Travel PhotographyWritten by Roy Barker
To many people idea of being paid to take photographs of exotic places is ideal job. It may takes years of effort to be paid by magazines such as National Geographic, but are there better ways to become a travel photographer. As most people have more leisure time, more holiday time, and more disposable income, demand for travel photographs has increased dramatically. Not only are they in demand for travel brochures, but they also are used extensively in other advertising copy. Images necessary for sale and publication require rather more skill than those applied to standard holiday snaps. "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." Was a quote by French novelist Marcel Proust, and it appears to be of particular use to travel photographer. Investigate possibilities of becoming a contracted photographer at Lonely Planet Images. Lonely Planet Images is a digital library of travel photography. They have submission guidelines available for download at their website. They are a subsidiary of what used to known as Lonely Planet Guide, and currently have 400 photographers on contract. You can also increase your chances of breaking into very lucrative travel market, by entering competitions such as Travel photographer of Year . There closing date for submissions is September 5th 2005. A camera is merely a box, that captures light, and in a studio, it is very easy to manipulate light. The reality of location photography is that it is generally expensive; you have expenses of air tickets, hotels and meals on top of normal expenses. At end of day you are at mercy of “weather”, no one wants to see their ideal location subject to rain clouds. When we talk of light in terms of travel photography we are talking about intensity, as most travel shots are taken outdoors, In general there is harsh direct sunlight and diffuse soft light. Harsh light is when sun is directional, and it is great for capturing deep contrasts between light and shadows. With this type of shot, it is difficult to judge exposure. If you direct your exposure towards light, that will leave your shadows without any depth or definition. Conversely if you use correct exposure for shadow, then light areas will be without detail, giving a vaguely sinister result to image. Unfortunately your drawback here is film, human eye is capable of registering contrast to a ratio of 800:1, slide film is capable of only 30:1, which is slightly improved, by going digital at a ratio of 40:1. Professional photographs have all passionate views on their favourite brand name of film in this situation, but they are all in accord that you need a slower speed films, as they record better contrast and grain. ISO/ASA rating of a hundred is about fastest film to use. It is important that you use a good photovoltaic cell (either a separate light meter or one inbuilt into camera. Once light meter has registered light, camera is capable of indicating aperture opening required, and shutter speed. The speed of film is also taken into this equation. You need to measure darkest and lightest areas.
| | Using Back Links to get Top Search Engine RankingWritten by Richard Moore
Using Back Links to get Top Search Engine Ranking There are no hidden secrets on how to rank high with major search engines. All that is needed is a basic understanding of how search engines work and a bit of know how. Perhaps biggest contributing factor to a successful web site is incoming links or Back Links. Without links, your website will more than likely go unnoticed. So how should you accumulate these links? Below are a few basic methods to accumulate quality back links. Before you get started You MUST understand how search engines work. Over 90% of your business will likely come directly from search engine results. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to optimize your site for search engines. You could have greatest deals in entire world, but if no one knows about them then your efforts are wasted. Do a search on google for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You will find tons of great information on how to create a website that is both user friendly and search engine friendly. There are also countless numbers of companies and freelancers out there who offer SEO services. Just be cautious of their offers and do your research first. Remember, NO ONE can guarantee top placement in major search engines, no matter what they say. Where should back links come from? 1. Articles are a fantastic source of links and additional traffic to your site. There are countless sites online that want your articles. It’s a win win situation for everyone. When you write articles and submit them online, you are able to leave a link to your own site and sometimes even anchor text. I know what you’re saying, “I can’t write about anything.” I use to feel same way. But truth of matter is, anyone can write. You just have to find a topic that interests you. You can write about anything from dogs, to computers, to personal training, to web hosting, heck you can even write about writing. The bottom line is, articles are a valuable source of “relevant” back links to your site. 2. Submit to directories. There are literally hundreds of “free” and “paid” directories online. With 3 hours of painless work, you can have your site submitted to hundreds of great directories. There are many quality lists of directories that are regularly updated. One of my favorites is http://www.best-web-directories.com/ which is always updated and maintained. 3. Develop link exchanges with relevant sites. The major search engines such as google see incoming links from relevant sites, and give them more rank compared a link from an unrelated site. For example, if you have a website about pet care products, your link strategy should target pet related sites. Again with a bit of hard work and determination, you can develop a great deal of “relevant” back links. 4. Forums are a great source for additional traffic and links. Many forums allow their users to display signatures in their posts. These signatures can consist of both text and links. When you post a new message on that forum, your websites link will be displayed for everyone to see. This not only helps build valuable back links, but will bring additional traffic to your website.
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