archives: Travel Writing, Photo, and Video
6 Ways to Get Great Colors in Your Photos Without Photoshop
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#4: Your in-camera white balance is an amazing tool for correcting different lighting and adding mood to your photos. Try taking a portrait on cloudy More »
The Future of Freelance Journalism, Part 2A: Sweaty Balls
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In which the editor of Esquire makes a case for The Magazine as the greatest medium ever invented. And lays out how much blood, balls and marrow-sappi More »
A Negative Narrative
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A new website that uses photographs to create innovative insights into the lives of your favourite music artists. More »
Travel Video Ninjas, Attack!
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The MatadorTV dojo is quickly filling with deadly Travel Video Ninjas! These are multimedia travelers who stand out and who's adventures you would do More »
HDR Photography – Stuff of Dreams or Satan’s Spawn?
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There’s no real sitting on the fence with this stuff, you either love it - or, like me, would rather skewer your own eyes out with a monopod than lo More »
The Future of Freelance Journalism, Part 1
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Notes, quotes, tweets, links and other distractions from the confab at Stanford University. More »
Perspectives on Poverty (and other African stories)
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Every photo tells a story, they say. But which story is it? More »
Decolonization of Self: Interview with Travel Writer / Photographer Marcus F. Benigno
"Essayists like Lawrence and the contemporary Alain de Bouton have codified the voice of travel literature." More »
5 Reasons Your Travel Video SUCKS
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The first step to not sucking is knowing what sucks....
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Buying and Selling Words: Notes on the Fluctuating Price of a Sentence
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With Forbes acquiring True/Slant (maybe even for $$), Robert E. Cox looks at the distance between journalist and publisher, and whether the twain migh More »
Talking Travel Video with inTransit’s Peter Bragiel
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Chat with Peter Bragiel about the creative journey of making dope travel videos. More »
What’s Your Favorite Photography Magazine?
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Print photography magazines are still alive and kicking. Which one is your favorite? More »
How to improve your iPhone photography
Paul Sullivan rounds up various apps that can help you take much better pictures with your iPhone, and learn more about photography in the process. More »
MatadorTV’s Travel Video Ninjas
Ninjas roam the land, camera in hand, searching for their next target, moving fast and filming with impunity. More »
What’s the one skill every travel photographer needs to develop?
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IT'S A DECEPTIVELY difficult question, since so many skills can be applied to so many situations, but Paul Sullivan and some of our friends at Faceboo More »
Secret Google Dreams Of A Potential Travel Writer
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What would a potential travel writer search for in Google? Watch the story to find out... More »
Travel Video Tips : Be Light on your Feet
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Joshywashington has to put his money where his mouth is and learn that being a creative opportunist means being light on your feet. More »
A Brief Thought on Composition
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Paul Sullivan looks at composition as one of the most important aspects of travel photog More »
Where to Blog from Before You Die: Chefchaouen, Morocco
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Blue-washed buildings and the Rif mountains of Northern Morocco. This is a place of tranquility. More »
World Press Photo Disqualification and the Use of Photoshop
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Paul Sullivan looks at some of the nebulous "industry standard" practices regarding photoshopping and journalism in the context of the World Press Pho More »
Travel Vlogger Profile: GoGalavanting
Let's take a look at some of the web's most talented indie travel video producers. More »
How to be More Comfortable on Camera
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Are you camera shy? Try some of these techniques to feel at ease vlogging and making travel videos More »
Where to Blog from Before You Die: Dos Ojos Cavern, Mexico
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Here's a new bucket list: places we want to blog from before we die More »
Big Bolivian Sunsets: Interview with Photographer Ron Dubin
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Photograph Ron Dubin discusses coca leaves, 27-pound camera bags, and a Bolivian karaoke bar. More »
Traveler’s Omertà: Is There No Place We Should Keep Secret?
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You beat your way to the next great "undiscovered" village, the ultimate "secret" beach. You write about the wonder of it. Maybe you give it away. May More »
3 Videos for Photography Inspiration
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This one is for the shutterbugs, these 3 vids will have you grabbing your camera! More »
Where to Blog from Before You Die: Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
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Our new bucket list: places we want to blog from before we die. More »
Notes on a Saigon Motorcycle Pimp
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With no Tesol, no plan and no clue, Josh Johnson hits the streets of Saigon to find a job teaching English. More »
Notes on Longing to Travel
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For Joshywashington, the longing to travel is reaching pain-inducing levels. More »
Where to Blog from Before You Die: Easter Island
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Here's a new bucket list: places we want to blog from before we die. More »
Montana Road Trip : Glacier National Park, Ranger Climate Change Interview
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Will global warming melt Montana's signature glaciers? Yes. Joshua Johnson interviews Glacier National Park Ranger Matt Graves on climate change and t More »
Transitions Abroad Travel Writing Contest : Last Chance to Submit
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You have little more than one week to enter the annual Transitions Abroad travel writing contest. More »
How to Create a Photomotion Video
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String hundreds of photos together in a video to create a unique visual style and a new way of conceptualizing your travel photos. More »
Tips for Travel Video : Shoot good B-roll! (and lots of it)
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B-roll footage is your best friend. It can cover mistakes, give you more options when editing, set the scene and forward the story. More »
Use Hemingway to Improve Your Travel Writing
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How Hemingway's Iceberg model of a good story will improve your travel writing. More »
Notes on Hiking up Mt. Rainier
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Once again Josh scrambles up a mountain with his brother Dustin to enjoy the view and takes notes at 10,000 feet from Mt. Rainier. More »
Ed Buryn, Legendary Vagabond : The Importance of Travel
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Ed Buryn, now comfortably in his 70's, is an American legend among vagabonds and roustabouts More »
How to Take Better Notes for Travel Writing
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Notes jotted in the moment can be drawn upon later to revive a visceral sense of place. If taken well, they'll be the bridge back to the moments you w More »
3 Ingredients for Creativity; Music, Exercise & Nature
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Sometimes it seems impossible to muster a creative keystroke. That is when I fall back on my 3 ingredients; Music, Exercise & Nature. More »
New Video Series: Portrait Of A Travel Writer
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What's it really like to be a successful travel writer? Our new video series gives you the inside story. More »
What makes a photo tell a story?
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The pictures that draw me in always seem to have a story behind them. So the question is: what exactly makes a photograph tell a story? More »
How to Safely Store Your Photography
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Since you probably spent hours researching and comparing different digital cameras to find your perfect fit, adequate time should be spent addressing More »
3 Stunning Portraits and What they Teach about Travel Photography
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Travel portraits are often the most memorable and dramatic pictures you will bring home. Here we examine three portraits, each one teaching a differen More »
Getty Images wants you
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A new group at Flickr lets you show work directly to editors at Getty Images. More »
Tips for Travel Video: Use Voice Over To Tell Your Story
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Voice over can be one of the most effective ways to add a strong narrative element to your travel video. More »
Travel Video Tips with Thomas Reissmann
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Thomas Reissmann has been shooting travel videos professionally for four years. He travels for free and wants to show you how to do the same. More »
How are writing conferences relevant to travel writers?
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A brief Q & A with Trisha Miller on how writing conferences pertain to travel writers. More »
5 Videos from Burning Man
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Joshywashington spent a week filming at Burning Man. After editing until his eyeballs were on the floor, he brings you this footage from the festival. More »
How do you advance as a writer?
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Matador editors offer some advice to an aspiring travel writer who asks: How do you get noticed and advance in this profession? More »
This is my City
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Thomas is Irish. Tim is American. They’re leaving their lives in New York City to travel the globe and make a travel show about life in the urban wo More »
MatadorU Twitter Contest Winner!!
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Congratulations to Susan aka @elasticfate for winning the first-ever MatadorU Twitter Contest. More »
Graphophobia: The Fear of Writing
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Together we will confront graphophobia, the fear of writing. More »
The History of the Internet
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The Internet: we couldn't live without it...but where did it come from? How did it evolve? Find out in this short animation. More »
Your Favorite Book is Your BFF
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Where were you when you first started reading this book? More »
11 Magazines, Journals, and Blogs Every Travel Writer Should Know About
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Travel writing tends to get pigeonholed. Here are sites and publications that promote the kind of writing--call/categorize it what you want--we like t More »
Announcing Twitter Contest for Free Tuition at MatadorU
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Plain and simple: this has been the most exciting development at Matador since we grew from a single community site to an integrated media network. More »
Travel Photography Contests with Low or No Entry Fees
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Notes on different contests, including which ones are worth the entry fees, and which ones you can enter for free. More »
Writing Fire: A Brief Anthology on the Burning of Los Angeles
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It's that time of the year again: wildfire season. Los Angeles is burning. Like in the Bad Religi More »
Travel Writing Neologisms – WTF?
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#8: touron - This 'not-me' word tells you that the tourist you see is (psst!) actually a moron. Great. More »
5 Beautiful and Super Creative Animations on Travel
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These amazing travel animations are all entertaining and slightly bizarre. More »
5 Amazingly Odd Travel Videos
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These filmmakers know that travel can make for strange days. More »
Introducing MatadorU: Accelerating the Careers of Travel Writers
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After 8 months of work, Matador launches its first educational component, a training course for travel writers at all levels of their careers. More »
You Got Your Pens Moving: Stories of Misunderstandings from the Matador Community
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"When it came time to try the brie, she commented on how it was completely covered in sperm"--and other equally awkward intercultural moments. More »
Kill your iPod
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You cannot know a place unless you hear it, unless you listen and let it speak to you. More »
Black Rock TV: Burning Man News & Events (upload your vids today)
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Burning Man may only last a week in the barren Nevada desert but Black Rock TV will broadcast all year with new videos and updates.
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Which Blogging Platform is Best for Writers?
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Sometimes the hardest part about blogging is just choosing which blog platform to use. More »
Get Your Pen Moving: MISUNDERSTANDINGS
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Don't be shy--get your pen moving, and share those awkward intercultural moments with the Matador community. More »
4 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Getting Published
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The biggest problem writers face when trying to get published is getting emotional about the whole process, being reactive instead of proactive. More »
You Got Your Pens Moving: Stories of Travel Terror from the Matador Community
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Travelers from around the Matador community share their moments of terror on the road. More »
4 Free Video Editing Programs with User Reviews
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You don't have to spend a fortune on editing software. Get started with one of these 4 free editing programs. More »
How to Run from a Tsunami
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Too often I have thought to myself in some near brush with travel cataclysm ~"Just what the hell I am doing out here!" More »
Get Your Pen Moving: TRAVEL TERROR
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Share your scariest travel stories with the Matador Community this week. More »
5 MORE Words We Never Want to See in Travel Writing Again
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More cliches we'd like to see expunged from travel writing. More »
5 No-Tech Ways to be Creative While Traveling
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Here are 5 old school ways to be creative without benefit of WIFI, wires, keyboards, or kilobytes. More »
You Got Your Pens Moving: Animal Stories from the Matador Community
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Spiders, cows, dogs, and roosters offer us new perspectives on travel. More »
How to Improve Your Travel Writing with Anecdotes
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An anecdote works best when it returns the reader to the story with a new sense of understanding or awareness of the characters.
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Interview with David Farley: On the Holy Foreskin, Writing His First Book, and More
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Eva Holland spoke to travel writer and Matador member David Farley about his new book, An Irreverent Curiosity. More »
Write Spontaneously to Unleash your Inner Creativity
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Writing spontaneously & without judgment can strengthen creativity and destroy writers block. More »
Get Your Pen Moving: ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS
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Another week, another prompt. Get out those pens... More »
You Got Your Pens Moving: COMING HOME
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Matador community members share their diverse and sometimes surprising views on coming home. More »
3 MORE Things to Never Tell an Editor
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A peek inside a Matador editor’s inbox…and what you can learn from it. More »
Keeping A Dream Journal
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Travel brings a vivid dream life. Keeping a dream journal can help you remember your dreams once you get home. More »
Tips for Travel Video: The Elements of a Story
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Whether writing or editing video, good storytellers use the principal elements of character development, story arch, & pacing. More »
You Got Your Pens Moving: Food Stories from the Matador Community
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The results of our first "get your pen moving" excercise: a doomed iguana, mummified pigs' legs, and more food stories from the Matador community. More »
Reporters’ Center Helps Citizen Journalists Find and Tell Great Stories
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Reporters' Center: "The first rule of reporting is to make sure you come back alive." More »
10 Online Literary Magazines that Publish Great Travel Writing
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Read great writing--for free. More »
What Transformers 2 and Terminator Salvation Can Teach About Bad Storytelling
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It’s no secret, Terminator Salvation and Transformers 2 are flimsy, mind-numbing movies. So what can be learned from their storytelling failures? More »
4 Travel Writing Contests You Should Enter Right Now
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Boring contest postings aside, here are some places where your writing can earn a bit of cash. More »
Get Your Pen Moving: FOOD
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New this week: we give you a prompt, you give us your writing, we publish the highlights. More »
Advice for Writers: How to Handle Rejection
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Nobody likes rejection, but it's possible to handle the inevitable more effectively. More »
Kelsey Timmerman: So You Want to Be an Author?
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"Everyone knew my desire to write, not because I was talking about it all of the time, but because I was doing it. " More »
Do You Need a Writing Degree to Be a Professional Writer?
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Some things to consider before you take the plunge into a writing program. More »
Big Up Jenny Williams, Finalist for Story South
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Matadorian Jenny Williams is writing award-winning fiction and travel writing. Here's what she has to say. More »
Tips for Travel Video: How to Get Engaging Interviews
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If you genuinely strive for an authentic connection, your subject just might open up and reveal some jewel about themselves that can be a powerful and More »
10 Words and Phrases We Never Want to See in Travel Writing Again
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These words and phrases have been used too much in travel writing. They're tired. Let them rest. Please. More »
23 of the Most Relevant Travel Twitterers
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23 Twitterers of all different ages, places, and professions who aren't just out there selling themselves, but making genuine connections and engagin More »
Tips for Travel Video: Framing the Action
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What's the easiest technique you can use while filming for a stronger travel video? More »
How to Increase Traffic and Monetize Your Blog
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No one wants to run a website that doesn’t get read. So how do yo get lots of traffic and readers? And once you have that traffic, how can you begin More »
Writing Tips: Tricky Words to Use Correctly and Make an Editor Smile
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The English language is full of traps for writers--here are some to avoid in your professional writing. More »
Help (and Funds) For Writers: an Interview with Hope Clark
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Tips from freelance writing guru Hope Clark. More »
Writing Tips: How to Avoid Sounding Ridiculous When Using Quotes
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Quotes can add dynamic elements to your story, or kill it almost instantly. More »
How to Write Narrative Essays Using Scenes
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Like movies, narrative essays are built out of scenes. Here's how. More »
5 Techniques for Writing Bilingual Dialogue
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Suggestions for recreating dialogue that ocurred in more than one language. More »
How to Write an Attention-Getting Query
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These two queries show all you have to do to get an editor's attention. More »
3 Things You Should NEVER Tell an Editor
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Editors have all the work they need. Don't give them any more. More »
Studies in Travel Photography: A podcast by Ryan Libre
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Join Ryan Libre for this 2-minute podcast that discusses the technical aspects of this photo including aperture, shutter speed, context, and how they More »
How to Use a Submission Log to Publish More of Your Travel Writing
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Submission logs can be very quick and simple, and you'll find that using them encourages you to keep sending out more stories. More »
Four Ways To Sound Like A Jerk In Your Travel Writing (And How To Avoid Them)
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How can you write about your amazing adventures without sounding like a showoff? More »
How to Write Better: 2 Thoughts on Self Awareness
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As a writer I'm sometimes wondering what editors are thinking. As an editor, I'm often wondering what writers are thinking. Here are a few thoughts on More »
Marketing Language and Youth: 2 Thoughts on Travel Writing Style
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Here's how you can avoid sounding like your travel writing came up through the marketing dept at your local ad agency. More »
8 Useful Online Tools for Traveling Filmmakers
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Certain travel situations, such as cyber-cafes with fast connections but sluggish operating system, call for online video tools More »
Controlling Light: A Photography Lesson from Myanmar
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"If you start experimenting with exposure compensation, it opens the door to creative photography." More »
12 Resolutions for Travelers in 2009
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Lose weight? Stop procrastinating? Those are hum-drum resolutions.... More »
Exit Visa from the Cubicle: An Interview wih Michelle Goodman
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". . .there was no plan. I just did it." More »
How to Get a Knockout Soundtrack for Your Travel Film
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The right soundtrack can make your travel film compelling and dynamic. More »
8 In-Flight Magazines That Pay Well for Travel Writing
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Great-paying markets and thousands of readers for your next story. More »
The A-B-C-D-E of Travel Photography
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Action, Balance, Composition, Depth of Field, Evocation . . .get ready for your photography to dramatically improve. More »
When and How to Correctly Use Fast Lenses and High ISO
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Learn how to take good photos in low light conditions without a flash. More »
3 Considerations For Hosting Your Own Travel vBlog
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From tricks to help you look natural on camera to key questions to ask before you get started, Erin Granat breaks it down. More »
How to Become a Backpack Filmmaker
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Being paid to travel with your camera sounds great, but what's the reality of travel filmmaking? How do you get started, and can you make money doing More »
How to Get the Most Mileage Out of Your Travel Writing
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From concept to pitch to publication, maximizing readership is about reaching out personally through the internet. More »
How to Produce Great Podcasts Part 2: Polishing Audio Files
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Use these recording tricks and free software to optimize your podcasts. More »
What’s The Longest You’ve Ever Spent Trying To Get A Photo?
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Think photography is only about technical skills and equipment? More »
The 6 Best Free Photo Sharing Sites on the Web
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Photo sharing websites are competing for our attention with free accounts and a wide array of features. Learn here which ones work best for you. More »
Top 7 Market Leads for Beginning Travel Writers
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Once you're done your homework and are ready to make your first travel writing pitches and submissions, try these 7 market leads first. More »
5 Essential Tips for the Budding Travel Photographer
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From equipment choices to resources on photo editing, here's everything you need to do more with your travel photography. More »
5 Tips For Writing Better Group Emails About Your Travels
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Don't send another mass email until you've read this. More »
The 10 Steps to Becoming a Successful Travel Writer
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If you're reading this and following these steps, you're already on the way. More »
The Top 10 Travel Writing Anthologies
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A good travel story can provide a smile, a moment of reflection, or even a radical shift in the reader's dreams and goals. More »
Top 5 Secrets Travel Writers Won’t Tell You
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Think that being a travel writer isn't really all it's cracked up to be? Think again. More »
Studies in Travel Photography: Perspective, Timing, and Themes
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"The easiest way to take a bad photo of something is to look down on it." More »
How to Photograph Children During Your Travels
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Being sensitive to how you approach and interact with local people is crucial to photographing children. More »
Notebook Picks of the Week: Visual Media Innovators
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From High Dynamic Range Video to editing tips in Photoshop, check these worldwide innovators in visual media. More »
Studies in Travel Photography: “What Makes A Place Special?”
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"What makes a place special? If you can come up with a good answer, a good photograph is sure to follow." More »
How To Take Better Notes For Your Travel Blog
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By organizing ahead and focusing on how you listen and record, you'll take better notes and create better travel blogs More »
5 Tips for Taking Better Photos of Landmarks
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With these simple changes of perspective and equipment, you can capture fresh images of even the most iconic landmarks. More »
Studies in Travel Photography 2: A podcast by Ryan Libre
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Join Ryan Libre for this 2-minute discussion on how to tell better stories with your travel photography. More »
4 Easy Tips for Shooting Better Travel Videos
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Creating a great shot, interview, or montage takes more than walking around with a video camera glued to your eye. More »
How to Promote Your Travel Photography Online
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As with many crafts such as writing and fine art, the world of photography is fiercely competitive. It can take years to stand out from the mass of ta More »
How To Take Better Travel Portraits
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Ever perused the pages of National Geographic and wondered how those amazing personal moments were captured? From tribal chiefs in Papua New Guinea to More »
9 Tips for the Self-Taught Travel Photographer
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You know you secretly want to be a National Geographic photographer. But it takes a lot more than hoping. Self-learning is fun and cheap, but it has p More »
Should You Buy A DSLR For Your Travel Photography? Take This Quiz
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Digital SLRs are very popular items these days, especially among travelers. This article will explore the fundamental differences between a DSLR and a More »
