The Travellerspoint Blog

Every two months, Travellerspoint holds a photo competition for our members. The photos below are the best photos from the Adventure Photo Competition.

1. Photo Competition Winner: Sunrise/sunset in Swedish Lapland, Sweden. Photo by bsmethers.

2. Photo Competition Runner-up: Sleeping on ice, Quebec, Canada. Photo by snowgirl.

3. Balloon safari in South Africa. Photo by bsmethers.

4. Atop Mt Fitzroy, Patagonia, Argentina. Photo by Iyer.Taracad.

5. Sunrise balloon ride, Dubai. Photo by rscott1948.

6. Afghan motorcycle man, Afghanistan. Photo by ErinDriver.

7. Sunrise in Mezguida, Morocco. Photo by StephenJen.

8. At the Foot of the Serrano Glacier, Chile. Photo by tommiesuem.

9. Embracing Alaska, USA. Photo by Rhombus.

10. Solitude in the sands, Mezguida, Morocco. Photo by StephenJen.

Congratulations to bsmethers, who won the competition. They get to take home a holiday package courtesy of Much Better Adventures as well as a Picture organic t-shirt.

Second-placed snowgirl wins a Picture organic t-shirt from Much Better Adventures.

We have a fresh doors and windows themed competition kicking off next week.

Check out the results of past competitions:

• 15 Amazing Pink-Themed Photos
• Whimsical White: Photos from Around the Globe
• The Best Travel Photos of 2010
• Orange: 17 Brilliant Photos Featuring Orange
• Summer: 11 Photos to Celebrate Summer

In this month's Industry Interview we are pleased to chat to Gary Arndt of top-ranked travel blog Everything Everywhere. Gary is a well-known travel blogger, photographer and speaker (he was one of the keynotes at TBEX '11) and is a self-proclaimed "one man National Geographic". He's visited a massive 101 countries and 150 UNESCO World Heritage sites to date.

Gary Arndt on Easter Island

What's the inspiration behind Everything Everywhere and what makes it unique?

I enjoy traveling and I enjoy sharing my experiences with people around the world. I try not to write the standard articles with top 10 lists or talk about places I've never visited. I also like to think I stamp things with my personality and that is what makes it unique.

You've been travelling since 2007, is there anywhere you haven't been and where's your favourite place so far?

There are MANY places I haven't been. Just to name a few big ones: Russia, China, India, and Brazil. I've been to a lot of really small islands and out of the way places so far, so I still have plenty of world left to explore.

As for a favorite place, I don't really have one. Different places can be good for different things. For my four-year travel anniversary I made a list of my favourite places in the world in many different categories.

How do you manage to keep your online activities organised while also enjoying being on the road?

It is difficult. It has been a particular issue for me the last three months as I've been traveling in Europe. You want to spend as much time experiencing the place you are visiting, but you also can't ignore your audience. I'm still trying to find a good balance.

You have one of the biggest travel blogs on the web - how is the business side of travel blogging going?

Better and better. I made a decision back in late 2007 when I decided to take this seriously that I wasn't going to sacrifice my long term goals for short term gains. I've purposely avoided things like sponsored posts, selling links and other things which I think aren't wise. I think this is now starting to pay off. Companies are getting used to the idea of working with bloggers and as the site grows, more and more opportunities are coming my way.

You're also known for your photography, what's your best image to date and what advice do you have for budding travel photographers?

Hard to pick a single favorite image. It is like picking a favorite child. I have a free ebook of my 50 favourite photos that people can check out if they'd like to see more. I'm going to update that soon to my 100 favourite photos.

My best advice is to get the best camera you can afford which gives you control over shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Also, use a tripod and use software like Lightroom to edit your photos before you publish them. Back in the days of film you had to work with an image in a darkroom and that hasn't changed. Only now the darkroom is a computer.

Where to next - physically and metaphorically?

I'm writing this on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands. In two days I'm off to New York for some meetings and then I'll visit Wisconsin to see my family. The next two months I'll be in North America working and speaking at some events. I hope to be in Antarctica this December.

***

Check out our other posts in the Industry Interview series:

• Industry Interview with Darren Cronian of Travel Rants
• Industry Interview with Sue Gough Henly

In July's Talking Travel we chat to Andrea and John Spirov of InspiringTravellers.com (JohnAndrea), a self-described "couple of nomadic thirtysomethings currently travelling the world full-time".

John and Andrea Spirov in Torres del Paine in Chile

How did you guys meet?

John was at the very end of two years of work and travel in Europe and had returned to a tiny little town at the bottom of Crete called Plakias. Andrea was visiting the same hostel with some friends from New York and we ended up in the same dorm room. We still find it incredible that we found each other there because the place is so remote.

We've been drooling over your mapped trip on Travellerspoint – what does your itinerary look like for the rest of 2011?

We've added Colombia to our itinerary and are looking forward to a couple of weeks there before we head to Europe. We're planning 10 days in Portugal, three weeks in Ireland, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a month in Croatia and almost three months in Central and Eastern Europe. In December we'll head to Japan.

How do you stay connected so you can blog on the road - especially in remote and developing locations?

We travel with a netbook and have found wireless internet to be pretty universal. We were able to stay connected even in some of the smaller towns in Bolivia. It's interesting how internet is a priority in developing countries - we see more internet cafes in South America than in Australia and parts of the US.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to travel around the world for a year?

If it's something you've been wanting to do, just plan it and go. Many people get weighed down with concerns about what friends and family will think or whether their career will be affected. Many employers today are sabbatical-friendly and travel can provide knowledge and skills that are invaluable in the workplace. We also recommend that you stay flexible. You may plan to visit several specific places but then discover that you love one part of the world so much that you want to spend most of your time there.

We meet you at the Travel Massive (formerly Travel Tribe) Christmas meetup in Melbourne. What did you think of the event and how important is connecting to a community while travelling?

We really enjoyed the event. It's always great to catch up with fellow travellers and having such a nice mix of bloggers, industry professionals and travel enthusiasts made for some very interesting conversations. We feel very connected to the travel community through our blog and have been fortunate enough to catch up with heaps of incredible people that we already felt like we "knew" from online. It's so fantastic to arrive in a city and meet up with someone to show us around the city or get together for a drink. We're always happy to do the same for fellow travellers when we're living in one place.

~

If you'd like to check out more of John and Andrea's inspiring content, visit their site or find them on Twitter and Facebook.

***

Check out these recent interviews in the Talking Travel series:

Talking Travel with Andre Frieden
Talking Travel with Vagamos
Talking Travel with Tracey (TTG)
Talking Travel with Zero Dean
Talking Travel with Vicki Hatfield

We're pleased to announce two new themes for the Travellerspoint blog stable.

The first is the Travellerspoint Default template you're seeing right now on our main blog. New users also get this as the standard when they sign up.

You'll notice the wider columns. Technology is constantly changing and screens are getting bigger - the new designs make more use of the available space. The white background also offers a nice canvas for you to now include large photos in your posts without worrying about the sidebar.

The Watercolour template features hand drawn illustrations and icons, and a subtle cloud background. Great for making those travel dreams a reality!

Travellerspoint Default

Watercolour

If you'd like to change the design of your blog to one of the new themes, simply click on 'Manage' or 'Settings' under the 'My blogs' section. Then click on 'Template' and select the new designs. Of course, you also have eight others to choose from.

Have blogging!

In the midst of the chaos surrounding the Stanley Cup Hockey Finals, Travel Blog Exchange took place on the 11-12 June in ultra-liveable Vancouver.

Sunset from Vancouver Seawalk

TBEX, as the industry refers to it, is an annual event bringing new media travel writers together from all other the globe. This year I attended on behalf of Travellerspoint, joining around 600 travel bloggers and industry folk. While I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into, being a seasoned conference goer I thought I’d have a faint idea. I was surprised; TBEX is a gathering like no other. The biggest brands in travel combine with travel blogging celebrities and their adoring aspirers.

The schedule was hectic – two full days of sessions on everything from non-fiction narrative to search engine optimisation. Not to forget the after-hours social schedule! Kim Mance from Galavanting was the perfect conference organiser bringing together the all-star cast. Speakers included Gary Arndt from Everything Everywhere, Don George from Gadling, Jen Leo from the LA Times, Robert Reid from Lonely Planet, Michael Yessis from World Hum, Mike Barish and Benny Lewis from Fluent in 3 Months to name a few.

Inside Vancouver Convention Centre

I caught some tips in the ‘Tell It Like It Is’ writing spot, which might help you with your travel blogging here at Travellerspoint. Spud Hilton from the SF Chronicle said travel writing should above all be fun. He likes writers who have opinions, depth and personality. He also banned using the words “charming” and “quaint”! Jim Byers from the Toronto Star suggested speaking in your own language and voice, and being specific about description and colour. Don’t say just blue but detail what kind of blue it is. Mike Yessis from World Hum recommended relating adjectives to something we all know and to think like a three year old.

Other highlights were the TNooz ‘Appy Hour Drinks on the Saturday evening, which we co-hosted by Travel Massive. Travel Massive holds regular travel meetups around the globe and Travellerspoint helps run the Melbourne events. It was great to be joined by fellow Travel Massive organisers from other cities and Ian Cumming from Sydney helped fly the Aussie flag with me.

L-R Lauren Nicholl San Francisco, Gene Quinn NYC, Kate Kendall (Me) Melbourne, Ian Cumming Sydney, Alicia Taggio Toronto

Overall, TBEX was a rewarding weekend and it was nice to get a taste of the travel industry out in force. I got to meet some amazing people who I’ve stayed in touch with post event, and visiting a beautiful country like Canada for the first time certainly topped it off.

To check out the action next year in Denver, Colorado, visit: www.travelblogexchange.com