Travel photography: How to make a tripod that fits in your pocket

by Jessica Festa on

For those out there who don’t want to spend a lot of money on fancy equipment or hate lugging around a heavy tripod during your travels, there is a solution that costs less than $3 and fits right in your pocket. Travel blogger Alex from the Travel Noodle gives photographers instructions on how to create a string pod, which is essentially a tripod made of string.

The supplies you will need include:

  • A piece of string that is a little bit longer than your own height
  • a 1/4″ eye bolt (this will work for most cameras, although you may want to confirm the size of your camera’s tripod socket at the hardware store)
  • A large washer

You will begin by tying one end of the string to the eye bolt and the other end to the washer. Next, screw the eye bolt into the tripod socket of your camera. Then, with the string attached, drop the washer to the ground and stand on it. Now, with the string nice and taut you can begin taking excellent travel photos without having to worry about the dreaded camera shake.

Undiscovered New York: Handmade in Brooklyn

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Brooklyn remains one of the more fiercely independent places in all of New York City. Although the Borough was officially incorporated into the greater city in 1898, it has long-rivaled its more popular neighbor Manhattan across the river for the tallest buildings, the most impressive parks and museums and for the ingenuity of its residents.

One of the more visible artifacts of this competitive spirit and creativity is Brooklyn’s love affair with all things handcrafted, artisanal and one-of-a-kind. What is it about Brooklyn that makes it so creative exactly? Call it a symptom of the pride Brooklyn’s residents have for their unique brownstone neighborhoods. Or chalk it up to the high creativity of the area’s many transplants from around the world. But whether it’s made-from-scratch pickles, chocolate or beer, a lovingly crafted musical instrument or quirky piece of jewelry or hooded sweatshirt, the labors of Brooklyn refuse to be homogeneous.

And what about you, dear reader – are you looking for a one-of-a-kind gift or souvenir from your visit to the Big Apple? Does the prospect of some handcrafted beer make you thirsty? Perhaps some custom-made cologne, perfume or clothing is more your style? Grab the next subway out of Manhattan: this week’s edition of Undiscovered New York is handmade, straight from Brooklyn. Click below to read more.
Handmade Gifts
They say smell is the sense most closely associated with memory – Brooklyn scent-makers at D.S. & Durga seem to have taken the idea to heart. The pair of budding smell-smiths have been producing small batch handmade colognes and perfumes since 2007, sourcing plant extracts, resins and oils from around the world. Stop by one of their Brooklyn retail outlets and pick up a custom made bottle for yourself.

While D.S. & Durga are playing around with notes of scent like citrus and ginger, the craftsmen at Sadowsky Guitars have a very different kind of note-making in mind. Though New York has a long history as a center for guitar-making companies, the team at Sadowsky operates out of a small store in Brooklyn. They have produced custom guitars, basses and audio products for such musicians as Adam Clayton from U2 and Lenny Kravitz. If it’s good enough for these accomplished axe-handlers, guitarists everywhere can bet there’s a custom guitar there waiting to built just for you.

Independent Fashion
When it comes to clothing, Brooklyn’s got a style all its own. Men and women alike swear by local clothing chain Brooklyn Industries. They stock a wide range of quirky bags, outerwear, t-shirts and dresses to suit the most discerning fashion-lovers. It’s gotten so popular you can now find retail outlets well beyond the chain’s Brooklyn home in locations as far away as Chicago and Portland.

If customization is your thing, look no further than Brooklyn favorite Neighborhoodies. The clothing chain, which lets customers design one-of-a-kind hooded sweatshirts and t-shirts emblazoned with personal messages and imagery, first got its start in this most creative of Boroughs. This isn’t your boring old iron-on we’re talking about here – the letters can be hand-stitched onto any clothing item and can include graphics like guns, monkeys and thunderbolts.

Free-form Food
As was noted in a recent article by the New York Times, Brooklyn has become ground zero for one of the country’s most interesting and creative artisanal food scenes. Passionate foodies and chefs are making just about every kind of foodstuff imaginable from scratch, including items like chocolate, cheese and pickles.

But it doesn’t stop there – beer lovers should make sure to try out one of the Borough’s several local brews. Local favorites include Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Brewery, where visitors can take a tour and to sample a few of their recent specialities, or the Brooklyn brewers at Sixpoint Craft Ales. Meanwhile, the small-batch pickle makers of Wheelhouse crank out seasonal experimental pickle flavors like Champagne Vinegar Spears as well as standbys including Big Bang Okra and Top Shelf Beets.

Through the Gadling Lens: photo gifts for Mother’s Day

by Karen Walrond on

Last week, my friend Willy pinged me via instant message: “Hey, do you have any ideas on how I can share photos? I have a ton of them sitting on my hard drive doing nothing.” I know the problem: if it weren’t for the fact that I had a photoblog, I’m sure most of my photographs would never see the light of day. But since we’re approaching Mother’s Day here in the United States, it occurs to me that using your photographs for some great Mother’s Day gifts might be a cool way to share some of your best travel photos. And so this week, I thought I’d share some of the best ideas I could find for Mother’s Day. So read up and take note: time is running out.
Gifts for the Mom Who Doesn’t Understand Why, If You’re Traveling All the Time, You Can’t Stop In and See Your Mother Once In a While

Both my husband and I aren’t from the United States, and therefore, we have family all over the world. And as you can imagine, if we take a trip to somewhere other than where our family is located, they Aren’t Always Happy. So sometimes, it helps to send them lovely photographs of their children and grandchildren having Lovely Happy Family Time in far-off places, so that they can think, “Ah, well, our children are happy, that’s all that matters.”

Or something.

Anyway, here are some gifts we’ve given in the past that seem to have scored pretty high:

a) Photo books: Everywhere you turn these days, you can upload your photographs to a website or a software application, a few clicks here and there, and badda-bing, a credit card number later and a bound volume of your photographs appears at your (or your mom’s) doorstep. Most of these services even let you customize your own photo captions, with things like “Mom, as we were sitting here staring at this beautiful sunset, I was overcome with emotion thinking about the love you have shown me all these years,” or something equally heartfelt and sincere. Ahem.

Some of my favourite services:

Qoop — an online service where you can upload your photographs, or even better, simply suck them out of your Flickr account. Softbound books start from as little as US$ 12.99, and hardbound books at US$ 29.99, each of them 20 pages long. Very simple to use, and books are of decent quality.

Blurb — another online service that helps you create “bookstore quality books.” Browsing through some of their “staff picks,” and you’ll see the beautiful work that’s possible to be created using their service. Mom will definitely be impressed.

iPhoto — If you have a Mac, don’t forget the iPhoto software that came free with your computer — the software comes with free templates that help you customize your photos into softbound or hardbound books, which you can then order online.

b) Digital Photo Frames: I actually purchased one of these for my dad on a Father’s Day gone by, and this might actually be his favourite gift from me ever. This wireless photo frame has its own e-mail address, and I merely email photographs to this frame, and the photograph magically appears on his desk. This is a particularly effective if your parents also happen to be grandparents — trust me, once they receive pictures of your little cherub having the time of their life in some beautiful paradise, they’ll forgive you for traveling so much. Just Google “digital picture frame” to find the thousands available for purchase (remember, your Mom is going to have to have an internet connection to make this work).

Gifts for the Mom You’re Married To, But Now That The Baby Is Here, Who Knows When Your Next Trip Is Going to Happen

Ah, remember that wonderful trip you took — the safari, perhaps, or the mountain climbing expedition — as your last hurrah before the baby came? Nowadays, as your little bundle of joy keeps you awake at obscene hours of the morning, it might look like you may never travel like that again. Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to have some prints made and featured for when the baby finally naps, and Mom has a few moments to reminisce about the intrepid old days. So in addition to the photobooks above, here are some of my favourite ideas.

a) Create a photo wall — Have a wall in your home that you’ve been wondering what to do with? Create a photo memory wall: pick some of your favourite shots from one of your previous trips, and have them printed to a similar size. Then buy some matching frames (IKEA has some great inexpensive ones, as do most hobby or craft supply stores), and arrange accordingly. For inspiration, be sure to check out some of the images on Flickr.

b) Create a photo lantern — Feeling handy? Then check out this great little do-it-yourself project courtesy of the amazing design site, decor8. The entire project takes relatively few supplies, and with the help of battery operated tea lights, your photographs will be highlighted with a warm romantic glow — a great way to feature those lovely shots you took in the back streets of Rome or from a balcony in Santorini. And with warm weather just around the corner, Mom will love sitting outside with these memories all around her. Full instructions can be found here.


Gifts for the Mom Who Is Morally Opposed to Email

Finally, perhaps the mom in your life is like mine: email’s cute and all, but nothing beats a lovely, thoughtful, handwritten note. So why not use your photographs to create stationery for your mom? There are really great services which will allow you to upload your images and create custom stationery: tiny*prints is one, for example. However, my favourite way of creating stationary is to simply print 4″x6″ prints of my favourite shots, and then purchase some blank 5″x7″ folded notecards (available at most arts & crafts stores). Then I simply adhere 8 prints on 8 notecards with 8 envelopes, tie the stack with a pretty ribbon and voila — totally personalized stationery for my mom, featuring my favourite images, from places all over the world. And trust me on this — when you give you mom this gift, and she realizes her baby made it especially for her, just like he did when he was in kindergarten? Dude, you’ll be rolling in maternal goodwill for months.

Hopefully this helped provide a few great ideas for using your travel shots for some Mother’s Day gifts. Now get out there and get your presents together — Mother’s Day is only 3 days away. And next week, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled Through the Gadling Lens.

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas. You can see more of her work at her site, Chookooloonks.
Through the Gadling Lens can be found every Thursday right here, at 11 a.m. To read more Through the Gadling Lens, click here.

Introducing DIY Life

by Justin Glow on

Today, the Weblogs, Inc. network introduced a brand new blog to the family: DIY Life, highlighting “the best in ‘do-it-yourself’ projects.” The site is already loaded with enough content to keep you busy building, fixing, and improving everything around the house and beyond for days. Tomorrow — during their official launch shebang — they’ll be having a “toolstravaganza” giveaway to celebrate Day 1, so keep an eye out for your chance to win all sorts of free DIY-friendly stuff.

Here are a few posts from DIY Life that are especially travel-related:

DIYLife.com