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Tauck App

sudhamali

Prepandemic I used Tauck App which detailed itinerary;once the tour started we also had the list of other guests ;contact for tour director and itinerary with hotel information etc.It almost replaced the now extinct green book.So whatever happened to the app post pandemic?

Comments

Smiling Sam

Tauck App - RIP!

AlanS

Tauck promised a new and improved App sometime in the future.

BKMD

You can install the new app from the floppy disk included inside the back cover of your Green Book.

British

😂😂😂

Claudia Sails

Nice to know the flagger doesn't approve humor. Sad.

BKMD

Claudia - the flagger is the rare person on one of your trips that everyone tries to stay away from because of their sourpuss attitude.

PF606590

who has a floppy disc reader? That is so 20th century

British

That was the joke.

BKMD

PF606590

who has a floppy disc reader?

Mine is on a shelf, right next to my 8-track player.

Images_Quirky_Eye

Hi guys! BTW, camera technology has changed since the last time I posted. We're scheduled for American Legends in June. Apple, by the way, just introduced a new computer chip, kind of interesting, even if you are not a techie. The new chip is said to put Intel in the rear view mirror. Apple spent billions of dollars to make a new chip and they might be positioned to dominate another industry.

Don't get mad at me for posting this off topic -- just welcome me back. After all, you're talking about 8 track players! LOL

Doug

British

Hello Welcome back Doug! Still have your photo framed and hanging in my house! Best wishes!
Have you managed to travel anywhere during the Pandemic!

Images_Quirky_Eye

Well, Vermont. Got to know my Vermont Cousin-in-Law and I taught a multi-month course with the extended family up there on beginning photography, Lightroom and Photoshop, starting online, then me going up there for a few days to do a workshop.

Got to drive their humongous tractor and sample the rural lifestyle. Did add some photos to my website if anyone is interested (imagesfromthequirkyeye.com) -- not as exciting as exotic places, but have to keep the shutter finger well-oiled. LOL.

Big changes have occurred with professional level cameras. E.g. they are now able to use artificial intelligence to home in on the pupils of eyes -- the eye of a bird in flight, and nail the autofocus. The technology has been there for a while but not matured. Now -- you can almost be assured of getting that wedding kiss or bouquet toss with razor sharp focus -- and that's the money shot for pros. So, pros are having to convert to the new technology, giving up tens of thousands of dollars of old equipment. Interesting paradigm shift..

BKMD

Nice to hear from you, Doug. was wondering what happened to you.

Personally, I'm sorry to hear about Apple's "success." To me, their proprietary everything and control-freakiness is a big turnoff and I have never and will never buy an Apple product.

Images_Quirky_Eye

Let's see if I can still upload. Here's a classic New England scene I took this month. Lake Waramaug, Connecticut.

Images_Quirky_Eye

I hear you and understand. Aside from those feelings that many of us have, nerds are saying the new processor, catapulted computer technology, broke Moore's Law, and might actually be a paradigm shift -- make everything "smarter" in the years ahead -- shudder. OMG!, my wife already talks to Alexa. LOL. It's sort of the mRNA of the computer world.

sudhamali

Wow!Amazing picture.

British

Will the flagger stop flagging. The above photos is beautiful

BSP51

The flagger is a moron. Too stupid to stop.

Nancy

Just visited your website…stunning photos! It brought back memories of our Portrait of India trip nearly 10 years ago! Thank you for sharing the website!

Images_Quirky_Eye

Thank you so very much Nancy.

That particular trip was the one that I believe I grew the most in my skills as a photographer. It was mentored by a Nobel Prize winning photographer named Jay Dickman, and our group was only 4 students. I hold dear the people that we met, particularly in rural areas, way off the beaten path, who were kind enough to allow their photos to be taken. Our guide claimed he was able to tell both the religion and where individuals came from by their clothing.

I think the images from that trip solidified my interest in portrait photography.

sudhamali

Images_quirky_Eye : What equipment do you use?What do you recommend for amateur photographer to take to Galapagos? Thanks

Smiling Sam

Sudhamali - Remember, one of the cameras you need for the Galapagos is an underwater camera. You go snorkeling every day.

British

It’s hard to get decent under water photos

Images_Quirky_Eye

Thank you for the question, sudhamali!

Let me give a personal opinion. It's the Indian, usually, not the arrow. You can take pretty good pictures with a cell phone, for that matter, although I do not -- I need more control -- but I'm trying to be more like a working professional photographer. I think, if one is going to try to make great photos, one needs to control a lot of variables -- and a lot of cameras will allow you that:

You need S = Story. You image needs to tell an interesting STORY. Even better, if you can do a sequence of pictures, with a beginning, middle, and conclusion, you will generate tons of interest in your work.
C = Camera and Composition. If you can learn Composition -- the Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, Vanishing points -- that will professionalize your photos. If you can learn to operate your Camera -- first, Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority, then Manual Mode, then you can control blur, blur in the background, low light, and so on.
A = Angle and Distance. Learn to take subjects from high vantage points, low (for kids especially), from their right side, left side, and even back. Learn to use your FEET instead of a zoom lens, and find out why that is better for the composition of your shot. Learn to take side portraits, for example; or getting up on stairs or high points for unusual shots.
L = Light. Learn to distinguish what is BEAUTIFUL light -- the Golden Hour, the Blue hour, taking portraits in the shade, under cloudy skies; learn how to intensify your colors with great light. Learn how to use artificial light correctly -- avoid using strobes incorrectly, getting "deer in the headlight" photos. Use strobes for FILL light for ambient light, and meter for the ambient light.
E = Emotion. Learn how to find the exact moment to press the shutter -- the moment when ACTION reaches a CLIMAX. Learn how to elicit EMOTION IN YOUR VIEWER by learning how to become an advanced photographer understanding and using the above variables.

This is my own paradigm, which I call SCALE. SO when you become proficient in considering these factors before you shoot or as you shoot, you'll be able to more and more nail those take home images.

On the other hand, one may not wish to bother with all this, and, as we have said many times, **just enjoy the experience of the moment in being a Tauck traveler.
**
I don't know anything about the Galapagos. I've watched Joel Sartare in a Nat Geo video show the equipment needed to take underwater photos of merit. Basically, it's nearly impossible. The water is so unclear, light falls off as the square of the distance, there's so much particulate matter in the water (I used to scuba dive when younger), that if you want really good images, it takes thousands of dollars in camera and lighting equipment. On the other hand, you can use inexpensive submersible cameras and just have a lot of fun photographing your kids and other creatures to memoriialize your trip.

To answer your equipment question, I've used many different cameras and systems over the years. For my Africa and India pictures, I used the Olympus system, which is a Micro Four Thirds, light system good for travel. Leopard In A Tree was taken with an Olympus 850 mm equivalent lens, and the sensor was relatively small -- but, it was great. So don't get too hung up on sensor size.

But currently, I am using a big and heavy pro level system with a full size sensor.

Hope this sheds some understanding on your question.

sudhamali

Thanks for the detailed information.I am still debating whether to stick with cellphone or take my Sony camera with all the different lenses!

Images_Quirky_Eye

Tough choice -- especially if your carry-on limit is 15 pounds! LOL. -- and your spouse has to put up with you.

AlanS

Advice from a hacker- before you go out and spend a lot of money on new camera gear, decide on your primary reason for being where you are- are you there to

#1 see and experience new, interesting, and exotic people, places and things, first hand, with your own eyes?, or

#2 to take the best photos that your camera can capture and document as much as you can so you can relive the experience in the future?

Personally, I don't think you can do both with the same level of success, so you must decide your on your priorities and be willing to accept less from one or the other, and sometimes from both. Some folks end up being disappointed when they don't do a decent job of either- they miss significant things ("I didn't see that! How did I miss it?!?!?) or have a bunch of photos that are mediocre at best. This can easily happen, especially for new, inexperienced photographers, or those who are not familiar with new gear purchased for the trip.

Each person has his own interests and there is no right or wrong answer. There is a spectrum- from those who eschew cameras entirely, use their eyes and ears to soak up everything, and may or may not just purchase photos and memorabilia- to those who are happy teking a few photos with their phone, to those who spend their entire trip looking through a small viewfinder or display screen of a high-end camera and are focused on one small segment of what appears before them, yet miss the big picture.

Who can find what I totally missed in this rather mediocre at best photo of the Victoria Falls Bridge? I didn't see it until I was reviewing my photos months later? Hint, it is not the faint rainbow in the lower left. I got more rainbow in the second photo, but still not much.

As far as the Galapagos, as Sam said, you might need to consider an U/W camera or U/W housing- both can be expensive. And, unless you are a good swimmer and confident snorkeler, don't expect much from your photos. You'll need a combination of clear water, sunny skies, and ability to get up very close (within inches) to your underwater subjects!

BKMD

AlanS - Is that Waldo in the pic?

AlanS

sudhamali

Thanks for all the comments.Neither a swimmer onto a snorkeler.But blessed with a spouse who has put up with me for a few decades.Taking less is what we are favoring.