Photo of the day – St. Peter’s and a puddle

When taking travel photos, we spend a lot of time looking for the right background. Whether it’s capturing a candid portrait or framing the perfect landscape, it’s not always easy to convey a beautiful scene in a photograph. Flickr user John Overmeyer used a humble puddle of rain to elevate this night shot of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Of course, flawless composition, lighting, and luck didn’t hurt, but it all comes together for a beautifully romantic shot that makes the puddle look like a grand river.

Show off your perfect travel shots by adding them to the Gadling Flickr pool. We may choose yours for a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day – Barcelona jamon


The humble ham and cheese sandwich is a basic staple of the travel diet. In nearly every country I’ve traveled to, I can count on finding a cheap and tasty toasted ham and cheese at a snack bar or cafe while exploring a new city. With a nice glass of local wine or a cold beer, this simple sandwich can be sublime. The Spanish, however, have made ham an art form, noted by this display in Barcelona taken by Flickr user BaboMike. From the relatively cheap Pernil Bodega to the pricey (but worth it) Pernil Iberic de Gla, any of these would make a divine snack or a meal. Since I live in a Muslim country where pork is hard to find and expensive, I remember eyeing ham like this in Barcelona like a wolf in an old cartoon and contemplated bringing one home to be the envy of all my fellow expats in Istanbul.

Do you agree with the photographer that the Spanish out-do the Italians in the ham department? Where have you had the best ham? Upload your tastiest shots to the Gadling Flickr pool and we might salivate over them for a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the day – Lunchtime in Vietnam

If it weren’t for the modern water bottles on the tables, this photo could have been taken in any year. Flickr user American Jon captured a beautiful lunchtime scene at the Bac Ha Sunday market in Vietnam, with great color from the traditional costumes and perfect lighting. Bac Ha is known for the many ethnic minorities who are found only in the region, serving up unusual food like thang co, a blood porridge made with horse meat, as well as moonshine.

Want to see your timeless travel photos on Gadling? Add them to the Flickr pool and be sure we can download them for a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the day – put a tiger in your tank


Did today’s Photo of the Day make you look twice? The tiger you see in the car is not a real animal, but a stuffed tiger at a car show display taken by Flickr user justchuckfl. The car is a British-made 1965 Tiger with a tail peeking out of the gas tank from Esso, whose slogan was “put a tiger in your tank.” The tiger is pretty lifelike for a stuffed animal, though I’d think the real cat would sit in the front seat.

Seen anything in your travels that made you do a double take? Add your photos to the Gadling Flickr pool and we may choose one for a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the day – Butcher at work


Today kicks off Labor Day weekend, the last long weekend of summer. Maybe you have plans for one last getaway or at least plan to explore your own backyard. However you spend the next three days, we hope it doesn’t involve real work, er, labor. This fellow photographed by Flickr user Bernard-SD in Lijiang, China is working diligently on stripping the meat from this sheep carcass. While we may prefer to see a butcher work in a nice clean shop and not the street, he seems to be a professional hard at work. Think of him when you grill your lamb (or ham-) burgers this holiday, and all the other people whose labor make your day off better.

When you’re back laboring next week, upload your favorite travel photos to the Gadling Flickr pool and we may choose one for a future Photo of the Day.