Photo of the day (5.5.09)

by Grant Martin on

What the heck is going on in this picture? Actually, I can tell you. That’s our very own Kent Wien from Cockpit Chronicles and Plane Answers shooting a photo of himself in the airplane lav. Why, you might ask? He’s actually taking part in a social experiment hosted by our resident flight attendant, Heather Poole. In one of her recent posts, Ms. Poole called on the loyal Gadling readers to take (appropriate!) shots of themselves at 30,000 feet.

The resulting gallery, which you can see on Heather’s recent post is a funny/creepy/interesting look into the lives of a small faction of Gadling readers. We love you guys!

Got any cool photos that you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!

Photo of the day (4.28.09)

by Grant Martin on

Tickets to Germany have been on super sale for the past few weeks, as they normally are this time of the year. The problem is that most budget tickets are into Frankfurt, which hasn’t got a ton of exciting tourist attractions. Luckily, a variety of beautiful cities like Cologne are nearby, where the above picture of the Kölner Dom was taken by rafapdalbem1. Neat shot.

Got any cool photos that you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!

Galley Gossip: Laviators unite! (mile high headshots)

by Heather Poole on

Recently I wrote a post, the hottest trend on the airplane since the mile high club, about something disturbing, yet quite intriguing, that was taking place not just on the airplane, but behind the locked lavatory door at 35,000 feet. Passengers, and I’m talking all kinds of passengers, have been photographing themselves in the bathroom. Alone. Doing what, I don’t know. But they look like they’re just standing there. And I wanted to do it, too.

I had written, “Oh you better believe I’ll be taking my own self portrait in the lav on my next flight to New York on Wednesday. Until then, check out these interesting shots.” And then I added a photo gallery I’d put together of passengers I’d found on Flickr.com standing in the lav, camera in hand.

One Gadling reader responded, “Heather, if you do photograph yourself in the lav, please spare us the picture! I think people will lose any respect they have for you.”

Sounds to me like someone needs to lighten up, and they can start by grabbing their camera and joining the club – the laviators club. I did! Yep, that’s me up there in the photo looking not so hot on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. Hey, it was late and I was tired. But I just had to do it. Even though my seat mate did look at me a little funny after he caught me trying to sneak my camera into the front pocket of my pants.

The first thing I did when I got home was download the photo, that photo right up there, onto my personal blog. I had a good laugh and I honestly thought that would be that, end of story. But a few days later I got an email with a photo attached from a Gadling reader. “This one’s for you,” Nate wrote, and that’s all he wrote, and it cracked me up!

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The very next day I got another one! Jeff wrote, “I made you a picture.” I clicked the link and thought to myself, Oh. My. God. What have I started?

Next to join the club was one of my favorite flight attendants, Sodwee, also known as Airboy. He works for Emirates. He wrote, “Heather, I was thinking of you from CDG to DBX.”

Airboy wasn’t the only one thinking about me in the lav. Leesa wrote, “My daughter and I flew to LA last week and thought you might want some lav pictures for your collection.”

Well Leesa and her daughter were right! Not only do I have an interesting collection of mile high headshots from readers like you, I want more, more, MORE! So next time you’re on a flight don’t forget to take your camera and make sure to think of me – in the lav. Please, I beg you, join the club – the laviators club. And I’ll add your photo to the gallery above. Hmm…I wonder if Karen Walrond, our own resident photogapher, can give us a few tips?

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Photo of the day (3.17.09)

by Grant Martin on

What better topic for March 17th’s photo of the day than Ireland, the home of St. Patrick’s Day and the source of many an alcoholic’s happiness on this sacred day of the year?

This shot was taken by colmdc outside of Trim Castle, the largest Norman Castle in Europe. It’s a wonderful green shot, and reminds me of all of my good times in the Emerald Isle.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!

Photo of the day (2.17.09)

by Grant Martin on

With that warm spell that swept through much of the country last week, many of us got the false hope that spring was on the way — that we’d soon be walking outside barefoot, chasing cats, jumping from tree to tree and frolicking about. Ah, but Mother Nature is a tempting sorceress, and before we knew it, it was cold and snowy again, especially here in the the Midwest. I look forward to the day that I’ll once again be able to play on the grass, so carefully captured here by Kevin Littleton on flickr.

Perhaps in my travels.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!