Stuck in Customs is a travel photography blog that will inspire

Stuck in Customs screenshot

In the Instagram era, the idea of a travel photography blog almost sounds old-fashioned, but Stuck in Customs is a site that not only aims to inspire, but also to help visitors improve their own photos.

Renowned photographer Trey Ratcliff shares one image each day from his never-rending supply of exotic travel photos  and includes not only technical information about the image, but the stories behind it.

A pioneer in HDR photography, Ratcliff offers photography tutorials on his site and within his blog posts, will pull back the curtain on the enhancement techniques he uses for individual photos he’s featuring that day.

https://stuckincustoms.com/

Teleport yourself from your desk with GlobeBop

Globehopper screenshot

Virtual travel is having a moment thanks to the ongoing pandemic. GlobeBop is an example of the sort of website that lets you travel the world from the comfort of your desktop.

Simply click on the globe icon and a random image from Google Street View appears. Some are awe-inspiring, some are mundane, but all are guaranteed to transport you somewhere you’ve likely never been before.

If you want to know what you’re looking at, click on the map pin and a map view of the location appears on the screen with its geographical coordinates.

GlobeBop likely won’t be a website that you come back to again and again for travel inspiration, but it will provide a brief diversion until we can all travel freely again.

http://vispo.com/go/

Photos: Marvellous views of the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

If you are lucky enough to be spending May 1 in the tiny state of the Marshall Islands, you’d be celebrating Constitution Day.

On that day in 1979,  the Compact of Free Association was adopted which formalized the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Together, these nations are sometimes known as the Freely Associated States.

These photos offer a glimpse of what the Pacific-Island paradise is like:

Photos: Gorgeous views of Guadeloupe

The French territory of Guadeloupe is a favourite Caribbean destination thanks to its fine beaches and exciting culture. It’s also become a popular stop on the cruise-ship circuit which means even more tourists are discovering this heavenly archipelago.

This day, May 27, marks Guadeloupe’s national day (territorial day?). It marks Abolition of Slavery Day, an event that was a long time coming for the islands.

Even though France’s King Louis X proclaimed in 1315 that any slave setting foot in France should be freed, the nation continued to allow slavery to prosper in its overseas colonies well into the 19th century.

Originally annexed by the Kingdom of France in 1653,  much of the native population was wiped out and was stocked with African slaves to work the territories’ sugar plantations.

France then abolished slavery in 1794 then re-established it in 1802 during the French Revolutionary Wars when French slave-owners threatened to move their colonies under British control. The reestablishment of slavery in Guadeloupe sparked a rebellion, but it was repressed.

The second abolition of slavery took place under the Second Republic on April 27, 1848 and it wasn’t until May 28, 1848 that it was permanently abolished in Guadeloupe.

When the day comes that we get to travel again to places like Guadeloupe, here’s a taste of what you’ve been missing:

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Photos: Positive views of Paraguay

The date of May 14 marks Independence Day for Paraguay, not from Spain, but from Argentina where it broke away from in 1811 after it defeated Argentinian military efforts to retake the breakway province. In honour of the South American nation’s national holiday, here are some photos that give you a quick peek at what life is like there:

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