Aurora Borealis: Top 10 Viewing Places

On April 13th, it was predicted that New Jersey would had prime seat for Aurora Borealis. Me and my photographer friends got excited and decided to catch this incredible opportunity. I've always wanted to see Aurora Borealis. I've imagined seeing green and purple lights appear in the sky. I translated my imagination onto paper and created this color pencil drawing "Man at the South Pole".

 

 

We drove to Seven Lakes where it's far from the city. It was a pretty chilly night and to my surprise, any photographers were gathered there awaiting for Aurora Borealis. It was reported to be visible at 8 pm but there weren't anything in the sky until 9:30 pm. We had to head back since it was getting late. But I researched on places to see Aurora Borealis because I want to make a trip to there one day.

 

So here are the top 10 places to see it (Information found Fodor's Travel Intelligence):

1. Norway: The northern town of Tromsø teems with Aurora Borealis activity when those extended summer days are long gone. Its location above the Arctic Circle, and within the Northern Lights zone, makes it one of the top places to view shimmering green lights.
2. Sweden: The area around Abisko in Swedish Lapland is scientifically proven to be an ideal viewing spot due to a unique micro-climate. Close to Abisko National Park, the dark winter night is perfect for sky watching.
3. Finland: Head to Luosto in Northern Finland to the Aurora Chalet where, upon arrival, you’ll be handed an "Aurora Alarm" which beeps once Northern Lights appear. In the nearby town of Sodanklya, the Northern Lights Research Center relays your message via the hotel.
4. Iceland: Leave the bustling nightlife of the capital city and head out into the wide open plains of Þingvellir National Park—a UNESCO Heritage Site where the North American and Eurasian continental plates meet to cause a rift valley.
5. Alaska: Alaska’s location within "the zone" means you’re almost guaranteed to see spectacular light displays. Be sure to move further away from city lights of Fairbanks into the region’s vast wilderness areas of Denali and the Yukon Territory.
6. Canada: Areas around pristine Lake Superior in Ontario and Northern Canada’s tundra backcountry are prime viewing spots. Head to the town of Whitehorse within the Yukon Territory to best see the swirling lights.
7. Greenland: Greenland still remains a final frontier for the average traveler and from its interior ice remains optimal location, however more accessible areas south and east of Greenland provide just as good viewing opportunities.
8. Scotland: The British isles are known for stormy, foggy, and cloudy weather—far from ideal conditions for observing the sky, but on those rare occasions when thick cloud covers break momentarily during dark winter months, you’ve got a good chance of witnessing the display in parts of Scotland's north.
9. Russia: In Northern Russia, you’ve got a good chance of seeing Aurora Borealis. The Kola Peninsula’s proximity to the Northern Lights zone also makes it a key area and the town of Murmansk is a popular base . . . if you can handle the below freezing temperatures of a typical Siberian winter.
10. Denmark: North of Scotland between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic, the Faroe Island archipelago is mostly known for puffins and Viking folklore. While its stormy weather mimics that of the British Isles, visitors to this Denmark-owned province could also see the iridescent lights.

 

These places are listed in my travel list for the next 10 years. 

 

World Traveler: Lao Mo

If you are wondering how people choose their career as a world traveler, this is the post you need to read. Haoquan Mo is a professional photographer in China. He publishes his photos under the alias of “Lao Mo”. Lao Mo graduated with an Interior Design major; however, he had always been interested in Photography. He was an active member of a photography club in college, and once in a while he would get paid to do portrait photo shoots for other people. He travels around the world when he has some money saved up. I honored to be introduced to him through a photographer friend. I interviewed Lao Mo through RenRen (Chinese version of Facebook). Our interview conversation is translated from Chinese.

Q: I know that you've always loved photography, but what was the turning point that made you choose to be a full time photographer?
A: I got a chance to work in my aunt’s photography studio when I was a junior. It was amazing to use those professional equipment and work with professional photographers. My job was to take street shots of people in fashionable clothes. I did what I loved to do and it was interactive; I met many interesting people while working. So I thought taking photos is what I do in most of my spare time anyways, so why not make it full time!
 
Q: How did you start doing travel photography?
A: My aunt’s studio was doing a project for a travel magazine so we traveled to Taiwan for that. That trip really got me into travel photography. It’s such an awesome combination of what I love to do!

 Q: Do you usually travel with a travel agency or do you plan your own trip and travel alone?
A: I prefer traveling alone or with few close friends, but not with travel agencies and a big group though.

Q: Why is that?
A: Well… travel agency makes everything a lot easier, but I would like to have the freedom to manage my time and do what I enjoy doing. With a big group, I need to go visit places where I’m not interested in. And one time when I was in Italy, I saw a beautiful architecture and wanted to take a few shots of it so I told the tour guide to wait for me for 5 minutes. I don’t remember how long I took because I always get lost in time when taking photos, and when I got back to where the bus was, there was no one. I had to take a taxi back to our hotel and it cost me a lot of money. That was when I realized photographers like me should not go with a group. So I told my tour guide that I won’t be with the group in the remaining of the trip and that worked out.

Q: That was interesting! What’s your favorite country among all the countries you’ve been to?
A: I have to say that every country is unique in its own way. I enjoy most of my trips because I get to learn new cultures and try new food… I love dining in local restaurants! My favorite one is the trip to Thailand. It was an awesome experience. Thailand is a country full of the influence of traditional culture, so everywhere I go I hear stories about that place. And also I love Thai food. I spend a whole day in a street market eating local snacks and buying souvenirs. Of course I also took many amazing pictures. Thailand is a beautiful country.

Q: That sounds fun! Last question… what do you think is the most important thing to keep in mind while planning a trip?
A: I would say knowing the season of your destination is very important. Some countries like Thailand can get pretty hot in April, so if you aren't use to the heat you will not have a enjoyable trip. Some places might still be cold in June and you want to make sure you are ready for it. Try to visit the country during its best season I would suggest.
It was great to chat with a world traveler and hear his experience in traveling. Hope his suggestions are useful to you all. 

Follow Me

Nowadays, social media are becoming part of people's lives by changing ways people communicate. People no longer communicate with only who they know but also to whom they have never met. They share ideas and experiences with others through words and images and others can exchange thoughts through same ways.

Due to the characteristics of social media, a platform for free expression without the constrain of time and location, they are widely used by world travelers. A collaboration of social media and photography is Instagram. Instagram is listed as one of the most useful application for travelers because it can instantly add effects to your photos and make them look like taken by pros, and share them with your followers to update where you have been. Recently a series of pictures of a girl leading the photographer into different historical sites became popular on Intagram.

Check out more photos here. 

 

The photographer is Murad Osmann. He graduated as a civil engineer from Imperial College London, but later he started his own production company Hype Production. His girlfriend Natalia is a Russian journalist. He explained what inspired him,

The first photo happened accidentally in Barcelona when Natalia and Murad were on vacation. "Nataly was a bit annoyed that I was always taking pictures of everything, so she grabbed my hand and tried to pull me forward," he explained to The Daily Mail UK.

This group of photos brought him 50,000 followers on Instagram and many people start taking traveling pictures in the "follow me" style.

A Grasshopper's Thought

Remember my blog post "Sites Filmed in Movies and TV Shows"? In the post I talked about how liking a movie or a TV show could inspire you to visit the place where it's filmed. I found a blog post with similar idea on "Globalgrasshopper". It's called "10 Movies that'll Make You Want to Visit London".

I was attracted by this name "Globalgrasshopper"; I knew that it's not like any other travel blogs. Globalgrasshopper is run by a couple from the UK, Gray and Becky. Both Gray and Becky are obsessed with traveling and tracing their footprints with photography. Gray is a professional web and graphic designer, and also a travel photographer. And Becky enjoys writing, which made them a perfect team to run this blog. Besides them, there are other world travelers and explorers from around the world who write for Globalgrasshoppers. Such as this post, "10 Movies that'll Make You Want to Visit London", is written by Priscilla Blossom, a US travel writer.

In the post she introduced 10 old and new movies that are filmed in London. Most of them are quite well known in the world such as Mary Poppins, Notting Hill, Love Actually and Skyfall. My personal favorite of these reconmendations is Notting Hill. Regardless of the love story between an actress and a bookstore keeper, the town gives people a feeling of home, thus I want to visit there indeed. The good news is that she had included the real name of the town and also recommended a hotel to stay in. Besides that, she suggested the near-by sites that people can visit without going out of their way. Other movie locations were also introduced like this one.

I'm glad to find someone who also have a feeling about the connection between movies and traveling. Hopefully I can go on a journey like this one day! 

The Jobs that You Can Do

Will you take a job that allows you to travel all over the world? I will for sure! 

I've always wondered what job will support world traveling and today when I was on StumbleUpon, I came across an article called "45 Great Jobs You Can Do While Traveling The World And How To Get Them" and I want to share it with you guys. 45 jobs! Wow... I could only think of 3 before reading it. The jobs that are listed includes Freelance Travel Writing, Travel Blogging, Flight Attendant, Peace Corps, Interpreter, Online Poker Player, Freelance Photographer, Travel Agent, ESL Teacher and many more. My personal two favorite jobs listed are Peace Corps Volunteer and Freelance Photographer. 

The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States government. The stated mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance; helping people outside the United States to understand American culture; and helping Americans to understand the cultures of other countries. I want to spend some time to do volunteer work at some point of my life, and it would be ideal to volunteer in a foreign country. Freelance Photographers are self employed. They first make a picture and then offer it for sale or display. 

These experiences are unique and meaningful, and I hope one of them could be achieved while having the freedom to travel. 

"First Times" During Spring Break

Spring break was awesome fun. It wasn't long enough though...

I enjoyed many things during Spring break, and I had some FIRST TIME experiences that made the break memorable.

I mentioned the road trip in my previous blog posts and to be honest it was awesome! I was so excited before departing and in fact everyone was. We had two cars, 8 people totally, driven down to Virginia Beach. We drove through the whole Delaware and it was interesting to see the towns and houses and how different they are from New Jersey. We made three stops on the way and I met some interesting people there. I was ordering a Softy ice cream  from McDonald's and the guy who was taking my order asked me "For here or to go?" I replied "Any difference?" He laughed and said that he had to ask that question for every order he takes and he wasn't sure if that applies for ice cream orders also. "It's my first week" he said. Small talk like this lightens up my day.

We took Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Virginia Beach. It is a bridge that connects Virginia's Eastern Shore with the Virginia mainland at Virginia Beach near Norfolk. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel showcases the mighty surge of the Atlantic Ocean, the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay, and the soaring grace of an engineering marvel. The picture on the left was taken in the tunnel. 

During the break, I went for Mini Golf for the first time in my life and I loved it! I never thought that I would enjoy golfing because it's not competitive like track or basketball. But Mini Golf is actually really relaxing and fun. 

The last "first time" is that I saw sunrise and sunset in one day. I always loved to see sunrise and sunset, and I think that they are the prettiest stage of the sun, but I've never seen them in one day. One reason is that it's hard for me to get up that early and still be awake when the sun sets, and another reason is that I've never been in a great location that I can see both clearly. In Virginia Beach, I saw the sunrise by the ocean on the east and sun set by the bay on the west.


"First Times" is memorable. I'm glad to have these first time experiences through out my break. Of course I have also caught up with my sleep and had amazing meals. Anyways, school had started and hope you all are refreshed from the break! Have a great week!

Photographic Memories

Photographers express themselves through photos; photography is a way to record what they see and feel during traveling. The girl in this picture is Xiaoyun Luo, a photographer as well as a world traveler.

Luo likes to travel alone and she is known for her self portraits in those travel photos. The photos were taken in many different countries such as France, Japan, Brazil, England, Greece and Spain. 

These photos look like that they were taken by others (but obviously they are not since she travels alone), because none of them are head shots like the pictures that you get from holding a phone/camera against you. Her photos highlight backgrounds of landscapes and architectures. 

She said that the pictures were taken on a tripod with self-timer. I found this to be inspiring. I don't usually carry my tripod when I go out because I thought that it's an extra weight to carry and it takes a lot of time to set up. But the pictures do turn out much nicer than asking a random person to take photos for you. 

Photography is an Art. It captures your perspectives. It freezes time and reminds me of how I felt in a particular moment. Travel is often short and goes by quick when you enjoy yourself, but I always make it a point to take a lot of pictures so that I may relive those moments over and over again!

Fly Like a Kite

This morning I saw a friend’s status saying: 

"Here's where I've been when I was 5, 10, 15 and 20 years old: London, UK; London, UK; London, UK; New Jersey, US." 

Many people shared the post and traced their own footprint along with it. I thought that was very interesting because I realized that I was in three different countries at those ages. So here goes mine, 

"Qingdao, China; Grimsby, UK; Qingdao, China; New Jersey, US.” 

I’m imagining writing this down twenty years later… Hmm… just made me so excited about my future!

When I look at the first 20 years of my life, I cannot deny that my parents are great influences on me. They provided me with a home where I could feel free and secure, but they weren't afraid of letting me explore new things. They encouraged me to be courageous and curious towards new things, and they would always stand behind me so that I would feel protected when I stepped out. Although they made a lot of sacrifices for me, they have never given up pursuing their dreams. Unlike many Asian parents, making every effort to ensure the success of their children, my parents did not make me feel that I was the center of their life and thus I don’t feel the pressure to impress them with my achievements. I’m so thankful that they didn't stop pursuing their dream for me.

We moved to England when I was ten because my parents were admitted into a school there. Their friends told them that it was important for me to receive a stable education in China, but they trusted me and knew I could handle facing the new environment. I went to the UK with only a few English words. All three of us were students at that time and that encouraged me to learn and adapt to the English speaking environment. After one year, they finished their study and decided to move back. Friends and family said that they were silly. Apparently it was many people’s dream to immigrate to western countries, but it wasn't my parents’. I went back to Qingdao, my home town, and started catching up on coursework. That was the time when my Math and Science knowledge were laid solidly.

I realized that I’m like a kite flying in the sky, and no matter how high I fly they always hold my string tight in their hands. This gives me power to fly even higher in the sky because I have security of knowing they will never let go of my string.

My Hometown Qingdao

Out of all the cities I've been too, I like Qingdao, my hometown, the best. In fact, it was named the most livable city in China.

A German style Church in Qingdao

I went on Wikipedia and searched "Qingdao". A whole lot of information came up and they are pretty accurate, so I added one saying that I love to describe Qingdao with. Here is the before and after:

The unique combination of German and Chinese architecture in the city centre, combined with German demographic roots and a large Korean expatriate population, gives Qingdao a distinct atmosphere. A larger number of areas in former foreign styles are well preserved. Although the new city area is under large-scale reconstruction, the old city area (especially Taixi) still retains some traditional buildings.

The unique combination of German and Chinese architecture in the city centre, combined with German demographic roots and a large Korean expatriate population, gives Qingdao a distinct atmosphere. An old saying discribed Qingdao as a city of "red tiles green trees, blue sky and blue sea." This saying indeed gives a picture of birdview of Qingdao. A larger number of areas in former foreign styles are well preserved. Although the new city area is under large-scale reconstruction, the old city area (especially Taixi) still retains some traditional buildings.

I hope you all can visit Qingdao someday!

The Breadfruit Tree...

I don’t know if you have ever heard of or read about or even seen a Breadfruit, but I thought it only existed in cartoons because that’s how I first saw a Breadfruit. When I was told by somebody that I was standing under a Breadfruit, I was shocked and amazed. I never thought that it would be real!

A small Breadfruit that I found on the ground

This is me with the Breadfruit tree; I was REALLY excited although it doesn’t look like that.

Breadfruit trees are usually found in coastal Southeast Asia, Pacific islands and many tropical regions. The one I saw was in Hawaii. Because it tastes like freshly baked bread after cooking, it was called Breadfruit. Breadfruits were staple food for people in those regions. The person who told me about this tree said that “if you plant three of these in your back yard, then you and your children even your grandchildren will have enough food to eat.”

Unfortunately I did not have a chance to try one of those because it wasn’t the season, but I will visit Hawaii maybe just for that! Haha… Just kidding…

Welcome to Kaleidoscope!

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."  --- Confucius

I realized that I tend to forget to appreciate what I see or experience every day. When I was little I could easily be amazed by people, culture and nature... almost everything around me! The beauty of the world did not change, and I need to learn to appreciate it. I picked up photography few years ago and since then I am able to slow down the pace of my life and spend some time to observe this beautiful world through my camera lens. 

This is also the reason why I name my blog Kaleidoscope. If you have ever seen one yourself you would know what I mean. I will share my thoughts on this beautiful world through my camera and hopefully make my blog, and my life, as colorful as a Kaleidoscope.