Cloudy days. Good news and bad news for photographers.

Bad news: Not much light means colors can be washed out.

Good news: Not much light means shadows won’t obscure features, such as people’s faces.

Bikes on a Bridge, Amsterdam

Bad news: Not much light means few, if any, shadows will be cast to create contrast.

Happy medium: Just enough clouds added to your image without blocking all of the sunlight.

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When “The Movies” Say “Don’t Go There!”

Movie Reviews
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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) 7 places not to travel, according to movies (via Matador Network) The Outback World-famous travel spots in the bush — the arid central and northern areas of Australia that lack urban centers — include Uluru and Alice [...]

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Rome river judged too dirty for tourist cruises

Destination Updates
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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) Rome river judged too dirty for tourist cruises (via AFP) Tourist cruises along Rome’s Tiber River have been suspended indefinitely for the first time since they began a decade ago because the waterway is judged too dirty. [...]

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Chicago’s O’Hare – Where Goats Do Roam

Travel News Updates
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Plenty of airline passengers—myself included—have had their “goat gotten” at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Flight delays. Flight cancellations. Long walks between terminals. Argh! But now O’Hare  is going to “get its own goats.” Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Dick Jordan Republish This Article

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Making Great iPhone Vacation Videos

App Reviews
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Earlier this month, Tales Told From The Road publisher Dick Jordan told how to make great vacation videos using iPhone video apps when he was a guest on The Azumano Travel Show broadcast every weekend by Portland, Oregon radio station KPAM 860 AM. Listen to part one of Dick’s interview covering the Vine app. Part [...]

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Travel Photo Thursday: It Takes Two to Tango

Travel Photo Thursday
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In past “Travel Photo Thursday” posts I stressed the importance of having people—not just grand edifices or sweeping landscapes—in your trip photos. Your photos can show “locals” doing something, capture “look-alikes,”  or feature inanimate “people.” And you can use people to add a sense of scale to the shot. While having a lone person in [...]

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“Searching for Sugar Man” in Detroit and South Africa

Movie Reviews
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A singer of “Bob Dylanesque” songs, but with a smoother voice. A music celebrity greater than the Rolling Stones or Elvis Presley. Who is this guy? And what the hell was he doing in Detroit and South Africa? Republish This Article

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Lassen: Off-The-Beaten National Park Path

Destination Updates
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Yellowstone and Glacier. Yosemite and Sequoia. Grand Canyon North Rim, Grand Canyon South Rim. Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches. Name virtually any national park in the Western U.S. and I’d say “Been there, done that.” So which is my hands-down favorite? Lassen, in north central California, miles away from Interstate 5 chock-a-block with cars and big [...]

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Richard Branson works as a “Non-Virgin” Flight Attendant

Travel News Updates
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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) Branson serves as AirAsia stewardess after losing bet (via AFP) British billionaire Richard Branson strutted his stuff as an AirAsia flight attendant Sunday — complete with fishnet stockings and figure-hugging red pencil skirt. His star turn on [...]

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Moving Videos from iPhone to iPad

App Reviews
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The newer iPhones, like the “5” which I bought last fall, shoot clear, crisp high-definition video. And  iPhone video editing apps like Ptch or iMovie let me create and share entertaining short “movies.” But those editing tasks are more easily done using those apps on the iPad with its much larger screen, especially since my [...]

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Travel Photo Thursday: “Great Unexpectations”

Travel Photo Thursday
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Professional travel photographers “on assignment” often carry a “shot list” to insure that they capture the exact images needed to illustrate a story. Leisure travelers may plan to visit and photograph famous tourist attractions, like Paris’ Eiffel Tour, Rome’s Coliseum, or London’s Big Ben. But they usually don’t know what the story of their trip [...]

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The Original iPhone: “Vintage” vs “Obsolete”

Travel Essays
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As we bumped along the dirt road leading from The Bear Track Inn to the Glacier Bay National Park Visitor Center, our van driver held the steering wheel with one hand while using the other to manipulate a wondrous device: The Original iPhone. “I need one of those!” I exclaimed to my wife. “No you [...]

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South Korean Landmark Reopens

Destination Updates
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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) Arson-hit South Korean landmark reopens to public (via AFP) South Korea on Saturday reopened its landmark Namdaemun gate to the public, five years after the historic jewel in central Seoul was burned down in an arson attack [...]

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Virgin America Introduces “In-Flight Flirting”

Travel News Updates
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Last Friday’s app review, “Hot Times in Iceland: There’s An App for That!”, discussed looking for love in all the right (or wrong) places in Iceland. But you don’t need to hop an international flight to that super-heated volcanic island to seek romance. According to this report from HuffPost Live, you just need a ticket [...]

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Hot Times in Iceland: There’s Apps for That!

App Reviews
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Iceland is both a cool and hot spot on the planet. And in more ways than one. Like the “Big Island” of Hawaii, its got a lot of “cool,” but super-heated volcanic goings on. There’s an Iceland travel app for finding the places where the earth moves and flows. Like Hawaii, Iceland could be a [...]

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Travel Photo Thursday: Take Your Best Shots

Travel Photo Thursday
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One great thing about digital cameras: You can store a ton of photos on a single memory card. One bad thing about digital cameras: You can store a ton of photos on a single memory card. One great thing about digital photo slide shows: You can pack them with a ton of photos. One bad [...]

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The Jaguar of “Desire”

Movie Reviews
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So, when I say “movie” you think “An hour and half to two hour flick,” right? Well, maybe not. How about a movie that tells a story from beginning to end in just a hair under 13 and a half minutes? Could it be done and done well in about half the length of the [...]

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Stairway to Heaven: Siena Cathedral Opens Roof Tour

Destination Updates
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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) Stairway to heaven: Siena cathedral opens roof tour (via AFP) Secret passages high up in the rafters of Siena Cathedral have opened for the first time after decades of restoration, offering a rare view of midnight-blue ceilings [...]

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