The first video shows a man pulled over by police for not wearing a helmet or having a license, who is then told he can avoid going to court in Denpasar for paying the 200 000 Rp ticket directly to the officer.  This scam is an oldie, but the part where the foreigner is invited to share a beer with the cop after paying his “fine” was definitely one we hadn’t heard of before!

The second video shows some sketchy money changers in action, and the same guy in the video above even learns how the scam is done after catching a guy red handed.

Despite all of this, we couldn’t help but notice how kind and friendly the Balinese behaved in both videos.  The police officer who offered to pay for the beers (with the foreigners fine of course!), and the money changer who sincerely apologized for trying to rip off the guy, and then offered to show him how the scam is done.

Corruption and scams are prevalent all over Bali, most of which never cost a foreigner more than a few dollars.  So, one must ask themselves, is it worth getting angry and losing face after realizing you’ve been conned?  Or, should one simply say, “Bali Bagus”, and take the all of the good with the little bit of bad that this paradise island has to offer?

This past weekend we were at Seattle’s Central Library attending National Geographic’s Mastering Travel Photography seminar.  After 6 hours of listening to two of Nat Geo’s best travel photographers (Ralph Lee Hopkins and Bob Krist), we came back with a wealth of information.  Here’s a list of the top 5 things we learned or confirmed from these guys!

1. Light, composition, moment – Ok, we definitely knew this one already!  Get up early and stay out late, when the sun is low and the light magical.  The colours and shadows really pop at this time.  Use the rule of thirds, and then break all rules to compose those beautiful shots you’re looking for.  And finally, anticipate the moment.  Arrive early.  Research.  Get behind the scenes.  Keep your eye in the viewfinder and finger on the shutter.

2.  Start using a tripod – As much as we, and everyone else hate tripods, they’re definitely a must!  We pack ours every trip, and are lucky if we use it even once.  Useful for night photography, HDR, motion blur, and more, we’ve definitely got to start taking ours out more!

3.  Flash really isn’t all that bad – Our next purchase is definitely going to be a decent flash after seeing what Ralph and Bob have done with theirs!  We’ve always hated the thing, but probably because we really had no idea what the heck we were doing with it.  Using it more as a filler, rather than primary light, and avoiding firing it directly on subjects, these guys showed us that flash can really aid in producing some beautiful photos.

4.  Give yourself a mission – Rather than going on a trip and hoping you’ll get lucky with some of your photography, give yourself a mission!  Set out to capture the essence of a place by shooting for different categories.  For example, seek out shots of people, food, architecture, festivals, history, wildlife, natural resources, etc.  Having a mission, and then shooting for different categories will help give you variety in your photos as well as help you capture the true heart of a destination.

5.  Photography can be a cruel, cruel world! –  Publishers don’t care about the great lengths you’ve gone through to get a photo.  They don’t care that you got up at 4 am 23 times to get the perfect sunrise over Angkor Wat.  In the end, publishers are looking for photographs that they are instantly drawn to, which can be for a variety of reasons.  Anyone can take a good photo, but it’s those that get up early to get the perfect shot who get the cover.  Photography is about more than just taking photos.  It’s about making photos!

For the last while now, I’ve been playing with the idea of submitting some of my photos for stock photography.  I always thought I’d be selling my soul and nearly giving away my work for near nothing, so I’ve avoided it for some time.  However, the prospect of making some extra money from photos that otherwise just sit on hard drives has become more appealing, as is the possibility of seeing some of my photos in print somewhere.

So, last week I opened an account on a popular stock photography site, went through the application process (test included), and uploaded a few samples as required before formally being accepted to contribute to the site.  Choosing which photos to submit proved to be more challenging than I originally thought, and I finally settled for the three shots on this page; not because I thought they were my best photos by any means, but mainly because….well, I honestly don’t know why I chose these three.  I figured they showed good detail, interesting subject matter, and vibrant colour, among other things.

After pressing “submit”, I really had no idea what type of response I’d receive.  Part of me wanted my samples to pass the approval process, but another part of me didn’t want them to, so I could say that stock photography was definitely not for me.

24 hours later I received an email:  REJECTION!  My first real rejection letter.  And to be honest, it felt kind of good.  It meant I didn’t have to give my photos away for mere cents, and I wouldn’t be selling my soul after all!

Here’s a snippet of the formal rejection, which frankly, was quite kind:

At this time we regret to inform you that we did not feel the overall composition of your photography or subject matter is at the minimum level of standard for ***********. Please take some time to review training materials, resources and articles provided through ***********. The photographs provided in your application should be diverse in subject matter, technical ability and should be your best work. Think conceptual, creative and most important think Stock photography. Try to avoid the average eye level push the button perspective of a common subject. Try and impress us, we want to see how you stand out from the crowd.

So, what are you waiting for??  Get “liking” Gate 20 on Facebook, and get sharing to help us reach 150!

T-10 days and we’ll be jetsetting once again.  This time to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  We’ll never admit it once we land, but we’re first timers to Cabo, and this is just our second trip to Mexico!  We know, we know….we’re kind of a couple of Southeast Asia snobs.

Anyway, we’re looking for your help to guide is in the must do’s (and don’ts) for our week in Cabo.  Comment below with anything helpful, because all we’ve got to go by so far is this silly map!