We have all done reckless, stupid or plain silly things for the sake of a photo. A 77-year-old Judith Streng from Texas is no exception. She sat on an “ice throne” in Iceland to pose for a fun vacation snapshot. But when a wave dislodged the chunk of ice, it started drifting away from the shore and the lady almost got washed out to sea.
German tourist trampled to death after approaching elephants to take a photo
Last week in Zimbabwe, a German tourist was trampled to death by an elephant when she tried to get closer and take a photo of the animal. The officials said that the 49-year-old woman was attacked by the elephant, and she later succumbed to her injuries.
Two families got in a fight in Rome over the perfect place for a selfie
What’s the best way to ensure that you’ll get the perfect selfie at a famous landmark? Well, smack whoever tries to take that ideal spot you picked! Of course, I’m not being serious here, but two women at Trevi Fountain in Rome actually got into a fight over a selfie. And what’s more, even their families got involved and the police had to intervene.
Sometimes, maybe, you should just put your camera away
I’m not even 18 years old and I’m so far away from my parents. It’s the first time that I’ve gone this far. I’m two-thousand kilometres away from home, in Barcelona. I’m wandering the streets with a couple of friends, unable to concentrate on them and our conversation because I’m completely enchanted by everything I see. It feels like this huge, beautiful city is hugging me, while I smile at everyone and everything: people, buildings, trees, and cars. Everything looks so much better than it does back home. Everything seems idyllic, seems just right.
I have recently acquired my first digital camera. And when I manage to snap out of the delirium, I take photos of pretty much everything – because everything seems worth capturing, everything seems freakin’ amazing!
Tourists waste too much time trying to get the perfect holiday snap. Try these tips and get back to enjoying your break.
I do love these ‘research findings’ that drop into my inbox periodically. I get all sorts, from ‘Brits value their digital photos more than their cars’ to ‘Customers more likely to have nude pictures printed on canvas rather than cars.’ (The syntax is dreadful there. They didn’t mean that canvas was a more likely medium for a nude print than a car; rather that people were more inclined to print nudes as opposed to photos of cars.) But the latest one suggests that tourists are getting frustrated trying to take photos of tourist hotspots because of tourist overcrowding. When you’ve recovered from the irony overload there, I’ll continue. [Read More…]
This video shows the danger of sharing photos of your favorite location on social media
Thanks to social media, we have seen particular locations across the world grow insanely popular. Sadly, this same popularity has also made these locations prone to damage, or even being destroyed by visitors. This sad video from vlogbrothers shows just how dangerous it can be to share photos of your favorite place with the entire world.
Tourist accidentally photographs an engagement, uses Facebook to track down the couple
The power of social media amazes me sometimes. A recent quest for a couple who accidentally ended up in a tourist’s photo show exactly how powerful Facebook and other social networks can be.
Martin Cervantes, an Argentinian amateur photographer living in Brisbane, visited Sydney for a weekend. As he walked from Tamarama Beach to Bondi Beach, he was taking photos as he always does. He later realized that he captured an engagement of an unknown couple. He shared the photos on Facebook, trying to track them down with the help of the community. And in only a day – the happy couple was found.
India requires license for photographers so they don’t “pester” visitors in protected monuments
Have you already been to India and photographed Taj Mahal and other famous monuments? If you haven’t, from now on you may need a license to do it. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is changing their photography policy, and they will soon require photographers to be licensed if they want to operate commercially in India’s protected monuments.
Unlike the Swiss village that banned photography, this isn’t a PR trick. The reason for this move by ASI is to prevent freelance photographers from “pestering” the visitors who want to take photos.
Swiss village bans photography so people don’t have the “fear of missing out”
A resort village of Bergün/ Bravuogn in Switzerland recently implemented quite an unusual ban. The local council has announced that, from now on, it’s forbidden to take photos of this picturesque village. Anyone who gets caught taking pictures will be issued a symbolic fine of 5 CHF (around $5), and the reason – they want to stop people from feeling miserable.
“What sense does it make,” you may ask. According to the Facebook post on the resort’s page, “it is scientifically proven that beautiful holiday photos shared on social media cause the viewers to feel miserable because they are not in that place. And Bergün is so lovely that there are only beautiful photos.” So, this strange move serves to prevent anyone from feeling sad because they’re missing out.
German tourist dies while taking a “flying selfie” at Machu Picchu in Peru
They say that two things are certain in life; Death and taxes. Taxes we can’t do anything about, but I don’t think anybody until now realised just how many of those entirely preventable deaths could be attributed to shooting selfies.
You just can’t seem to go very long these days without hearing about another one. Some countries seem to be attempting to do something about this, and it would probably be wise for other countries to follow their lead.
