Back in September I was fortunate enough to go and shoot a wedding in Italy for a long time client and now friend. I brought my wife along with me and made a nice little extended vacation out of the trip and it was incredible. I've picked up quite a few travel tips over the years and I learned a few more on this most recent trip. So, I thought I'd compile a short list of some of the more important ones here. This list (in no certain order) will help not just anyone traveling to Italy but anyone traveling period.
This was a tip that I didn't have to learn the hard way and it is of particular importance when in a foreign country. The main reason for this suggestion is to prevent theft and keep your photo gear in your possession at all times. Getting pick-pocketed in Europe is a very real threat so it's important to keep your possessions in sight and nearby at all times. When you step on to a train, you have no choice but to put any suitcases you're traveling with in the overhead compartments or in the designated luggage areas spread out in the trains. Sometimes the space above your seat is full and you have to place your suitcase several rows down (or in the next train cabin)! Would you feel comfortable placing your thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of photo gear in an overhead compartment out of sight for a 4 hour train ride? I know I'd be a nervous reck the entire time so I was glad to have my backpack in my lap the whole trip. I even used it as a pillow at times (although not a very comfortable one). My backpack of choice was the Shape Shifter from ThinkTank and I absolutely loved it. Be on the lookout for a review of that backpack coming very soon!
Sometimes I enjoy editing as much as (or more than) taking pictures. However, I was in Italy and was surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth. Every time I tried to sit down and edit I thought to myself, "What's a better use of my time: Editing the images I've already taken or going out and taking more pictures?" You can imagine what my answer was each time. Don't use up your precious time in an exotic location doing something that will be just as enjoyable when you get home. Get out there and enjoy the scenery!
This was very, very frustrating in Italy. iPhones in America (at least through AT&T) are sold locked, meaning you can't pop an international SIM card into it during a trip to a foreign country. I paid around $24 before leaving to jailbreak and unlock my iPhone so that I could purchase an international SIM card and continue using my phone on the trip. I wanted to do this because we were traveling with clients and I wanted to be able to reach them through phone, text or email if we needed to make plans to meet up somewhere. I clearly verified that my iPhone had been unlocked and we stopped at a cell phone store in Milan to purchase our international cards. We both purchased a 'TIM' card for about 10 euros which included 10gb of data, 60 voice minutes and 50 text messages. The first week was also totally free and we were only staying for 11 days. Well Michael (my client) popped his TIM card into his Android phone and was up and running in minutes. I popped mine in and…nothing. We spent the rest of our trip using the internet on Michaels phone to try and figure out how to get mine working and to no avail. The potential of this problem became very apparent in Venice when we discovered that the water taxi's were on strike and we'd be forced to walk 45 minutes to our hotel will all of our luggage through the crowded streets and alleyways. Michael gave us his wife's phone (also an Android with a purchased TIM card) and we simply plugged in the address to our hotel and used Google Maps to guide us straight there. We had to make so many turns through random alleys, across bridges and down narrow streets that there would have been absolutely no way to get there without a map. The walk took 45 minutes but it would have likely taken several hours had we been forced to rely on locals trying to understand our language.
This tip really paid off in some situations, and would have really helped in others. The places that I researched beforehand were so much more enjoyable to visit knowing the background and history of each place. I could really appreciate these locations and it made photographing them so much more rewarding. On the flip side, I also visited several places that I didn't research. This left me really unsatisfied because I had no idea what I was looking at and was desperate for some kind of information about it. Fortunately I was able to talk to locals in a few cases or find some sort of plaque to describe the place briefly. Sometimes there's no way to plan for things, for example when you stumble on to some place you didn't plan on visiting, but if you know you'll be traveling to a certain location or ruin or building, dedicate some time to researching and studying the background and history of it. It will always pay dividends!
7.) Figure Out How Much Money You Need To Save, Then Save More!
The last thing you want to do is be concerned about money on a trip. If you have time to plan and save for a trip, go ahead and save more than you need so you can splurge a little. Saving extra allowed us to eat out at nicer restaurants, travel to more places, purchase tickets to more museums and sites, taste more wines and cappuccinos, buy more souvenirs, drink more water (at 3-4 euros each, water gets expensive quick!) and just be able to enjoy ourselves rather than stick to a tight budget the entire time. I think anybody can do this if they plan accordingly. Budget before the trip so you don't have to budget on the trip.
I know, this sounds absurd, and it's a hard one for me at times but I always try to spend some time away from the camera and just let my mind…my soul really…take everything in. I love taking pictures, I love the challenge of finding that perfect composition and pressing the shutter at just the right moment. But there's something to be said about letting the camera sit one out every now and again. To enjoy a fresh cup of cappuccino with your wife without taking a picture of it. To just be in the moment and take it in without trying to take anything from it but memories. Depending on how obsessed you are with photography, this may have to be a conscious decision you have to make and follow through on, but I never regret taking at least a few moments to just let my memories take the snap shots.
I haven't been through this yet (and God willing I won't have to) but I have heard horror stories about people taking thousands of images on a trip, only to have their camera stolen, their hard drive crash or their memory cards fail before they get home. Don't take any chances with your precious images! They are your memories! When I travel, I always have a well thought out backup plan in place.
In Italy I took two sets of CF cards. One set for all my travel and landscape work and another for the wedding I shot there. My goal was to never erase over a CF card unless I absolutely had to, so the CF cards would act as a form of backup if needed. At the end of the day I'd download the images from the day to an external hard drive and make a copy to my laptop (I made sure before the trip that I'd have enough space on the laptop as well). With the images still on the CF cards I had everything backed up in three places. I then placed the CF cards in my camera backback, my laptop in my wife's backpack and the external hard drive in my suitcase. That way if one bag got stolen somehow we'd still have the images in two other places. Nothing is going to protect you absolutely 100% but you might as well take as many variables out of the equation as possible.
Well I am quite confident that a number of our readers here at DPS have trips coming up to Italy or some other part of Europe (or the world for that matter). I hope this article will serve to better prepare you for the adventure of a lifetime and prevent you from making some potentially costly mistakes in the process. Traveling is one of the greatest things you can do to invest in your world view and your short time here on Earth and I hope you'll consider it if you haven't already. Anything worth having is worth working for and traveling around the world is worth having! So here's to getting off the couch and getting out there. Cheers!
Now I want to hear from you! Have you been to Italy or some other foreign country recently? Feel free to expand upon this article in the comments below with extra little nuggets of wisdom about traveling abroad. Looking forward to your thoughts!
Oh and be sure to follow me (James Brandon) and Darren Rowse on Google+! My last article here at DPS was about tips for G+ and it was written while G+ was still in beta and invite only. Since then it has opened up to the public and has (I believe) over 50 million users at this point. I really am loving G+ so far, it's a photographers playground really! So drop by and say hello and I'll add you to my DPS Readers Circle. Cheers!
Lovely photos, was that first one HDR?
I've read through comments and I would like to share some thoughts on making sure your pictures come back with you. I assume you have a way to read memory cards through a computer or use a card copier. Especially if this is the "trip of your life", or you're shooting a once-in-a-lifetime event (like James at the wedding).
Memory cards are pretty cheap. So, why not bringing along an additional extra set, making a copy of a full card and sending it to your home address? You may even prepare addressed envelopes with a thin cardboard reinforce inside. Stamp can be bought as for postcards (at "T"obacconists in Italy) and you don't even need a trip to a post office unless you want a Registered letter. Once card per envelope. Just stay under 20 grams and 2mm thickness.
If you know a trustworthy local, leave her/him your backup copies, either an external HDD or extra memory cards. This will minimize the risk of loss on the journey back home too. She/he will keep the hardware afterwards as a reward for the service offered.
Online storage populated overnight is another option, but if you shoot a lot (and in RAW ;-) ), it might not be practical.
Worried about someone stealing your shots? Either the postman or your local contact?.Encrypt the backup card content with a tool like TrueCrypt.
gives great results for atmosphere photos.
Quick tip- the water in Italy is safe to drink, so no need to purchase expensive bottled water. Rome boasts some of the best-tasting water in the world at their public fountains. Just order "aqua dal tappo" or "aqua del rubinetto" and you can drink for free. Or buy a bottle at a grocery store and fill it up at many of Rome's public fountains, just like the locals.
You take such beautiful pictures. We would like to launch an online competition for our travellers. We spesialise in school tours and we would like for kids to start thinking of how pictures should be taken. Not just the usual happy snaps. So have a look at our website and Facebook page in the next few weeks.
LOVED your pictures and tips!
Anyway--one other option if you aren't able to bring your laptop (I wasn't) is to backup using dropbox. I have an ipad, which we did bring, and every day I'd download my photos onto the ipad and then upload them using dropbox. That way if I were to lose everything they'd still be secure somewhere totally separate from me.
Well I'm from Italy too, and I was disappointed about you and your camera, next time write here or on others social network about your next trip! You probably can have more hint and invitation too! Mine for example, I'm a photograper & Chef, at our restaurant you can see the 'jail of wind' www.aeolia.com next time you are invited!
I'll be going to Japan next year.
Wish me luck ! I am a foreign photographer noobie. I will most likely be reading up more and more about international photography as it gets closer, but I still haven't mastered manual settings on my DSLR, so that'll be first.
Thank you very much for such an excellent article. Having the equipment stolen is realy one of he worst thing that can happen during trip. Unfortunatelly, this is very treating in many places in Brazil and Buenos Aires (Argentina) too. Be carefull when planing to go to these countries.
Just be careful with your backpack. Had my camera stolen from my backpack while it was on my back. The one time I took a break from having it in my hands as I was walking around Hanoi. I stopped to buy an ice-cream and it was gone. From hen on I carried my backpack as a side pack or front pack. The most annoying thing was losing the photos of the last 3 days. I had a second camera but still !!!
I thought I recognised that gorgeous ceiling from Duomo!! Just went to Milan this weekend, so excited to go through the photographs, thanks for the tips on travel!! All are completely true!
I don't think you can use a tripod in an airport so make sure security doesn't keep your tripod or stops you from flying because of a security risk. First class is not about the food unless you travel in eurostar. The food trolley will go to second class too. First class is just a lot more comfortable and spacious. Just like planes.
Great set of tips and definitely agree with them, especially the backing up. Spent 3 weeks in France in June/July and would have cried if I lost those photos. Every night I didn't waste time with editing, but I did make sure I had multiple backups of the days photos. And yes, make sure you enjoy the restaurants and the everyday life without the camera too.
I'll add a couple more for new travelers that I didn't think of; check ahead of your visit the times for sunrise/sunset. I intended to take some night time shots of Paris, but I'm used to sunsets by 8 or 9 at latest. However when we got there and found out that sunset wasn't until almost almost 11:00pm, it made for a very late night (but well worth it). Think I finally gave up about 1:30am from exhaustion.
And something I'm always careful of but seen others do; I like to file my photos by date/time taken so change the time zone and make sure the date/time is correct for your location. It's fun to consolidate photos from different cameras when date/time isn't correctly set on them.
Tripods have their places, but I got busted by some nice police for taking sunset photos at the Arc de Triomphe using a tripod, and I've since heard there are a number of places in Italy you can't use them. Apparently it's illegal, but anyone know why? The police told me I couldn't use it but didn't know why the law only covered the Arc de Triomphe (war memorial or because of traffic maybe??). I asked them and they said everywhere else in Paris was fine to use them.
Great article, really enjoyed it. Treasure your pictures from the Cinque Terre as it was terribly damaged by horrendous rains and flooding in later October. Will take a long time before it will look as great as your photos...if ever.
I'm going to Rome and from there all the way to the south with a rented car, in late December and January.
Do you have some tips or 'secret' cities that I should definitely visit?
Brandon, thanks for restoring our many wonderful memories of Europe and especially Italy and Venice (can't imagine without water taxis).
Very much enjoyed the tips! I went to Italy in 2009 and had a wonderful time in Aviano and nearby. We did visit Venice, and I LOVED the pictures I got! My husband had lived in Italy for 8 years, so I always felt safe. Still, as a travelling rule, I always carry my valuable - and my passport of course! - with me all the time. I used the same rule when I went to Japan in 2005. And when I went to New York in 2006. It's a good rule no matter where you are going! But especially when you go to a foreign country and are not familiar with behavior that would normally tip a native to a bad situation.
I was also fortunate to have a mother in law who knew her way around Venice! We took turn after turn and then again to get around. I know I would have gotten lost without help.
Your images are fantastic! I'm glad you got to capture some of God's most beautiful creation!
I totally agree about putting the camera down and taking a minute just to take in the whole picture of a place . We were in Europe in Oct . 2011 and I found myself taking some pictures then just sitting the camera down so I could totally enjoy a place . Examples would be the top of the Leaning tower of Pisa and the Sistine Chapel just to mention a couple .
I totally agree about saving and cutting back at home so when you get on your trip you can enjoy the things we don't get to have at home and eat wherever you feel like that day and not worry about a budget . Also to know you have extra if something should happen and you need to stay an extra night .
The only things I could add would be to take a small more portable camera that takes good pictures maybe not as good as our DSLR but catch the moment you stumble across . I found mine good for taking pictures of our food if i wanted to without worrying about something getting spilled on my DSLR . I have a brand new Canon PowerShot SX150 IS That was great . It came in handy when i forgot to charge my battery the night before for DSLR . Plus it was easier for my Husband to use . Sometimes i just didn't want to carry the bigger bag around with me .
I guess that would be another tip make sure the person you are traveling with know how to use the camera even just the basics .
I can't believe of all things you take your tripod on board. What a major hassle. My computer bag and my photo backpack, yes, but my very heavy tripod too?? No way. Ok, so once in dozens of trips I miss some shots of an airport, I'll just plan on being in that airport again and bring a compact tripod. But because I might miss something once doesn't mean I'm going to suffer each time I travel.
Just completed a trip to the Oregon coast and Willamette Valley. Each day I attached my D300 to my iPad, and all photos that day were transferred (copied) to the iPad. That meant I had two copies--the iPad "events" by date, and the CF card contents.
Periodically, I'd review the photos on the iPad, deleting obvious rejects. The iPad makes it easy to check for sharpness, etc.
Connecting the iPad to Lightroom3 upon my return, each day's shots (the keepers) were properly catalogued. Peace of mind was nice, and upon return, didn't have to go through the reject process.
Nice article and trips Brandon. Had been to Italy in July this year and it was a fantastic trip; a dream come true. Water from the fountain sourced by aqueducts is safe and we carried a plastic bottle for refills. Also the metro stations have coop stores were it is priced most reasonably. My wife and two kids too take pictures and we found the experience most rewarding. The historical architectural heritage of Italy is worth visiting and I found the place safe and an amazing place to photograph. I agree the danger of crime is everywhere and we need to take care of our belongings. My Italian friends were most friendly. Thanks for the tip.
Enjoyed the article about photography in Europe, but if I may digress a little, here are some more tips. I returned from a two-week pilgrimage to Italy, but it was during two weeks in England that I realized what I was doing wrong. I have begun shooting movies with a Canon 5D Mk. 11. I went to my home town in the south of England and shot 143 video clips of the park where I used to play as a boy.
Mistake one: I had stopped down two stops for bright sunny work while I was at home, and hadn't bothered to reset the camera. On cloudy days the videos were really murky. The lesson? Leave the settings as they are. Mistake two: don't rely on automatic focus, use manual.The shots I thought were sharp turned out to be blurry and out of focus because the camera was focussing on the wrong thing.
Mistake three: although I have a little level that fits my camera accesory shoe, I didn't bring it with me. Hence, about 10 percent of my clips had a crooked horizon.
Mistake four (this is the biggie) - take a tripod. I did bring a monopod, but even that couldn't stop the shakes and the sways. No, the only way to shoot good stable movies is with a firm tripod. Making movies is not like stills. Once you're shot it, there's nothing you can do to improve it. Photoshop is no good here! Next time I'll know better.
Great article. As an Italian American, I love Italy and we travel constantly. I agree with everything you did except the part about your iPhone. Did you consider just getting an international plan from AT&T. We have used ours in Asia, Europe, Australia and NZ without a problem. Just paid for the 50 meg plan (there are lots that have more capacity) and the phone has worked great.
Spending time without the camera is the most important thing when you're with your wife. I spent a week in Paris with (1) my cheapest lens and (2) no tripod for that reason alone. Sure, there are many shots I would have liked to get, but I don't regret it in the least! I got plenty of pictures to capture the memories.
When researching photo oportunities and locations before a trip I often visit the local photographers and camera club websites to get ideas.
Totally agree with the author on the tips for travelling. Just another reason to have the camera gear in backpack is lot of cities have cobbled streets and if you're dragging suitcases its not going to help the delicate camera machinery..
heres my lil collection to Italy..
Over here in Malaysia, one isn't allowed to set up tripod to shoot in malls or outside malls. Security will come after you. That was my experience.
entire time I was there.
reward was well worth the extra effort. I just suggest bringing a kid carrier like the bjorn.
on and it helped to relieve a lot of stress due to time constraints.
I've spent quite a of time in Italy, but this set of photos from Venice are my favorites of all the photos.
Another one here that has NOT been allowed to take a tripod as carry on. This has happened in multiple countries.
Dont risk it, just check it.
I know someone who had their Gitzo 150 anniversary tripod taken by security staff with no recourse to get it back. Thats was a 3000 british pound tripod.
By far one of the most beautiful countries! - and you have some very pretty photos to tell the story of it's beauty too! Bravo!
Trains, in Italy, and most of Europe are the absolute best way to travel. First class isn't necessary , like you said, but being aware is SO important. Yes, there are pick pockets, like everywhere, there'e poverty.
I lived in Italy for six years and traveled most of Europe at that time too. Since then, I've taken groups abroad there to study and tour - it's a truly enchanting country.
The people are kind and warm, generous and understanding.
It's definitely one country where going "off the beaten path" is a good thing (and yes, pretty safe)- you can wander into bakeries making fresh bread in the very early hours, or walk up to an outdoor Enoteca for a glass of wine and sit on a stool on cobblestone streets, and find some of the best pasta ever in a small one-room ristorante... possibilities are endless in Italia - for photographers especially!
We spent a week in Rome in June and didn't feel the least bit threatened by pick pockets, just made sure to be aware of our surroundings and the people around us. Did have a bit of an issue with the fellows around the main sights trying to give me roses though. When you said no they were always ticked off..lol.
I took my gear in a Lowepro Passpost Sling..which I never let out of my sight..both on the plane and in all our daily adventures. I also made sure to take an SD card for each day we were there, changing to a new one every morning. That way I didn't lose the previous days photos and if one of them would have failed would have only lost a days pics.
It is an amazing place for photos-took well over 1500 in our week-and most of the time my camera never saw the inside of my bag...lol Also, even not knowing the language, the locals were extremely helpful in guessing what we needed and doing all they could do to help us.
One last thing..we had no phones with us-but every evening in the motel we could facetime our family back here in Michigan on our Ipod. The grandchildren thought that was the coolest thing ever...and they could actually see realtime pics of Rome from our window.
We were in Italy last year. I sadly took so many pictures and did not take time to smell the roses, but we'll be back. Love your pic of the Rialto Bridge, but they all had signs on them when were there. Thanks for all of the great tips.
Great advice all around. I've been to India twice and am going back for a third trip in January. The first 2 times, I used my point and shoots and results were ok. This time I am planning to bring my DSLR - though it's a smallish Rebel T1i.
The worst thing that happened in 2010 was dropping my new P&S into a bucket of water. The hook in the bathroom just swung around on one screw - plop - splash - the flash card was SAVED. The camera - useless. Next town, I found a local store and bought another decent P&S for about $100 with local charger and batteries. You've got to expect the unexpected sometimes.
My cell phone will be a Blackberry because of it's wide coverage area - I can buy an International data plan that lowers data rates from$10 per meg to just under $1 - just get it before you leave! Remember to turn off data roaming - and wait for a WI-FI hotspot to read mail. Last trip, my wife's phone cost $4 per minute of talk time - SO BASICALLY DON'T USE IT.
My gear will be with me in my carryon - none checked!
I like William's idea of sending back DVD's from abroad with file backups - must remember to bring blanks - don't try and buy some in a resort. My plan is also to bring a portable hardrive - but not a laptop. Most hotels we'll be at have PC's in the business centre - and bring a small USB card reader.
My wife and I just got back from a trip to Italy not too long ago. we have similar pictures to all the ones you posted on this article. What a beautiful country to photograph. Riomaggiore was especially great. The colour of the buildings at sunset was fantastic.
Very well written, I couldn't agree with you more. These are all things that were true for me on my recent trip to Denmark and a trip to England in 2009. And pretty much any trip I've taken, since I always bring my camera gear. I especially LOVE having a backpack to carry my gear in; mine has the zipper on the back (facing my body), so I love the confidence and security I feel, no matter where I'm going - someone would literally have to take it off my back to get anything out of it. It's also a very comfortable way to carry everything - win-win!
The hardest thing for me on a trip is to resist editing my pictures at the end of the day before publishing them on my blog. But I agree with James, its time to get out and take pictures.
I also agree with Mooniak and I always study the language before visiting a country.
In addition to the good advice about keeping your camera backpack with you on a train, the same also applies to a taxi cab ride. When getting a taxi, if the taxi driver automatically tries to take your camera backpack to place in the taxi's trunk- don't let him take it! I learned this the hard way, when our cab driver in Spain sped off after our ride without getting out or returning our backpack. We lost our camera, in addition to the 500 photos I just took at the Alhambra hours before! We ran after the cab, but we never caught up. I never even had the chance to backup the photos, since we hadn't even returned to our room yet. The good news is that our homeowner's insurance covered the cost of the camera, but those photos are lost forever.
Always nice to read your tips, James!
I love the photo of the bridge in Venice! I agree with most of your tips, although I need to comment on the "it would have likely taken several hours had we been forced to rely on locals trying to understand our language" part. You will find that in most places locals are much better suited to understand your language if you try to speak theirs. After all it is THEIR country you are visiting. In my experience, if you manage to say even a few sentences in whatever native language they speak, people will be much more amiable and keen on helping you, even if they must change language afterwards.
Last year in June went to Italy(europe) for the first time. We had no problems. Most of the locals know English. I'm from a big city so that helped. Even went on the subway during rush hour. Used both 40D and point and shoot. Used common sense and read articles before hand.
The taxi's went on strike when I was there, but you still could have got transportation. In fact the taxi buses went on strike, but it is brief and merely causes delays. It's like they all take turns. I can hardly find my way to the bathroom but for some reason had no difficulty finding my way around Rome Florence or Venice.
Was almost pick pocketted in Venice - but knew what was happening so they were thwarted. I do not keep anything in my wallet anyway - have a back pack purse so tougher to get at the wallet. They back off if you get loud or make a scene too. (In Rome if u do some reading u'll find out which buses are more 'theft prone'.) It was sort of one of the highlights of my Venice experience. haha. I also photo copy anything of importance and keep them in various places.
I ended up with award winning photos without a tripod. Though we are novice Europe travelers common sense really helped.
Just got back from a month in Tuscany. I had to check my tripod as security would not let me bring it on as a carry on. But I was able to fit mine in my checked luggage. I maxed out my allowable weight at 53lbs but the flight attendant at check-in let me slide as there's a 50lb max.
I had 8 CF cards with me that I cycled through. At the end of each day, I backed up my photos through LR3 on to my MacBook Pro and a 750GB external drive.
Regarding your first tip; I totally agree. I had a LowePro 350AW with wheels, which came in handy for moving the gear from place to place. But when I was out wandering through towns, I wish I would have had a smaller bag or lighter backpack to carry only the lenses I planned on using for the day.
I had borrowed a couple of UK cell phones from a friend. The calls were only $0.35/min, not the $0.99/min ATT wanted to charge me WITH the international plan.
In 2005, my wife and I traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico for the Day of the Dead celebrations. I had just bought an external hard drive a couple of days before we left, had taken it out of the box, and charged the battery in it the night before we packed and left.
Those were still the days when CF cards cost about $150/gigabite and I only had two 1 gig cards with me. After 2 days shooting in Mexico, I was ready to download the cards (which were full by this time) to the external harddrive. I downloaded the first card - everything worked fine. But, in the middle of downloading the second one, the battery in the external drive ran out. O.K., I thought, I'll just recharge it. Looked in my luggage for the charger and when I realized it wasn't there, remembered that I had never unplugged it from the wall at home where I partially charged the battery 3 days earlier, before we left.
Fortunately, our niece was house sitting for us, so I bought a TeleMex calling card and called her. Since DHL was the only package delivery company that delivers to Oaxaco, I told her to go to the UPS store in my small north Georgia mountain town, where DHL has a pickup location, and overnight it to me. We were going to be in Oaxaca for 2 weeks, so I figured I'd get it in a day or two.
Went out looking for another CF card or two. There was no place in Oaxaca that had one with more than a 16 meg capacity (enough for 2 raw files from my camera) and it cost $135. Fortunately, found another American in our hotel who would be there for the same time we were and who had a laptop and could burn a CD for me each night after a day's shooting.
Finally got the charger the night before we left to come home, 10 days after it should have been sent. When we got home I found out why - my niece, who had formerly been a letter carrier for the US Postal Service, took the charger to the UPS store to send via DHL and found out the cost would be $85 (which I gladly would have paid). The clerk suggested she send it via USPS next day delivery for only $30, which she did. Unfortunately, she did not realize that USPS next day delivery only works within the continental US. Once it got to Mexico, it was delivered as any other old slow snail mail package would have been.
Lesson 5 - Be thankful that Americans are usually friendly when overseas.
I was just photographing in Italy myself and my AT&T iPhone worked just fine with its existing SIM. I enabled international roaming before I left and selected a data plan. It cost bit, but was pro-rated for the time I needed and was very convenient. I just considered it part of the cost of the trip.
James, thanks for the great article. I'll be traveling to Europe sometime thins next year to see the sites. Interesting to see the differing views on tripods. Now, if only I can get my students to take tripods seriously!
I was fortunate to spend several months in Germany a few years ago. I took several thousand photos and I made copies onto DVDs and sent them home by mail. In fact I did a lot of sending home using the post office. The if it fits it ships thing is pretty much the same in Germany as the US. When I purchased souvenirs at a large store I had them ship it home for me. That way I didn't have to carry it and it was insured so it could be replaced if lost or stolen.
I tend to not pack things that would identify me as an American. In fact I typically don't pack shirts when I travel. I buy a couple after I arrive so I blend more with the local populace.
When I was out walking around I didn't carry a wallet, just my passport and medical insurance card. I carried cash in an inside zippered jacket pocket as I was there in the winter. I used my debit card to get money from the ATM when I needed it. Your ATM card will open the door to the bank if it is closed.
I carried a 12.2MP P&S camera in my pocket along with a table top tripod. I used this setup in low light situations. Disable the flash, use a two second delay which acts like a cable release. I was able to get some really great shots. I had also a big tripod but couldn't carry it on so it was in my suitcase. I had it disassembled so it would fit into my suitcase and every time I went to baggage claim it had a tag that TSA had opened up to check my bag's content.
You can get some great meals at the local deli / butcher. Not as expensive as the restaurant and great food to boot.
Great article, but how are you paying 3-4 euros for water? Even next to the Colloseum in Rome you can buy bottles of water for 1E (half a liter).
We spent a month in Europe last year and some thing I found really helpful was the online photography community. I had seen a photograph of Sacre Coeur (http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/11/basilique-du-sacre-coeur-paris-france.html) which I really liked and wanted to take a similar shot myself. Unfortunately I couldn't find where the photograph was taken from! I thought I'd try my luck online an wrote to one of the photographers. She got back to me almost straight away and sent through a lot of helpful information. It turned out that the photograph was taken from a roof of a particular building. If she hadn't told me this, I would never have been able to figure it out.
Your tips are VERY valid....VERY! I'm living in Europe for few years and I've learned the hard way with these same issues! Now fun! iPhones are major issue with the whole unlocking etc to use in Europe. What a pain! And having Google maps is very important...ever been to Paris...uh yeah! Thanks for the tips! I'll hold them close as I continue my travels!
I am interested in your point about photographing the airport in Madrid.
If I tried to go anywhere near a transport building of any description with a camera, here in the UK, security would have a fit and my feet wouldn't touch the ground as I was being ejected! I know mainland Europe is a lot more relaxed about photography than my paranoid little island, is it really that relaxed in Spain that you can simply set up a tripod in a public building without any authorisation?
If so I might just give up on the UK and do my city shots on the mainland!
Enjoyed your article! I, too, have been lucky (so far) with not losing my digital photos (however, a couple of times in years past, I wound up getting home without one or two rolls of "film"....remember that?). I take photos of everything when I travel......300 to 600 or more a day. Most of my non-photography addicted friends think I'm nuts. However, I MUST say that those photos are instrumental in bringing back so many more memories that I could possibly actually ever "remember" without some form of reminder. I upload my photos to SmugMug galleries (I usually do my trip in "Days"....Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc.). Then I send the links out to friends and family who may or may not be interested. I can't tell you how many people come back at me to tell me how much they enjoyed "the trip" and that it was almost like they had been there themselves. Also, many of these people have never been to these places and many will never get there. In some ways, I feel like I'm providing a nice "service" to lots of people I know.....and I enjoy doing it. :-)))) BTW.....can you recommend a reliable external drive? That's one thing I do not have......yet.
I agree re pickpockets in Italy. Especially bad around tourist spots and public transport. We have had locals there point out pickpocketers to us on buses. You do not feel threatened though, it is more of an art form in Italy rather than the muggings you may have in other countries, you just have to be aware. I have travelled extensively over 45 years and, although coming close to being pickpocketed in Italy a few times and in Singapore in the old days before it was sanitised, have only had some salt stolen from a slashed pack on a 3rd class train in India (what's valuable can be relative). In saying that though I find India to be a lot safer than Europe and Indians a very honest race even if some are still very poor. Great images by the way!
I spent 3 weeks in Italy last year and this is all excellent advise. Although I might add that if you are willing to go the more costly route it is worth it to get a package from your cell phone provider that allows your internet to work there. I did that and even went over my usage and they were good enough to call me and wipe out my $500 of overages if I bought another package...so worth it. Love your picture of Riomaggiore - I rented an apt. right on that dock with the same view!
Beautiful images. Tip #9 is important. You never know when you need extra batteries & memory cards.
1- there's hundreds if not thousands of locals unknown places to shot, behind every corner, so almost 90% are out of your sight. I recommend to ask in photo forums of each country. There are a big Fellowship with foreing photographer here in Madrid, for example in canonistas.com and nikonistas.com ( you may figure the reason of their names).
2- The risk of pick-pocketers is REAL, even for locals, but only in hotpot places for tourism, like Las Ventas in Madrid, Ramblas in Barcelona and Plaza España in Sevilla. Otherwise, people should be helpfull and collaborative in the rest of the country.
3- the tripod. You were lucky. I worked in and airport here in Spain, and almost 100% of tripod had to be checked or leaved behind. Spanish airport security staff are very estrict about ANY kind of blunt objects.
Hope you enyoyed your visit to Spain.
I am about to leave on my third tip to europe in three years. This trip I will not be seeing everything through a camera lens.Yes I am taking a slr and a single lens ,but plan to use them sparingly. Much to my wife's relief.
As far as first class travel is concerned, I'd definitely recommend it on longer trips (over 2 hours) where reservations are not mandatory. More leg space, no passengers standing because they haven't booked a seat etc. On shorter distances where all seats have to be booked in advance, it is a waste of money to pay for first class.
"can't a picture just be nice without having to figure out if it's HDRish or not?"
Is there a problem with trying to figure it out ? I mean we're on a photography website. I guess the HDR feeling comes from the use of micro-contrast and also a rather unnatural result. Nevermind the details, I just wanted to say, that probably like Andy, seeing these particular photos can't help some people but wondering about the post-processing that has been made.
By the way, I never felt unsafe in Italy either. I found without exception that the Italians in the restaurants and in the stores were the most charming and pleasant and generally happiest people I've ever encountered in my travels. And this was after high season, when you think they'd be sick of us tourists. I know a bit of Italian but they were always perfectly willing to switch to English when I wore out my vocabulary.
I wandered around alone late and night and early in the morning all over Italy with expensive cameras and never felt unsafe. But I wouldn't leave a bag of cameras or a suitcase unattended, in Italy or anywhere else!
I stayed in incredible Monterosso four days before the floods.
We were also in Italy in September of this year and we had the same experience you had with the iPhone. Had it unlocked, but it was still useless with an Italian SIM card. We bought the iPhone specifically for this trip. Fortunately it was still useful for the GPS app we had purchased and we had our itinerary in the calendar. Phone calls, internet - USELESS!
Hi James! Great article. I wish I had read it before we went to Europe in September. We travelled from Greece, through Italy, then France before finally ending up England. It was an amazing trip, full of great memories. And you are right about saving. We thought we had put enough away, but three weeks there just about did us in. We are still trying to recover financially, and we did it on the cheap! We mostly stayed through accommodations we set up using http://www.airbnb.com (amazing service, highly recommended).
I made the mistake of using 10 megs of data via roaming and ended up with a $300 surcharge on my monthly bill!!!! I got the carrier to cut it in half but man...what a ripoff!
You can only really take a certain type of picture with a cell phone, but if you stick within its strengths you can get quite good results. Enough to fool and impress your non-photog friends, at any rate.
Another tip is to make sure your SD memory does not have any faulty sectors (like mine) - even that I could see the photos in my camera, some RAW images were corrupted!!!!
great advice - one of the things that I learned was that one needs to have a permit to shoot "Artistic Pictures", at least in Rome. The No tripod Cops will be nice and give you a warning, but after that, who knows. Try to use natural stabilization, like trees, rocks, ledges etc! Works pretty good even with HDR. Or buy a Joby Gorilla Pod, pretty dicrete and effective as well!
Please, dear foreigner who come to my country as tourist, please: do not ever in the world buy water bottles in bars around the centre of the cities. Go to a minimarket (I think you call them "grocery") and buy them there. With 3 euros you can buy 6 bottles of 1.5 lt. There are minimarket all around, just ask some locals if you cannot find them. Italians normally cannot speak a good english but are very kind with tourists.
I would like to warn you about one thing though : 2.) Don't Check Your Tripod.
First time it was a standard tripod, I had to go back and check it in.
The second time it was a mini tripod with extensible feet, here I decided to have them store it until I come back (still had the large one- in my suitcase this time).
The security guy told me that these are the current regulations, but that they would probably be changed soon (to allow tripod on planes).
Maybe it is specific to France... anyway beware, if you are short on time, it might be annoying to have to go back to the checkin counter.
Jim, great article. Italy is a wonderful place to visit and take photos. If you only need a phone, Verizon will lend you an international phone for free. You only pay if you use it and for the shipping to have it sent to your house. You transfer you wireless number to the phone and thus if anyone calls you on you wireless phone you will get the message. About the internet, check with your local provider to see if you can receive your email in Italy. Our local email provider was blocked and thus we could only receive our gmail. Another alternative is to have your email forwarded to your gmail account. 2 weeks in Italy and we had no problems. I used a money belt and always keep my camera close to my body. Thanks for the helpful tips.
Really great tips for photographers in Italy. Thanks! But just to reiterate the point Carold made above: water in Italy should not cost you 3-4 euros!! In Rome and many other places it's completely free and delicious at the many communal water fountains. In Rome, the water comes directly from the old aquaducts and is safe and delicious (just remember to carry an empty plastic bottle).
James i forgot to tell you that you have been lucky to see 5 Terre that is one of the nicest places, because i don't you if you know what happened in this day in italy.
A big flood submerge all.
Try to do a search on youtube writing 5 terre. It's amazing. You are lucky.
Thanks Marco, will do! Don't worry though. I felt very, very safe 90% of the time there. The only places I had to be on guard were the train stations and any form of public/mass transportation. Milan was the worst though as there were groups of thieves trying to 'help' us buy our train tickets. One person would come up and ask if we needed help and then his buddy would come from another angle and things could have gotten bad quick. We had to be very stern with them and tell them to leave us alone immediately.
I'm italian and i'm very sorry that you and your camera didn't feel safe in my country.
Next time you come to Milan, contact me.
Jorge - Never have run into any problems with my tripod as a carry-on but I have heard similar stories. I think it's all in how you act with it. I don't ask if I can bring it on the plane and I don't act concerned as to whether or not I can carry it on. I just walk onto the plane and stow the tripod in the overhead compartments. The tripod I used on my trip is a Manfrotto carbon fiber tripod (3 section) with a pistol grip ball-action head.
I just wonder if you had any problem at airport with the security checks? Because I've heard many stories of people not being allowed to travel with the tripod as it would be considered a "weapon".
What kind of tripod have you travelled with? And that includes the tripod head?
"had we been forced to rely on locals trying to understand our language."
... how about next time, you try to learn some of the local's language, instead of assuming that when you go to a foreign country, everyone is supposed to speak English to cater to your needs?
It's a threat in Europe and Italy especially! Don't ever take your wallet out in a crowded area and then proceed to show all the pickpockets where you store it. Also, keep only the $ for one day in your wallet, and keep the rest in a safe place such as a money belt under your clothes. Keep your bank cards, credit cards and $ in different areas so if one is stolen you are not completely without.
the .5 litre size is perfect. It folds up when empty and there are water fountains all over Rome and most other places in Italy where you can fill up on the go. My guide was taken with this bottle because you can't buy it in Europe so make sure you buy it here.
nice compilation of tips James. I have to agree about Madrid's airport, I was there earlier this year without my tripod and took a bunch of snaps, but all handheld. It's a fabulous spot for sure. I also just upgraded my backpack to a Think Tank Streetwalker Hard Drive, and I love it. Looking forward to using it on my trips to Europe next year. Great tips, thanks! GReat shots, too, I especially love that first one.
I spend quite a bit of time in Abruzzo, Italy, sometimes travelling around using a rented car and sometimes using public transport.
I read your article with interest and I think you make some very valid points, especially when you suggest time without the camera – you have to smell the roses!
I think being able to keep your valuables in sight wherever you are is a good policy and in unfamiliar environments you should plan ahead to achieve this. I'm not familiar with travelling around the US with camera gear so I expect I'd be as wary there as you were in Italy. Crime exist the world over and in the same way you can be unlucky with your valuables you can also be very fortunate. I think of the time I left a bar in Italy forgetting my camera, returning later to find it waiting for me.
Not checking in the tripod could backfire. Again in Italy, I tried to carry the tripod on as part of cabin baggage and security felt it was too dangerous an object to allow through. I had to go back to check-in and try to get the tripod placed in the hold which they wouldn't allow unless I shrink wrapped it. This happened in 2007 and security may have relaxed since then, but it's worth considering. Oddly on the way to Italy I had no problem bringing the tripod on board.
On the subject of smart phones unlocking is crucial, but failing that doing research on available Wi-Fi spots might get you over a hump. There are plenty of apps and sites that can give you listings of public Wi-Fi spots in your area. Obviously that doesn't work if you are on the move.
Thanks for the post, I enjoyed reading it and I really like the photos. The Cinque Terre/Genoa/Liguria region has been hammered by rain in the last few weeks with Monterosso and Vernazza particularly badly hit.
Damian, just get a camera in her hand too and then she will be hooked. Then you can stop to take a photo and she will stop too!
"Getting pick-pocketed in Europe is a very real threat [...]"


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text:
Llac amb arbres morts, el títol original en anglès de la qual és Lake with dead Trees, és una obra de la primera etapa de Thomas Cole, pintor estatunidenc d'origen britànic, considerat l'iniciador de l'Escola del Riu Hudson.

Introducció
Aquest llenç es basa en esbossos que Cole va realitzar, a finals d'estiu de l'any 1825, a indrets de les Catskill Mountains, amb el mecenatge de George Washington Bruen. Cole va viatjar pel riu Hudson, desembarcant a West Point (Nova York). Aquests esbossos li van servir de base per a un conjunt de tres pintures de paisatge, sovint considerades l'inici de l'Escola del Riu Hudson. Un dibuix a llapis (ara al Detroit Institute of Arts), fet en aquella ocasió, és conegut amb el títol de "llac dels arbres morts", i és una composició simplificada del present quadre, amb anotacions de llum i de color. En el llenç actual, Cole enriqueix l'esmentat dibuix amb els arbres del primer pla de l'esquerra, amb els dos uapitís fugint, i amb el Sol en la distància. Aquests elements donen joc a diverses lectures literàries i religioses, la qual cosa anticipa els posteriors paisatges al·legòrics de Cole.

Anàlisi de l'obra
Aquest llenç exemplifica els trets estilístics típics de l'escola del riu Hudson. L'espectador es fixa en un primer moment en els arbres de la part esquerra, i després en els de la vora del llac, esquelètics, sense fulles ni escorça. Els arbres de la part esquerra encarnen la mort, tot i que estan envoltats de vida, i mostren la seva fusta, que brilla blanquejada pel sol, en tons de groc pàl·lid, blanc i gris. Les úniques zones fosques són les ombres causades per la llum de la part superior dreta. Tanmateix, els arbres morts voregen l'aigua i gaudeixen de la llum del Sol, la qual cosa dona lloc a un sòl ric en nutrients per a la vegetació circumdant.

A mesura que la mirada de l'espectador es mou vers el costat dret de la pintura i vers el celatge, els sentiments canvien. Els arbres morts es tornen més petits, s'esvaeixen, i donen pas als arbres vius, a una nova vida. Al mateix temps, el celatge esdevé més amable, amb un nou tipus de llum. Cadascuna d'aquestes transicions es realitza de forma suau i natural, llevat del detall dels dos cérvols que creuen l'escena. Aquesta parella de uapitís sembla més aviat artificiosa, mancada de la fluïdesa mostrada en la resta del llenç.

Referències i enllaços externs

Bibliografia
 MINKS, Louise; The Hudson River School ; Knickerbocker Press; New York-1998; ISBN 1-57715-041-4
 WILTON, Andrew, BARRINGER, Tim; American Sublime, Landscape Painting in the U.S.; Princeton University Press; Princeton-2002; ISBN 0-691-09670-8
Quadres de Thomas Cole
Obres pictòriques de la dècada del 1820

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry is telling The Associated Press that both his economic record and his experience leading a large growing state sets him apart from his Republican presidential rivals.
Perry was in the midst of his first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate. He sought in an interview with The AP to contrast himself with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on job creation and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann on experience, though he didn't mention either by name.
Romney leads in many national Republican presidential polls, and is making the economy his focus. Bachmann won a key test vote in Iowa Saturday but has been criticized for lacking executive experience.
Perry also is calling for a three-month moratorium on federal regulations, arguing they have stymied job growth.


It's been a crazy couple of weeks, which resulted in a lack of posts, but I'm back! I've had a wonderful few days and I thought I'd share them with you.
After work on Friday I met up with one of my oldest friends Kirsty, before heading out for dinner to (belatedly) celebrate my birthday. My other friend Natalie came too, and we had a lovely meal at Giraffe in Spitalfields. We had some lovely cocktails (of course) including a Banoffee Martini which was incredible.
We then headed over to Queen of Hoxton and met with a few of my other friends which was also fun. The only disappointing part of the night was the photobooth not printing, but I did get to email myself the digital copies!
As much as I'd have loved a lie in on Saturday morning, I was up nice and early getting ready for two bloggers events. I met up with Kayleigh from Very Berry Cosmo at 10:30 and we headed up to Camden for #TheBloggersMarket. We didn't get to spend too long there, but it was great to meet Olivia, Carrie and a few other bloggers that had put on the event, and I got my hands on a gorgeous pair of boots from Olivia's stall for £6 and a hand-inked postcard that Carrie made for £1.
Then it was off to Bitter Sweet in Soho for the #nyLDNmeet hosted by Amy, Lauren and Tamsyn. The event was brilliant - there was a cocktail making class, I had my hair styled by the lovely Fordham Soho team and also had my nails done by one of the Cucumba ladies. It was so great to meet so many other bloggers (and to cross something extra off my 22 at 22 list!) and to just have such an enjoyable afternoon out. It even meant a chance of testing out one of the girl's selfie sticks to take a couple of photos of a group of us.
The lovely ladies from MooGoo were also there to tell us all about their new mineral beauty range launching very soon called Dusty Girls, and also gave us an insight into the products in the MooGoo range. I can't wait to get my hands on some of the Dusty Girls products when they launch, so watch this space.
It was such a great afternoon, and we got to take home an amazing goodybag full of some lovely products, lots of food including the very tasty marshmallows by Mallow and Marsh as well as some goodies from Myprotein. I also won a Lee Stafford hair curler and some lovely Argan Oil bits in the charity raffle, which means I have no excuses in terms of only having my hair straight from now on!
To everyone that I met, please leave me a comment so I can have a nose at your blog! I hope you've all had a great weekend and it feels so great to be back at blogging after almost 2 weeks!
10 comments on "Belated Birthday & Bloggers"
I'm not actually sure if I met you (I am soooo awful at remembering names and faces!) but I was there yesterday! It was such an amazing day but I'm gutted I didn't speak to more people!


text:
Owners of a farmstead in northeast Sioux Falls hope a change in zoning designation will make it easier for them to sell.
Lois and Kelly Brown haven't had much luck parting ways with their 6-acre farmstead at Bahnson Avenue and Sixth Street. The couple has been trying to sell the property for years and was closing in on a deal that would have replaced the land still used as agriculture into a large-scale apartment complex.
PREVIOUSLY:Zoning battle cools buyer interest in S.F. farmstead
But the prospective buyer pulled the plug on the deal last year after the neighborhood rallied against the project, citing safety, traffic and drainage concerns. With a political fight hovering over the property, the Brown's attorney Arlie Brende said interest in the property stagnated, forcing the Brown's to reassess how best to ready the property for sale.
This week, the Browns asked the Sioux Falls City Council to begin the process of rezoning the agricultural land to "live-work," a land use that allows for twin and single family homes, as well as office, retail or commercial uses.
"No one wants to make an offer until they're able to determine what the zoning is going to be," Brende said.
The city's Planning Department says the live-work designation fits with the neighborhood, but is recommending the Council place certain conditions on the rezoning to protect the neighborhood from being adversely impacted.
For instance, should the Council approve the rezone request, City Hall wants Councilors to restrict any new owner from building an apartment complex that exceeds 96 units. Drainage and traffic studies and management plans would also have to be approved by city engineers before any building permits are issues on the property as a part of the Planning Department's recommendation.
The Oakview Neighborhood Association, composed of members from the area surrounding the Browns' property, is in favor of the rezone with those conditions.
First reading of the rezone was Tuesday. A final vote scheduled for Aug. 1.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Motorola WX181 is a GSM phone with basic features and applications. Read on to know about the latest features, technical specifications and price.
Motorola WX181 is an entry-level phone which comes with basic features and applications. It features 1.5� inches CSTN Screen with 46 x 108 x 14.8 mm dimension and powered by 750mAh Lithium battery. It also includes Stereo FM Radio with RDS, Polyphonic Ringtones, In-built Games, Flashlight, Mini- USB Port, SMS and Contacts can be stored up to 100 entries. The handset comes with good battery backup which offers implausible talk time of 180-540 minutes and long durable standby time up to 220-380 hours.


text:
De Seminole zijn een Indiaans volk dat oorspronkelijk Florida bevolkte. Anno 2021 wonen ze voornamelijk in Oklahoma en Florida en bestaan ze uit drie federaal erkende stammen: de Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, de Seminole Tribe of Florida en Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, en daarnaast een aantal onafhankelijke groepen.

Cultuur

De Seminole-cultuur is grotendeels afgeleid van die van de Muscogee of Creek Confederatie; de belangrijkste ceremonie is de Green Corn Dance. Andere opmerkelijke tradities zijn het gebruik van de zwarte drank en rituele tabak. Terwijl de Seminole zich aanpasten aan het klimaat in Florida, ontwikkelden ze lokale tradities, zoals de bouw van openluchthuizen met rieten daken die bekend staan als chickees. De Seminole spraken Mikasuki en Creek, beide Muskogi-talen.

Geschiedenis

Het Seminole-volk kwam in een proces van etnogenese voort uit verschillende Indiaanse groepen die zich in de 18e eeuw in Florida vestigden, met name rond de noordelijke Muscogee-Creek van wat nu Georgia en Alabama is. Het woord "Seminole" is afgeleid van het Muscogee-woord simanó-li, dat op zijn beurt afgeleid kan zijn van het Spaanse woord cimarrón, wat "weggelopen" of "wilde" betekent.

De Seminole werd steeds onafhankelijker van andere Creek-stammen en namen hun eigen identiteit aan. Ze ontwikkelden een bloeiend handelsnetwerk tijdens de Britse en tweede Spaanse periode (ca. 1767–1821). De stam breidde zich in deze tijd aanzienlijk uit en werd vanaf het einde van de 18e eeuw verder aangevuld met vrije zwarten en ontsnapte slaven die zich in de buurt van Seminole-steden vestigden en waardering toonden. Deze laatste werden bekend als Black Seminoles, hoewel ze hun eigen Gullah-cultuur behielden. Nadat de Verenigde Staten onafhankelijk waren geworden, verhoogden de kolonisten de druk op Seminole-land, wat leidde tot de Seminole-oorlogen (1818-1858). De Seminole werden eerst beperkt tot een groot reservaat in het binnenland door het Verdrag van Moultrie Creek (1823) en vervolgens met geweld uit Florida verdreven door het Verdrag van Payne's Landing (1832). In 1842 waren de meeste Seminoles en Black Seminoles gedwongen verhuisd naar Indian Territory ten westen van de Mississippi. Tijdens de Amerikaanse Burgeroorlog sloten de meeste Oklahoma Seminole zich aan bij de Confederatie, waarna ze een nieuw verdrag met de VS moesten ondertekenen, inclusief vrijheid en tribaal lidmaatschap voor de Black Seminole. Tegenwoordig zijn inwoners van het reservaat ingeschreven in de federaal erkende Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, terwijl anderen tot ongeorganiseerde groepen behoren.

Na de derde Seminole-oorlog (1855-1858) bleven naar verluidt minder dan 200 Seminoles in Florida, maar ze zorgden voor een heropleving van traditionele gebruiken en een cultuur van onwankelbare onafhankelijkheid. Aan het einde van de 19e eeuw herstelde de Florida Seminole beperkte relaties met de Amerikaanse regering en kreeg in 1930 een reservaat van 20 km2. Er zijn maar weinig Seminole die tot de jaren veertig naar reservaten verhuisden; ze reorganiseerden hun regering en kregen in 1957 federale erkenning als de Seminole Tribe of Florida. Het meer traditioneel gerichte volk in de buurt van de Tamiami Trail kreeg in 1962 federale erkenning als de Miccosukee Tribe.

Seminole-groepen in Oklahoma en Florida hadden tot ver in de 20e eeuw weinig contact met elkaar, maar elk ontwikkelden zich op dezelfde manier als de groepen ernaar streefden hun cultuur te behouden terwijl ze het economisch zwaar hadden. Oude ambachten en tradities werden nieuw leven ingeblazen in het midden van de 20e eeuw gingen Seminoles op zoek naar toerismedollars toen Amerikanen meer begonnen te reizen op het groeiende wegennet van het land. In de jaren zeventig begonnen Seminole-stammen kleine bingogames te houden op hun reservaten om inkomsten te genereren, en wonnen ze rechtzaken om Indiaans gokken te kunnen exploiteren. Veel Amerikaanse stammen gebruiken de gokfaciliteiten  om inkomsten te genereren voor welzijn, onderwijs en ontwikkeling. De Seminole Tribe of Florida is bijzonder succesvol geweest met de exploitatie van gokfaciliteiten en kocht in 2007 voor 965 miljoen dollar de rechten op het Hard Rock Café en heeft onder die naam verschillende grote gaming-resorts omgedoopt of geopend.

Indiaans volk in de Verenigde Staten


text:
$5K reward to find a regional park's tree killers
Girdling is an illegal act and one that more often than not leads to the death of a tree.
Adam Uren
A reward is being offered to find the vandals who have killed 20 trees at the Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan.
The Dakota County Sheriff announced on Friday that $5,000 will be made available for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the damage caused to the black cherry trees earlier this month.
The trees, located in various spots around the park, were "girdled" – that's when a ring is gouged around the tree, stripping away the bark.
According to the Lebanon Hills Mountain Bike Trail on Facebook, girdling is an "illegal act" and one that more often than not leads to the death of the tree.
Here's a look at where the targeted trees are located. Many of them are in the mountain bike area.
The bike trail's initial post about the vandalism prompted a furious response from many Facebook commenters, to the point that the organization had to request for people to calm down as things were "getting a little out of hand."
"We originally posted this in hopes to help gather some intel, not start a flame war," it said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that girdling is a way of killing trees without felling them, and can be employed to kill unwanted trees or enhance wildlife habitats. It can also be used to prevent a tree encroaching onto power lines.
The 2,000 acre park in Eagan gets around 500,000 visitors each year, according to its website. Dakota County is also in the process of restoring a further 1,100 acres of prairie and forest within the park, and also planting more than 3,000 new trees and shrubs.
Anyone with information about the tree girdling should call the Dakota County Sheriff's Office via 911, or by emailing sheriff@co.dakota.mn.us.
crimethe outdoorspoliceNature
The reward to find whoever fatally shot a central MN hunter is up to $30K
Terrence Brisk was killed in Nov. and officials still don't know who's responsible.
Someone's been vandalizing trees in Dakota County
It's called girdling or ring-barking, and it kills trees.
More thieves steal birch trees in Minnesota, but why are they doing it?
Thousands of the trees have been chopped down illegally across the upper Midwest in recent months.
FBI offering $25K reward to find Wisconsin raceway killer
A man gunned down three people in broad daylight earlier this month.
What do you do when a storm brings down a tree on your property?
Cities only really help if the tree falls onto public land.
Northern MN man accused of cutting down, stealing $3,500 worth of trees
The white-barked trees are often used in decorations.
Several trees have been vandalized in Robbinsdale
If you see someone doing this, call 911.


Bridesmaids' dresses have always taken a heavy influence from the high-street, so as we make the steep ascent into the peak of wedding season, what styles and colour ways are this year's key trends?
Chiffons and soft tulles are very much taking the lead in the way of fabric choices for your gaggle of girls, creating soft, romantic silhouettes and accentuating the inherent femininity of the bridal party. These fabrics are in keeping with bridal styles of 2014 and could therefore be an excellent choice to complement that all important gown.
In terms of colours, this year sees a slightly different take on the traditional pastels. While they are still very much the opted for colour choices (particularly greens and coral), 2014 sees a turn towards two-tone bridesmaid dresses. Often using bright colours, these gowns really are a very clever way of giving your bridal party a modern twist and work well within the framework of the more avant-garde wedding styling we are seeing increasingly this year.
The length of gown is still very much a personal choice, however, we are seeing more and more that the modern bridesmaid is often expected to buy her own dress and is therefore much more likely to want to find something she is going to wear again. This is reiterated in the style of the gown no longer being so much a 'uniform', but actually being more flexible in terms of suiting the individual's figure rather than just a 'one-style-suits-all'. What could be more important than your bridal party looking and feeling confident and happy? Trust me, happy bridesmaids equals happy bride.
The final point is that above all bridesmaid dresses should ultimately complement (not necessarily emulate) the most important gown of all; the bridal gown. This could be done by picking a key feature of the gown like a sweetheart bust, a colour nuance or even the style or feeling of the dress, 1950's swing dresses for example, to keep the dresses within the same framework whilst leaving the bridal gown to take the limelight. This maintains your status as the bride, particularly if you are having a large number of bridesmaids, and will make sure you are at the centre of your day.


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Tag Archives: Jabbo Smith
Hot Antic Jazz Band on YouTube
Appropriately, I stumbled across a recently posted video of my all-time fave French jazz band on YouTube yesterday – Bastille Day. There are quite a few videos of them already available, but this one was only uploaded to YouTube in April – so it was a delightful discovery for me.
It seems especially apt to post it now as the Hot Antic Jazz Band was one of the best-loved bands of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival in the 1980s & 1990s – and, in the normal course of things, I would be spending this week in Edinburgh, reminiscing about them and thinking how lucky I was to hear them back in the heyday of the festival, when it had classic jazz at its heart and attracted some of the best groups from across the world.
Back then, these groups would play on the famous McEwans Pub Trail as well as in the mix-and-match, three-set concerts that were a hallmark of the festival, so you could hear them for free, and follow them from one gig to another, often managing to notch up several HAJB sets in one day if you were so inclined. Nowadays, if they were still playing together (sadly, the band retired in 2018), the jazz festival would probably book them for one or two gigs, at £20 a ticket, and that would be your lot.
The Antics weren't full-time professional musicians (they were all professionals with full-time day jobs) but their commitment to the lesser-played music of the 1920s and 1930s (notably by Jabbo Smith and Clarence Williams), plus their joie-de-vivre and Gallic charm made them beloved by aficionados and jazz newcomers alike, including – in 1986 – the 14-year-old me. (By this time they had already been officially named the best band at the jazz festival – by BBC Radio Scotland.) They returned to the festival many times, with slight variations in personnel over the years, and remained favourites of the core audience which welcomed them back like old friends.
This video is from before my time as an Antic admirer – the early period that could be called the Dungaree Era!
Tagged as Clarence Williams, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, French jazz, Hot Antic Jazz Band, Jabbo Smith
Hot Antics in Edinburgh
One of the most popular bands to appear regularly at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival during its heyday of the 1980s returns to the Scottish capital next month – for one night only. The Hot Antic Jazz Band delighted EJF audiences on the celebrated pub trail for the best part of two decades, and few ensembles are as fondly remembered or as emblematic of the old festival, beer-fuelled, spirit of jazz joie-de-vivre. This is, sans doubt, the band that sealed my fate as a jazz fan..
The Hot Antic Jazz Band (so-called as a play on words – Hot Antic, pronounced in French, sounds the same as "authentic" in French) may be made up of part-time musicians, but it has appeared at some of the world's best festivals and venues, including the Carnegie Hall in New York. The standard of its musicianship and the players' enthusiasm are such that the band has attracted the attention of various jazz greats, including Jabbo Smith.
Indeed, it was a love of the music of the long-lost trumpet legend Jabbo Smith, regarded in his prime as the only serious competition to Louis Armstrong, which first brought the original Antics together in 1979. Trumpeter Michel Bastide explains: "We met during a jam session in a club in Montpellier and during the break fell to talking about Jabbo's music. It was there and then that we decided to do something about it – and the Hot Antic was born."
In 1982, when the band was still in its infancy and concentrating on numbers written and originally recorded by Smith during his all-too-brief heyday, the opportunity to work with their hero on a short tour presented itself. A strong friendship was formed between the ageing trumpeter and the French musicians and, when he died in 1991, it was to Michel Bastide that Smith left his horn.
Unfortunately, the Antics never brought Jabbo Smith to Edinburgh but they count as highlights of their 35 years some of their early visits to the capital. Bastide says: "We fell in love with the Edinburgh Jazz Festival because we discovered a city devoted to jazz for a full week, with jazz everywhere – in the pubs, in the concert halls, in the hotels, everywhere. And there were opportunities to meet players like Teddy Wilson, Buddy Tate and Doc Cheatham. Plus, we liked the smell of the beer …. "
A spirit of Marx Bros-esque mischief and a sense of camaraderie are key aspects of the Hot Antic Jazz Band's popularity within the jazz world – and outwith it: this band is required listening for anyone who thinks that jazz is po-faced and serious. At 14, I was seduced by its Gallic charm (never again able to sing Puttin' on the Ritz without a 'Allo 'Allo accent), sense of style (I've yet to see a classic jazz band as effortlessly stylish as the Antics in their post-dungarees era) and playfulness.
Indeed, the fun atmosphere onstage also undoubtedly appeals to some of the famous names who have sat in with the French musicians. Bastide recalls the thrill of being joined onstage by trumpeter Doc Cheatham, the gentle jazz giant who did the festival circuit throughout his seventies and eighties. "We were playing at a jam session at the Breda Jazz Festival, and Doc asked if he could sit in with us. It was very, very cute. He came to the stage like a little boy and said: 'May I play with you? May I sit in with you?' What more could I say except: 'Yes, please.'" More recently, in the early 2000s, Wynton Marsalis became almost an honorary Antic thanks to various jam sessions at the Marciac Jazz Festival.
So what is the secret of the Antics' longevity? Bastide has no doubts on that score. "The Hot Antic is still active because we are friends, we play just for fun, just for the pleasure of playing the music we like – the music of the 1920s – and the pleasure of playing together." It sounds as if Jabbo Smith got it right when he described them as "the happiest band in all Europe".
* The Hot Antic Jazz Band plays Edinburgh's Jazz 'n' Jive Club, Heriot's Rugby Club, on Friday, May 9 at 8pm. Tickets cost £8 for members; £10 for non-members and can be booked by calling Jim Callander on 01259 211049 or emailing info@edinburghjazz.com . For more information, visit www.edinburghjazz.com
Jabbo Smith & the Hot Antic Jazz Band – Lina Blues
Hot Antic Jazz Band – That Rhythm Man (1987)
Tagged as Doc Cheatham, Edinburgh Jazz 'n' Jive Club, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Hot Antic Jazz Band, Jabbo Smith, Michel Bastide, Wynton Marsalis
Edinburgh Jazz Festival 2012 in Video: Kellin/Gunnar Larsen
Tagged as Edinburgh Jazz Festival 2012, Jabbo Smith, Morten Gunnar Larsen, Orange Kellin
Edinburgh Jazz Festival 2012: Orange Kellin & Morten Gunnar Larsen
Orange Kellin & Morten Gunnar Larsen, Spiegeltent, Monday July 23rd ****
Rain beating down on the tent's roof, damp coats, uncomfortable Spiegeltent seats, and two guys onstage who looked like they'd taken a wrong turn en route to a convention for Latin teachers: the early evening jazz festival gig on Monday did not promise to be a joyful affair. But the duo concert featuring the versatile Norwegian pianist Larsen (last heard here last year accompanying a singer on a programme of cabaret songs) and Swedish-born clarinettist Kellin proved to be well worth running the risk of contracting trench foot from the George Square mud.
These musicians are keepers of the flame of early and classic jazz styles and, on Monday, they exhumed tunes from the repertoires of three pioneering jazz men – and made them as fresh and thrilling as they must have been when they were written, in some cases almost a century ago. With their rousing opener, Jelly Roll Morton's Big Fat Ham, any thought of this music being of purely historic interest went out the tent window; this was thrilling, exhilarating stuff which instantly hooked the audience and kept everyone pinned to their seats for a solid 90 minutes.
With his squawky, authentic New Orleans clarinet sound, Kellin complements Larsen's delicate, refined piano style perfectly and what was particularly appealing was the fact that each of the musicians had a direct link to one of the other two composers whose work was featured: in the 1970s, Kellin worked with the great trumpeter Jabbo Smith, whose tender ballads I Owe It All To You and Must Be Right; Can't Be Wrong were highlights, while the young Larsen met the legendary ragtime pianist Eubie Blake at around the same time. In other words, Monday's audience was three degrees separated from a certain Scott Joplin…
First published in The Herald, Wednesday, July 25th
Big Fat Ham
Wild Man Blues
Shreveport Stomp
How Could Cupid Be So Stupid?
I Owe It All To You
Katie Red, Who's Been Sleepin' in My Bed?
Must Be Right; Can't Be Wrong
Bandana Days
You're Lucky to Me – Memories of You
Frog-i-more
Tagged as Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Eubie Blake, Jabbo Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, Morten Gunnar Larsen, Orange Kellin, Scott Joplin, Spiegeltent


Karyn's experience of yoga began as a physical practice that morphed over time into a journey of self discovery and acceptance. Her goal as a teacher is to help create a feeling of ease within the practice for every student. Each class builds confidence and knowledge of one's body through facilitation of a supportive and nurturing atmosphere. She teaches from personal experience and shares her knowledge with clarity and joy.
Shelly Grande is an international Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master and creator of malas. She is passionate about sharing the tools that continuously help her land in presence, release negativity and realign with her true essence of love and joy. She whole-heartedly believes in the infinite healing abilities of Yoga, Reiki and Meditation.


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Q: What are some advantages of using binary I/O in place of text I/O? could someone please tell me some advantages of using binary I/O in place of text I/O.
i'm not sure why it would be better to use binary I/O over text I/O.

A: You use binary I/O when you're reading/writing binary data (like an image or sound), and you use text I/O when you're reading/writing text (like... text). It's not a matter of advantages or disadvantages, it's using the appropriate tool.

A: In a sense, all data is stored as binary (bits of one and zeros).
But if you mean could it make more sense to store, say, 12,345 as text ("12,345") vs. binary (the value 12,345), the answer is yes.
In this example, binary uses less memory and can be read and written faster because it doesn't need to be parsed and translated back to a numeric value (int, long, etc.).

A: Though this comparision would really help: http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~burch/csbsju/cs/160/notes/34/0.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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You married King Who?
On August 24 of 1200, Bad King John married his second wife, Isabella of Angoulême. You have to feel sorry for anyone to whom such a thing would happen, especially if she was 12 at the time (she was). When reading about someone as wicked and inept as John I always wonder about the poor woman stuck with him, whether she's secretly giving him good advice he won't take, giving him bad advice and egging him on, or just trying to go about her own life and avoid him insofar as possible. But in Isabella's case she seems to have made the worst of it.
John's first wife was also an Isabella, a.k.a. Countess of Gloucester. And if you think it's confusing that they're both called Isabella try the fact that the Gloucester one was also known as Isabelle, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor and sure, who among us wouldn't greet an Isabella with "Howdy, Hawise"? She and John were both great-grandchildren of Henry I, in her case via one of his literally dozens of illegitimate children. As a result, though they were married in 1189, the Archbishop of Canterbury declared the marriage null because they were too closely related, but Pope Clement III said they could marry, just not do sex relations.
John being John, he busied himself bothering other women (yes, despite being a creepy loser he was apparently forever bedding barons' wives and others) and shortly after becoming king in 1199 had the marriage annulled but kept Isabella's lands. He would. And apparently she did not contest the annulment, probably thinking herself lucky.
So on to Isabella 2. John married her less than a year later despite the fact that she was betrothed to Hugh IX, Count of Lusignan, infuriating French King Philip II who confiscated all John's and Isabella's French lands leading to another war John "Lackland" a.k.a. "Softsword" lost. Apparently the king was genuinely infatuated with his dazzling if very young bride, who in turn seemed well-matched in the sense of having the same sort of explosive temper and propensity for malevolent scheming.
She bore John five children once she was old enough to do so including the future Henry III. And when John croaked she swiftly had him crowned, using her own golden circlet as the hapless John had recently lost the royal crown and the rest of his treasure in the Wash (it's a river, not the laundry). Then she dumped him on the regent, the outstanding William Marshal, and went back to France to grab Angoulême back.
Trouble promptly ensued. Isabella and John's daughter Joan had been meant to marry Hugh X of Lusignan, son of Isabella's former fiancée and now Count of La Marche. But Isabella began batting her dazzling blue eyes at Hugh and before you knew it he'd married his fiancée's mother and dad's old flame.
This caused outrage in England, where they had a thing about people marrying into the royal line without approval of the king's council. So they seized all her dower lands and stopped her pension. So she and Hugh threatened to keep Joan, now promised to King Alexander II of Scotland, prisoner in France. Henry III wrote scathingly to the Pope asking that his own mother be excommunicated (or at least signed a scathing letter drafted by his council) along with her beau. But eventually geopolitically cooler heads prevailed and to avoid trouble with Scotland the council compensated her for her confiscated lands and pension.
Isabella went on to have nine more children, with Hugh X. So I guess that sort of worked out. But Isabella couldn't cope with being less socially prominent in France as a Countess than a Queen mother and after been snubbed by the French Queen mother who Isabella already hated for some small matter of having tried to put her own son Louis on the English throne instead of Isabella's Henry (the one who wanted her excommunicated), she started conspiring against Louis, now King Louis IX of France, even persuading Henry III to invade Normandy then not showing up with the promised help. After Hugh X reconciled with the French king, two royal cooks were arrested and under "interrogation" admitted Isabella had paid them to poison Louis. So she fled to Fontevraud Abbey and conveniently died.
Eventually Henry III at least managed to get her body moved indoors, next to his grandfather Henry II and his dazzling if scary wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. Most of her other kids decided they'd live longer in England and sought refuge with Henry III.
Now I do not know for sure what might have become of Isabella if she hadn't become John's wife, especially at such a young age. But she gives a rather strong impression of having been a suitable wife for that wretched monarch.
I don't mean that in even remotely a good way.
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It can be exciting to jump into the stock market. Depending on how much you are willing to risk and what your investment goals are, there are countless ways to invest. Whichever approach you take, you need to know some basics about investing. The stock market isn't particularly complex, but learning successful trading strategies can take a lifetime. You can make money. Continue on for some helpful investing tips that can be a guide to get you started in the market.
If you want to build a solid portfolio that delivers good yields over the long term, you will want to incorporate strong stocks in many different fields of business. While every year the entire market grows at an average rate, not every industry or stock is going to increase in value each year. If you spread your investments out over a variety of different areas, you are sure to increase your investment as specific industries are hot and increase your overall plan. You will also find that the balance re-balances itself over time, meaning you will see profits in one sector one quarter, and in another sector the following quarter.
It is very essential that you always look over your stock portfolio a few times a year. This is because the economy constantly changes. In very short amounts of time an industry can go from boring to booming or from booming to dropping. The best company to invest in is likely to change from year to year. Therefore, it is crucial you keep watch on your portfolio so you can adjust it as needed.
Timing the markets is usually futile. It has been proven that steadily investing over a large period of time has the best results. All you need to do is to decide how much money you can safely afford to invest. Then, set up a regular investment schedule, and stick with it.
Don't invest your life saving into your employer's stock. While you might feel you are doing right to support your employer by buying company stock, your portfolio should never hold only that one investment. Your risk of loss of a large amount of money is greatly increased in the case of poor performance or company failure.
It is always a good idea to talk to a financial adviser, whether or not you plan to do your own trading. The services a competent advisor can provide go far beyond recommending individual stocks. They'll help you understand your goals, retirement plans, risk tolerance and more. After, you can both sit down and form a plan that is customized to your interests.
Steer away from stock advice and recommendations that are unsolicited. Listen to your investment adviser or planner, particularly if they are successful as well. But when it comes to outside advice from unfamiliar sources, you need to ignore it. A significant amount of stock advice comes from those who are paid to distribute the information and does not equal doing your own homework and research.
Keep an open mind when thinking about stock price. One rule of thumb in the stock market is that when you pay more for an asset when related to earnings it provides, the less amount you will get in return. A stock that appears to be a bad buy for $50 one day, may drop to $30 the next week and become a good buy.
When investing in stocks and shares, you should find a profitable strategy and stick with it. You might be looking for companies with consistently high-profit margins or alternatively ones that have a ton of available cash. The smart investor has a well-developed strategy, and you can create one that is right for your goals.
You should think about investing in those stocks that pay out dividends. Regular dividend payments can help offset your losses if the price of the stock falls or fluctuates. On the other hand, if the stock value goes up, your dividends will increase and generate higher income. Overall, these can also give you periodic income.
It can be very fun and exciting to get involved in stock investments. No matter how much you choose to invest and what methods you choose to invest by, the tips given in this article will help you realize the returns you hope to see.
Venturing into the stock market can be quite an exciting time. The methods for investing will vary, depending on what your goals are and what your risk tolerance is. Whichever approach you take, you need to know some basics about investing. The stock market isn't particularly complex, but learning successful trading strategies can take a lifetime. You can make money. The below article provides some excellent investing advice that can assist you in having this needed understanding.
Stocks are more than paper used for trading. When you own some, you become a member of the collective ownership of that specific company you invested in. This can also entitle you to assets and earnings, depending on the debts of the company. In some cases, you can even vote in major elections regarding corporate leadership.
Make sure that you're spreading out your investments. You do not want to put all your eggs in one basket, as the saying goes. So if something goes wrong in one stock, you have the potential to still earn profits from another.
Think of your stocks as interest in a company that you own, rather than just simple meaningless elements to be traded. This means that you will really want to be knowledgeable about any investment you're making. Learn a lot about the company and its various strengths. Learn about where you're vulnerable. This can help you think very carefully regarding certain stock purchases.
It is vital that you go over your portfolio and you investment strategies periodically. This is important because the economy is always changing. Some sectors will do better than others, and it is possible that some companies will become obsolete. It may be wise to invest in some financial instruments than others, depending on the time period. Track your portfolio and adjust when necessary.
Don't attempt to time any market. It is a proven fact that invest an equal amount of funds into the market steadily over time have the ideal results. Just figure out how much of your personal income you are able to invest. Then, consistently invest and do not forget to keep up with it.
If you value the assistance of a broker, but want the option of also trading on your own, look for a broker that can offer you both online and full-service options. This way you'll be able to dedicate part of it to a professional and still handle part of it yourself. This method allows you to have control and great assistance when you invest.
Put your money in damaged stocks, not in damaged companies. A short-term fall in a company's stock is a great time to buy, but just be sure that it is a temporary downturn and not a new downward trend. A company that misses a crucial deadline due to something that can be easily fixed. like a material shortage, may go through a temporary downturn, which can cause some investors to panic, causing a drop in price. Any company which has been affected by scandal will take a very long time to recover, if at all.
Think about dividends when you look at possible stock purchases. This way, you will receive dividends that will make up for some of your losses if the stock decreases in value. If the price of the stock rises, the dividends will become a bonus that is added to the bottom line directly. They can also give you periodic income.
Look over your portfolio often. Make sure your stocks continue to perform well and that's the conditions of the market are good for you. Having said that, don't be too obsessed to the point where you check the stock price incessantly; things change often, and you do not want to stress yourself out.
Considering using a broker. They can be a wealth of knowledge for making wise investment decisions and planning your financial future. Many brokers will have great advice or information to help you make decisions. They might also help you manage your portfolio to help you determine how close you might be to your goals.
If you would like to invest in the stock market but feel unprepared to do so, investigate local investment seminars that you could attend. They are often relatively cheap and are presented by professionals in the stock market field who can help you in maximizing your investment.


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Bishop Kukah Reveals Why He Met Obasanjo, Atiku
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of SSokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Rev. Dr. Matthew Kukah, has said he was with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar to witness the reconciliation of the duo after a prolonged dispute.
Speaking to NAN on Monday, the cleric said his presence at the meeting was strictly to support and witness their reconciliation, which he has been trying to broker for some years.
The clergyman disclosed that he had, for several years, made efforts to reconcile both leaders without success until recently when they both agreed to meet and make peace.
He said that on Thursday, October 11, they had agreed to meet in former President Obasanjo's home in Abeokuta, along with other religious leaders such as Islamic preacher Sheikh Ahmed Gumi and Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Outreach (aka Winners' Chapel).
The Bishop said that on getting to Obasanjo's home, he saw that more and more people were trooping in and the meeting gradually assumed political undertone.
Kukah said: "I proposed to the former president that he should sit down with Alhaji Abubakar behind closed doors, sort out their issues, after which I and Sheikh Gumi will join them, as Bishop Oyedepo was yet to arrive at the time.
"After their closed-door meeting, I advised that the religious leaders, myself inclusive, join them so we can listen to them, serve as witnesses to the reconciliation, advice them and pray for them.
"Former President Obasanjo agreed to follow my advice; and this was how we carried out the reconciliation.
"After the closed door meeting between the two leaders, I and Sheikh Gumi went and sat down with them. My advice to them was that it was imperative for them to maintain the peace.
"I told them that I am a Catholic priest and bishop and the Catholic church preaches against divorce or separation, so there should be no room for that again.
"After our discussion, which was done behind closed doors, we prayed and we took photographs and I left afterwards to attend to other spiritual duties.
"I was earlier offered a seat in their aircraft and although it was the most convenient offer at the time, I declined the offer because I saw it as necessary to ensure that I take no favours from any of the two parties.
"I was not in Abeokuta to endorse Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the People's Democratic Party.
"I fully understand the feeling of some persons who believe that I traveled with Alhaji Abubakar to witness his endorsement by former President Obasanjo, but this was not the case at all.
"I am a strong believer in a peaceful and united Nigeria and these ideals I strive to achieve as a priest. My instincts to always initiate reconciliation and peace were sharpened during my involvement and experience with the Oputa Panel," explains Bishop Kukah.
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