TR AVELTELLY

In this issue

Issue 2 | January 2013 | Travel, Camera, Action!

Wonderso f I c e l a n d

CubaAuthentic

3 6 0 d e g re e s

Time lapseSmile of Gambia

Travel apps | Travel gear | Dream journey | This is an interactive magazine

CaptureD U B A I

‘Discovery consists of seeing what everybody

has seen and thinking what nobody has thought’

– Albert Szent-Györgyi

Grand Canyon, USA

Content

6. Cuba Viva la Cuba

14. Sri LankaStock video footage

16. Wonders of Nature Golden Circle Iceland

20. Camera tips 360 degrees time lapse

22. Travel Apps HostelWorld and Instagram

23. Wildlife funfacts Koala funfacts

24. Dubai Visit-Capture-Experience

28. Travel gear Travel Adapter and Flashlight

29. The Gambia Through our camera lenses

34. Book of the month Best in travel 2013

35. Dream journey The Trans Siberian Express

36. Next month Japan

6 24 29

TravelTelly is a travel film organization, with a

love for discovering new cultures and

destinations. TravelTelly Magazine writes about

various destinations around the world and

gives tips about travel film and photography.

Each issue of this magazine is created by a fixed

team of TravelTelly employees and we guarantee

that each destination of this magazine has

been visited by one of our team members.

We also guarantee an honest and independent

opinion of each destination that we visit, we

will never write positively about destinations

or accommodations for money.

About TravelTelly Colophon issue 2, January 2013

TravelTelly is a project of Motion-Minds.nl TravelTelly Magazine is published every month. www.traveltelly.com. Social Media Facebook.com/traveltelly

Twitter.com/traveltelly

Editors: Johannes Oppewal Heleen Lamm Frank KeynerMichael Vink Marco Molhoek

Nothing from this edition may be copied in any way without consent of TravelTelly.

Watch our travel videos on vimeo.com/traveltelly

More than 13.000 travel shots at

Travel, Camera, Action!A travel magazine for travelers who l ike to photograph and f i lm

4 TravelTelly.com

A warm welcome and all the best for 2013! A new year is ahead of us, where

many of you will go on an adventure somewhere around the world. New places,

cultures, new stories to tell and amazing memories that will last a lifetime!

We loved the positive reactions we received after the first issue of TravelTelly

Magazine. We hope you will enjoy this issue even more.

For us, 2013 will be a busy travel year, filming around the globe. And even

though part of our travel schedule is already fixed, we would love to hear from

you if you know some interesting places for us to film at.

We wish you an exciting travel year, with some amazing places and cultures

which will make 2013 a year you will never forget!

Enjoy this travel magazine. So Travel, get your Camera out and Action!

Johannes Oppewal

CEO TravelTelly

Dear traveler,

Find our travel pictures here!

5TravelTelly.com

Cuba is like no other country. When we visited Cuba, we were amazed

about the amount of old cars that we saw driving through the streets, and

most of them still look new! When you walk through Havana, it feels like

you’re walking years back in time. Take a walk through the old city streets,

away from the main street, and experience the Cuban city life. Havana is a

beautiful city, that does need some renovations when it comes to its old

buildings. And when this happens, this city will be one of the most beautiful

cities around the world. One of our Dutch colleagues from TravelShots.nl

has been filming in Cuba for 4 weeks, and we interviewed him about his

experiences.

Viva laCuba

6 TravelTelly.com

What can you tell us about TravelShots.nl as a company?

In 1996 we, Karin and Michael Vink, got married in Sri Lanka. Since then we have

the so called backpacker-virus. We were traveling around the world and always

brought our video- and photo cameras with us. When we were back home, we

would make a short travel video for our friends and family. Later on, we decided

that we wanted to not just share our travel videos with our family, but with

everyone. This is the reason why we started TravelShots.nl within our already

existing video company PASCREA.

7TravelTelly.com

Classic cars in Havana

Cuba facts

The Cubans refer to their island

as ‘El Cocodrilo’ - viewed from

above Cuba is said to resemble a

crocodile.

The population of Cuba totals

more than eleven million.

When Christopher Columbus first

happened upon Cuba in 1492 he

thought he had landed in China.

The average temperature is

21 degrees Celsius in January

and 27 degrees Celsius in July.

Street downtown Havana, CubaSource: cac tuslanguagetraining.com

We learn to understand new cultures and get to know the

local people. From stunning Asian temples in Laos and

Cambodia to exotic beaches in Cuba, we get to capture

it all. Together with our partner TravelTelly, we now have

more than 20.000 travel stock videos online for purchase,

and we are proud of that! And because we also shoot

some great photographs along the way, these are also

available for promotion or productions worldwide.

At the moment, we are traveling all

around the world, while capturing

these amazing places.

9TravelTelly.comStreet downtown Havana, Cuba

What is the best thing about your work?

I was able to make a profession out of my hobby, which is of course

filming. I can get creative in the travel videos that I make for others.

My other passion is traveling. The fact that I can combine my two

passions for work, makes me a happy person. We are always well

prepared when we’re visiting other countries, we know what the

best places are for us to film and photograph at. The preparations

are almost as fun as the trip itself. We don’t really see it as work.

Cuba

10 TravelTelly.com

Michael working in Cuba

You film at places around the world, why did you choose Cuba as your

most recent destination?

We can choose our own destinations, but we always look for destinations

that are popular in the travel industry. The last couple of years we often saw

advertisements for Cuba in travel magazines, but there weren’t many travel

videos online for sale.

This island in the Caribbean is mostly visited for its sunny climate, traditional

music and its old-timers. Most of the tourists visit Varadero and enjoy their

all-inclusive holidays. They forget that there is so much more to see than

just Havana. We wanted to capture these lesser known places. And as Cuba

is changing and becoming more modern, we wanted to film there as soon as

possible, to capture the ‘real’ Cuba.

Cuba

11TravelTelly.com

One of many classic cars in Havana

Downtown Havana

What can you tell us about filming in Cuba?

We were told that it was no problem to film in Cuba, but as we we’re doing research

we found more and more messages from people saying that it could be hard to film

here with professional camera equipment. A phone call to the embassy of Cuba didn’t

teach us anything either. So, we decided to film with compact Full HD cameras. The

good thing about compact cameras is that you don’t stand out. This makes it easier to

film people. We were only told once, that we couldn’t film from a tripod, which was at

the Plaza de la Revolucíón in Havana.

Which place did you love the most?

Trinidad and Havana are the most beautiful places to film and photograph. Havana is a

must see destination, because of its many old-timers, the beautiful colonial buildings

and the Malecón boulevard. It is a metropole, with a relaxed atmosphere and it is a

good place to start your trip. Trinidad is listed as World Heritage by UNESCO and is

an old town in the Sancti Spíritus province. It still has the feel of the Spanish 16th

century. Highlights of Trinidad include: the Parroquial de la Santísima church, Plaza

Mayor, Palacio Cantero and Palacio Brunet. It’s an historic town, with many traditional

buildings, streets and squares, and it has some cool restaurants that almost look like

museums. In the end it’s not about the amazing architecture and landscapes, but

about the people you meet. We could

talk for hours with young cigar sellers

and a sculptor at La Loma de la Cruz

in Holguin. We got invited for a

coffee by and elderly lady who sings

Capture Cuba

12 TravelTelly.com

in Cienfuegos every week. You will never forget these kind of moments and they

cannot be captured with your cameras.

What was the most difficult thing about filming in Cuba?

We didn’t face many problems when filming in Cuba. Cubans love the camera.

When we want to capture a person up close, we always ask for permission first. Tip:

soap is a luxury item in Cuba, so we brought some of our hotel soaps. You can give

these to the people you want to film and photograph, as some kind of a present.

What kind of advice can you give our travel photographers/cameramen,

who want to film in Cuba?

When shooting with HDV tapes, bring as many as possible, because we didn’t find

any in Cuba. The cards (SD, etc) are also hard to find. And when we visited Trinidad

we also couldn’t find AA or AAA batteries easily.

Learn some Spanish, it just makes it so much easier to come in contact with the

local people. Especially when you want to film or photograph a person, you can ask:

‘Puedo tomar una foto, por favor?’ Many of the younger Cubans also speak English.

Our last advice would be to spend enough time in Cuba. Along the way you will

discover new places you want to explore, so take a couple of extra days.

13TravelTelly.com

Karin together with a friendly local

SriLankaStock footageWe have more than 500 High Definition Sri

Lanka travel stock shots online, that you can

buy for your own travel agency or for your own

production.

Have a look at:

Buy directly via the link above or contact us at info@traveltelly.com

for a discount when buying more than 1 shot.

www.pond5.com/artist/travelshots

14 TravelTelly.com

Anuradhapura with Jetavana stupa at the background

More than

500 HDstock videoshots fromS r i L a n k a

15TravelTelly.com

SriLanka Stock footage

What: the Golden Circle route in Iceland.

Where: this route takes you from Reykjavik to

central Island and back. Covering 300 km.

Main stops: national park Thingvellir,

waterfall Gullfoss and the geothermal active

valley of Haukadalur.

Highlights: geysers Geysir and Strokkur, Kerid

volcanic crater and waterfall Gullfoss.

Tour info: Golden Circle route is available as a

guided tour by bus, by jeep including glacier

Langjökull or with your own car. Snowmobile

ride on the glacier is available during this

tour as an extra activity all year round.

Costs: between $60.00 and $285.00.

Golden Circle

Wo

nd

ers

of

Nat

ure

16 TravelTelly.com

Iceland is a wonderful place

to visit. It is an island which will

take your breath away, especially

when you’re a nature lover. Even

during wintertime, when you

only have a couple hours of full

day light, it is a perfect time to

visit. We visited Iceland a couple

of years back, in December, and

filming the sunrises and sunsets

here was simply amazing. If you

only have a couple of days like we

had, and when you’re staying in

Reykjavik, the Golden Circle tour is

a great option. In just one day you

will explore a lot of the Icelandic

landscape.

Wo

nd

ers

of

Nat

ure

Watch our Iceland video here: vimeo.com/2400115

Find more information here: www.goldencircleiceland.com

17TravelTelly.com

Iceland

Skyline Rome, Italy

Creating a 360 degrees time lapse

If you have a GoPro or small (phone) camera, an easy and cheap way to make a 360

degrees time lapse video is with an egg timer. Yes that’s right, an egg timer. We

all know cameras and equipment can be very expensive and we often need to be

creative, as we want to save some money for our social lives as well ☺

But not all camera equipment has to be so expensive and you can still make some

amazing shots. We love filming time lapses and an egg timer is just the easiest and

cheapest way of making a 360 degrees time lapse.

Here are two links of websites that you should

definitely check out. Especially watch the videos

that explain how you can make it yourself.

A post by Tim Romano: midcurrent.com

And a post by one of our favorite filmmakers who’s really testing everything that

has to do with cameras, the funny and famous Phillip Bloom. His blog is worth

following and it helps you learn everything you need to know about camera gear:

philipbloom.net

Part of our Japan video includes a 360 degrees time lapse of Tokyo, you can watch it

here: video: vimeo.com/56822286

20 TravelTelly.com

Shinjuku, Tokyo, japan

Travel with your GoProAs you probably already know, is that we are huge fans of the GoPro camera. It is a

really small camera, but if you want to make a proper video you still need all kinds of

accessories. The best thing that you can do is to buy a small case, in which you can put all

of your equipment and this way you are sure not to leave anything behind.

We bought the Xseries black box (as you can see on

the picture). It is a handy case to put all your GoPro

equipment in and it is easy to bring with you while

traveling. Of course there are many good cases out

there, but we think this one is a good investment.

There is nothing worse than filming and missing

some of your gear, so that you cannot take the shot you wanted. And as the GoPro has

loads of extra camera gear that you can use, which makes it easier to film just about

anywhere, you need enough space for all your stuff. On the photo we used the GoPro on

a bus driving through Dubai.

The GoPro is a small (ultra) HD

camera. Many people use it on

their surf and snowboard, on

the car or motor, or even in

an airplane or to dive with.

This camera is the best you

can have when it comes to

filming extreme sports or

difficult angles. Next to that,

the GoPro is very small and

available for a really good

price, so even buying a couple

cameras might be a good

option if you’re making a

special production where you

have a budget.

21TravelTelly.com

Shinjuku, Tokyo, japan

HostelWorld Mobile App Free (in the App Store and Google Play)

– Millions of travel adventures start at Hostelworld.com. Start yours

now.

Backpackers are the main users of the website Hostelworld.com. It is probably the

best website for finding cheap hostels, all around the world. But now there’s also

an App available, with which you can directly find and book your hostels. With the

HostelWorld App you can search in over 27,000 places in over 6,000 destinations

worldwide. Search by type of property, budget, area or rating. The App also gives

you photos of the hostels, as well as maps and directions. If your English isn’t great,

there are some other languages available. Such an easy App to use while on the go!

www.hostelworld.com/mobile-landing

Every month, we will describe a couple of useful Apps in this section.

Instagram Mobile App Free (in the App Store and Google Play) – Fast beautiful

photo sharing

All around the world, people are already using Instagram. It

is one of the most famous Apps available at this point. For

travelers who don’t know this App yet, pay attention. Instagram is one of the

coolest Apps for sharing your photos while traveling. You just snap a picture,

choose a filter to transform its look and feel (like black & white or old skool),

then post to Instagram and share it on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. Sharing your

favorite travel photos with your friends and family has never been so fun and easy.

www.instagram.com

Travel Apps

Do you know a useful travel App we need to promote!? Mail us at info@traveltelly.com

22 TravelTelly.com

KoalaFunfacts

1. Did you know that koalas have a pouch?

Just like kangaroos, koalas have a pouch. The young koala ( joey) lives in its mother’s

pouch for up to 6 months, where it grows and drinks milk. When it gets bigger, the

young koala climbs onto the back of its mother.

2. Did you know that koalas differ in appearance?

In Australia, koalas are found in 4 states. In the north, koalas are almost twice as small

as the koalas in the south. In the south, koalas also have a thicker coat, as it gets colder

in these states.

3. Did you know that koala bears are not related to the bear family?

Even though they are called bears, koalas are not related to the bear family at all. They

are just called koala bears because they look like them. Koalas are part of the marsupial

family and are close related to the wombat.

Did you know…

23TravelTelly.com

Koala at Kangaroo Island, Australia

Visit-Capture-Experience

DUBAI

If you like to visit a modern city where almost everything is high-

tech, then Dubai is the place to be. We discovered that there is

nothing impossible when it comes to architecture! If you look at the

highest building in the world, the Burj Al Khalifa, it is amazing that

a building can be this high! It is also possible to go skiing all year

round, even when it’s 45 degrees Celsius outside. Ski Dubai is an

indoor ski resort with 22.500 square meters of indoor ski areas. It is

part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls

in the world. And just when you think it cannot get any crazier,

one of the largest aquariums in the world is found in The Dubai

Mall. Dubai Aquarium is 51m x 20m x 11m and features the world’s

largest viewing panel, at 32.8m wide and 8.3m high.

Watch our Dubai video here: vimeo.com/46606175

24 TravelTelly.com

Downtown Dubai

1. A fun way to take some shots from Dubai is from the metro, because a

large part of it is above ground.

2. Visit the Dubai Fountain and the Burj Khalifa. The fountain is animated

with performances set to light and music. It is visible from every point of

the lake promenade and from many neighbouring structures.

3. Go to the top of the Burj Khalifa. If you want to take a picture from the

highest point in the world, now is your chance! Visit the website for more

information: www.burjkhalifa.ae

4. Walk around the Harbor. A fun place to see a lively scene with people

working, is the harbor of downtown Dubai. Walk around the harbor and

take a ferry to the other side of the river, or take a cruise through the harbor.

It will give you enough places to take some nice shots from.

5. Go to the Burj Al Arab hotel. Of course you’ll also need a picture or

video from the most expensive hotel in the world. The problem is though,

that if you’re not staying here, then you are not allowed to come close to

the building. Another option close to the hotel is Jumeirah Beach, from

where you can take a nice shot of the Burj Al Arab hotel, which looks like a

sailing boat.

photo spot: from metro in Dubai

Best Photo/Video SPOTS

25TravelTelly.com

Burj Khalifa

Floralis Genérica in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Travel Gear and Gadgets

Travel Adapter

The Compact Universal Travel Adapter is a really

handy adapter when you’re traveling around the

world, because you can use this adapter in 150

countries. With just a simple flip of the switch,

this single, compact unit can alternate among

four built-in international plugs. Not only is this an adapter, it can also be used

as a USB charger for your camera, phone or other USB-compatible products.

Travel Adapter $50.00 shop.nationalgeographic.com

Mini LED Flashlight and Lantern

This gadget by Sunpak can be used as a handy small flashlight

as well as a little lantern. It works on LED light and weighs

only 71 g and measures only 102x37 mm. The mini flashlight

converts quickly and easily to a lantern for illuminating just

about any area, by simply sliding the flashlight’s reflector up

and exposing the LEDs. It is powered by 3 AAA batteries for

hours of use. The water-resistant housing has a rubberized non-slip surface and

a wrist strap.

Mini LED Flashlight and Lantern $12.95 bhphotovideo.com

28 TravelTelly.com

E x p l o r i n g

GAMBIAt h r o u g h o u rcamera lenses

The Smiling CoastIn 2012 we filmed 2 weeks in the Gambia. We filmed at different

places and even a couple of days in Senegal as well. Local markets,

fish markets and local villages around the Gambia’s capital city

Banjul are some of the other places we filmed at.

“I love to film in Africa. It is so different than the western way of

life. The friendly people are always nice to talk to. Eating with locals

and getting to know their culture is always fascinating. The one

thing I love most, is to work with the local people on a production.

The Gambia is totally different than for example Kenya. There is

still so much more to see and explore in Africa and its culture.”

– Johannes Oppewal CEO TravelTelly

29TravelTelly.com

Paris at Night

30 TravelTelly.com

Friendly local

Population: 1,595,000

Capital: Banjul; 372,000

Area: 11,295 square kilometers (4,361 square miles)

Language: English, Mandinka, Wolof, Fula

Religion: Muslim, Christian

Currency: Dalasi

Gambia Fac ts

The Gambia is a country on the western cape of Africa and is

surrounded by Senegal. The slogan of the country is ‘Gambia

the smiling coast’. It is a small country, where they speak

English next to their tribe languages. Banjul is the capital

city and the city where the international airport is situated.

31TravelTelly.com

Friendly local

Source: travel .nationalgeographic .com/travel/countries/gambia-fac ts/

For our client in the Gambia we filmed the SunSwing

Beach Resort, which is right next to the beach of Kololi. It

was a pleasure to work with the local staff., one of the staff

members takes you on a tour through the hotel and shows

you the places where you can enjoy your beach holiday. But

don’t forget to do some tours as well, where you come in

contact with the locals.

We made this promotion video with a big smile!

See the video here: vimeo.com/54435110

32 TravelTelly.com

The friendly Gambian staff

Swimmingpool SunSwing Beach Resort

G A M B I ASunSwing Beach Resort, The Gambia, West Africa

Attractive Beach Resort with a dream location on the wide sandy

beach of Kololi. Enjoy the best beach bar of the Gambia, a fun beach

life, the mighty Atlantic Ocean and beautiful sunsets.

The SunSwing Beach Resort is located on the beach side of SunSwing

Boulevard, with its restaurants and nightlife, and just a 30 minutes

drive from the capital city of Banjul or the airport.

Watch the video here: vimeo.com/54435110

Source: w w w.sunswing.gm

33TravelTelly.com

The friendly Gambian staff

Swimmingpool SunSwing Beach Resort

Beach of Kololi

Best in Travel 2013

The best trends, destinations, journeys & experiences for the upcoming year

The latest edition of Lonely Planet’s ‘Best in Travel’ is now available! This little book

describes all the best places to go and things to do all around the world for the

upcoming year. Lonely Planet ranks the top 10 countries, regions and cities to visit

in 2013, as well as some of the best-value destinations, best places to do something

new, best places to get a tattoo and more. The book also comes with a travel planner

which describes all the events per month.

It is a great little book to have and take with you while traveling, it is small and light,

but brings loads of travel info! Some of the countries described include Sri Lanka,

Slovakia and Madagascar. Regions include The Yukon, Palawan and Corsica. And some

of the cities chosen are Amsterdam, Beijing and Hobart. ‘Best in Travel 2013’ comes

with beautiful photos and info like population, capital, currency and the reasons why

you should visit these particular places in 2013. There’s really nothing negative to say

about this new Lonely Planet book, it is well worth your money!

Travel Book of the month

shop.lonelyplanet.com $15.00

34 TravelTelly.com

The most famous train ride in the world is the

Trans Siberian Express, which will take you all

the way through Russia in about 6 days. It is

the longest train route in the world. We think

that doing a journey by train is a great way to

travel, and because we haven’t visited Russia

yet, we would really love to do this in the future. Russia isn’t such a popular place for a

lot of travelers (with the exception of Saint-Petersburg and Moscow), which is another

reason why we want to undertake this journey, so that we can show people what Russia

is like. The Trans-Mongolia is also a famous train route, with which you will travel through

Russia, Mongolia and China. But we will describe this journey in another issue of the

TravelTelly Magazine.

Route Description

Moscow – Vladimir – Nizhny Novgorod – Kirov – Perm – Ekaterinburg – Tyumen – Omsk

– Novosibirsk – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Ulan Ude – Khabarovsk – Ussuriysk – Vladivostok

Trip Highlights

Some of the cities that you will pass by on this journey: starting in Russia’s capital city,

Moscow. This city is known for its rich history, art scene, architecture and culture. The

most famous sight is the Kremlin. Another stop on this journey is Ekaterinburg, Russia’s

third largest city and important business centre. Omsk was an important city for Tsar

Peter the Great and is now seen as Siberia’s cultural centre. After 3 days of traveling you

will stop in Irkutsk. Irkutsk is one of the major cities of the Trans Siberian Express and is

a typical Student city. You will end your journey in Vladivostok, known for its nice harbor.

Price tag

Train tickets for this journey range between $400.00 and $600.00.

www.transsiberianexpress.net

Dream Journey

35TravelTelly.com

The Trans Siberian Express

Next month: Japan

Find us onTravelTelly pictures on your canvas, in a framed print or on your iPhone case.

In our upcoming issue we will take you to Japan.

We had been dreaming about filming in Japan for a long time. In October 2012

we finally had the chance. We filmed in the amazing city of Tokyo, followed by

Mount Fuji where we met some nice locals and had some Sake ( A local beverage),

followed by filming many of Kyoto’s amazing temples and much more. We can’t

wait to share our stories and experiences with you. You can already check out our

Japan video here: vimeo.com/56822286

36 TravelTelly.com

Kiyomizu Temple kyoto, japan

Read the interview we had with Steve Nathans-Kelly from Streaming media about Producing Travel and Tourism Videos.

Visit

Stay intouchw i t h Travel Telly

37TravelTelly.com