Tag Archives: National Park

VW Vanlife in Kenya

Photo of my family at a campsite in Kenya with our VW Van

This is a photo (by my father) of my early experience with vanlife. My family took this VW Van in Kenya when I was a kid. We only spent a couple weeks in Kenya before living in Nigeria for a school year.

I remember at one point getting stuck in a dried out riverbed in a game park after having passed a small herd of elephants just a short while before. We had to get out and push the van free and watch it zoom forward to safe ground while I thought about the elephants getting curios and deciding to see what the fuss was about. It was quite fun once I was back in the van.

Related: Exploring Vanlife in the USACheetahs in KenyaKenya Game Park Safari photosElephants, Kenya (on a later trip)

Vietnam War Memorial, Washington DC

Vietnam War Memorial reflecting visitors, trees and the Washington Monument

Photo of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC. Most of the photo shows a reflection in the shining granite of the memorial. The memorial has the names of those Americans killed during the war engraved into the face (which can be seen in the photo if you look closely).

If you look closely you can see a reflection of the Washington Monument.

Related: Arlington National CemeteryRice Drying on the Street, Hoi An, VietnamWhite House West Wing Entrance

Common Sandpiper, Tanjung Piai National Park, Malaysia

4 common sandpipers running on the beach

Common sandpipers on the beach in Tanjung Piai National Park – the Southernmost Point in Continental Asia (near Johor Bahru, Malaysia and Singapore).

The Birds look like they are the “common sandpiper” to me but please comment if you have an accurate identification.

Related: White Raptor near Manaus, BrazilEgyptian Geese for Sale Outside CairoOrangutan with a Baby Orangutan in a Tree, BorneoPetronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

How to Frame Photos of People Well

Most of the posts on this blog are just photos. This post is a bit different in that it is a post about taking photos.

I actually owned a camera that used film. The barrier to talking multiple photos was much greater then – not only the cost but also you only have so many shots left so you can’t “waste” too many. Digital cameras are great for quite a few reasons but one of the best is how easy it is to just snap a bunch of photos and hope some are great.

You really can make quite a bit better photos without much effort. Just paying a bit of attention to good photos can help a great deal.

John Hunter at Bryce National Park

John Hunter, Bryce National Park

One thing I find amusing is selfies actually take advantage of something good photographers knew a long time ago. To get good photos of people put them in the foreground. You still see it today, but it was much more common (like 98% of these type of photos), where the people are tiny dots next to some tourist attraction. Selfies go a bit overboard with putting the person in the foreground (most of the time) but they are often better than the tiny dot people photos.

I still remember the photo a professional photographer took of my grandparents at their house where I saw this lesson and have remembered it since. The people were put at the front of the yard so they took up a good 50% of the photo but it was staged to capture their home of 40 years. So often this type of photo is with the people little dots in front of the house with the framing of the house nearly the same.

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Orangutan with a Baby Orangutan in a Tree

Orangutan in tree with a baby

This photo of an Orangutan with baby was taken by John Hunter at Semenggoh National Park in Borneo, Malaysia. See more photos, information and a video of these 2 orangutans.

The photos on this blog are by John Hunter. See many more of my photos organized by tag at Curious Cat Photos.

Related: Grasshopper Eating a LeafElephants at a salt lick in KenyaLintang Trail, Bako National Park, Sarawak, Borneo

White Fungi on Tree Trunk

photo of white fungi growing on tree trunk

Santubong Jungle Trek, Mount Santubong, Damai, Borneo, Malaysia.

Quite a wonderful hike that is very steep as you climb to the summit (the longest steep climb I have ever done, by far). This photo is taken on the trail that runs along the base of the mountain.

Related: Orangutans in Sarawak, BorneoLintang Trail, Bako National Park, Sarawak, BorneoFungus on Tree, Appalachian Trail, USA

Candi Sewu, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

photo of Candi Sewu entrance

Sewu temple is the second largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia, Borobudur is the largest. The Sewa temple is located in the Prambanan temple complex in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (about 1 km away from Prambanan temple). They are rebuilding many of the temples on the site which now lie in ruins.

Candi Sewu was likely built in the 8th century as the royal palace at the end of the Rakai Panangkaran kingdom.

Related: Buddha Statues, Borobudur Temple, Java, IndonesiaBanteay Srei temple, CambodiaGrand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

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Vista of Rocky Mountains

View of Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountain National Park is as wonderful as you would expect. Amazing views, great hiking. Wonderful place. This photo is from the Calapyso Cascade trail (starting from the Allens Park trailhead), which is a great hike.

Related: View of Rocky Mountains from Mesa Trail, Boulder, ColoradoCliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park