk almost everywhere when shooting. It is great exercise. Walking also allows me to capture sites and views that I may not see when taking a car or public transportation. It is easily 2 miles to downtown. On my way I take pictures of Granville Island from the bridge and take pictures of interesting buildings along the way as well. The streets are basically empty so I can take photos of the streets with out people. Downtown looks so solitude and that was the idea at this time of the day. I stop off at a coffee shop to have some breakfast and talk to some of the locals. I am glad I am in Vancouver because the locals here are very friendly. I get some tips of where to get some good brews for later and some ideas of where to hang out and meet other locals.
Empty Sites and People Going to Work
The streets start to fill up. I take some photos of people heading to work. I head down to Gastown, the tourist spot of downtown Vancouver. Since it is early I can get some shots of the scenery before the shops open and before the tourists flood the streets. It becomes magical because the streets only seem to belong to you.
Stay Away from the Sun
The sun starts to move overhead it is 11 am. That means there are more shadows being casted down from the sun. This is no good for taking photos. At this point it is time to go indoors like to a Market, Mall or Museum. I head to the local market back at Granville Island. Markets a great place to get food and opportunities to get some great photos. I take photos of the loading docks as well as the market it self. I treat myself to some fruits and eat a snack. I also pick up some food to cook at my place for lunch and for later meals.
I eat my lunch, which consists of bread, cheese, strawberries and other goodies back at the apartment. After enjoying my meal to take a nap, at least until the sun and the heavy shadows start to dwindle away.
Do Something Indoors
After my refreshing nap, I head back to downtown and some of the tourist areas of Vancouver. The purpose years is to take photos of some of the shops. After entering some of shops I start talking to some of the shopkeepers. Over time they allow me to take pictures of some of their wares they’re selling as well as themselves. After taking pictures of some of the shops it is now time to meet some of the locals.
Have a Drink
Some of the best ways to get some of the locals to talk is to get them to drink. So I head off to some bars and breweries that are spotted all over Vancouver. Brewpub after brewpub after brewpub I meet some amazing people with some amazing stories and great tips and tricks on where to go and visit in Vancouver.
Dinner Time
After unsuccessfully getting into a comedy club with some new friends that I met at the bar, I head back to my place, while walking in the pouring rain. I’m glad that my places not so far from a metro. After taking the metro I take the bus down the street to my place to avoid getting too wet. I proceed to take a shower and clean myself after a hard day of work. I proceed to grab something to eat up the Kitslano section of Vancouver.
Upon arriving at the vegetarian restaurant Nam, one recommended to me by local I run into 3 men, all of which were Americans who taught at the local university. They invited me to sit with them were I took some photos of the environment hippy like environment and the very natural vegan friendly food.
The Sunset Shot
They invited me to hang out with them at the Kitslano beaches where I was advised earlier was a great place to get a sunset photo. We enjoy our time. there, relax and enjoy the beautiful colors as the sunsets. At this point it is time to photograph the night life. So I head to a recommend watering hole. When it comes to nightlife I can not say I take my camera. It just does not seem safe to carry a huge expensive camera to a place where people are drinking. So I rely on my iPhone.
At Night
After a few beers and conversing with some locals it is now time to head to sleep. Usually I would take photos of tourism spots at night (to create two different types of photos). This night it is time for sleep. Perhaps I will start the process all over again the next day.
Break Down of my Day of Travel Photography
- Get up early before the sunrise to get a sunrise shot
- Photograph the tourist spots before the crowds show up
- Photograph the locals on the way to work
- Go inside as the sun goes high, go to a museum/market/indoors
- Enjoy a lunch and take photos of others who are doing the same
- Meet with friends/Take a nap/Shop/Work on something else as the sun is high
- Have a drink
- Take sunset shots
- Photograph the nightlife/Take photos of sites at night
- Sleep and start the process over again
What do you think of they day of a travel photographer? Does it seem hard? What are you questions? Let me know. Feel free to ask. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels 
I Can’t Afford to Travel - Tips On Eating Cheaper
Now that you have saved money on a flight and a place to stay, the third expense to worry about when traveling is eating. Food is something we all need to survive and when traveling it can be an expense that adds up. Here are some tips that will help with saving money when traveling and eating. Now I am a diabetic and vegetarian, so my eating habits are a bit different but these tips should still apply.
Do some research
Doing research is important for anything you need to accomplish, food is no different. When doing your research pay attention to restaurants styles you enjoy. Look up how much the ideal budget is for where you are visiting. Look up food that are native to the region. This will allow you to experience possibly something new, but also the native food tends to be more abundant which makes it cheaper. Know where the tourist spots are when doing your research. Most of the eateries and restaurants around the tourist spots tend to be a bit more expensive due to the fact of convenience. A great place to check out is tripadvisor.
Follow the Locals
When we were staying in the row of hotels in Cartagena’s Bocagrande were surrounded by many restaurants, all geared towards tourist who had come from the cruise ships. The prices were high and the food was just average. At that point we decided to start following the locals. We find a place that had all the locals surrounding it. That must mean it is good. We were correct. The food was cheap and amazing, as well as something different. So going where all the locals are is a great way to save money and eat something good and different.
Patacones, yes one of best things I liked eating there. It is a flattened banana chip, and damn good.
Local Markets
The local markets are great place to get a cheaper meal. A lot of the local markets sell food, but even so, you can taste some of the fruits/vegetables and other produce. Some markets even have places to eat for cheap due to the fact the produce is right there. Vendors tend to be people who made their food from home and set up there to sell. In a Mercado in Bogota named Plaza de Ferias I found tamale stand, fruit juice and fruit salad vendor as well we a general food restaurant.
The local market is also a great way get some food for you stay. Pick up some great fruits and vegetables and there you go. You have food for your stay. Fruits are vegetables are a great way to get food without needing a kitchen.Super Markets
So perhaps you took the suggestion and rented an apartment your are in a hostel with a kitchen. And that apartment has a kitchen? Well go to the supermarket. If you could not find the food you needed at the local market, or could not find the local market then hit up the supermarket. This is a great place to get all the food you need for your place with a kitchen. Eating at home is a great way to save money.
Tortang Talang made after doing some shopping at the market in Leyte
Take advantage of your Hotel
If you checked into a hotel, take advantage of the free breakfast. The breakfast in the morning can make the difference. I always try to book into a hotel that has free breakfast as it allows for me to not worry about the food in the morning and it also shaves off on the budget for eating.
Eat street food
That is right, I said eat street food. I get it all the time, “dont eat the street food, it isn’t safe” My time in Indonesia, all I ate was street food. It was the best food I had, and most of it went for about $2 for a full meal. Even better, I never got sick from it. Even goes to say when eating truck food in San Francisco or any other city for that matter. As long as it is cooked it should be fine.
Eat at a buffet
This is especially true when traveling to to Las Vegas, buffets are a great option to eat. You can pay one price and fill up as much as you can. There are plenty of places here you can eat at a buffet and also fill up your purse or pocket as well… kind of. If you wan to make a mess in there. But don’t throw buffets to the wayside.
Conclusion
Eating at Markets, shopping the supermarket, eating where the locals eat and eating street food. These are all great ways to save yourself some money when traveling. Also a great way to get to know local food better. Make sure you do your research before hand so you are well armed.
Have you ever been sick from eating abroad? Am I wrong about street food or food in general? Have an amazing food story to share? Do you have a question? Ask me, leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter using, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know if you have more questions. Happy travels.
The Coffee Region of Colombia… Kind of
Coffee country. Yes, that was my plan when traveling to Colombia. Pereira was supposed to be my central hub for the coffee region of Colombia. After exploring Pereira and it’s food and night life it was time to explore the rest of the coffee region. That meant visiting coffee farms right? Well, that was the plan. But unfortunately it did not happen that way. Instead I got to meet some amazing people I enjoy some amazing views in some small villages.
One the amazing views was of Santa Rosa de Cabal. And now I understand why many people told me to visit this place in my previous visits to Colombia. Santa Rosa de Cabal is a small little village where you can just relax. The village has nice cobbled streets, places to just eat and small gift shops. That is not the real reason why everyone goes to Santa Rosa de Cabal. Everyone goes there for los termales. Los Termales is a hot springs and beautiful waterfall. Set amongst the mountains you can take a taxi or trip us to los termales just outside of Santa Rosa de cabal. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes by taxi from the main central hub of Santa Rosa de Cabal.
When you get to most los tamales, the entrance fee is 10,000 pesos for children and 20,000 pesos for adults. The termales is a cross between a nature park and a beautiful warm Springs where you can take a dip in. For anyone who just wants to relax, Santa Rosa de Cabal, and los termales are an amazing place to visit.
After returning from Santa Rosa de cabal it was time to check out of my hotel and to the next hotel which was going to be closer to all the nightlife in the city. The hotel was actually an apartment with the name of Monterosa Apartment Hotel. It was one block away from Circunvalar, which is the street where all the nightlife and food happens to be.
Monterosa has a beautiful has beautiful decour. It was very spacious provided me with the kitchen bathroom and a huge loft. The room I had was called a Penthouse room. It was not expensive as well. For the price of a four or five star Hotel in Colombia I was getting a full apartment but the service of a hotel.
The Service here was good. On our way out they checked with us every time to see if we needed a taxi. I just wish they would remember which apartment I was staying in every time. Because they never remember which key was mine. The apartment could use some work, granted it was beautiful. The bathroom was small and the water heater worked for a small amount a time, just enough for a short shower. There were no hangers in the closet for me to hang my items. Lastly there was no clock at all anywhere inside the apartment. These are small problems but enough to make me think about.
Who what I recommend hotel Monterrosa to? Well since the location is perfect I would recommend it for anyone who happens to be single, Were looking for the night life in that area. Check out more information on their website.
That day I slept to prepare myself for the next day in Armenia. Where is Armenia? No it’s not the country. Many as a city an hour south of that area. I was going to Armenia to meet a friend. I have no expectations of what we would do. The first thing we did was grab something to eat in downtown. We have pasta, I later found out my friend could not have. That is fine I could not eat it either. The environment of the place was very nice. It was a very café looking place. Unfortunately I do not remember the name of the place we ate. After our meal, or lack of, we went walking through downtown. Downtown is filled with many stores that you can buy lots of different things. This is not uncommon for many downtown areas in Colombia. We shop for some shoes. The reason? Well my friend how amazingly beautiful looking is on, but they were tough for her to walk in. So we bought some new boots. After some shopping team is time for some coffee. We walked to Parque Bolivar where we drank some Juan Valdez Coffee. I proceeded to take some photos. My friend was camera shy.
Beauty in Armenia, Colombia - She allowed me to take her photo after my friend refused to allow me to take her’s
Afterwards what we did was wonder around the city, Just walking and walking and walking. That is one of my favorite activities. One of the places we wandered to was a park named Parque De La Vida (Park of the Life). Where we relaxed for most of the day. The place is like a botanical gardens with gorgeous views of nature and a man made lake. It is a great place to take family or a loved one.
After wandering around Armenia, hitting a mall and more coffee we said our goodbyes until the next day. The next day we headed to some small villages north of Armenia.
The first village we hit was Circasia where we had brunch my small panderia (bakery) and downtown. I like this town it was small but not too small. Town had a lot of things for you to purchase and a nice square in the very center of town. We were here only an hour before we moved on to the next town name Salento.
Salento is a famous town in Colombia. More so than the coffee region. It’s a great place for people go to relax to get away from the city of area and Armenia. We wanted the town and took some pictures. We also ate lunch at a fantastic restaurant. Camino Real Parrilla and Bar was it’s name. It is also known for its nightlife. The view here was fantastic. The food here was good, not easy for a vegetarian to eat since it is a parrilla, but there are some options.
Out we walked and up we walked to EL Mirador, the view, which is a gorgeous view of the mountains in the area. It was gorgeous and very pleasant to look at. We took a quick nap here and relaxed after eating. We walked around town before leaving back to our homes.
The next few days spent in Monterosa Apartment was just work. And enjoying some good food nearby. And another trip to MELMAC for some music.
Although there were no visits to Coffee Farms, it was still fun and relaxing stay in the Coffee Region. Meeting friends and relaxing in some small villages makes a world of a difference a great vacation.
What do you think? Do you find this review helpful? Do you have anymore questions? Let me know and what you think. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels
Guide: How to Buy a Camera Lens
So you have bought a camera but now that you have a camera how do you choose which lens to go with it? You could go with a stock lens or you can pick up a good lens like I did recently. But how do you choose? Here are the basic steps:
- Pick your focal length
- Choose Prime or Zoom
- Choose Aperture
- Choose brand
- Look at Extra features
- Check Reviews and Test
Focal Length
Lets talk about focal length breaks down like this:
| Focal Length | Type | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| 28mm or less | Wide angle | Indoors and Lanscapes |
| 28mm-90mm | Standard | Portrait and “Every Day” |
| 90mm-200mm | Telephoto | Portrait Outdoors/Sports |
| 200 or Greater | Super Telephoto | Wildlife and Sports |
Wide
Wide angle offers a great option for taking events indoors or doing landscape. They capture just about everything and sometimes more. They are not great for portraits as they distort a person’s features. Perfect example of type of photographer who would use a wide angle is Landscape Photographer, Event Photographer, House/Home Photographer.
Testing the wide angle aspects of my new lens San Camilo Cemetery - Pereira
Standard
Standard lenses can be used for all types of situations. Mostly can be used for portrait photography where you capture more of the person. Also can be used to capture items such as product photography. These lenses are great for walking around lenses as well. These kind of lenses are used by Portrait photographers.
Telepohoto
Telephoto lens allows you to zoom in. They are good for all types of photography including outdoor events, some portrait with a little flattening (distortion), walking around lens, and also some sports. Basically these lenses allow you to get close to a subject. Kind of Photographers who use these lenses are Travel Photographers, Event photographers, Macro Photographers.
Super Telephoto
Super Telephoto are zoom in a lot. They allow you to capture something VERY far away and get close. Not great for portraits at all. They allow far away objects to be super close. These are most commonly used by Wildlife Photographers and Sports Photographers. Sorry I do not have an example of a Super telephoto lens.
Now remember that if you are using a non full frame camera you will have a bit more of a zoom 1.6x for APS-C cameras and 2x for micro four third cameras. A 45mm for a Micro Four thirds is equal to a 90mm.
Prime or Zoom
Great now you have chosen which focal length you want the next step is to choose Prime or Zoom. Prime are lenses that do not zoom or are fixed focal length. They are nice as they are cheaper as they do not need much glass and because of that they tend to be lighter. The quality tends to be better as well including allow for a wide aperture (wider opening).
The drawback is that you need to have many lenses to fit the focal lengths you need. for example you might need a 35mm 85mm and 120mm.
Zoom lenses tend to get a range of focal lengths. You can get a 18-200mm which could be 18mm wide 85mm standerd or 200mm zoom.
These can be broken into Wide Angle Zooms, Standard zoom, Telephoto, Super Telephoto.
Zoom lenses tend to be a bit pricier and can tend to lower in quality due to multiple moving parts depending on other factors.
Aperture
Now that you have decided on prime or zoom the next thing to consider is the aperture. Aperture is the how wide of an opening the lens has. The wider the lens opening the more light can be let in. Cameras need light. The more light the faster your shutter can be and that means able to take moving photos easier.
It is hard to explain aperture as the lower the number the wider the opening. This is measuring the distance between the edge of the lens to the edge of the opening.
A wider aperture can now allow for your a greater depth of field. That means a blurry background. An aperture of ƒ/2.8 would have a blurrier background than a ƒ/8. That means an ƒ/16 aperture would have a flatter image.
This is important to know as there are fixed aperture lenses (like with Prime Lenses) or variable lenses like with some lower end lenses.
A fixed aperture means that it constant it will at all times have have the lowest aperture setting no matter how far you zoom out. For example a 100-200mm 2.8 will stay a 2.8 at 100mm or at 150mm or even 200mm unless otherwise you change it yourself.
A variable aperture changes the widest aperture, for example a 18-200 3.5-5.6 would have the best aperture of 3.5 when at 18mm and at 200mm would have 5.6 aperture at best.
So choosing the right lens with the right type of aperture is important. Again the wider the aperture (the lower the number) the faster the camera can take a photo. And constant aperture lenses will tend to costs more.
Branded Lens or Third Party
Now that you have a chosen the preferred aperture you would like on your lens the next step is to decide on going with the branded lens from your camera or to go with a third party.
If you go with a branded lens, the lens tends to work best with your camera. For example Olympus has built in profiles. These profiles allow the camera to compensate for distortion and vignetting of a lens (not going to be talked about here).
Branded lenses tend to have a higher quality of glass to them, although not always true. As a Carl Ziess lens would more likely have a higher quality of glass.
Features
The next step is to look at the extra features. Certain lenses have different features, like inner focus (focuses on the inside of the lens rather than protracting or contracting the lens) which is great for people who like to take shots in different angles. Image stabilization built into the lens. This allows for those with shaky hands to not worry about the image being blurry.
Olympus OMD Series has built in Image stabilization the camera, so you can buy lenses w/o image stabilization.
Review and Test Out
Lastly check out reviews of the lens. When looking for reviews of a lens check some aspects. Some technical and personal.
Tehchnical aspects could be things like chromatic aberration. This is where the light bends through the lens differently causing the colors to not line up. This tends to leave a fringe on the edge of the image and reduce clarity.
Distortion of the lens. Wide angles tend to distort a subject a lot. But looking at how much is important. You may like the distortion of artistic reasons. Reading how much distortion from a review will be helpful. There is two types of distortion, barreling and pinching.
San Camilo Cemetery, Pereira, Colombia Distortion at 12mm
Also check out the sharpness of a lens. That is the key. The higher quality sharpness there is the better. That is what makes you’re picture come out the best.
Don’t dismiss the reviewer’s opinion about the lens too, but be mindful that it is only an opinion. My suggestion is going and trying and testing the lens for yourself. Check out your local camera store to see what they offer.
My Collection
Here is a Collection of lenses I have:
Canon
- Canon 24-70mm ƒ/2.8L USM
- Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 (great buy)
- Sigma 18-200 ƒ/3.5-5.6 (was the first lens I bought)
- Canon 70-200mm ƒ/2.8L USM (Only owned for a week before it was too much money for me)
Olympus OMD
- Olympus M. Zuiko Digital 17mm ƒ/1.8
- Olympus M. Zuiko Digital 45mm ƒ/1.8
- Olympus M. Zuiko 12-24mm ƒ2.8 Pro
- Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm ƒ/2.8 ASPH.
- Olympus Zuiko 75-150mm ƒ4-5.6 (with adapter, originally for OM film camera)
What do you think? Do you find this review helpful? Do you have anymore questions? Let me know and what you think. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter, or post on my facebook. Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Happy travels