IN THIS ISSUE
Tips For Taking City Pictures Using Double-Decker Buses

End of Summer Sale on All Your Vacation Pictures - Good For Proofs, Enlargements & Photo Books


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Dear ,

Here's an easy way to get around when you want to photograph cities, both here in the U.S. and abroad:

Use the hop-on/hop-off tourist buses in your destination city!


You'll find these brightly colored buses in cities around the world. They'll simplify your transportation, get you to the best locations…and save you money.

Tour buses offer a flexible solution for photographers in big cities:

  • The buses' open, upper decks provide a good picture-taking platform.
  • Get on or off the bus as many times as you want.
  • You will be able to structure your time to your shooting schedule...not a tour guide's.
    • Shoot where you want, when you want, for as long as you want.
    • Most buses do an entire route in 1 - 1.5 hours, leaving you plenty of time to get off and take pictures “on the ground.”
  • You’ll lock in your transportation costs, even in expensive cities.

I’ll be sharing my observations on how my wife and I used hop-on, hop-off buses in Paris. But, the same approach will work in any city, anywhere.

I hope you find these tips useful on your next vacation!

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Your vacation pictures deserve to be printed!

Our End-of-Summer Vacation Print Sale

Save 15% on your vacation photos from now until the end of September.

Just key in “Summer Vacation Pictures” in our iPrints.com “ Any Special Instructions?” window (or, if you order through ROES in Instructions…)

We'll take off 15% of your print charges in our lab. This offer is good until September 30th for proofs, enlargements and photo books* See details at the end of this newsletter.


Best regards,
Dale

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Tips For Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus Photography
Do A Little Research From Home

Run a Google search using the term “on off bus tour _______”, with the underlined space being the city you’re visiting.

  • Prices will generally run somewhere between $40 and $55 for a 48 hour pass in most cities worldwide.
    • Though this may seem pricey, it is generally less than it will cost for expensive cabs or two day's parking in city centers.
  • There will probably be more than one company offering the tours.
    • These companies have already researched the best sites to tour.
      • But...cross check the bus routes using other online travel sites that show you pictures of city highlights. This will help you determine which company or routes to select.
    • Check the star reviews to see which bus companies will best suit your needs.

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Keep Your Plans Flexible

  • My Suggestion: Don't purchase your tickets before you arrive in the city or at least have a reliable weather forecast.
    • The value of being on the top deck of a double-decker bus is weather dependent.
      • Why spend the money for the bus...which though reasonable isn't cheap...if you're going to end up visiting museums and not taking outdoor pictures?
      • On the other hand...discounts are offered if you book online. So, you decide whether you want to "gamble" on the weather or save money!
    • We found that it was easy to purchase our tickets on the bus. You may also find discounted bus packages at your hotel.
    • Be sure to have local currency, as U.S. credit cards may not be a purchase option on some buses.
    • Exception: If you check on the Internet and find that tours are sold out well in advance you may want to purchase your tickets online before your trip.
  • Consider purchasing a two-day, 48 hour pass. The second day will cost only a few dollars more than a single day.
    • Check for discounts for seniors, children, students or military if you fall into those categories.
  • Look into whether you can combine a bus and a river tour. Some cities have both and nearly every major city has a river that runs through it.

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Scout Good Shooting Locations First...Return Later For Shooting at Ground Level

I like to do a complete circuit on the bus to view all the places it covers.
  • I take note of the best shooting locations along the way and which of the bus' stops are closest to each site.
  • This is my “one-hour” photo safari.
  • From there I do a 2nd loop and get off the bus to reach my chosen shoot locations. 

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When You're on the Bus
  • Try to sit on the upper deck in an outside seat. (Nobody between you and your subjects.)
  • My wife, Elaine, took pictures on the
    left side of the bus. I covered the right.
    Take pictures only over the side of the bus you're on. Shooting across the bus will just give you pictures with the tops of people's heads!
  • Work with a partner, with one of you shooting from an outside seat on each side of the bus.  Or...
  • Take two circuits, sitting on alternate sides.
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Shooting Suggestions

Choice of Camera -

  • Lighter is better. Consider using a small, fast-focusing point-and-shoot camera for shooting from the bus rather than a large dSLR. (Use your dSLR for ground compositions.)
  • Zoom capability is essential. 
    • I shot with a Leica V-Lux 3 ($799.) It had a viewfinder and offered zooms from from 25 to 600mm (equivalent) with sharp, pro-quality pictures. The V-Lux weighed just 1.25 lbs.
    • My wife used a Leica V-Lux 40 point-and-shoot ($699), with a zoom range of 24mm - 480mm and a weight of only 7 ounces.

Taking Pictures -
  • Anticipate your next shot - You have to shoot fast from a moving bus. By looking ahead you'll be able to shoot at the precise split-second to get a good composition. 
  • Keep your pictures level - Utilizing the "Rule-of-Thirds" grid on point-and-shoot cameras makes leveling pictures easy.
    Use This Grid on Your Camera
  • Capture details of buildings. Include people to show scale.

  • See the world from a higher angle.You'll be amazed at how easy it is to get nice shots from the upper deck of a bus!

Photography Through Tinted Bus Windows -
  • Set your camera to auto white balance. Newer cameras do a great job at zeroing out the windows' colored tint. Our lab's color corrections can help to clean up the color even more. 
  • Check your photos for glare and change your shooting angle, if necessary.

Get Off the Bus! - 

You’ll find your best pictures are often taken at ground level. So, take what you can from the bus and then mix your picture collection with shots on the ground.
Street Photography Shows A City's Life

A Word of Caution - Bad things can happen when you're on a fast-moving platform that is unprotected from tree branches and other objects. 

Paris was a city with 10,000 perfectly groomed trees…except for one.

A branch from that tree hit the windshield of our bus and snapped back, hitting me directly across the bridge of my nose. I received a couple cuts and looked like I was on the wrong end of a bar-fight. The fact is that I could have lost an eye. I was lucky!

Please be aware of your surroundings and stay well inside the bus when you see potential hazards!


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Printing Suggestions

Proofs and Enlargements:

It honestly makes sense to print your best images.

Making prints is the only way you can be sure to save what is an important life event. (Hard drives will fail, formats will change and digital is not forever.)

I suggest you print at least your key pictures...such as the once-in-a-lifetime shots of you and loved ones visiting a special place.


Photo Books:

A city tour can make an excellent photo book. Include a selection of your best pictures and you'll have a wonderful conversation piece to share with friends.
Front Cover
Two Page Spreads Using Our Easy Drag & Drop Template Designs

Our photo books are unique because they're printed on Kodak professional photographic paper (rather than plain paper like consumer books.) So, your books will display the same pro quality as your enlargements.

Best yet, our photo books are inexpensive. A 10 page book (one double-page more than shown here) is just $18.95!

You can design a photo book online in about a half an hour! Just drag-and-drop your images into any of dozens of layouts we provide.

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Our End of Summer Vacation Print Sale: 15% Off All Sizes...Including Metallic & Photo Books

Order any size prints, enlargement or photo books of your vacation shots.*

Just key in "Summer Vacation Pictures" in our iPrints.com "Any Special Instructions?" window or on ROES' " Instructions..." box when you check out.

We'll take off 15% of your charge in our lab. Though you'll see our regular prices online your final charge will be 15% less. This offer is good until September 30, 2012.

I promise you top-quality, color-corrected prints on all your print sizes. You snap the pictures...we'll do the rest!


Best wishes,

Dale
Dale Farkas
President, iPrints.com & iPrintsPro.com
(Online services of Dale Laboratories)

Questions? Call (800) 327-1776. We're here to help!

P.S. Your feedback is very helpful! Would you let me know what you think of this and other newsletters? Feel free to comment on our laboratory services, give testimonials or make suggestions on sales you'd like us to offer.  Thanks...in advance!

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*These sale prices do not include mounting & texturing services, photo albums or discounted pro prints for photo albums. Standard shipping charges apply.

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