AmazoniaBike | TravelBlog

Gone are the days of blurry, indistinguishable photos taken with that wind-on thing you bought at a souvenir shop for five quid: the future is digital! At this point, I’m actually sure that many camera enthusiasts might disagree with me, but for we amateurs, a digital camera can hardly be surpassed. The rise of the digital camera has made it ever more difficult to find an excuse for taking bad pictures. However, if you’re still struggling to explain why your wife’s eyes constantly come out looking like the Devil’s own in each picture you take, or why your photos always seem to look like they were touched by the halo of a mischievous angel, here are ten simple tips to improve your photography without giving you a headache in the process:

1) Read the manual!

This really should go without saying. Even quite experienced users can always benefit from reading the user manual, as tempting as it is to skip it and get straight to the action. However, if the idea of wading into that quicksand of technical terms and dry, joyless language gives you the chills, at least there the basics – how to turn the flash on and off and onto auto, how to zoom in and out, how to use the shutter button and how to view your pictures. If you’re feeling braver at a later date, you can always go back and learn the technicalities.

2) Set your resolution

While not immediately obvious, it’s important to set your resolution as high as you can afford it. If this involves buying a larger memory card, then do so. The lower your resolution is, the ‘fuzzier’ and worse quality your photos will be when you come to print them out. A low resolution also makes it more difficult to crop photos and digitally alter, which limits your options drastically.

2) Make your camera your new best friend

By which I mean, start taking it everywhere with you. One of my best friend’s boyfriends has made it his resolution to take a least one picture every day. He carries his camera around with his everywhere he goes and as a result has come across some stunning shots and improved his technique immensely. There really is truth to the saying ‘practice makes perfect’. Additionally, you will get to know how your camera reacts in different types of light – artificial, natural, cloudy, dusk and so on. Besides, most of us can identify with that incredible frustration of coming across the perfect shot and not having our camera around to take it. I mean, imagine missing this fantastic holiday moment!

4) Think outside the box

Start thinking like a photographer. If you see something you want to photograph, don’t just click away like some shutter-happy tourist: think! From which angle would your subject look best? Would different lighting convey a different mood? Should you shoot from close up or further away? While there are certain ‘rules’ that can help you at the beginning to get the feeling for what a ‘good’ photograph should look like, you should also feel free to experiment. Even if everything goes horribly wrong, you can still learn from your mistakes.

If, however, you’re just starting out, it can helpful to keep the following points in mind:

• Apply the ‘Two Thirds’ rule, by positions your points of interest along the third lines of the photograph. Try not to let the horizon or other lines cut your photo in half.

• Avoid distractions: it may be amusing to realise your photo looks like your mum has a tree growing out of her head, but if you’re aiming for decent photos, try to look at the ‘big picture’ as it were and alter your position to remove distractions.

• Mix things up: take photographs from interesting angles, as demonstrated by this photo, taken from a hotel window . While this can go horribly wrong, often it can result in beautiful, unique photographs without a lot of hard work.

5) Keep still and focus

Pay attention to what you’re doing while taking photographs. If you are prone to taking blurry or shaky pictures, either you haven’t got the hang of focusing, or you may be moving too much while attempting to snap your subject. In any case, learn how to use the auto focus and don’t play with manual focusing unless your auto focus run into trouble. One top tip to steady your shot is to use one hand underneath the lens to steady it (keep your fingers out of the shot though!) and use your other hand to focus and take the picture. If you still have trouble, try experimenting with a tripod, although this will limit your movement. For an example of how blurriness can ruin a shot, look at this holiday snap. Imagine how much prettier it would be if only it were clearer!

6) Don’t get flash happy

Use your flash sparingly. While it can be a god-send in certain circumstances, if you give into temptation too often your only reward will be washed-out subject or strange reflections. Your flash is best limited to the following situations:

• to eliminate ‘panda eyes’ in bright sunlight

• to fill in dark shadows for contrast

Where possible, avoid flash by introducing as much light as possible to the area, for example opening curtains, turning on lights and so on. If you have no choice but to use your flash at nighttime, go ahead, but do be prepared for a rather washed-out or flattened photograph.

7) Go for a crop

Try installing photo-editing software and learn how to use the basics of it. One of the best is Photoshop, but it’s quite expensive. A better option is perhaps to start with Paint.NET, which is free to download online (it’s only Windows-compatible though). Even if you are the most computer-phobic person in the world, you should be able to master some simple skills, which can do the world for your photographs. Probably the most important things to learn are:

• correcting colour balance

• cropping

• adjusting lighting

• removing the dreaded red eye

If you’re more ambitious, there is almost no limit to what you can do.

Stick to automatic

Most cameras have a automatic mode – some have several different automatic modes. Stick to these until you get your bearings, since due to advances in technology, there isn’t a pressing reason to switch to manual. If you appear to be experiencing problems in your automatic mode, such as consistently taking blurry photos, you might want to start experimenting manually, but otherwise don’t mess around with it too much.

9) Gather critics

Invite your pals around to view your pictures and to tell you which they like best and why. They’ll be able to point out to you both positive and negative aspects that you may have missed. One may point out that they love the composition of a certain photo that you had overlooked. Another might comment on your use of lighting or how you might improve your framing. Don’t underestimate the use of looking through other people’s eyes, as it were, to gain new insight. And don’t be put off if everybody doesn’t immediately rave about your newfound artistic talent!

10) Have fun!

And that’s a command! Don’t worry if you first few, or even first few hundred photos come out looking a bit pants – that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you enjoy the process of learning and don’t get put off too easily by mistakes at the beginning. With a bit of practice, photography can be a very fulfilling and creative hobby, so keep at it!

I hope you enjoyed the article and can take something from it. Comments and suggestions for further articles are always welcome. Happy snapping! p>

Kathryn Castle is an online marketing analyst for HolidayCheck. She is a keen writer with a particular interest in travel, literature, photography, food and drink. www.holidaycheck.co.uk

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-tips-articles/holidays-tips-for-taking-the-better-photographs-981377.html

When I first thought about Tenerife holidays, I immediately thought of loud bars and nightclubs, stag and hen parties and just general mayhem – After holidaying there several times, I now realise that it has a lot more than this to offer holidaymakers of all ages.

Tenerife is a volcanic island, hence its main attraction being Mount Teide – the volcano. Teide is open to visitors all year round and is located in the North of the island, along with the resort of Puerto de la Cruz. I visited this resort for the day and was pleasantly surprised, although more suited to an older clientele, it had nice beaches and a big tourist attraction called the ‘Loro Parque’, which is a bird/animal park that really does make for a great value day out.

Further South, you can find the resorts of Los Gigantes and Las Caletillas along the East coast, which make for a quieter, more relaxed holiday with little fishing harbours and cafés to unwind.

Golf del Sur is another popular resort, only a 5 minute drive from Tenerife South Airport. This has been a firm favourite for years, with golfers originally, but has now grown into a popular tourist resort for all age groups. There are several golf courses nearby and many more further South in Playa de las Americas and Costa Adeje.

Read More »

Holiday parks have been UK family favourites for many years, many of the most popular and well known resorts have been going since the 1930s and have hosted millions of families vacations ever since.  With the dawning of the commercial flight industry many Britons were now able to afford to fly to other countries such as Spain and Greece as well as much further distances like America and Africa, but now it looks like the traditional British holiday park is enjoying a comeback.

For many people the current financial crisis has meant many families cannot afford the steep costs of flying and with all sorts of extra hidden charges on even the budget airlines it’s not hard to see why people are more interested in holidaying in the UK.

The UK family holiday parks tend to be built around having the entire holiday package in one place and that everything is included in the price you pay.  This means that not only are you paying for your accommodation and all your meals but all the entertainment and activities are included also.

With them being family holidays it doesn’t mean that all the activities and fun is for the kids, there is plenty of adult themed entertainment with musical acts and comedy nights as well as spas and high rope courses.  Of course there’s plenty for children to do exclusively with a wide range of sports and fun activities like bowling and laser quest.

The accommodation options are almost as diverse as the activities with many options available to people going on holiday such as luxury hotels, many with amazing seafront views.  Other options include self catered apartments or rustic log cabins, camping and caravanning are also possibilities as the options available vary between the different resorts and companies.

With all your meals arranged for you then there’s extra savings to be had as well as the assurance that you can spend all day enjoying yourself and not have to worry about sorting your dinner in the evening.  Those who wish to go self-catered are able to cook their own meals should they wish so in some self-catered accommodation too.

It’s no surprise from reading this how popular UK holiday parks have been and with many people booking summer holidays to these destinations rather than abroad this year.

This article was written by Lee Lazarus. Lee is a leading online journalist and here writes for Butlins Family Holidays. Butlins have holidays parks in the UK – two of their most popular parks are Minehead and Skegness.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/holidays-articles/all-inclusive-holiday-parks-the-new-family-favourite-966715.html

For decades families have been coming to Butlins holiday parks mostly because they offer so much more for value on family holidays than the expensive flights and accommodation of a trip abroad.

The reason these holidays are so good for value is the amount of included activities, sports and entertainment on offer.  As well as all the usual summer sports like Basketball, Football and Cricket there’s adventurous activities like trampolining, archery and at one resort: a high rope course.

The entertainment though is what really makes  Butlins Family Holidays special, and this year visitors are getting a phenomenal amount of entertainment from the biggest TV talent search this year: The stars of Britain’s Got Talent!

There are eight acts from the semi finals, finals and even this year’s winning dance act Diversity.  The winners who will be performing for Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Variety Show will be headlining a whole series of acts from all categories.

Father and Son Greek dancers with a twist, Stavros Flatley will be bringing a hint of the Mediterranean to the UK holiday resorts as well as child prodigies like Aiden Davies and Shaheen Jafargholi which promises for an amazing line-up of recognizable stars from Simon Cowell’s talent search show.

There is an act for everyone in the family whether you want to hear the amazing singing voice of Shaun Smith or laugh and dance along with The Faces of Disco, there’s even talented ventriloquist Gareth Oliver and the cringe-inducing DJ Talent bringing his unique talent to the family favourite holiday camps.

With all the various acts appearing this year as well as many other residential and touring acts at the three resorts at Minehead, Skegness and Bognor Regis which ever resort you choose for your next family holiday will be jam packed with plenty of entertainment for all the family.

Also this year the Bognor Regis resort is opening it’s second luxury hotel, the Ocean hotel.  Designed to be ultra modern and stylish but also comfortable and practical the Ocean hotel has been purpose built for family groups; children have their own bunk beds plus flat screen TV and DVD players and there are plenty of dining options both at the hotel and at the resort in general.

This year with all the value for money it is no surprise that Butlins Family Holiday parks are becoming firm favourites yet again for family holidays without all the added hassle of passports and flight times that you’d get with other holidays.

This article was written by Lee Lazarus. Lee is a leading online journalist and here writes for Butlins UK Breaks. Butlins have a huge number of entertainment breaks available, including acts from Britains Got Talent such as Stavros Flatley, Diversity and Shaheem.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/holidays-articles/butlins-got-talent-exciting-entertainment-coming-this-summer-973313.html