Photo of the day (8.12.2010)

by Meg Nesterov on


We’re in the dog days of summer, with hot temperatures and high levels of humidity making it hard to do more than eat ice cream, seek air conditioning, and think of fall weather. While there’s less than a month left in summer, and pretty soon we’ll be complaining about winter, the sticky August heat can feel downright oppressive.

That’s why this photo by Flickr user t3mujin taken in Lisbon, Portugal looks so inviting. The cool colors, hazy sky and water below provides some virtual heat relief. It’s tempting to jump right off the dock or at least enjoy the breeze alongside the fishermen.

Do you have a refreshing travel photo? Upload it to Gadling’s Flickr group and we might use it for a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the day (8.5.10)

by Meg Nesterov on

This photo by narinnr from Kagoshima, Japan (the Naples of the East, says Wikipedia) captures a Ferris wheel built atop a shopping center next to the train station. How fun is that? Imagine if you could kill time between trains at Penn Station riding high above New York?! I’m partial to the Gravitron when choosing an amusement ride, although spinning around against centrifugal force is probably not so fun before a long train ride.

Even more interesting are the statues in front of the Ferris wheel, part of the Satuma students’ monument, dedicated to 19 Japanese students smuggled into Britain in 1865 to learn Western technology. Imagine being the first in your country to study abroad and being responsible for the start of the industrial revolution. Kinda makes a semester abroad in Prague drinking as much beer as humanly possible seem a little weak.

Do you have a photo that will inspire many Google and Wikipedia searches? Or maybe an interesting monument or an unusually-located amusement ride in your travels? Upload it to Gadling’s Flickr group and we might use it for a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the day (7.29.10)

by Meg Nesterov on

Some of the best travel photos tell a story or capture a stranger in a private moment. This candid portrait of a woman in Tel Aviv, Israel reading in a window by Flavio@Flickr does both beautifully. What is she so absorbed in reading? It could be an alarming news story or a love poem, or she could just be catching up on the latest Lindsay Lohan antics. At any rate, her image tells an interesting story and invites the viewer to contemplate what could be going on inside the window.

Do your photos have a great story to tell? Upload them to Gadling’s Flickr group and we might use one for a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (7.28.10)

by Melanie Nayer on


If you subscribe to the theories of the spiritual world (whichever spirit you choose) you know there are certain aspects of architecture that are said to transport you to the next phase of your life. In Feng Shui, for example, we’re taught that by hanging ‘forward thinking’ pictures and photos in various rooms, we’ll inspire our future with the power of positive thinking and placement. But what, exactly, is a forward thinking photo?

See today’s Photo of the Day, by t3mujin. Archways are a symbol of new beginnings, new opportunities and new outcomes, and this particular photo has us wondering what’s on the other side of the bend…

Do you have a photo that inspires a forward-thinking movement? Upload your picture to the Gadling Flickr pool and we might choose your snapshot to feature as a Photo of the Day.

The royal family joins Flickr

by Sean McLachlan on

It seems like everybody is getting on Flickr these days. Now even the Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms is sharing their photographs. The collection of photos, both old and new, will go live on Monday. There’s also a spot where the common rabble can share their photos of the royals.

The collection will feature not only pictures of the Royal Family, but also pictures taken by the Royal Family, which promises to give insights into the bluebloods that you don’t get from the Buckingham Palace tour. Prince Charles is an avid watercolor painter and honorary member of the Royal Watercolour Society, so perhaps he’s dabbled in photography too.

The older photos should be of interest. We tend to think of Queen Elizabeth as a rather proper elderly lady who wears funny hats, but historical images reveal the many phases of her life. This one, courtesy the UK Government, shows her in 1945 when she was still a princess. She’s learning how to change a tire as part of her Auxiliary Territorial Service training during World War Two.

After you’re done admiring the royals, take a look at some of the many talented photographers who contribute to Gadling’s Flickr page.