James captions the image, “The sun rising from behind the mountains to light up Pitt Meadows,” which is a city in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Pitt Meadows is not far from Pitt Lake, the largest fresh water tidal lake in the world. Interestingly, the Pitt River flows backwards at high tide and has created a delta where it joins the lake.
Tips for being featured: add a caption describing the image and (better yet) your personal experience when capturing it, details of the photography gear used and any tips you might have for others wanting to emulate your work.
Google Street View was a boon to desk- and couch-bound wanderers when it debuted back in 2007, but even the most fervent Street View explorers would agree that the endless clicking is a bit of a chore.
Enter a free online tool that uses Street View images to create a personalized animated road trip. The Hyperlapse tool, created by a Toronto design company, lets you choose any two drivable points on the map, and then stitches together the Google Street View images to create an animation that you can pan around in real time.
The above video demonstrates the hyperlapse tool’s remarkable capabilities. The montage includes drives past major American landmarks and through other countries like DenmarkSlovakia, Canada and Australia.
The online interface currently only provides basic point-to-point animation with a locked frame rate, so a two-hour drive like the one I animated from Montreal to Ottawa will take but a couple seconds. However, the featured hyperlapses, which show custom-made drives through the places like the Australian outback and Yosemite National Park are well worth a look. No word yet on when we will be able to animate trips to Street View’s more unique destinations, like up Everest or down the Amazon.
This Photo of the Day, titled “Mount Revelstoke National Park View,” comes from one of my favorite Gadling Flickr pool members James Wheeler. I like James’ work for more than its visual appeal too. Rather than simply posting a photo (like I do), James adds detail about the gear he used and more. For example, James captions the image:
“Mount Revelstoke national park is one of the few places you can drive all the way to an alpine summit. Lets you get the great view of a hike up a mountain without the work. The is the view from the top, pretty impressive.”
Known “as a place of contrasts,” Canada’s Mount Revelstoke National Park hosts a variety of geographical zones ranging from dense, old-growth rainforest to alpine meadows and tundra, as depicted in this photo.
James captured the image using a Tokina 12-24mm f/4 lens with a Nikon Polarizing Filter mounted on his Nikon D5000 atop a steady Sirui T-2005X Tripod with K-10x Tripod Head. Processing the image, James used Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Nik Color Efex Pro and Topaz Adjust.
Sound complicated? I thought so too. Check Gadling’s library of timeless Photo Tips by creative photographer Dana Murph who breaks down what all those things are and more.
Tips for being featured: add a caption describing the image and (better yet) your personal experience when capturing it, details of the photography gear used and any tips you might have for others wanting to emulate your work.
Not all that long ago, ask just about any travel agent about “Spa Travel” and they would probably not have known what you were talking about. Hotels have had spas and nicely equipped exercise centers for decades. Cruise lines promote spa treatments on ships at sea almost as much as shore excursions. Chains of fitness centers around the planet have had a focus on health for a while. But the arrival of spa-focused travel is an entirely different animal and one that looks like it will be around for quite some time.
Not really fitting in any particular category, spa travel can combine adventure, budget, wilderness and even air travel to make a new lifestyle-oriented option that can be an excellent choice for people of all ages.
A recent survey found that travelers “are now more interested in traveling to spas specifically for programs like stress-reduction, fitness and weight loss,” notes Susie Ellis, president of SpaFinder Wellness, a service that connects those seeking a healthy lifestyle with its worldwide network of wellness providers in a MySanAntonio report.Just how popular is spa travel? Agents surveyed reported that spa travel bookings increased 37 percent in 2011, a “healthy” growth in and of itself. But that number nearly doubled for 2012 with agents reporting a 68 percent growth in the number of clients choosing spa travel last year.
Better news: spa travel can be a real value-oriented choice with many agents reporting discount pricing on spa vacations. If the idea of centering travel on spa services sounds like something for older travelers, think again. The 26-45 age group is now most likely to book spa vacations. Another Hot spa travel destination? Mexico. Recovering from drug lord-induced bad press, this destination has some of the best deals around.
“The results are a clear indication that more travelers are deciding they simply can’t afford exhausting, unhealthy vacations,” concluded Ellis.
But what is spa-focused travel?
The bloggers at Traveling Mamas inspire women to explore the world via vacations with the kids, girlfriend getaways or romantic escapes. One option to make that happen is a spa vacation as we see in this video– in addition to their library of information – on the topic.