Saturday, May 7, 2011

Slow Travel

You may have heard of the Slow Food movement - locally grown, cooked to order, the opposite of fast food chain restaurants or even the TV dinner (or should I say the Hulu-dinner) at home.  The current edition of Verge Magazine (a volunteer- and youth-oriented quarterly published in Canada, has 7 tips on "Slow Travel," taking your time while traveling to experience the local culture on local terms.  Among the tips are:

Thou Shalt Have No Other Gadgets Before Thy Flip-Flops.
Thou Shalt Not Make Lonely Planet Your Idol, and
Remember the Meaning of Adventure, and Keep it Holy.

Worth checking out.  http://www.vergemagazine.com/news/86-contributing/569-ten-ways-to-travel-slower.html

Friday, April 29, 2011

Some More Quotes for Inspiration

The first is from Paul Theroux, author of some great travel narratives, as quoted in the NY Times: "...the fact that a place is out of fashion, forgotten or not yet on the map doesn't make it less interesting, just more itself, and any visit perhaps more of a challenge." 

The second is from my friend Betsy who is traveling around the world with her husband for some indeterminate amount of time, as quoted on their website http://www.marriedwithluggage.com/: "Life is short.  Live your dream." 

A quote from k.d. lang: "To be happy, you have to make that decision."
And finally a quote from an obit of a person I didn't know but spoke the truth: "She did what she needed to do to find her own fulfillment, and she succeeded."
Inspiration is where you find it or read it.  These 4 quotes struck me as well worth reading and remembering.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Travel's Special Moments

Travel is at it's best when it results in great stories!  I've blogged about this before, but Stanley Diamond just posted a reinforcing piece on his blog about those special unplanned moments while traveling: http://www.travelblogexchange.com/profiles/blogs/those-special-unplanned-days.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

New Photo Portfolio


My new photography portfolio is up and running. Check it out at: photography.chuckkirchner.com.

How Travel Has Changed

Check out these two websites:
http://news.travel.aol.com/2011/03/01/travel-then-and-now-through-photos/
and
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/travel-tips-and-articles/76543?affil=lpemail.

The AOL site shows side by side photographs of how travel has changed over the decades.  The Lonely Planet page describes more recent changes in how we research trips.  Both are insightful and worth a gander.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Keep it Simple

I came across a great quote in a book I've just started entitled "Visual Poetry" by Chris Orwig.  "The trick of great poems and photographs is to tell just enough."  Keep the photo simple, minimize extraneous elements.  I'm reminded of a sketch by Pablo Picasso that is made up of 4 lines yet makes its subject very clear.  http://www.art.com/products/p10290468-sa-i724882/pablo-picasso-femme.htm?sorig=cat&sorigid=0&dimvals=5000016&ui=ecb7b2a7f81544fcb44931ec0686438a.  Boil your subject down to its most basic elements; try to exclude extraneous elements, and your photos will be stronger for it.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

A Quote from Ansel

"A good photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels."  Oh, so true!