Travel News Round-Up
Week Ending July 28, 2012
By Marianne Schwab | Best Travel Deals Tips Blog
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Only one more month left in summer so what's up with that? It was a big week leading up to the opening ceremonies at the Olympics in London - one of the most popular vacation destinations for the summer.
This week we take a look at how to take more interesting vacation photos, U.S. travel scams to look out for, the future of travel writing and what tips travel writers tell each other, the best app to organize your travel itinerary and, I couldn't resist, my favorite clip from the opening ceremonies.

How to Take More Interesting Travel Photos
I’m not talking about becoming a pro, or even a semi-pro. I’m not talking about taking the perfect picture every time, or the kinds of pictures that you can sell to National Geographic—because God knows, I don’t do that. I still consider myself an amateur photographer—though an enthusiastic one. Even so, the quality of my photos has improved substantially over the past decade—and not just because I now shoot with a DSLR (although I have to give some credit to my zoom lens—it rocks).
No, the reason my photos are better is because I’ve changed the way I look at travel photography. For years, I took the same kinds of travel photos everyone takes—straight on, with the subject centered in the frame. Frankly, those photos bored me. If I showed them to you, they probably would bore you too. In order to take better travel photos, I needed to start thinking more like an artist does. I needed to look at my subject in different ways. If you find yourself bored or dissatisfied with your travel photos, here are some suggestions to help you think “outside the box”, too. More
From @SoloFriendly
Things Travel Writers Tell Each Other
What do travel writers talk about when they get together? Travel, travel and more travel! And because they are on the road so much of the time they figure out shortcuts to problems, they learn to use their ingenuity and they keep their eyes and ears open for juicy tips. Here are some things I learned from them and now share with you. More
From journeywoman
James Bond Escorts The Queen to Olympics Opening Cermonies
In this clip from the London Olympics Opening Ceremony, James Bond meets Queen Elizabeth II. Couldn't have the round up without including this clever bit from the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. More
From travelproducer
The Best App For Organizing Travel Itineraries
Between emailed hotel confirmations, boarding passes and driving directions, travel for many still means packing loads of paper. A slew of apps are aimed at eliminating clutter and organizing your itinerary in one place. Click to read about our favorite for getting you on the road or on the beach with minimal hassles.
There are a lot of apps that help you travel smarter and, increasingly, these apps are designed to store all the information about your destination in one central place. But what we wanted, as we worked our way through a hectic summer travel schedule, was one app that would store all our travel information and make the process as easy as possible. Or at least easier than our old method of printing out travel confirmations after copying-and-pasting the details into Google Calendar. More
From @earthXplorer
Top U.S. Travel Scams
Vacation is a time to relax and unwind. A week or so off to eat well, rest and catch up with family, friends or other loved ones. But for all too many American travelers, things can go terribly wrong if scam artists wreak havoc on their carefully planned trip. From suspect taxi cabs to rampant credit card fraud, scams exist in every facet of travel. Here are a few big ones to look out for and tips on how to avoid them: More
From @FoxNews
Cool Views of London
As the Summer Olympics opened in London on July 27th, take a look at this cool website that offers 360 degree views of the city of London.More
From @cjmcginnis
Travel Publishing at Crossroads
Websites and apps by non-traditional publishers are most useful for travellers, according to an investigation by Bowker.
The information company conducted a study of 1,500 people in the US and UK to determine how the digital transition has affected the travel guide buying habits of recreational travellers.
The study found that vacationers in the UK were more likely than those from the US to use travel apps to help plan holidays—and that the tools tended to be from non-guidebook publishers.More
From @Mike_Gerrard
World Airport Codes
World Airport Codes provides information for almost every airport in the world. Using the search box below, you can search for airport codes in 5 different ways: More
From @travelanswerman
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