Author Archives: Erick Redcloud
Top Travel Photos Taken in 2014
2014 was full of memories and a lot of great photography. Here are the top photographs taken by PathlessTravels in 2014 and a small story about them.
10. San Camilo Cemetery - Pereira, Colombia
San Camilo Cemetery, Pereira, Colombia
After landing in Pereira at night I woke up the next morning to explore the city. Cementerio San Camilo was on my list of locations to visit. As I got there I started taking photos. At this point my Spanish was a bit rusty so I kind of ignored reading of the signs.
When I got here I decided to really explore my new 12-40mm Olympus lens (review can be found here). I mostly wanted to explore the wide angle aspects. As I started taking photos, I was told that photography was prohibited in the cemetery. I snuck a few more photos, including this one.
9. Sunshine in the Barrio - Bogota, Colombia
Sunshine in the Barrio - Bogota, Colombia
I new friend of mine in Bogota invited me out. She asked me “Have you been to Juan Amarillo?”
I responded with a no. At that point she MADE me go. She said I would get some great photos there. She was right. The clouds started to roll into Bogota and as we started walking the water way of Río Juan Amarillo the sun peaked through the sky. I started to take some photos and this HDR with out a tripod came out not bad.
8. WWJD - Hot Air Balloon Festival - Windsor, California
WWJD Hot Air Balloon Classic - Windsor, California
Summer was just beginning and Windsor has it’s annual Hot Air Balloon classic. It was early morning when the group of photographers go there to get the dawn patrol balloons as they all light up just as the sun was coming up.
Some time later the first balloon went up… WWJD. Here he is flying high in the sky.
7. Salento Church - Salento, Colombia
Salento Church - Salento, Colombia
My pretty friend said to me that we had to visit the town of Salento. “It is famous” she said with giddiness in her voice. In the town center was a church where I walked in and fell in love with the lighting. Low to the ground I took some photos.
6. San Pedro Church - Cali, Colombia
San Pedro Church - Cali Colombia
While in Cali I decided to take a tour with Colombia Walking tours lead by Sandra, a woman who loves her city. The tour was free. It was an amazing experience to walk through downtown Cali and learn the history.
One of the stops was this old church named Iglesia San Pedro. It was dark and eerie but had just enough lighting.
5. An Amazing Smile - Armenia, Colombia
Beauty in Armenia, Colombia
I was visiting my friend in the city of Armenia (Colombia). We sat down and I wanted to catch a picture of my pretty friend. She would not have it. She just covered her face.
At that point I heard a voice “You can take my photo”. I turned around there was an amazing smile. I just had to snap the photo. She asked for some milk for her baby. So we proceeded to fill her bottle with milk and both my friend and I also had a huge smile.
4. Pretty Eyes - Villavecencio, Colombia
My Friend’s Pretty Eyes - Villavicencio, Colombia
My friend wanted to show me the city where she lived. Here I was in Villavicencio where the temperature was a hot 102 degrees. We waited for it to cool down before taking a walk through the city. Then it started raining. I came down really hard. We ran for shelter.
The lighting in the Church where we took shelter was fantastic, so fantastic it made my friend’s eyes just glow. We held a mini photo shoot there.
3. Statue in Villa De Leyva - Villa De Leyva, Colombia
Statue in Villa De Leyva - Colombia
After meeting Claudia, a girl I meet had an amazing connection with, her family and I went to Villa de Leyva. Villa De Leyva is North of Bogota and is famous for it’s plaza. I have already taken photos of the plaza so was seeking for something different.
I found this interesting statue next to a smaller church. I found the sky to be so dramatic so I got low and too an HDR shot of the scene.
2. The View of Salento - Salento, Colombia
Mirador in Salento, Colombia
My friend that I mention before took me to Salento. She insisted we go take a hike to see this view. But she also insisted we eat before hand. We ate a grand lunch, huge bowl of salad and deserts. It was great, but I was stuffed and now tired.
Next up, take a hike up some stairs. I was dead tired. But finally getting past it all we get to this view. It was amazing. I took and HDR series of shots to make this amazingly view.
1. Sunset on the Beach of Puerto Colombia - Puerto Colombia, Colombia
Beach of Puerto Colombia Outside of Barranquilla
I went to Carnaval in Barranquilla, one of the largest festivals in Colombia. The drawback is that everything was expensive. So I did some research to find a cheap alternative when traveling during a peak time. I came across a nice place in Puerto Colombia and this beach was my backyard.
As you can see there is a common theme to these photos as I spent most of my 2014 in Colombia. How did your photographs come out for 2014? Have any to share with us? Let me know. 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips on beer or travel. Happy travels 
5 Ways To Make Your Travel New Years Resolution Become A Reality
Yeah, don’t even bother doing it. You know you are not going to accomplish this year’s New Year’s resolution. 92% of New Years resolutions fail. That’s right, that means that trip to Dubai for $3,000 a night, it’s not happening. At least not this year!
So why is it that you will not get to Dubai this year? There are a lot of contributing factors to why resolutions fail. One of the contributing factors is that people tend to set unrealistic goals for themselves. Another is that no one really plans out their resolutions. Lastly, they lose momentum due to not being able to measure their success.
Dubai can actually be a reality if by taking some simple steps, 5 steps to be more specific. These five steps can be breaking down to an an acronym known as SMART.
What is SMART? Depending on the resource you read it from, SMART stands for, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relative, Time. Here they are broken down in English in no specific order at all.
Be Specific
A lot of people will make a New Years resolution to just travel more, or travel through Europe. The problem with these is they are very vague with their statements. Getting down to a specific location makes the resolution more real. It makes it more likely that it will happen. Instead of saying I want to travel to South America, say that you want to visit Cartagena, Colombia or Buenos Aires, Argentina. This gives a more attainable goal for you to shoot for rather than just shooting blindly.
Never Thought I would Visit Bali Until I set it as a destination I wanted to go to.
Make your destination realistic
Nothing like saying I am going to visit Buenos Aires, Rio, Quito, Panama City, Rome, Tokyo all in one trip. Now if you can do that, let me know how you did it.
When planing a trip being very realistic about what you want to do. Do not over reach the amount of destinations or the length of stay. If you can only get 4 days of vacation, make the trip limited to one place closer to home. If you can get 30 days. Still only make the trip limited to 1-3 cities and plan for longer travel times. When you make realistic goals it makes them more attainable. It becomes something you KNOW you can do.
Set a Date
“I want to travel to to Thailand sometime this year” is a great statement, but it also is a statement that will hurt you. If you are not specific by a date of when you want to go, you will keep putting off the plans for a different time. The year seems long at first, but as it starts nearing towards the end, you will wonder where all the time went and at that point it is time to give up on the resolution.
Set a specific date on when you want to go. If you need help, here are some tips on the best times of the year to travel.
Make it You
Partying in Ibiza all night long sounds amazingly fun. But if partying is not something you do at all, then maybe that plan may not be the best for you. Set at travel that caters to who you are. If you are a calm mellow person, try a remote location. If you like the posh life, try an upbeat city location. Just be true to you style rather than doing the bucket list of things that “have to be done”
Sometimes I just want to enjoy the simplicity of the beach.
Research and Measure it out
Okay, so you have an idea of where you want to go and when you want to go. To make it all a reality requires research to be done. Research like crazy, including pricing, places of interest and where to stay and the daily break down. Here some tips on how to do the research.
Once the research is all done set out small goals to help yourself attain the trip. For example, make a white board with how much you need to save and how much you saved so far. Perhaps add to the white board how many cups of coffee you skipped trying to save for the trip.
Having place to see you progress helps the momentum going. Losing that momentum will be catastrophic to the resolution becoming a reality.
Conclusion
Let SMART work for you, or at least this travel version of it. This way you can have that travel plan that you have always wanted. You will also not fall into that 92% of people who fail. Remember to be specific on your destination and time, be realistic of where to go and how long, and plan it out and measure your progress.
What do you think? Have you ever actually fulfilled your New Year’s Resolution before? Are you an 8%? What tips do you have? Where would you like to go this year? Let me know. 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips on beer or travel. Happy travels
How Beer Has Made Me a Better Traveler
The glass is clear, so clear that the tiny bubbles that are rising through the golden brown liquid can be counted. As each bubble rises it journies to top where it finally meets a large foamy cream. You grasp your hand around the pint and slowly bring it to your lips as you grab a whiff of the nutty, oaky, malty smell as your nose dips its way into the opening of the glass. As the cool foam touches you lips, the cool liquid exudes flavors of sweetness and bitterness and a crisp cool ahhh sensation. That is the experience of a beer.
I love beer, but not because of it’s wonderful rich flavor, or the fact that it is a great way to waste time. I love beer because beer has made me a better traveler.
No I am not grasping at straws here. Let me expalin a bit more. You probably know from your past experiences yourself, beer helps bring people together, It can be a great conversation starter to get information and It has character that can tell a story. But like all great things it also has it’s faults as well. Really hear me out here.
Cerveza De Colombia - Poker Beer On The Beach of Taganga
Inhabitions go away
Beer makes it easier to meet people. In a world where we always have walls up, we are consistanly editing our own thoughts and the words that we might say. The consistent want to respect people’s personal space makes it hard to just say to what you want to say. I am not talking about telling some guy that he has a big nose and that his clothes smell like a stinky socks left out for months. What I am trying to say is not trying to offend someone just by saying a simple hello with out over-editing before hand.
It is a given. When we get drunk we tend to relax a bit more, and thoughts flow a bit more, (or not so much). We roll with it rather than over thinking situations. It makes it easier to say “Hey, I love that jacket, where did you get it?” without editing how you are going ot say it before hand. With a brew in hand and a few in the stomach all that extra thinking goes away. You can just say what you really want.
Beer Talk
Finding things in common with people is key. This is especially the case when traveling. As human beings we are social “animals”, wanting to be with people we can bond with based on the same beliefs, values and interests similar to our own. I mentioned this in story about meeting Claudia.
Beer can be that bridge. Just sitting in a pub and asking someone what htey are drinking and asking how they enjoy their beer can just open a line of communication. That can lead to matching or not matching your tastes and preferences of beers. It starts a common ground of interest. At least this is true for a beer lovers, as myself and many others in the world.
Suggestions to help with cultivating this interest. talk about what flavors your prefer. Do you like sweeter beers? Do you like bitter beers? Do you like it dry, dark, light, heavy, warm, cold? What are some of your other favorite beers that you have tasted?
I find that some of these topics start off a great conversation that eventually leads to other conversations like work, family; and god forbid, politics.
Group of Friends I Meet in La Topa Tolondra -Over Some Beers Cali Colombia
Insider Information
Okay after so much drinking and talking to strangers… locals in a pub. I always get to know more about the city/town I am visiting. Yes you could always consult lonely planet guide book or check out yelp, but there is something more genuine about hearing it straight from the horses mouth. (Not trying to call locals horses or anything.)
After bonding with someone over beer, that is when the best advice given. My visit through British Columbia while brew/pub hopping was filled with advice from the locals I meet. Without that advice I would have not known where to set up for firework displays, checked out a lake monster or fidn out about other places to enjoy a good brew.
Beer Has Character
From one brewery to another, each has their own distinct taste. This is especially the case when it comes to different regions and countries. I can tell you a stout from Bali is different than a stout from Dublin. A Hite from South Korea is nothing like a Sour Beer from Sonoma County. (Yeah Apples and…)
What I have found is that each country and state have their distinct characteristic that tells you about the culture in the area. For example Sonoma County, known for it’s wineries, has taken in and embraced that wine culture into their beer with Sour beers, that are brewed in wine barrels. It gives a distinct taste.
Korea has a very lite beer, crisp but not heavy. A lot of businesses are done over drinking in Korea. Too heavy of a beer and the business deal can go wrong.
British Columbia is teaming with high prices of beer to help pay for their universal healthcare. That is why there are lot of homebrewing and craft brews that have come out of the area.
And Red Horse from Philippines? I dont know what that tells you about them. Big bottle and high alcohol content? (I can speculate but I won’t.)
What it comes down to, each beer has a characterist that tells you a story about the people and culture from that region. Tasting beer from around the world opens your mind to knowing so much more about he world.
Drawbacks of Beer
Nothing amazing does not come without drawbacks. Beer included. Beer has it’s problems all over the world. Price is one of the biggest offset I can think of.
When traveling on a budget, the price of beer can start to add up. One turns into 2 then 3 and then 6 (at least for me). The cost starts adding up from $4 and now $24. To prevent from this occurring drink slowly and enjoy each sip taken.
Of course one of the biggest drawbacks is gettign too drunk and forgetting things. I am not talking about leaving your glass slipper behind accidently at the bar. I mean forgetting about safety or where you hotel is. Take a business card of where you are staying with you and stick it in yoru wallet and another in your pocket. When you go to pay you can be reminded to have the bartender to call you cab to get to the hotel on the card.
Drunken people at times can be very heated and at rare times lead to violent tendancies. Some people take those voilent tendancies home and out on their family. This is not a good thing, no matter where you are in the world. That is why for my upcoming project I will be donating all extra money raise to Battered Women’s shelter for our Beer Travel eBook. Helping those survivors just seems the right thing to do.
BBC Stout - Bogota Beer Company
Conclusion
From Korea, Bali, Colombia, Argentina and Canada, beer has helped me become a better traveler. It has helped me become more aware, helped me find out a character of a country, and allowed me to talk and learn more about the locals. The biggest question is now, what is YOUR favorite beer and where is it from?
Have any great beer stories to share? Did I leave any important points out? Tell us what you think. Leave a comment below, send me a tweet on twitter using #BeerXplorer, or post on my Facebook.
Heck even send us a message. Let me know so I can help. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips on beer or travel. Happy travels
Traveling Alone Does Not Mean Traveling Lonely - Tips to Traveling Solo
You walk off of the plane and into the busy airport. As you pack your pick up your bags from the luggage claim, you make your way out of the airport and it is chaos. Things start to rush through you head…Which way do I go? Where do I catch a cab? Omg, am I going to be happy on this trip? Suddenly that feeling starts to sink in, that feeling of helplessness. The feeling like you are at it all alone, a lonely traveler.
One of the biggest roadblocks that most people have is that they do not want to travel because they do not have someone to travel with. Traveling alone is daunting and can make you feel apprehension when traveling solo. That lonely feeling does not have to damper the trip though. Here are some tips of how to travel solo and not feel lonely.
A Lonley Man Travels the Road from Katra, India
Learn the Language
I know that this just seems a bit obvious, but in order to prevent loneliness and communicating with the locals is to make sure you know the language. Even if you know just a little bit, it will go a long way. You can use tools like Duolingo. Knowing the language will help you communicate with others so that you do not feel alienated.
Get Drunk
Yup I said that. Get drunk. Okay, you do not necessarily have to get drunk but check out the local bars, pubs and places that locals like to hang out and get loose. After all, the main reason people are out at bar, pub or club is becaue they want to have a good time and meet people. Why not do the same? I myself am a fan of good beer and meet some amazing guys in Vancouver when at a brewpub.
Stay with a Friend/Family
This is kind of obvious, if you want to not be lonely, go with family and friends. A lot of times I will meet with friends in different countries just so that when I get there, I have some one who can show me the local things to do. But I do not have to be by their side the whole time. I tend to have them join me for company and find locals in other ways.
Stay at a Hostel
I am not a fan of hostels, but there is one thing that a hostel has as an advantage over hotels. That thing that it offers is the community vibe and feel. When sharing rooms or communal areas with people, it forces you to be more social. Hostels are great for solo travelers as you will meet other travelers to explore the area with. The only drawback is you will miss out on meeting more locals (unless the people you meet also have a knack for meeting locals).
Check Out the Communial Areas
Does the place you are staying at have a communal area? A lounge? Perhaps a bar? A gym? Take advantage of these communal areas to meet locals. Hanging out in the lounge in the San Francisco hotel one evening I stumbled upon a group who was all meeting in the lounge to go out. A conversation started and my lonely night ended up partying with new friends.
Felipe and I In the Plaza in Tunja
Use Hosting Services
Check out some hosting services where you can stay with a local. One example would be airbnb.com where you can find locals who are renting out a room of an apartment/house. A lot of times these locals want to show you their hometown. Two examples are when I was in Vancouver and my host couple invited me to go wind sailing with them. The other example is when I was in Puerto Colombia and the hosts invited me to join them during Carnaval.
Another hosting service to consider is Couchsurfing. I hung out a lot with my first and only couch surfing host. You can read more about my experience with Felipe here.
Using Meetup Services
In the past I wrote how meetup services are great for learning languages. It can also be great just to make new friends. A few meetup services to take advantage of are Couchsurfing (not just for a place to stay), meetp.com and a new one named Nomaders.com.
All of these services allow you to just meet people who love showing off thier hometown to visitors. Check out each service to get a person who really wants to learn about you and show you their home.
Be Talkative
This is probably the hardest advice to take and swallow. Especially in American culture where we are always careful not to intrude on someone’s personal space.
In my experience, most people are friendly. They do not mind their personal space being intruded on. Even more so, people love talking about thier hometown. Start with that, it will almost always start an interesting conversation.
Looking over the quiet beach, enjoying the time alone
Have Fun
This last tip might be obvious. Leave all your worries behind and just have fun. Nothing can bring on lonliness faster than brooding over situations. Instead make the best of your moment. If you are alone in a public place, use it as an opportunity to relax, enjoy the view and just imagine that you wont have that kind of peace and quiet when you return back to your work.
What do you think? Did I leave any important tips at all? Are there any other tips you use to keep your moral up when you are traveling? Tell us 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips. Happy travels
KAYAK vs Expedia - Travel Search Engine vs Online Booking Agents
“KAYAK, Expedia… they all do the same thing.” At that instant my jaw dropped. My jaw dropped so hard to the point where it nearly smashed against the ground. My father’s statement put me in such a “shock and awe”. After that brief and short conversation I decided to ask my friends. “What do you think of FareCompare?” Their response, “Oh, I just like using Travelocity”. The response was nearly the same with all of my friends, Travelocity, Booking.com, Expedia. I realized at this point that people do not know the difference between KAYAK and Expedia; Farecompare and Travelocity; Trivago and Hotels.com. You are probably scratching your head and trying to figure out yourself what the difference is.
The Look on My Face After Realizing people did not know the difference between a metasearch and a booking site
Booking websites
You remember before computers, (maybe you do and maybe you don’t), a person had to rely on a travel agent to book a trip? Well, a person could do it all themselves, but it wouldn’t get you the best prices, great perks and it could take a lot of time. A booking agent would get a list of all the deals from airline companies and hotels. They would pick and choose from the list of those deals and offer them to their customers based on the need of their customer. Sometimes hotels, airlines, rental agencies would offer specific deals discounts and deals to specific travel agents if they would recommend their service to the agent’s customers.
Well, now with the invention of computers and the internet, the travel agents are slowly going away, being replaced my digital travel agents, also known as booking agent websites. They work the exact same way as a travel agent did back in the day. They show all the deals that are offered by to the agent by an airline, hotel, rental agency. Sometimes getting deals to offer their customers to try out a different service. The biggest difference though is that a travel agent can customize and tailor a trip for a person based on the information provided to them. A booking agency website cannot listen to back story and cannot customize a trip to tailor to the customer’s needs. The good thing is that it shows all the prices up front for the customer to pick and choose based on price (and reviews).
How do travel agencies and booking agencies make their money? Well, they get a commission of sales. Some travel services may offer bigger commissions and other may offer lower commissions. Those commissions are what decide what they want to offer a customer and what they don’t want to offer a customer up front. Also the travel agencies negotiate prices before hand with travel services try to get the best deals for their customer and in return mark up or down the price as they seem fit to make their margin. Another way they make money is charging a transaction fee, this keeps the pricing low and they get money from he transaction process itself.
Here are a listing of some online booking agencies to help some understanding:
- Expedia Inc. which includes Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com
- Booking.com
- Travelocity and sister site Lastminute.com
- Orbitz its sister sites Cheaptickets.com and ebookers.com
- Priceline
- Travelzoo
- MakeMyTrip (Indian Travel Agency)
- Agoda (Asian Hotel/Stay Agency)
- Vayama (International Flights)
- Hostelworld (Hostels/Boutique Hotels)
KAYAK logo
Metasearch/Aggregators
With all these booking agents like Priceline, Orbitz and Travelocity, how do you know which one is offering the best deal? Wouldn’t it be great to have a website that searched through all the booking agents and even the travel services? Well, enter KAYAK and other aggregators and metasearch engines. Aggregators and metasearch engines help you find the best deal by searching through booking websites for you. They gather all information from each booking website, and even some of the travel services and list them based on your search criteria.
In order for these websites to work it needs to “scrape” the information from those booking websites. To do that, it needs to look at those websites. How it does this is that it asks you to open searches in a different window. This makes it annoying but that is how these metasearches get its information. The more people who do searches, and allow more popup window searches, the more accurate it becomes at giving you the best prices. That is why the more popular websites, like KAYAK.com are more accurate at giving the best prices because more people use it.
A metasearch website is much more efficient than just visiting a booking agent’s website due to the fact you can get a broader spread of prices. Here are a list of some common metasearches/aggregators:
- KAYAK
- Skyscanner
- FareCompare
- CheapOair
- Momondo
- Ixigo
- Cheapflights
- HipMunk (With a great visual time comparison layout)
- Trivago (Hotels)
How do these websites make money? They usually make money through advertising or sometimes they get commission from the booking websites. We give tips on how to book at the right time using these search sites in an older article.
Visual Time Line Comparison of HipMunk
Bargain/Travel Deal Websites
Now that we know what a metasearch or aggregator is, let us talk about a third kind of website to get travel deals. You see sometimes travel services and booking agents try get a certain type of market and to do this they offer a major deal. Perhaps they want to get more business travelers to visit NYC, so they offer one way flights for $89 and send the deal out through their mailer only marketed towards business travelers. But the legal issue is that they have to offer this deal to anyone who requests it. How do you find out about these deals? Well, that is where the third kind of website comes in play. They are Travel Deal websites. They collect all the special deals and just put them on a website and allow a customer to see them. These are great websites for someone with an open schedule who have no clue where they want to go, but they want to go somewhere for a good price. They are not for those who are looking to go to a specific spot. Here are some examples of travel deal websites:
- Airfarewatchdog
- TheFlightDeal
- FareCompare
- HotelTonight (Phone App Only)
- JetSetter
I find that bargain and deal websites are great for Freelance travel writers/bloggers and people who just nomadic.
How do these sites make money? They make their money usually through commission from booking agents and travel services. They also make money through advertising or sometimes transaction fees.
With all these different websites out there I hope now there is a better understanding between a booking website, a metasearch and a bargain site. I hope this helps narrow down finding the best deal for anyone wanting to take a vacation.
What do you think? Did I leave any important websites out? Tell us 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips. Happy travels
Visiting Bogota Like a Local - Nightlife
Bogota is the place that I can call my second home. Having visiting Bogota more than 8 times and living there for months I have really gotten to know the city. The city has MANY things to offer, but to tell you the truth, most people only view the few things. There are somethings in Bogota that only some of the locals can tell you about. After basically becoming a local, here are some amazing places to visit.
The Nightlife
When it comes to the nightlife in Bogota, everyone will tell you to go to Andres Carne de Res in Chia. It is the tourist thing to do. The drinks are very expensive and it is filled with glam and posh environment. If you are into that kind of thing, then this place is for you. If not, instead check out some of the places below.
La villa Is probably one of the most popular places to dance, especially on tuesday nights. Why Tuesday nights? Because on Tuesday Nights is Gr!ngo Tuesday, a language exchange for locals and foreigners to practice Spanish, German, Portuguese, English, French and sometimes other languages as well. Afterwards enjoy the rumba all night like.
Gr¡ngo Tuesday in La Villa in Bogota, Colombia
On Thursdays, La Villa offers free salsa lessons. A great way to meet people who need a partner to dance. Two for one drink specials and just people who want to have fun.
This area is known as the party central. Feel free to walk around and explore the things to do, I would suggest getting some quick shots from Shots Bar and trying the Kill Me… it killed me. Another great shot bar in the area is the crazy Chupitos.
Friend having a very phallic shot from Chupitos near Calle 85
Perhaps you are more into an alternative scene? La Tora 4 brazos in Chapinero is a great tucked away scene. It plays mostly rock and alternative music but also mixes in some great dance music. Went with some expats who were English teachers and some locals. Had a great time.
Perhaps you want to see a live rock band? Check out Armando Records a great place to see live bands and open roof top area to do some dancing. It is a great place to just have fun and see local music (and big names as well.)
An area that mostly only locals go to is Galerias, where you can find places like Kandelaria Morena Bar, and a bunch more. Just walk around and pick and choose, or you can have the touts choose for you.
All of us enjoying sometime together after a meet up and ready to head to Galerias to dance - Bogota Colombia
Another University area that has a lot of bars and is a bit quieter is
I myself am a fan of beer and like most working Colombians, just like sitting and talking with friends. One of the most popular places for locals to go is to Bogotá Beer Company which are dotted all over Bogota. They can be found in most major malls and in Park 93 and other landmarks.
Felipe with Some New Friends and Beers - Bogota, Colombia
Did I leave out any amazing places? Perhaps you have some suggestions that I didn’t mention. 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips. Happy travels
Why VSCOcam is the best Camera for iOS8 So Far
They say that the best camera you have is the one you have with you. For the most of you I bet you have your iPhone with you, your best camera. I myself always have my iPhone with me as well. But to tell you the truth I rarely use my iPhone as a camera. Why you ask? Well, because it is not a professional camera. I know what you are thinking. Why is this guy on his high horse saying that the iPhone is not a professional camera? Well most of the time I am in a situation where the lighting is not right and the flash on the iPhone is not strong enough to compensate for the situation and the phone will pump up the ISO to correct for the light. The result is a very pixalated and really grainy photo. There is no control over this… Until now with iOS 8 and VSCOcam.
When Tim Cook announce the release of iOS 8 in early June of 2014 he mentioned many new features in the new iOS SDK. One of the many new features mentioned was Photo Kit. This allowed developers to be able to develop tools to work directly with the photos app as well as the camera on an iPhone. As a photographer I got very excited about this. This meant developers could add more controls to the built in camera of the iPhone. And the day that iOS 8 was released,that is exactly what the developers at Visual Supply Company did. They upgraded their very popular free app VSCOcam with many features that made me leave my go to Camera+ app. It gives the controls of a professional level camera, right in your iPhone.
Let us start with the basics of VSCOcam. The interface is simple and easy to use. It takes on the flat look that was introduced in iOS 7. It is simple to focus by tapping. If you want exposure seperate from focus you can use two fingers at once to create two seperate circles, one for exposure and the other for focus.
These are features available in many other camera apps, but what sets VSCOcam apart from others are it’s new iOS 8 Photo Kit features these include:
- Manual Brightness - This allows you to adjsut the brightness higher or lower - on a professional level camera this is equavilant to exposure compensation
- Manual Shutter Speed - This allows for the shutter to be open for a longer period of time or a shorter period of time. This can allow for the faster shutter prevent less shake in your photo.
- Manual White Balance - This can allow you to change the coloring of your photo, allowing you for to adjust if the image is too blue or too much orange. For professionals, you can dial in the correct Kelvin for the external light being use to compensate for the color casting.
- Manual Focus - Sometimes you may want to manually focus to make an image out of focus on purpose for added Bokeh effects or you want to pre-focus for a moving object. This feature allows you to do this.
- Manual ISO - My favorite new feature, the ability to adjust the sensitivity of sensor. The more sensative or higher the ISO the less light it needs to take a photo, but it makes the photo grainy. If you going to use the flash or dont want the image to be grainy you can then lower the ISO.
Using manual settings the image came out not bad
Overblow using the automatic settings
If you combine these settings, and experiment with some light you can make some amazing photos with the manual settings.
You tell me what do you think of the new VSCOcam? Perhaps you prefer a different Camera App? Tell us 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips. Happy travels
Video: Early Review of Pics.io A Cloud Raw Photo Manager
Ever wanted a RAW photo editor and did not want to pay the price of Lightroom? Well enter Pics.io a RAW editor and organizer available on the web. Currently it is a free service.
What is Pics.io? Like I mentioned is a service that allows you to manage your RAW images in a cloud service. Currently it allows you to tie to your Google Drive account and allows you to manage and edit your RAW images from any device.
It is a web based interface currently and the idea and concept about the service is awesome. This allows for people to be able to share and work on images on the go. The website is in it’s early stages still and still has some things to work out. But the concept far surpasses many out there especially in it’s early stages. Check out the video review above and check out Pics.io website as well.
Tell us 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips. Happy travels
Photo Tip: Finding Copyright Infringement with Google Images and ImageRaider
“Hey Erick, Your photos are all over the web” is what my lovely friend tells me with her gorgeous accent and a concerned tone to her voice. “Yes, I know. I have posted them on galleries like Flickr, 500px and others.” That was my response with my usual calm demeanor. “No! That is not what I am talking about.” she responds as she sends me an email lined with blue links, one after another, after another. after another. My calm demeanor slowly turns into fidgeting as I click on the first link and then the next link, slowly turning into a caldron boiling rage as I come to the last link. At this point I am furious. Why you ask? It is called copyright infringement and it is a serious crime.
Let us put you in a scenario. Let us say you are a carpenter, a very skilled one. Let us say that you like to take your time perfecting your craft, making sure your work is a masterpiece. You work hard on one project and as a result, a brilliant work of art that is above anything else you have ever done before. You place your masterpiece out on front of your shop to sell in hopes that people see it and come in to commission you to do other works of art.
A very common photo stolen by tour guides in Uruguay and Buenos Aires
Now you know how I felt after finding tour guide websites that were using my photographs that I have worked hard on spending hours photographing and organizing. Copyright infringement is a serious thing. Instead of focusing on the frustration though, it was time to do something about it. I went ahead and emailed the owners of the website, explained the situation and ask them to either remove the photo or offer some sort of reciprocation for using the photo. Most apologized and removed the photo from their website. Others were kind enough to promote my services as a photographer and linked the photo to my website.
Fisherman On Dal Lake is the most commonly stolen photo I find
So how do you use google images? First open up your browser and then head to the website images.google.com. Now originally google images was designed so that you can find images based on what you wanted to find. For example if you wanted to find pictures of tigers, typing tigers would brings you results of pictures of tigers.
Reverse Google Option can be found clicking on the Camera
A lot of times it easier to just drag and drop the image to begin the search
It looks like this newspaper at the bottom has used my image with out my permission
There had to be a better solution. That’s where I start to do more investigating. I came across an blog article on the web (sorry I wish I can find it again to give credit). The article was a review of a website called ImageRaider.
This is ImageRaider by Alec Bertram
When you sign up for ImageRaider you get 300 credits to start with. That allows you to do Google Image searches for a few photos for a long period of time if you are doing a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly search. If you have a lot of photos, then it will burn through pretty fast. You can purchase more credits as you need them.
The tool has streamlined my weekly routine of looking for copyright infringement on the web. In what used to be an all day or 2 day process has now taken hours in a day. (Depending how easy it is to contact the owner of the website or webservice.) ImageRaider can help many photographers out there. Check them out.
What do you think of Copyright infringement? Have you been a victim? Perhaps all images on the web should be free? Tell us 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. Subscribe to our newsletter to gain even more tips. Happy travels