How to take Better Cell Phone Photographs by National Geographic

by Neil Woodburn on

It was only a matter of time before camera phones warranted their own photography books.

First generation camera phones produced horrific photos but improvements have come rapidly and now it’s actually quite difficult to tell the difference between a photograph taken by a regular camera and one shot by a cell phone.

Almost.

Cell phone cameras still need a little extra help to produce a quality image and that’s the idea behind The Camera Phone Book: How to Shoot like a Pro.

The fact that National Geographic has produced this book lends an incredible amount of legitimacy to the cell phone camera. National Geographic has always been the poster child of quality photography and by endorsing what was once a joke amongst serious photographers they have elevated the cell phone camera to a level never thought possible. In fact, the forward of the book claims that it is the “first of its kind to treat these units as genuine cameras instead of novelties.”

But, the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Not only does the book provide tips on capturing that perfect cell phone photograph, but it also includes 44 examples of how National Geographic photographers have managed to do so.

World Hum Interviews Rick Steves

by Justin Glow on

It’s hard to argue with the success of Rick Steves. Even if you’re not a fan of his guides (I am), you can’t deny the influence he has had on millions of travelers bound for Europe. Our friends over at World Hum recently ran a great interview with Rick. Here are some highlights:

On communication…
“Stuff that we couldn’t even imagine 30 years ago is commonplace now in Europe. In the old days it was a big issue how to stay in touch with a loved one. You’d go to the American Express office and you’d pick up mail that was two weeks old and you didn’t know if you got it all and so on. Now, my son just calls me on the cell phone and you pay a buck a minute and it’s great. I just love it.”

On experience…
“What takes away from the [travel] experience is having enough money that you buy yourself out of all the risk and all the unpredictability. That could happen 30 years ago, it can happen today. When I travel, there’s no unpredictability. If I’m determined to get from Milan to Córdoba today I’m going to get from Milan to Córdoba. There’s something to be said about roughing it for the sake of roughing it. You just have a more vivid experience. You meet more people. You’re more needy. You let yourself into people’s care.”

On drugs…
“I’ve also been comparing American drug policy to European drug policy. People in America think you’re either hard on drugs or soft on drugs. They say Europeans are soft on drugs. I think you’re either hard on drugs or you’re smart on drugs, and I think Europeans are smart on drugs as opposed to waging war on drugs.”

Click here to check out the interview in full.

One for the Road – China: Time Out Beijing

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

Time Out’s new city guide to Beijing was published in late June, right before I left for China. I was lucky to get hold of a copy just days before my departure. I’ve read Time Out’s magazines before, but this was the first trip during which I used one of their guidebooks.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, since I’m not familiar with their city guide format. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself turning to Time Out Beijing at least once every day during my trip. And I think I carried it with me almost every day too, since it’s so lightweight. The color maps in the back are not that great, and I wish they had Chinese translations for all the entries. But the content is good, and includes side bars with valuable tidbits about food, business, history and trends. I like how they break out the sightseeing chapter into different sections for each geographical neighborhood. That made it easy to flip through when I found myself lost somewhere, in search of something to do :)

It’s a stylish, pretty guide with color photos that provides an excellent overview to the city. Check it out if you’re headed to Beijing soon — the info is all fairly current, since it was published recently.

One for the Road – China: Restaurant Ordering Guides

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

The final two books from the True Run Media team that I’d like to mention this week are their brand new restaurant ordering guides: Healthy Chinese Cuisine and Spicy Chinese Cuisine are compact glossy flip books that are handy for making sure you order what you really want to eat. Each book includes color photos of popular dishes, and is accompanied by the name of entrees in Chinese and Pinyin, as well as an English, Russian and French translation of all the meals.

A variety of culinary regions are represented — Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Xinjiang. Ingredients for each featured dish are also included, so you know exactly what is supposed to be in what you are ordering. No guarantees, of course — but a book like this might be especially useful for folks with food allergies. The spicy book has dishes like sour lotus root, Kung Pao chicken, spicy cucumber and all kinds of hot stir fry. These guys love their spicy food so much that they also host a Chili Pepper Eating Contest each summer. Is your mouth watering yet?

One for the Road – China: Unofficial Guide to the Beijing Games

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

This week we are highlighting several titles by the True Run Media team, a guidebook and magazine publisher based out of Beijing. In addition to a special 2008 version of their Insider’s Guide that they will update and publish shortly before the Olympics begin, the Immersion Guides team will also produce a separate book all about the Games:

The Unofficial Guide to the Beijing Games is a forthcoming title that will cover the Olympics from an insider’s perspective. In addition to schedules, maps and ticket info, the guide will list the best venues for enjoying the city during the Games. And since these guys will be on the ground in Beijing monitoring the very latest restaurant, club and bar openings up to the last possible minute, this guide will most definitely have the most updated information. It will be a must-have for anyone visiting Beijing during the Olympics. Check the Immersion Guides website to find out when this handy reference will be available — I’m sure they are hard at work on it as we speak!

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