ENHANCING YOUR VISIT

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers If the title of this blog were really what it’s about, most people wouldn’t bother opening it, but I’ll try to make it worth your time to read on. Arriving at The Getty in L.A. A few days ago we visited the J.P. Getty Museum in Los Angeles.  In addition to being housed in a true work of modern art, and in addition to having free admission, this is a place to see if you’re in the area.  But that only touches on “the where,” not “the what” that this is about. “The What” is actually two-fold.  It’s about expanding any museum experience, and it’s about my wondering, “Why is the photographic art on the walls ‘art’ and my photography just photography?  Let’s take them one at a time. Whenever Monique and I visit a museum of any kind, whether it’s high art, classic cars or American natives history, I try to engage the docents or guards in conversation, asking, “What shouldn’t I miss in this room or in the museum?”  When I first started doing this, Monique was skeptical … until she heard the kinds of answers it elicited. “If you look closely, you’ll see the artist’s lover in the purple swirl.”  Or “It was Smith’s earliest work, so there are inconsistencies that show how her artistry developed,” or “It’s here because the curator wants it here.  Makes no sense to me.”   I laughed when I heard something close to that at the Getty. How DID Claude Monet See... Read more

Capture the Journey: New Camera for RVers

tti, a leading supplier of vehicle plug and play mobile video solutions, released a sporty camera, the tt-i EagleEye earlier this year. The tt-i EagleEye is a lightweight high definition video camera that comes with a mounting bracket that can be easily mounted to a helmet or headband. Night Vision, HD technology and motion detection. (Credit: tt-i.info) tti has now announced the addition of a new plug and play camera to its growing lineup. Called the tt-i Buddy NightOwl, this camera is designed for recreation vehicle owners who want to capture their journey in full HD quality video for playback on their PC or television. A benefit of plug and play solutions is they can be installed easily with a suction cup fixing and powered from the cigarette socket in the vehicle without incurring expensive installation costs. Attached to your windshield with a special mount that makes use of a suction cup, the NightOwl has no moving parts, which means that bumpy journeys aren’t going to dislodge anything while you’re traveling down the road. By fitting a two or three way power socket to the cigarette socket you can install multiple cameras on the same vehicle. The tt-i Buddy NightOwl has an SD card slot to support up to 64GB memory cards, has motion detection, night vision, a built in screen that can fold away, and a real-time stamp on video so you’ll know when the video was recorded. The NightOwl offers the highest resolution and frame rate combination in the mobile video market. Using... Read more

Grand Circle — Treasuring the Moments and Set-Backs

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers A few days ago, Monique and I completed a whirlwind, unforgettable tour that took us to most of the “must-see” places in the Grand Circle of Utah, Colorado and Arizona, with a peek into New Mexico.  We saw a lot and still had opportunities to be in nature, along with Monique’s brother and sister-in-law from France. In a blog early in our trip, I wrote a piece about why I take numerous photographs, emphasizing that I then delete more half of them, keeping the rest for memories and other future uses.  I was expecting at least one comment from among our nature-loving readers suggesting that I spend less time with the camera at my eye and more time savoring the views.  Just because no one questioned that doesn’t mean I don’t have an answer. During our 35 days on this trip, we saw an incredible number of scenes that are already bringing back fond memories only a few weeks later.  I’m not one of those National Geographic-type photographers who spends weeks in one spot waiting for the perfect sunrise or a mountain lion ravaging an elk.  I like to take a few shots of what I see and move on. Yet, when I find a vista that speaks to me … that has some quality that whispers, “Stop, sit, stare” … I usually obey that loud whisper.  During our recent travels, as we hiked into a canyon in Capital Reef National Park, I perched on a rock at the base of a cliff and looked at the 180-degrees of escarpment... Read more

THE GRAND CIRCLE PART II — RANDOM THOUGHTS 1

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers LIKE ARIAS — I wrote this between hikes and touring through Capital Reef National Park in Southern Utah.  ZION /  BRYCE CANYON / CAPITAL REEF They are all SENSATIONAL in their own ways … and  I mean “sensational” in that visiting each of these parks really thrills the senses — not only the sense of sight, of beauty and of grandeur but it excites our sense of pride in being in America. Plus, a sense of appreciation for our government that preserved these fragile, unique lands, and our sense of thanks for park administrators who (along with most visitors) help preserve these practically unbelievable wonders of nature. The Incredible Natural Amphitheater in Bryce Canyon National Park Was Worth the Effort © All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved Zion is majestic. It features a variety of textures and colors that make it a visual buffet. The most common word heard at the overlooks of Bryce Canyon and down among the towering caprock topped “hoo-doos” was “breathtaking.” It is definitely breathtaking, and more … beyond words. And in Capital Reef, the least known of the great Southern Utah parks, the best I can say is it is “incredibly dramatic.” Philippe calls it “colossal.” All three of these parks are awesome, awesome, awesome!!! Between these grand natural wonders are hours of farmland, various-hued boulders and mountains, and quaint towns.  For opera-lovers, think... Read more

National Park Week: Start Planning Now

Looking for an affordable place to visit this spring? Look no further than a National Park. From sea to shining sea, the United States has some of the most breath taking national parks and scenic wonderlands. Each national park has very important significance embedded into the landscape and historical heritage. Every year, mountain travelers flock to America’s national parks like Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved One of the most budget friendly vacation ideas just got more affordable as national parks that usually charge entrance or day-use fees are waiving them during National Park Week—April 16-24, 2011. About 147 of the 394 parks and historic sites operated by the National Park Service charge admission fees ranging from $3 to $25. National Parks Service has compiled a complete list of the parks that are waiving fees. This list can be accessed by Name and by State. National Park Week is an opportunity to hike, bike, learn, share, and experience the majesty in the nation’s national parks. Visit any of America’s national parks and enjoy free admission all week long! Whether you prefer to hike Zion (Utah),  photograph the wonders of Arches (Utah), wander in the paths of the Anasazi at Aztec Ruins (New Mexico), explore the desert scenery and granite monoliths of Joshua Tree (California), or tour an ancient cave dwelling at Mesa Verde (Colorado) moving outside is good for you and offers a chance to explore these special places. In... Read more

THE E-POSTCARD TEXT RECIPE

 By Monique & Barry Zander, the Never-Bored RVers  Among the numerous requests for the reverse side of our e-Postcard were a few requests for information, primarily about how to enter text in the writing section on “the back.”  I’ll get to it in a moment …  … but first, to those asking where the photo was taken of Monique and me that appeared in yesterday’s blog.  It was taken by our daughter-in-law, Debbie, an excellent photographer, at Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.  It was shortly before granddaughter Amy slipped off a rock into the glacial water.  Monique has her cap and hiking stick in her hand; I have my “Gilligan” hat.  The number of responses in the Comments Section in the original article and in e-mails taking us up on the offer to send the format of the e-Postcard reverse side has been overwhelming.  We certainly appreciate your interest.   And now, as promised, instructions on putting text on the e-Postcard: I use Photoshop to create the e-Postcards.  If you use a different program (like iPhoto or Corel) and know how to accomplish the same task, I’m sure readers would appreciate your instructions in the Comments Section below. I write out wording for the e-Postcard in Word, spell-check it, and save it with an appropriate title (i.e., Avalanche Lake).  Then I Select All (either Control A or under “Edit”) and copy. (Right-Click Copy or Control C or under edit, “Copy”). In our original article about the e-Postcards,... Read more

Wish You Were Here

 By Monique & Barry Zander, the Never-Bored RVers  You’re probably wondering how we can afford the costs involved in staying on the road year-in and year-out.  The answer:  “e-Postcards.”  Sounds like cyberspace talk, right?   Don’t feel too threatened by the term “e-Postcard.”  Monique not only came up with the idea, she coined the name. The Zander e-Postcards are our way of keeping in touch with friends and family, without expecting them to spend their valuable time reading about our adventures.  I “attach” them to e-mails, with no text or little text in the e-mail itself.  More on that below. Before explaining more about them, let’s take a look at a few recent e-Postcards (you may recognize some of the photos from our recent RV.net blogs).     There are three tough parts involved in this:   1)  Most important, we don’t necessarily send the best picture from a photographic sense or the one we like the best.  It’s all about sending a picture our readers will find interesting.   2)  The next tough part is keeping the postcard’s text to about five sentences.  It’s what is known as “a quick read.”  Our recipients aren’t afraid to open the mailing, because they know it’s going to be brief. And 3), it requires some photo editing and preparation.  If you’re not adept at that, this may be your impetus to learn. BY WAY OF EXPLANATION: 1)  When we were in Quartzsite two weeks ago, I took hundreds of pictures, recording crowd... Read more

Rare bird sighting: Black-vented Oriole

Have you seen the Black-vented Oriole? The Black-vented Oriole has made its home a short distance from our RV site at Bentsen Palm Village. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Little did we know when we made our reservation for Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort that we’d be entertained by a rare bird feeding in the coral bean trees. Upon arriving at Bentsen Palm on Monday (January 24), we were informed that a very rare bird—the Black-vented Oriole—had recently made its home in the RV Park less than 100 feet from our site. Bentsen Palm Village is located adjacent to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park/World Birding Center in South Texas. The black-vented oriole was first sighted at the state park on December 13 (2010) and has been observed daily at the RV Park since December 31 where it flies back and forth between coral bean trees, a small to medium-sized, deciduous tree with a spreading crown and brilliant red flowers. The coral bean is also known as ‘Fireman’s Hat’ because of its beautiful panicles of bright red tubular flowers that resemble the hats of firemen. The distinguishing feature of the Black-vented Oriole is the vent, which is all black. It’s a large oriole with black hood, upper back, wings, and tail, including vent. Under parts and lower back are bright yellow-orange. Black bill is long and slender. The song of the Black-vented Oriole is a bold, squeaky, gurgling warble. Call is a weak, nasal “nyeh” or “nur”, insect-like and often... Read more

Lest You Forget Where You’ve Been

ByBarry & Monique Zander,   the Never-Bored RVers   Question:  When does a picture-taker qualify as a photographer?   Pick the right answer: 1)  When he/she spends over $2,000 for equipment.  2)  When photographs are in focus and have an artistic quality. 3)  When he/she is willing to carry tripods, lights baffles and other equipment and then wait for hours for the perfect moment to take 200 shots of the same scene. 4)  When he/she wins a blue ribbon in a photography contest.  5)  It doesn’t matter. I have never seen a definitive answer, so #5 is probably the closest to correct. You already have a camera, no doubt, whether it’s a point-and-shoot, a cellphone, Dad’s old Leica or a digital version with interchangeable lenses.  Any of them can capture a scene, and nowadays, the picture they capture will be adequate for most uses. Taken with my Point & Shoot Canon © All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved    And that’s the key issue.  Far more important than the camera is the reason you are taking pictures.  Recently we sat through a presentation by a very successful professional, who lectured us about taking photos.  His slant on the subject was about taking magazine-quality photographs … until I interrupted to suggest that not everyone was on the same page.  When members of the audience seemed to agree that they weren’t expecting to be pros, he changed his emphasis to basic rules for good pictures.  We travel full-time in our RV,... Read more

Photo Gifts Made Easy with Picasa

Still have some people on your gift list?  There are lots of gift ideas that can be made from your own photographs.  Some of them can be ready to pick up at your local Walmart or Walgreens today, and some can be mailed overnight for an extra charge.  Normally, it takes a week or so to receive the gift.  You can even have it shipped directly to your recipient.  It’s all done online with your digital photos, a credit card, and a shipping address. What can you Order? You can order anything from simple prints of your photos, to framed or ‘floated’ wall masterpieces.  You can also order professional hard-bound books of your pictures – I love these books for special keepsake gifts.  Then there’s the fun stuff.  Photo gifts that are also useful, like mugs, tshirts, or mouse pads.  Most of the providers listed offer all of these things, but they each have their specialties.  You can check them out on their various websites before selecting one thru Picasa.  Here’s a partial list of the websites, but make sure to come back to Picasa before actually ordering!  Read on to see why. Check out the offerings at these providers, then come back to Picasa to order: CVS, Kodak Gallery, PhotoStamps, fotoflōt, Walmart FOTO.com, Lifepics, Snapfish, Walgreens, RITZPIX, Shutterfly, American Greetings PhotoWorks, Snaptotes Picasa’s ‘Shop’ button makes it easy If you use Picasa, all you have to do is select the photo, or photos you want to use and click the Shop button. ... Read more

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