Photo Of The Day: Fraser River Peace

by Chris Owen on



This Photo of the Day, titled “Fraser River Peace,” comes from Gadling Flickr pool member James Wheeler and was captured using a Nikon D600.

In the caption for this image, Mark tells us, “This is where Kanaka creek joins the Fraser River. Apparently it is peaceful.”

Kanaka Creek also runs through a regional park of the same name in the District of Maple Ridge, British Columbia. The Riverfront area of the park shown in this photo has picnic tables and a boat-launch for canoes and kayaks and a number of three-story wooden viewing towers.

Want to be featured? Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as a Photo of the Day.

Tips for being featured: Add a caption describing the image and 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.

Now, you can also submit photos through Instagram; just mention @GadlingTravel and use the hashtag #gadling when posting your images.

Photo Of The Day: Sunny Isles

by Chris Owen on

This Photo of the Day is titled “Sunny Isles” and comes from Gadling Flickr pool member Bens640. The scene is of a typical beach in Florida’s North Miami and, looking around the weather map, some of you could use a warm-weather photo to focus on.

I lived in the Midwest for about half a century before relocating to Florida almost a decade ago and saw plenty of ice, snow, stupid people driving during that “first snow” and breath-robbing sub-zero winds.

Similar photos helped.

Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as a Photo of the Day.

[Photo Credit: Gadling Flickr pool member Bens640]

The Greatest Photo I Never Took

by Sean McLachlan on


The Iranians love Ferris wheels. When I spent a month in Iran back in 1994 I saw them everywhere. The parks in the big cities had the big, brightly painted ones we’re familiar with in the West. Smaller towns and villages had more modest Ferris wheels, some small enough that they could be cranked by hand.

I saw dozens of them. The one that stands out most in my memory was in a dusty little roadside village I passed through while riding a bus. The village was nothing more than a few dozen houses lined up on either side of the highway. This was Iran, though, and so it had its own Ferris wheel. It was homemade out of unpainted boards and had four seats that looked like they were old footlockers. An old man was cranking it around and around for the little local boys and girls, who all had big smiles on their faces as they went up, around, down and up again.

While I only saw it for a moment, it remains one of my most vivid memories of Iran. I wish I could show you a photo but I was zipping by in a bus and so I never got the shot. Instead, here’s a photo Tracy Hunter took in India. This Ferris wheel is about the same size.

While we’re on the subject of travel photography, is there a shot you missed that remains stuck in your mind? Tell us about it in the comments section!

Travel photo value way more than 1000 words

by Chris Owen on

Surely, a picture is worth a lot and a good travel photo can tell a story of our travels. Gadling’s Photo of the Day alone takes us around the world often. Now, a new photo contest promises winners what could be an amazing adventure, just for sharing their shots.

In Abercrombie & Kent’s Facebook photo contest, travelers are encouraged to submit their most inspiring and powerful travel photos on a special contest tab on Abercrombie & Kent’s Facebook page by January 29, 2012. That earns a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime adventure cruise to Antarctica for two, all expenses paid, under the guidance of expert photographer, Richard Harker.

“Facebook is a natural platform for inspiring travel,” says Scott Wiseman, president of Abercrombie & Kent USA. “Our followers love sharing pictures from their recent travels, so we wanted to encourage them and reward them for making the effort.”
On the 14-day adventure cruise, the winner and a guest will explore shorelines teeming with penguin and seal alongside leading naturalists and go behind the scenes at an environmental research station and chat with on-board experts nightly about the day’s discoveries.

Described as “the one to beat for high-quality, hands-on exploration” by Conde Nast Traveler, this would be a huge win for anyone. Sailing with veteran photographer Richard Harker makes it a dream-come-true for photo fans as Harker will be providing hands-on guidance to help make every shot count on the adventure.

This Antarctic journey includes twin-share accommodation on MV ‘Le Boreal,’ the only all-balcony expedition ship in the region, meals, all transfers, ground transport, internal air, fully-guided sightseeing, including shore excursions, and has a total value of $26,600. The trip takes place December 7 – 20, 2012.

For complete details, to enter the contest or just browse the photos submitted Abercrombie and Kent’s Facebook page.

Photo: Abercrombie and Kent


No skeletons on the New Delhi metro, please

by Sean McLachlan on


A friend of mine, freelance photographer Jane Shepherdson, was recently in New Delhi and rode on the city’s metro (subway system). She captured this odd sign about what’s prohibited for passengers to carry.

Some of it is predictable, such as explosives, guns, and radioactive materials. You also can’t carry “manure of any kind” (including your own, one would suppose) or rags. That includes oily rags in case you’re wondering.

What really caught her eye was the prohibition against passengers carrying “Human skeleton, ashes, and part of Human body”.

Makes sense to me. When I’m on public transport I only want to share it with the living. What’s scary, though, is that they wouldn’t have put this sign up unless someone had actually carried body parts on the metro. So if you’re going to New Delhi, please, leave the body parts in your hotel room.