Home » Archive by category "Travel Blog" (Page 12)

  • Someone pissed off the gods last night, today’s scenic driver along the coast will be slightly marred by these torrential downpours. #
  • The sun’s come out just in time for an amazing view over the dingle bay toward the skellig islands. Gorgeous! #
  • Just walked to the end of the world… Standing on the western-most point in europe, looking over the atlantic. #
  • Crossing the river shannon on a ferry into county kerry. Weather absolutely stunning! Keeping an due out for dolphins. #
  • Oh, i was wrong, we’re in county clare, the most superstitious in ireland. On the lookout for leprchans 🙂 #
  • http://twitpic.com/5rus1 – View from the cliffs of moher. #
  • Amazing day, just got back from great local pub and traditional irish music. @jimfitz cool! Wish you could be here too 🙂 #

  • Shoot got off at the wrong bus stop. Er… Midnight tour of dublin eh? #
  • Made it to hostel just fine, now for a few hours sleep before off again! #
  • Whew, trek through rainy dublin but found tour. Excited to get going! #
  • On our way to blarney castle via some other local highlights. So beautiful here! #
  • Admiring the decidedly creepy rock of cashel in tipperary (yep like the song) and seeing where guinness was first brewed! #
  • Just went splunking in mitchelstown caves. Treated to impromptu concept by talented member of the group – amazing acoustics! #
  • Mwah. The gift of gab is now mine. Hello from blarney! #
  • Just arriving in killarney for the night. Time for dinner, a few pints and some irish pub story-telling. #
  • Our table all ordered irish stew and they gave us something so watery we mentioned it- turned out they forgot potatos. Oops! #
  • Goodness the killarney guys are friendly in this pub. American and canadian girls all very alarmed 🙂 #
  • Thanks to everyone for the @ replies so far on my trip! Pictures and full recap on mon. Great day 1, night all! #

  • This is going to be one crazy day… 12 hours until flight to Dublin. #
  • In the @spoonfed office in England today, off to Ireland tonight and following the recaps of American Idol online. I’m so international 😉 #
  • A bit stressed about making my flight but about to get on a train to gatwick then jetting it to dublin. #
  • So, remember that time i worried i’d miss my flight then was 2 hours early through security? Yeah. #
  • Phone going off… Goodbye england! #
  • Touchdown in dublin, so exhausted but still need to find my way to the hostel. Looking forward to a sleep! #

Shoot London 2009

I have a confession to make. Yesterday I shot London.

And I wasn’t alone. I had four accomplices who all helped. We shot London in the face, in the legs, in the back of the head… and after three hours and nearly 150 shots, we all turned ourselves into the Tate Modern in hopes someone would give us a prize for it.

Before anyone gets particularly concerned for London’s safety, I should perhaps mention that the shots were taken not with a gun but with a Canon PowerShot A590 as part of Shoot London. Myself and my team which included Spoonfed’s arts and exhibitions editor Tom who was there to review the event for Spoonfed, armed ourselves with camera and creativity to take part in the event.

At the beginning of the day, the 100+ teams met at the Tate Modern where they were given four words or phrases from a pre-written story. From noon until 3pm we had to traverse London looking for the perfect shot. Back at Tate Modern in the afternoon, all the images were put together and the complete storyline revealed.

As a concept, Shoot London is brilliant and I had been looking forward to the day with some excitement. Throughout the morning, the excitement built as we received our phrases (“I love you,” “dangerous predators,” “their stepmother” and the surprisingly difficult “she gently stroked their hair”) and saw the immense crowd of over 530 participants – some of whom seemed to be complete amateur photographers like ourselves while others had equipment that would have made National Geographic proud. At noon, we were all released into London, ready to compose four photographic masterpieces.

We directed our course towards the Southbank and Soho, figuring that if there are any parts of London apt to deliver inspiration it would be these two trendy, crowded and diverse areas. We hit on an early brainwave of using a reflective surface as the basis of our phrase “I love you,” interpreting the phrase narcissisticly and so the day’s shoot began.

Final photo for the phrase I Love You

Final photo for the phrase "I Love You"

Three increasingly frantic hours later, with our four final photos chosen and saved on the memory card, we returned to the Tate to wait for the final product. Unfortunately this is where the event began to break down. Although they had scheduled two hours between 3pm (when we returned with our photos) and 5pm (when the final story was meant to be shown) – already quite a long time to be seated in the cavernous turbine hall of the Tate Modern – technical difficulties pushed the wait back an extra hour. Despite the free beers and orange juice provided, three hours was an exceptionally long wait and there was an ever increasing amount of fidgeting and grumbling as we were told again and again “we’re so sorry… just a few more minutes.” I felt particularly bad for the organisers who were quite clearly stressed by the situation and impossibilities of modern technology (there was some quite public bashing of Macs, which is of course why I am a PC).

Final photo for the phrase Fierce Predators

Final photo for the phrase "Fierce Predators"

Finally, the final product was ready and the author of the story, which turned out to be a modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel, began to narrate as our photos filled the screen.

I have to admit, it was quite impressive. The creativity and skill of some of the groups was stunning and there were quite a few shots that caused the entire room of over 500 to burst into laughter or applause. Our first photo appeared relatively early in the story and to our great disappointment we realised that, despite following the directions for labeling and tagging photos, they had been put in the wrong place – and throughout the rest of the narrative we noticed a number of other oddly irrelevant photos that indicated that other groups had suffered the same misfortune. By the end, however, the applause was thunderous and despite our pictures not receiving the credit they clearly deserved, we had to call the story an overall success.

Final photo for the phrase Their Stepmother

Final photo for the phrase "Their Stepmother"

By the end of the event, our feelings were mixed. The first half of the day had been brilliant – nice weather, intriguing clues, a purposeful wander around London and the somewhat deluded hope that we would be selected as the day’s winner. The second half put a damper on the day as we waited with increasing frustration for the final product. Excitement again when the show began and then the letdown of seeing our photos in the wrong places. As a concept we still felt that the Shoot project was genius and are considering the upcoming Shoot Portobello as a smaller, more manageable event at which to next try our hand at some creative photography.

Final photo for the phrase She Gently Stroked Their Hair

Final photo for the phrase "She Gently Stroked Their Hair"

The photos above were the four shots we selected as our final submissions for the phrases provided. Here are a few of the other photos from the day that I felt were particularly strong:

Runner up photo for I Love You

Runner up photo for "I Love You"

Runner up photo for Dangerous Predators

Runner up photo for "Dangerous Predators"

Runner up photo for Their Stepmother

Runner up photo for "Their Stepmother"

Runner up photo for I Love You

Runner up photo for "I Love You"


Although mother’s day was a number of weeks ago now in the UK, this Sunday is Mother’s Day in the states.  So in honor of mums everywhere, and in particular my amazingly wonderful mother, Lila, here is a plug for a mum-created blog and a family health public service announcement.

The weather is warming, the days are longer and the rain is gone enough of the time for Londoners to get reacquainted with the sun. That’s right, summer is approaching. It seems apt, then, that May – the time when everyone is getting so excited about seasonal changes that clothing seems optional – is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month. I suppose National refers to the states but last I checked, people outside the US get skin cancer too so I’m taking the awareness across the pond.

People are increasingly aware of the need to slather themselves and their children with sunblock but it’s still important to remember that nearly 50% cases of diagnosed cancer cases are skin cancer/melanoma, even though it is one of the most preventable types. With everything from SPF70 super cremes to sun protection foundation makeup and chapstick, it’s a lot easier to protect yourself from sun damage these days than it was when SPF5 “tanning cremes” were standard beachwear.

One of my favourite travel blogs, Traveling Mamas, has done a feature on the significance of the month and are donating $100 to the Skin Cancer Foundation. I highly recommend that you check out the blog, the Skin Cancer Foundation, and remember to pack the sunblock this summer.