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Travel Pictures
Photos of Holiday Destinations

 

Easter Island Rainbow, Chile

Picture of the Week: a Hair-Growth School in Papua New Guinea

These images are primarily for use as a vacation travel planner but if you wish to put one of the best photos on your website that is fine so long as you DO NOT hot link to the image (i.e. using our server to show our image on your blog/site) and please put a link back to bugbog on that page stating that the picture is © bugbog.com. These are not free photos! Thanks. Reise Bilder; Viaje Fotos; Foto Viaggio.

All pictures are copyright © bugbog.com unless otherwise stated

* large images 500-750 pixels wide
** very large images 800-1000 pixels wide

 

 

Alaska Alaska (USA)*

argentina Argentina**Argentien

Aruba, caribbean Aruba**

Australia Australia* Australien

Austria Austria Österreich

Barbados Barbados**

Bonaire, caribbean Bonaire**

Brazil Brazil**Brasilien

British Beaches, UK British Beaches* Brite Stränd

Burma Burma, Birma; see Myanmar*

Cambodia Cambodia** Kambodscha

Canada Canada* Kanada

Canary Islands Canary Islands Kanarische Inseln (Spain)

Caribbean Caribbean Budget Islands**

chile Chile** Cile

China China Cina

corsica Corsica* Korsika (France)

costa rica Costa Rica*

cuba Cuba* Kuba

Curacao, Caribbean Curaçao*

dominican republic Dominican Republic**

Congo, Africa DR Congo gorillas**

east africa wildlife safari East Africa Wildlife Safari**

Easter Island Easter Island** Ostern Insel; Isola di Pasqua (Chile)

Egypt Egypt Ägypten; Egitto; Egipto

England England* Angleterre; Inglaterra

finland Finland Finnland; Finlandia

france France* Francia; Frankreich
france, loire valley Loire Valley**
france beaches France Beaches* Französisch Stränd; Spiagge Francesi

galapagos Galapagos* (Ecuador)

Greece Greece* Grecia; Griechenland

Cayman Islands Grand Cayman**

Guatemala Guatemala

Hawaii Hawaii* Hawái (USA)

iceland Iceland Island

India India* Indien; L'Inde

Indonesia Indonesia* L'Indonesie; Indonesien (Bali, Java)
Indonesia , West Papua West Papua*
Indonesia , Sulawesi Sulawesi*

israel Israel Israele

italy Italy* Italien; L'Italie
Lake Como Lake Como*

Jamaica, Caribbean Jamaica**

Japan Japan Le Japon; Giappone
Tokyo  Tokyo* Tokio
Kyoto  Kyoto*

Jordan, Petra Jordan, Petra* Jordanien; Jordanie; Jordania; Giordania

Kenya Kenya**

Laos Laos*

Madagascar Madagascar* Madagaskar

Mali Mali

malaysia Malaysia**La Malaisie

maldives Maldives* Maledivisch

Mauritius Mauritius* (Île Maurice)

mexico Mexico* Mexiko; Messico

Monaco Monaco* Monako

Morocco Morocco* Marokko; Le Maroc/Marocco

Myanmar Myanmar*

Namibia Namibia**La Namibie

Nepal Nepal**

Netherlands Netherlands* Holland; Niederlande; Les Pays-Bas/Olanda

New Zealand New Zealand* Nuova Zelanda; Neuseeland; Nouvelle-Zélande

norway Norway Norwegen; Norvegia; La Norvège

Oman Oman

papua new guinea Papua New Guinea** Papua-neuguinea; Papua Nuova Guinea

Peru Peru* Le Pérou

portugal Portugal*

Puerto Rico, Caribbean Puerto Rico**

russia Russia* La Russie; Russland

Scotland Scotland* Scozia; L'Ecosse; Schottland

seychelles beaches Seychelles Beaches Seicelle

singapore  and information Singapore Travel* Singapur

south africa South Africa**Südafrika; L'Afrique du Sud; Sudáfrica
Kruger National Park, South Africa Kruger National Park*

south pacific South Pacific* Pacífico Sur; Pacifique Sud; Südlicher Pazifik

spain Spain* Spanien; L'Espagne; Espanha; Spagna
Canary Islands Canary Islands
Balearic Majorca Balearic Islands Balearen; Baleares

Sweden Sweden* La Suède; Svezia; Schweden; Suiza

Switzerland Switzerland**Schweiz; La Suisse; Svizzera

syria Syria* Siria; Syrien

Thailand Thailand La Thaïlande; Thailandia
Thailand beach Thailand Beaches*

Thailand beach Thailand Phi Phi scuba diving*

Tibet Tibet

Tobago, Caribbean Tobago**

Tunisia Tunisia Tunisie; Tunesien

Turkey Turkey* Turquie; Türkei; Turchia; Turquía

vietnam Vietnam**

yemen Yemen* Jemen

USA, new york USA - New York *
SW USA USA - Southwest National Parks**
USA, burning man USA - Burning Man Festival**

Zanzibar beach, Tanzania Zanzibar* (Tanzania)

European cities

Aix-en-Provence , France Aix-en-Provence (France)*

Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam (Holland)*

Annecy , France Annecy (France)*

Athens  , Greece Athens/Atene (Greece)*

Arles , France Arles (France)*

Avignon , France Avignon (France)*

Barcelona , Spain Barcelona/Barcelone (Spain)*

Berne, Bern, Switzerland Berne/Bern (Swiss)**

Bournemouth, England Bournemouth (England)*

Brighton, England Brighton (England)*

Budapest  , Hungary Budapest (Hungary)

Cadiz, Spain Cadiz (Spain)*

Canterbury, Engalnd Canterbury (England)*

Cannes , France Cannes (France)*

Carcassonne , France Carcassonne (France)*

Edinburgh , Scotland Edinburgh/Edimbourg (Scotland)

Florence , Italy Florence/Firenze/Florenz (Italy)*

Genoa , Italy Genoa (Italy)*

Grasse , France Grasse (France)*

Istanbul , Turkey Istanbul (Turkey)*

Lausanne, Switzerland Lausanne (Switzerland)**

Lisbon , Portugal Lisbon/Lisboa/Lissabon (Portugal)

London , England London/Londres/Londra (England)*

Lucca , Italy Lucca (Italy)*

Lucerne, Luzern, Switzerland Lucerne/Luzern (Swiss)**

madrid Madrid (Spain)*

Rome , Italy Malaga (Spain)*

Montreux, Switzerland Montreux (Switzerland)**

Nice , France Nice/Nizza (France)*

Paris , France Paris/Parigi (France)*

Prague , Czech Republic Prague/Praha/Praga/Prag (Czech Rep.)

Rome , Italy Rome/Roma/Rom (Italy)*

Rome , Italy Ronda (Spain)*

Seville , Spain Seville/Sevilla/Siviglia (Spain)*

St Tropez , France St Tropez (France)*

Tours , France Tours (France)*

Venice Carnival, Italy Venice/Venezia/Venedig/Venise (Italy)*

Vevey, Switzerland Vevey (Switzerland)**

Vienna, Austria Vienna/Wien (Austria)

Zurich, Switzerland Zurich/Zurigo (Switzerland)**

 

Bugbog Pages

 

Some images of an 'arty-farty' nature
Rome, Florence, Loire Valley, Seville, Switzerland, Easter Island

 

Vacation photos, a few hints

Light (Exposure)

• Shoot from early until 11am, and from 3pm till sunset. The light is richer at these times and shadows give depth to the photos even if it does make you get up early when you're on holiday!

• Look for interesting light situations as well as subjects. e.g. Evening shadows, morning mist, black clouds with rays of sunlight etc. These can work asphotos in their own right, as well as making an ordinary/frequently shot subject sensational.

 

a snow mountain linking to Patagonia pictures, Argentina

Patagonia Pictures, Argentina

 

• Generally shoot with the sun behind you or at your side, unless you're going for special effects like a temple silhouette

• For white beach or snow shots (or any of these kind of high contrast shots) you have to trick the stupid camera which thinks everything should average at medium grey. So first frame the shot you want with your zoom. Then turn and point the camera at something that is a similar distance, but of middling lightness, such as vegetation or tarmac/asphalt. Press the shutter down half way to lock the exposure, point it back at the shot you want and press the shutter all the way.
Alternatively learn to use the exposure compensation feature, turning exposure up by around .5EV for sand or 1.0EV for snow (experiment with different settings).

 

Lake McKenzie beach, Fraser Island, linking to Australia beach pictures

Lake Mckenzie, Australia Beach Pictures

 

• For sunset pictures try to meter (set the camera's exposure) off the bit of sky near the sun, not on the sun.

• Subjects with an interesting texture (e.g. stone) can be shot with with light coming from the side to pick out the surface differences and make the image more real/tactile to your viewer.

 

 

Using and abusing the Flash

• Switch off the flash on compact cameras when taking distant shots like landscapes or church ceilings. The flash only illuminates up to five metres and will unbalance your exposure (lighting). For ceilings, set the camera on self-timer and put it on the floor or any flat surface.

 

St Peter's crowds, linking to  Vatican Pictures, Rome, Italy

St Peter's, Vatican Pictures, Rome

 

• If you're using a flash indoors and close to your subjects - especially if you can check your results easily on a digital camera - watch out for too much light/brightness. Hold or tape a piece of tissue paper over the flash to soften it.

• For a natural look in a low-light situation you need to turn off the flash and hold the camera REALLY steady - preferably a camera with image stabilisation AND a fast lens (e.g. F2.8). See below, Steady.

• Most digital cameras have an automatic ISO function, enabling you to take flash-free photos in low light but don't let the setting go too high or you'll end up with very grainy images. Find ISO in the camera menu and keep it below 400.

 

Ko Samui beach volleyball, linking to Thailand beaches pictures

Ko Samui, Thailand Beach Pictures

 

Composition (subject arrangement)

• For people and sunset shots use your full optical zoom if you have one. People will be less distorted and the sun will be bigger.

• Get people in your shots doing something, preferably demonstrating their personality by getting them to do something typical. (See Rome Pictures) Suggest they move (the camera is fast enough to freeze them) if they are posing, or shoot people without telling them to stop and pose. Or photograph people quickly again just after you've done the 'Say cheese' shot!
But n.b. if they are vacation pictures of local people who have seen you, ASK PERMISSION!

• Get closer and simplify especially if using a phone-camera with no zoom! Try to strengthen strong subjects by eliminating clutter. If you can't walk closer, use an optical zoom if you have one (not the digital zoom that loses image quality)

 

zebra in Etosha National Park, linking to Etosha wildlife safari  pictures

Etosha wildlife safari pictures, Namibia

 

• If it's a much photographedsubject, like the pyramids, try to get something unusual/amusing in the foreground like an old man on a donkey or camel-mounted police. Move! Don't just stand there!

• Look for an unusual angle as well as your basic frontal shot; put the camera down on self timer; walk around the subject; look from near and far, low and high perspectives.

• Try putting the subject off centre - either one third across the picture or one third up it, or both. This position is known by classical artists as the Golden Cross Section. Landscape shots particularly benefit from having the horizon NOT in the centre of the image. Decide which bit - e.g. sky/sea/land - is more interesting and make the photo 2/3 that and 1/3 the less interesting bit.
Some digital cameras include a grid option that helps you make horizontals horizontal and putting subjects on the golden cross section. (One of the bugcrew's favourite little camera with a grid is the Panasonic Lumix, 28mm - series.)

 

Venice Carnival Pictures, Italy

Venice Carnival Pictures, Italy

 

• Look for matching sets of subjects to create some kind of image symmetry.

• Consider concentrating more on landscape formats (i.e. horizontal pictures) if you usually view digital holiday photos on a computer or even TV, as these will suit the display shape much better. e.g. Bugbog's new Rome Pictures are totally landscape format.

 

 

Generally

• set your phone/compact to highest possible quality/resolution. You can reduce the size later but will not be able to increase it if it happens to be a sensational shot. However, this means that you may run out of card storage space so get a big memory card and/or spare.

• keep checking the lens is clean. It's so easy to smudge the lens with a finger and not notice until you upload the photos a week later and find them virtually useless.

• switch off the shutter click sound to be more discreet.

• Shutter-lag: low-end digital cameras are often slow to respond when you press the shutter in action situations. This is due to the slow auto-focus mechanism. To counteract this, figure out where your subject is going for the best composition, press the shutter button down halfway (before the action starts!) till you get the green focus confirm light, then hold it there till your subject moves into the picture. At that point press the button all the way. Bingo, no lag.

• Steady your shot by putting the camera on a hard surface and using the self-timer or leaning against something - a wall or post, for example. You can also turn yourself into a tripod by planting your feet firmly, push your left elbow against your chest and support the lens/body with your left hand, while your right hand squeezes the shutter gently.
And buy a camera with image stabilisation, it really does work, especially in low-light situations such as below.

 

Images from Burning Man Festival, Nevada, USA

Burning Man Pictures, Nevada desert, USA

 

• Always carry a spare (charged!) battery and storage medium (compact flash card, memory stick etc) with you, you never know when you might stumble across a magical scene.

• If you're shooting digitally, take a lot of pictures and then edit them brutally. If you're using negative film then you'll need a hefty wallet to do this!

• Transfer your edited vacation snaps to some safe storage medium as soon as possible, be it laptop, iPod, portable hard drive, The Cloud, or even better several of them. Belt and Braces!

• If you live in the Netherlands and wish to put together an artistic photo album then check Fotoalbum maken!

 

Also see on bugbog a variety of good quality, informative, interesting and occasionally funny Travel Videos, World Travel Guide pages and World Maps.

 

 

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