Rockefeller Christmas tree chosen and en route

by Tom Johansmeyer on

For a tree-grower, there’s no honor greater than to have yours chosen to sit at the center of the Christmas universe: Rockefeller Center. This year, the winner is Maria Corti. A 10-ton, 76-foot Norway spruce was cut down in her Easton, Connecticut backyard on Wednesday and is being carted down to Manhattan. She called Rockefeller Plaza more than nine months ago to make the offer. This was one of dozens of trees pitched for the big event this year.

Corti is not a tree farmer. Rather, she’s a fifth grade teacher who happened to have tree seven decades old in her yard. And, as she told the New York Post, “I’d like to share this tree with the people of the world.” The tree is expected to hit midtown today and will be lit on December 2, 2009. Corti’s spruce helped Connecticut recapture the Rock Center honor. Last year’s tree came from Hamilton, New Jersey.

[Photo by cchen via Flickr]

World Cup snowboarding comes to Telluride

by Tom Johansmeyer on

World Cup snowboarding is coming to Telluride! Check out the Visa U.S. Snowboardcross Cup from December 17 to 20, 2009 at the Telluride Ski Resort: this is the only stop in the United States fro the International Ski Federation’s (FIS’s) Snowboard World Cup. Both snowboard cross (SBX) and parallel giant slalom (PGS) competitions will be held in what is the second in a series of five Olympic qualification events for the two disciplines.

Ryan Mackey, snowmaking and grooming manager at Telluride, says, “Snowmaking is off to one of our best starts in years with the cold weather, and the new snow we have received in the last couple of weeks is a great bonus.” He continues, “Currently we are making snow on Upper Village Bypass, Lower Boomerang into the Mountain Village, Meadows and Lower Misty Maiden (especially for the World Cup).”

U.S. Snowboarding Head Coach Peter Foley calls Telluride the perfect western home for an World Cup stop early in the season. “With the early start on snow happening at Telluride we are getting really excited to get there,” he says. “We can’t wait to show the athletes from around the world how great Telluride is and let them experience a real world class course,” Foley adds.

John Jett, the Competition and Event Services Manger, has been working through the course procedures and qualifications with the USSA and FIS. “The last of our summer projects for the event, including laying the timing wire for the PGS, has been completed,” he explains. “Both FIS and USSA course inspections have been approved for the World Cup Competition.”

This is the Telluride area’s first World Cup competition and will give a taste of what’s to come in February’s Vancouver Olympics. Frank Bell, Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee, hopes that “the world will join us either in person or through the media coverage in introducing the best snowboarders in the world to the great terrain, spectacular mountain setting, and two great ski towns that embrace the 2009 Snowboard World Cup.”

Tied to a chair and robbed in a five-star hotel

by Annie Scott on

No matter who you are or how fancy your hotel is, inviting strangers to your room is a risky business. Just ask Robert J. Anello, a New York Lawyer who was staying at the lovely Ritz-Carlton, San Juan in Puerto Rico’s posh Isla Verde district (shown). He was tied up in his room with lamp cords and a necktie just before dawn on Monday, and had $800 cash and his two cell phones stolen.

Associated Press reports, “Police say two of the suspects are women whom the victim invited to his room.” A 17-year-old girl was reportedly also in the room, but has not been charged.

According to Caribbean Business PR, this is how it went down:

“‘It was at his invitation that they gained access to the room,’ said Capt. Samuel Luciano, director of the Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Corps in Carolina.

‘Then they apparently called the other individuals over to stage the robbery,’ Luciano said.

According to published reports, the women tied Anello to a chair with lamp cords and a necktie at knifepoint and then let two male suspects into the room. The men then allegedly broke into the hotel room safe and swiped $800 cash, two cellular phones and four credit cards.

A third man allegedly waited outside the hotel in the getaway car. A hotel employee provided a good description of the vehicle and police nabbed the suspects a short time later.”

Anello seems to be okay; he declined medical attention, but as you might guess, it’s rough press for the Ritz-Carlton. As with hotels anywhere, they get their share of pool-crashers and other unwanted visitors — it’s to their credit that they were able to identify the criminals and help set justice in motion so quickly.

“The safety and security of our guests is our most important priority and we take very seriously the appropriate measures to protect the safety and security of our guests,” says Verona Carter, a rep for Ritz-Carlton’s Caribbean & Mexico resorts. They can’t really help it when guests make poor decisions (like inviting shady teenage girls to their rooms).

All five suspects, Alejandra Alicea Candelario, 18, Emanuel Alicea Candelario, 21, Julio Alicea Candelario, 24, Francheska Agosto Ríos, 21 and Luis Agosto Ríos, 25, have been jailed, and a preliminary hearing is set for November 30.

[via Huffington Post]

Through the Gadling Lens: inspiration, courtesy of the Gadlingers

by Karen Walrond on

It occurred to me the other day that we’ve officially been together for a year here at Through the Gadling Lens — how great is that? So it seems a little bit of a retrospective on the past year is in order, because seriously, we have talked about a lot here on the column. And so, with the help of my fellow writers here at Gadling (as well as some of the amazing photographers who share their craft with us in the Gadling Flickr pool), I thought we could multitask: I asked some of the Gadlingers what they like to photograph when they’re traveling, and as a bit of inspiration, I thought I would feature some of the best our Gadling Flickr pool has to offer to illustrate their points. And while we’re at it, I’ll provide some links to some of the more popular posts of the past year.

So, ready? Then on with the show.
From Grant: “I like taking pictures of interesting locals when they’re not paying attention.”

Grant has actually hit on one of my favourite subjects in travel photography: people. There’s nothing like watching locals go about their day-to-day lives that really captures what the atmosphere is like of a place. This photograph, shot and shared in Tanzania by by localsurfer, is a great example — the image makes you wonder what this woman is thinking, where she’s going, what her story is, just by this simple image.

Remember, however, if you do decide to take photographs of locals on your next trip, there are some rules of etiquette (not to mention local laws) which can affect capturing an image without your subjects consent. For more on this, be sure to see the post on Photographing Strangers.

From Jeremy: “Graffiti.”

I’ll be honest: I’ve never even considered capturing images of local graffiti, and right now, I’m kicking myself for not having done it before. If you think about it, there’s nothing that can really tell a visual story of the atmosphere or personality of a neighbourhood like graffiti. And I’m totally intrigued by this photograph captured by Luke Robinson — I love the juxtaposition of the gritty feel of the tagged building with the pastoral setting of the autumn trees nearby. Beautifully composed.

From Sean: “…markets…”

In many countries, the market is the focal point of all commerce in a community, and it’s very smart to grab shots of the hustle and bustle of the local market — people are likely too busy conducting their business to pay much attention to you, resulting in some pretty authentic images. This great shot of market in Peru captured by Theodore Scott is a great example — enhanced by the lovely pop of colour of the produce and the texture of the cobblestones. Great job.

From Kraig: “For me, it’s mostly about wildlife and landscapes. Rather boring, but it’s true.”

Kraig, don’t sell yourself short, man — flora and fauna are hardly boring, and can make for amazing shots. In addition, they can really help add context to your travel photos. Finally (and as this image captured by Craig Damlo clearly shows), sometimes wildlife is just cool.

There are some great tricks to taking beautiful shots of flora and fauna, so before you go on your next holiday, be sure to check out this Gadling Lens post on just that subject for some inspiration. In addition, check out this previous post on capturing landscapes, seascapes and and cityscapes, as well as how to add oomph to your landscape shots.

From Annie: “Signs.”

I will admit that while I’ve certainly taking a photograph of an interesting sign or two in the past, I’ve never made a point of capturing signage as a subject matter; that said, this great photo taken by PDPhotography in Toronto is a great lesson in why I should pay closer attention. Of course, what makes this shot great is a combination of some great timing and fantastic composition-work; still, the moral of this story is to always keep your eye open for an intriguing shot. Well done.

From Alison: “any striking colors.”

I’m with Alison on this one: there’s very little that can make for great eye candy in a photo than a striking colour. For example, this photo by zakgollop, captured in Cromer, England, isn’t interesting just because it’s an image of doors — it’s the spectrum of colour that’s captured in this single shot that makes it special.

If you’re interested in finding ways to maximize colour in your shots, be sure to take a gander at our previous Gadling Lens post, all about colour. It’s a great tutorial on how to consider your vacation shots in terms of colour, rather than simply subject matter.

From Mike: “Tourists being tourists.”

Trust our resident comic to come up with this idea for a photograph — and I love it. There’s something very ironic (hypocritical?) and tongue-in-cheek about taking a photograph of tourists doing pretty much exactly what we’re doing when we’re grabbing a picture of them. This photo, taken by Moody75 at Sacrada Familia in Barcelona, is a fantastic example — when we look at it, we suspect that the expressions of wonder (confusion?) on the faces of this group have at one time or another passed across our own faces as we’ve traveled a well. Great idea.

From Katie: “Kids.”

Another favourite subject of mine — there’s just something about kids, their spirits, the way they enjoy the world around them — and capturing images of this, particularly of local kids, is such a privilege. This beautiful photo by Cazimiro, shot in Chicago, is a great example of how sometimes, you don’t even need to capture their faces — just capturing the energy around kids doing their thing is enough.

If you’re interested in capturing images of kids when you travel, remember first to ask their parents for permission; in addition, be sure to check out our previous post on photographing kids. (And incidentally, while we’re looking at this great photo, if you’re inspired to take photographs of water, don’t miss our previous post on this subject matter, as well.)

And with that, I want to thank all of you who have been so faithfully following Through the Gadling Lens over the past year — it’s been great getting your feedback, hearing your own tips, and seeing your own images as I’ve written here. If you have any ideas of what you’d like to see in the coming year, please send me an email or leave a comment below. As always, you can always contact me directly at karenDOTwalrondATweblogsincDOTcom.

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.

Antarctic dome to be decommissioned

by Kraig Becker on

The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has been conducting research in Antarctica for more than 50 years, and it has been the southernmost continually inhabited place on Earth over that period. For more than 30 of those years, the iconic image of the place has been that of a giant geodesic dome towering more than five stories above the ice. But now, the dome has been decommissioned, and is scheduled for demolition soon, which has spawned calls from former residents of the station to save what has been called an important piece of American history.

According to this story in the New York Times, a portion of the dome is set to be disassembled and sent back to the States as part of a museum that is currently under construction in California. But most of the structure will be cut into pieces and scrapped. But critics of the plan say that the entire dome should be brought home and rebuilt as a monument to U.S. exploration in Antarctica. To do so would require each piece to be disassembled by hand, bolt by bolt, and shipped stateside to be reassembled, at an estimated cost of more than $500,000, far beyond the budget allowed for the operation.
The dome was rendered obsolete two years back when a new station was built to take its place. In its prime however, it was home to more than 200 scientists and support crew during the busy Antarctic summer. That number dropped below 50 during the winter, but the station remained occupied and in operation at all times, conducting all kinds of experiments and recording data on everything from changing weather conditions to the levels of x-ray bombardments from outer space.

At this point, it seems unlikely that the dome will survive the scrapyard. But for 30 years it has been a symbol of exploration and research in Antarctica, and while its time may have has passed, its contribution to the science is undeniable. It is safe to say, the dome will be missed.