Go #OnTheRoad With @GadlingTravel On Instagram

by Jessica Marati on

The Gadling crew is one of the most diverse groups of travelers on the web. But different as we are, we’re united in our thirst for adventure and our hunger for the open road. You read about our adventures here. Now, we’d like to invite you to travel with us in real-time – on Instagram at @GadlingTravel.

Each month, a member of our team will take over the @GadlingTravel Instagram feed for one week and post images from his or her travels with the hashtag #ontheroad. This week, I’m posting photos from my current trip to sunny Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s one of the most artistic and culturally vibrant places on the planet; I’m excited to be your eyes and ears while here.

We’re also excited to open up Instagram as a platform for submitting original mobile photos into the running for Gadling’s Photo of the Day. Just mention @GadlingTravel AND use hashtag #gadling in your image post, and we’ll consider it along with photos submitted in our Gadling Pool on Flickr.

Questions? Comments? We’re also hanging out on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and now even Google+. See you there![Photo Credit: Jessica Marati on @GadlingTravel]

Clever Travel Terms You Won’t Find In Any Dictionary

by Reena Ganga on

Whether it’s funny, bizarre, rude, confusing or downright inexplicable – there are some travel experiences that just leave you speechless.

If you’ve ever been at a loss for words to describe what you’ve seen or felt while on the road, you’re not alone. That’s why Lonely Planet has come up with its own mini dictionary of travel terms that don’t exist but should. Here are a few of our favorites:

afterglobe
The warm, fuzzy feeling one gets after a long, immensely satisfying trip.

below see level
When you’re seated directly below the drop-down movie screen on an airplane and the other screens are all too far away to view comfortably.

bratpacker
Someone who believes they have a revolutionary system for packing luggage and insists on explaining it to anyone who will listen.

crankophone
Someone who tries to make themselves understood in a foreign country simply by speaking louder in their own tongue.fearenheit
Panic felt by Americans when attempting to comprehend temperatures in other countries.

overhead din
The disturbance caused by people trying to shove too-large bags into too-small compartments.

Of course, the Gadling team couldn’t resist adding a few terms of our own:

Pam Mandel: manventure/ mancation
A men’s-only getaway filled with manly activities like fly-fishing, hunting and motorcycle riding.

Grant Martin: gate lice
Passengers who hover near the airport gate prior to their boarding zone being called.

chatteratti
Travelers who spend more time talking about travel online rather than on the road.

Robin Whitney: pavlov’s attack dogs
Travelers who hear the ding chime of the post-landing “unfasten seat belt” light and instantly spring into action to aggressively crowd the aisle – even if there is no where to go for 15 minutes.

Chris Owen: tourons
Tourists that are not too smart

Reena Ganga: exstress baggage
The frantic rush to remove stuff from your bags at the check-in counter after being told your suitcase exceeds the weight limit.

scareport scanners
Fear of going through airport security scanners due to radiation concerns and privacy issues.

To read the rest of the Lonely Planet list, click here. And tell us, do you have any travel terms to add to the collection?

[Photo credit: Flickr user greeblie]

The National Parks Conservation Association Wants Your Photos!

by Kraig Becker on

The National Parks Conservation Association is looking to send a message to the folks in Washington, D.C., and they’d like our help in doing it.

The non-profit organization is dedicated to protecting and preserving America’s national parks for future generations, but with potential budget cuts looming the fear is that members of Congress may have forgotten just how special those places truly are. That’s where we come in. The NPCA is asking us to submit our favorite photos from our visits to the national parks so that they can be used in an upcoming advocacy video. The hope is that that video will help convey just how passionate travelers are about the park system.

So dig out those photos of you hiking in Yellowstone, climbing in Yosemite or rafting in the Grand Canyon. Share your pics from that camping trip to the Great Smokey Mountains that you took with your dad when you were 10. Whatever images convey great memories from your national park excursions, the NCPA wants to see them.

You’ll find complete details on how you can share your pictures at npca.org/snapshots, which has specific details on how to get the images into the hands of NPCA. There are options to email the files directly, share them via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest or simply to upload them through the organization’s website.

This is our chance to help explain just how important our national parks are to us. Who knows, your photo may just be the one that speaks directly to one of the Congressmen or women who will be deciding their fate in the weeks and months ahead.

[Photo Credit: Kraig Becker]


NPCA SNAPSHOT from NPCA on Vimeo.

Photo Of The Day: Sunset After Nemo

by Jessica Marati on

Last week, Winter Storm Nemo battered the Eastern seaboard of the United States with torrential snow and sleet, not to mention a bitter cold freeze that lasts to this day.

In the calm after the storm, Flickr user Peter Rood captured this image of a stunning sunset over Boston, one of the cities hit worst by the storm. Where Mother Nature wreaks havoc, she can also bring extraordinary beauty.

Do you have any winter photos from your neck of the woods? Upload your shots to the Gadling Flickr Pool or tag your Instagram photo @GadlingTravel and your image could be selected as our Photo of the Day.[Photo Credit: Flickr user Peter Rood]

Get An Education In iPhone Photography

by Elizabeth Seward on

Although iPhone photography may still seem amateur to the professionals, let’s face it: more and more of us are documenting the visuals of our lives with our phones. And even while we’re traveling and relishing in picture-perfect scenery, many of us are capturing and sharing those moments. I include myself in this generalization – it requires quite a bit more forethought for me to take photographs with an SLR than with my phone. The fact that my phone is what’s in my pocket when I happen to see the sunlight hitting a tree perfectly while out doing errands is what yields those photos, the ones I wouldn’t have taken at all had I not had my phone with me. Enter Higher iPhone Education. Thanks to Laughing Squid, I now know about Photojojo University, which is now offering a four-week course in iPhone photography. The website is currently advertising an introductory special rate of just $5. So challenge the inner iPhone photographer within you and become well versed in the fundamentals before voyaging out for your next memorable adventure.

[Photo Credit: Photojojo]