Airlie Beach Travel Is Beautiful

If you will be traveling to Australia, you'll probably be seeing the Great Barrier Reef. If this is true, then you want to go to the beach Fairlie. Small town in the Whitsunday region of Queensland, Australia, is one of the nearest port for tourists to reach the Great Barrier Reef. But there are also more than that. Here are some travel tips Fairlie shore.

You can travel any time of year. One of the great things about the beach that has many small Fairlie, a beautiful lagoon. This is a manmade lake is carried out by the beach on the coast, staying with the jellyfish from time to time. This man-made lagoon, however, is the same beautiful, and it allows people to go swimming and enjoy the tropical life throughout the year.

It's also good for anyone looking to save a few cents. We all know that traveling during the season to save money. But Fairlie Beach, there is off season for the event, only for the price. If you book your ticket in October, when the jellyfish make beaches of Australia are home, you can get cheap flights, cheap hotels, but still can enjoy the beach, water and sun.

Small towns have become popular for backpackers and a number of hotels to accommodate you with a simple budget. Also, because the city is inhabited by backpackers, the nightlife scene is always active.

Maybe the best travel tip Fairlie beach I can give you is to go and visit the beautiful city. This is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, has been swimming activities throughout the year, cheap hotels, nightlife and exciting life. What better place to experience Australia.

Why We Travel - To Find Or To Lose?

Puzzle question, "Why do we travel thinkers" and philosophers have received over the years and the best solution in the famous words of writer Pico Iyer, when he said, "We travel initially to lose ourselves, and our next trip to find ourselves. "

Do we really need to travel so much? If we find ourselves packing our bags and buying tickets is because we must or because we want? 600 million people each year enter the aviation and travel.

When I travel so immensely popular? Time was when so few people travel, when, it makes big news. do Christopher Columbus, a major Spanish Italian sailors when he sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered America. Marco Polo set sail to see distant lands and exotic people; find Chinese. His journey across China is the biggest tour of all time. Although the travelers are two big jobs around the world and they are busy making history, where someone else? Take a gondola trip to the nearest island is furtherest they dare to be.

We've come a long way since then. We do not make the trip, to discover something new (although it would be a feather in our cap in the joints), but to see what people lain sebelum we have discovered and seen. We take a trip to the snow-covered mountains so we can ski down the slope and then we travel to the Mediterranean countries sunlight to bask in the sun. We travel so that we can see for themselves a lot of man-made wonders of the world and nature that so far we only see in books. We travel because we believe that reading about a place or saw a picture in a really bad up there and feel the pulse of the place and accept the culture. We travel all over India to sample many different dishes and then we will be visiting China for different sample rates. We left our television at home and travel around the world to catch the action live in the championships at Wimbledon or the World Cup.

Health Insurance for Senior Citizens - How to Get the Best Rate

As a senior citizen, you may find yourself in a health insurance crisis - not covered by the insurance company health insurance health policy but who need more than you ever did before. Certainly, Medicare will cover some medical costs for you, but how you can get the best value in health insurance to cover Medicare gaps leaf?

What Medicare Covers

Once you're 65 years old, you are eligible to enroll in Medicare. Medicare may contain a number of programs:

* Medicare Part A, which helps cover inpatient hospital care, nursing, home care, hospice care and some nursing homes. Most people pay for the provision through taxes, so do not pay monthly premiums or deleted.

* Medicare Part B, which helps care hospital including doctors services, outpatient, medical equipment, physical and occupational therapy and some home care. Most people pay monthly premiums and annual deduction for health programs.

* Medicare Part C, Medicare Advantage Plan, which offers more choices among health plans and expand your benefits.

* Medicare Part D prescription drug care.

In addition, you may need attention MediGap health insurance that covers what Medicare does not.

Affordable Health Insurance for the Elderly

As you can see, health insurance can be confusing for parents. Fortunately, insurance comparison sites can help you get a clear picture of what you need health insurance, and helps you to find insurance at reasonable rates.

10 Things Which May Not Be Covered by Travel Insurance

This is not surprising to hear horror stories from those who are caught traveling without travel insurance. Maybe you've heard of people as possible during the holidays turn into nightmares when they finally stranded in a foreign country, or become significantly worse with hospital costs. No one wants to have the experience and contribute to the popularity of travel insurance these days, especially for international travel. You'll be surprised how many people are willing to pay in exchange for peace of mind.

Many types of travel insurance policy and the terms offered will vary. Do not assume that all policies are bound by the terms and conditions similar to the same restrictions. Very often, people tend to make errors. Therefore, it is important for you to find cover on the area you want protected. Believe me, you do not want to trapped in a situation where you think you belong to, but really, you do not. So read the fine print carefully because there are many things that can not be protected by insurance. Below are 10 of such things as: -

1. General pandemic
2. Weather disappointment
3. Visa Refusals
4. Drunken skiing, etc.
5. Working holidays
6. Weather-related disasters
7. Security threats
8. Sexually transmitted diseases
9. Adventure sports
10. Evacuation vs. return

Because of the limited pages, I could go into details or explain the things on the part of individuals mentioned here. But do not worry because you can always ask questions and request travel insurance company before you buy travel insurance policy. If not, you can also search online for detailed definitions of the above or other information you need. Always ensure that you qualify to travel to the destination of your choice before spending money insured. Do not rush to get insurance. Better safe than sorry.

In the event you can find a travel insurance policy that meets your needs, particularly on travel-specific risk factors you worry, you can always ask for advice and help from a travel insurance broker. Maybe an insurance broker can arrange a customized plan for you. Needless to say, special attention is adjusted premiums would be much higher than the cost of a standard policy.

Travel Insurance - Tips Finding Deals

You may be wondering whether or not required for travel insurance. Well, I'd say that's always better to travel abroad with the appropriate travel insurance, so you and your family account for all the protection you need. What if something happens and needs medical help, or even cancel or reschedule the flight? You will lose a lot of money in a situation like this if you need to pay for everything ourselves. This article talks about how to find a lot of travel insurance when you are planning to go on holiday.

The first tip I can share with you compare travel insurance based solely on price, but also on what kinds of benefits offered by each company. Also be sure to check online for discounts or coupons, as well as other incentives that some companies offer when asked to quote from them.

What else do you need to consider when you're looking for travel insurance how much you travel. By overcoming this factor alone, you may be surprised myself at how much you can save the end. If you are traveling alone every now and then, you may be better off with a single travel insurance. It is designed for people who are regular travelers. If you are traveling more often, so often a tour cheaper prices with the veil. It's like buying in large quantities, so choose wisely for the people who rely more on travel insurance. Choose appropriate to save money here too.

Not all tourists are aware of this, but the form you can get E11 at the Post Office can not provide full medical coverage in every country, particularly underdeveloped. Reason # 1 why you chose a real travel insurance, if you want the defense to award appropriate treatment in hospital. This form will include emergency treatment only E11, and its implementation is very limited. Maybe some countries are also responsible for you even want to use an ambulance, but you get the care taken with you if you choose to purchase travel insurance.

So, please, be sure to find a good travel insurance policy for you and your family. Although you may end up not using at all, you prefer to only lead to a piece of paper and then by taking a chance and see what happens. And then, all of which will allow you to do is enjoy your vacation!

Jon Vidar: The Tiziano Project

The Tiziano Project presents the journalistic efforts and personal accounts of Iraqi citizens living in the Kurdish north, along with stories produced by their professional multimedia journalism mentors.

An extremely well-made multimedia project, it includes stories such as those on the Yazidis, nomadic mountain-dwelling Kurds, a pigeon keeper, a muezzin, a klash maker, and many more.

The mentoring team consist of Jon Vidar (one of the talented instructors at the Istanbul Foundry Photojournalism Workshop, and a freelance photographer who developed self-assigned projects spanning six continents, including work in Iraqi Kurdistan, Southeast Turkey, Rwanda, and Brazil), Victoria Fine, Grant Slater and Chris Mendez.

Rose Schierl: Bali Island of Odalan

Photo © Rose Schierl-All Rights Reserved
Here's the work of Rose Schierl; the second participant of the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™ to send images to post on this blog.

Rose has been photographing since 2005, and only gone digital two years ago. She hasn't gone through any formal photographic education per se, but attended various short workshops, and those set by Arizona Highways. Rose won an award at a juried show for one of her photographs in 2009. She's also an accomplished diver, and before the photo expedition was on a diving vacation for a couple of days in the north-west of the island.

So far, it appears the fire-walkers at the end of the Kecak dance performance we attended in Ubud was a favorite subject for the group members. Rose managed to capture one of them kicking a blast of glowing embers (above).

Photo © Rose Schierl-All Rights Reserved
One of the shoots I organized during the photo-expedition was at the house of a wayang kulit (shadow puppet) master, where we were treated to a private performance The wayang kulit is an extremely important vehicle of culture, serving as carrier of myth, morality play, and form of religious experience rolled into one. Here, the master is moving one of his shadow puppets during the performance.

Photo © Rose Schierl-All Rights Reserved
Here's a Balinese villager who was attending a night odalan in Bitra village. The temple anniversary was one of the most interesting we've been to during the 2 weeks photo-expedition. Not only did it involve the requisite day-time religious prayers and offering in an exquisite forest setting, but it included performances of Barong and Arja dances.

Photo © Rose Schierl-All Rights Reserved
Rose captured a dancer during an evening Legong performance at Ubud's palace. The performance included various dances, such as the Gabor, Baris, Kraton and the Taruna Jaya.

New Canon D60

It's all over the blogosphere...Canon announced the EOS 60D, a sort of “replacement” for the 50D. According to the reviews, the 60D body is plastic, and uses SD cards instead of the CF.

It's certainly built for video. It has a pop-out, tilt-and-swivel rear screen which, even if it's Canon’s first on an SLR, would just drive me insane. Video can be shot at different sizes and speeds. 1080p is available at 24p, 25p or 30p frame rates.

According to WIRED's Gadget Lab, its 18MP sensor (like the LCD panel) is the same as in the 550D or Rebel T2i, its AF system comes from the 50D and the 63-zone exposure meter comes from the 7D. So it's dubbed the "Frankencam".

It will go on sale in September for $1,100 body-only.

Santa, I have no interest.

Matt Allard Captures Geishas

Matt Allard is a Team Leader- Cameras for Aljazeera International based out of Kuala Lumpur covering Asia/Pacific and the sub continent, and has produced a movie documenting the changing culture of geishas. Due to the world financial crisis, even well-entrenched traditions have had to adapt in Japan, as elsewhere, and geishas in Kyoto have had to follow suit.

Matt used a Canon 7D, 5Dmk2 and 7 lenses to shoot this assignment. The lenses used were a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS II, 50mm f1.2, 135mm f2, 24-70mm f2.8, 100mm Macro f2.8, 16-35mm f2.8 and a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8. All interviews were shot on the 70-200mm. All the audio was recorded on a Zoom H4N using either Seinnheiser radio or shotgun mics. It was edited using FCP and ran on Aljazeera English on the 19th August 2010 around the world.



Also from Matt Allard is this movie depicting the same modern day girl transforming into a Geisha in Kyoto, Japan. It was made using a Canon 7D and a 5D Mark 2 using a Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro and a Canon 16-35mm f2.8. The ambient light and the angles used by Matt are just perfect...the colors are beautiful.

Via DSLRrnewsshooter.com

My Work: Bali Cockfights

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
We were fortunate to encounter a number of cockfights during the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™.

I say fortunate because, while cockfights are gruesome and certainly bloody, they offer glimpses into a tradition practiced on the island (and elsewhere in the world) for ages. All animal rights activists and many other lay people consider it a horrible blood sport which ought to be banned. In Bali, cockfights are known as tajen, but have been forbidden since 1981 since it's considered gambling. Notwithstanding, it continues to be practiced as a ritual to expel evil spirits, and feverish gambling by bebebotoh (always men) is the norm when it occurs.

The area where the cockfight occurred was full of men, who were engaged in gesticulating and yelling their bets according to the color of the roosters. In the middle of the circle formed by the crowd, the bebebotoh were stroking their prized roosters, preparing them for the fights. Others were tying razor-sharp spurs to the birds' legs, while others were busy carving up carcasses of those that had been vanquished.

There seemed to be a sort of hierarchy. A older man, dressed in better quality clothes than the rest of the throng, was sitting very calmly in the midst of the frenetic betting activity, taking it all in. He clearly was a main player of some sort here. I couldn't tell whether he participated, or whether he was the "banker". He may have been a wealthy gambler who joined these cockfights to satisfy his passion.

My movements were restricted, as the men were in no mood to allow anyone to obstruct their view of the cockfights. However, I managed to photograph at will, and recorded some raw ambient sound, which includes the crowds yells and bids.

The roosters' demise is quick...the "combat" is short lived and takes about a minute or two for one of the roosters to fall. Thereupon, it's carried away and eviscerated to be consumed later.

As a side note: I often witness similar rituals; some secular and others religious, and I always try not to pass judgment on the practice. While I personally consider cockfighting to be cruel (as I do of bullfighting), I also respect the right of the Balinese (and others) to practice it, especially when it has a religious significance. Unfortunately in this case, it was all unapologetic gambling.

Having said that, I found the atmosphere electric and compelling, and I am at work on an audio-slideshow of the two cockfights I've witnessed in Bali this time. It will include the one I've described above, and another which was part of a melasti on a beach.

VII's Seamus Murphy: Phoenix Afghanistan

“Photography is part history, part magic.”
-Seamus Murphy

Here's a multimedia piece published by VII The Magazine with stills and audio by Seamus Murphy titled Phoenix Afghanistan.

Seamus began photographing in Afghanistan in 1994, and for two decades, he has worked extensively in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America and most recently America on an ongoing project during what he calls “a nervous and auspicious time.” His accolades include six World Press Photo Awards.

Phoenix Afghanistan compares photographs of life in Kabul from 1994 to photographs in 2010. You'll notice that the 1994 photographs are in black & white, whilst those of 2010 are in color, thereby enhancing the contrast between the two eras.

I wish I hadn't found found the narrative by Seamus to be so stilted...he was probably reading off a sheet of paper rather than having a conversation or reminiscing aloud. Same like good photography, compelling narration is a difficult skill to learn, and requires training.

Kim McClellan: Bali Island of Odalan

Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights Reserved
Kim McClellan is a third-time repeat participant in my photo~expeditions, having joined Bhutan: Land of Druk Yul Photo~Expedition ™ in October 2009, and the The Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat Photo~Expedition ™ in January 2010 before returning with a trove of images from the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition ™ last week.

Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights Reserved
Kim is a professional photographer (as well as working for the SBA in DC), and graduated from the Washington School of Photography in January 2001. She's passionate about international travel photography, and her work was featured in juried exhibitions and shows in the Washington DC Metro Area. She's well-known for her work in fashion, glamor, and classical figures.

Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights Reserved
During the Bali photo-expedition, Kim worked on transitioning from the more staged style of glamor photography to the more fluid style of travel-photojournalism, which is the core objective of my photo workshops. Her photographs here demonstrate her progress in that transitioning.

Photo © Kim McClellan -All Rights Reserved
The first photograph was made during a private ceremony preceding a cremation. Cremations in Bali are occasions for gaiety and not for mourning, since it represents the ceremonial burning of the dead to liberate their souls to be free for reincarnation into better beings.

The second was made at the holy temple of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, which is a major water temple on Bali, and one that protects Bali from evil spirits from the north west. and where constant ceremonies were being conducted when we were there.

The third is of a melasti on a beach on Bali's north east shores. Melasti is an important purification ceremony when temple devotees in Bali go to its beaches, carrying their temple effigies and where the cleansing rituals occur.

The fourth photograph was made during a Kecak & Kris Trance dance in Ubud, and shows one of the dancers in a trance walking barefoot on glowing embers.

My Work: Balinese Elder With Dog

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
What people may or may not tell you is that some of the best photographs out of the many one makes during a photo trip are serendipitous, and the opportunities to make them occur when one least expects them.

Here's one of my favorites so far (and I've only looked at two of my image folders...a mere fraction of the over 10,000 photographs I've made during the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition) of an elderly Balinese woman returning to her traditional home after having emptied her basket of the morning offerings.

We were driving to one of the many temple ceremonies, and I suddenly saw the woman walking slowly towards her house. I immediately asked Komang to stop our van, and our second car also stopped. I reached for my cameras, and squeezed a few frames using the 70-200 lens, while the woman was quizzically looking at the two vehicles full of photographers, aiming their lenses at her. She never smiled...but just stood there, regally, probably muttering "Mad bule (foreigners in Bahasa)".