Another popular travel destination in London, Buckingham Palace, which is the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns and the Queen Elizabeth II since Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837.  It is located in the City of Westminster of Greater London and is currently the administrative headquarters of the British Monarch. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, as part of the Palace’s Summer Opening.

What really attracts crowds to come over is the Changing The Guard ceremony. This colourful ceremony is held every day (except in August til April where it is held every other day) at the forecourt (main facade as shown in the photo below) where the “frozen” Queens wardens are changing shift. It happens once a day only at 11:30AM sharp.

The detail history and the design of Buckingham Palace will not be touched here. Check it out from the official website of the British Monarchy. Here is the set of my travel photos showing what you should expect to see and whether it’s worth to visit the palace when you are visiting London.

I hate to say that we missed the ceremony when we were in London last Spring. What we saw is the Buckingham Palace behind the gate with a notice board informing tourists the next time to catch the changing guard ceremony.

There are still many people gathering in front of the palace. Some  are tourists like us and others are the locals who came here to relax in the Sunday afternoon. There is a royal garden in front of the palace at both sides.

Right in front of the palace in the middle is the Victoria Memorial, the sculpture of the Queen Victoria. It was completed in 1911 the sculptor, Sir Thomas Brock. The surrounding pool was then constructed by the architect Sir Aston Webb with 2,300 tons of white marble. The statue of Queen Victoria is facing north-eastwards towards The Mall, a ceremonial approach route to the palace. 4 corners of the monument feature dark patinated bronze statues of the Angel of Justice, the Angel of Truth and the Charity. On the pinnacle is the Victory with two seated figures.

A close up of the Angel of Justice bronze statue.

It was Sunday when I was there and the Buckingham Road and The Mall is closed to traffic.

The close up look at the Statue of Queen Victoria.

The Mall in London is the road running straight from Buckingham Palace at its western end, surrounding the Victoria Memorial, to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end. It is a motorway traffic on weekdays and Saturday but is closed for pedestrians on Sunday. On its left is Green Park and St. James Park is on its right. Both are the perfect recreational parks for people to relax enjoying the greens and waters.

If you have time strolling down the Mall from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square as what I did, it’s still worth the visit. If you would like to see more of my travel photos in London, click on the Flickr slideshow below.

Coming up next is another set of photos showcasing another travel attraction in London, the St. Jame’s Park next and along the ceremonial road of The Mall. After which would be my experience on London travel Day 2 Continues to Leicester Square and China Town. Subscribe now to Travel Feeder’s feed for free updates via email. - Travel Feeder, your ultimate travel photo blog

London weather changes as fast as women mind. Don’t be surprise if you see bright sunshine minutes after a heavy downpour, and it rains again when you are still posing for a photo shot! This rapid change of weather and sunlight had restricted photo opportunities in London. Especially when you have limited time at one tourist spot and the sudden rain will surely ruin your photo session.

During my travel to London recently, we had 4 days visiting London. Out of that 4 day period, 1st evening was raining. The whole 2nd day was a cloudy and rainy day. We were lucky to have some bright sunlight on 3rd day but still cloudy. The 4th day was perfect but we were leaving in the morning. Basically the London sky during the period was overcast with thick cloud. How did I capture nice photos of London’s attractions then? White Balance (WB) is the answer.

Now is the 2nd question. How could we adjust the WB of our digital camera? WB exists only in digital camera. Digital camera converts analogue lights into digital colour. Different colours are being calculated digitally based on the white point the image sensor received. However, white will appear too yellowish under halogen and too bluish under fluorescent due to their different colour temperature from different light source. This is when the WB setting of our camera comes in. WB is a feature of digital camera to adjust its white point colour temperature to adopt the different ambient lighting so you can see the actual colour of the scene. Auto WB setting is the camera technology to adjust its colour temperature automatically to adopt different ambient lightings. However, AWB doesn’t always correct.

When the sky is overcast with thick clouds, the colour temperature is much lower than expected. In this case, AWB would adjust White point of the scene to a much higher colur temperature and the image will appear bluish than what is seen by our eyes. Take a look at the above travel photo which I took on the 2nd day of my London visit. It is supposed to be an attractive shot of the Victoria Memorial with Buckingham Palace as background. But the overcast weather had actually ruined the image with dull colour.

Firstly, the image is still slightly under exposed eventhough I had increased the Exposure Value by +1/3 stop. 2ndly, WB is out. This problem happened to many of my London travel photos. As I mentioned above, the rapid change of weather had made selecting WB of my D60 difficult. Switching to Daylight preset WB may be perfect for one shot but may not be for the next if the weather changed.

The same problem happened if we thought of selecting Cloudy preset WB for this scene but the complex ambient light from the overcast sky and pool water reflection had fooled the Nikon WB sensor and the image appeared to be much yellow than actual, as shown in the above photo. But some may prefer it as it shows warmer and more dramatic colours!

For these kind of weather in your travel destination, the best WB setting I would prefer is still be the AWB, if you are shooting JPEGs (If you are shooting RAW, forget about the WB setting as you can select the destined colour temperature at a later stage). Set WB setting to AWB and shoot all the way! Leave the colour correction at a later stage by adjusting colour temperature of the image with either CS5 or Lightroom 3, to whatever colour temperature you prefer…

The above photo is the result of what I adjusted during post processing with Photoshop. By increasing  the brightness and reducing the colour temperature, this was actually what I’ve seen for the Victoria Memorial of London, with also an increase in colour saturation.

Conclusions? WB setting is critical for photo shooting under one fixed ambient lighting, like studio or museum shooting. Pre-set your camera WB will easily produce a set of perfectly coloured photos collection that is ready for printing direct from camera. However, if you are shooting outdoor travel scenes, especially in a travel destination that have fast changing weather, like London in Spring, switch your camera WB setting to AutoWB. It would be easier and safer to shoot using AWB to get good result for most of the photos. Then play around the slider of Photoshop to adjust the image colour temperature, to what you prefer, not necessarily to what you’ve seen in actual. And this is the most useful purpose of adjusting White Balance. – Travel Feeder, your ultimate travel photo blog.

Guest Post by Laura Thayer

The beauty of the Bay of Naples, with its blue waters and lush landscape, has been beckoning travelers from around the world for ages. The island of Ischia, know as the Isola Verde (Green Island), has been appreciated for its beauty since Ancient Greek times. Just a short ferry ride from Naples, Ischia makes a wonderful island escape from the Italian mainland.

1. Castello Aragonese -When arriving into Ischia’s port, you’ll first pass the Castello Aragonese, dramatically situated on a rock outcropping. Built in the 15th century by Alfonso of Aragon, King of Naples, the castle is one of the picturesque symbols of Ischia. Walk across the 15th century bridge to visit the castle area, where you can also explore churches, convents, the Museo delle Armi (Weaponry Museum) and take in the fine views of Ischia of the nearby island of Procida.
   
2. Monte Epomeo -Hikers and nature lovers can experience the rugged and verdant beauty of Ischia by climbing to the top of the island’s highest point, the dormant volcano Monte Epomeo (788 meters/ 2,585 feet). The panoramic views of the Bay of Naples from the peak make the steep uphill climb worthwhile.
3. Church of Santa Maria del Soccorso – Near the village of Forio on Ischia’s western coast is the little, white church of Santa Maria del Socorrso, beautiful in its simplicity and striking setting overlooking the sea. Inside you’ll find models of sailing ships given as ex votos to the church for safe journeys.
   
4. Giardini Poseidon – South of Forio lie the beautiful Giardini Poseidon, or the Gardens of Poseidon, stretching out on the mountainside down to the sea. With 21 pools offering thermal baths, mud baths, saunas and a beautiful white sandy beach, this garden and spa is a wonderful choice to spend a day relaxing your mind and body on Ischia.
5. Sant’ Angelo – Escape away from Ischia’s crowds to the beautiful village of Sant’Angelo on the quieter southern coast of the island. This chic, car-free village is an ideal spot to get away from the crowds and enjoy the peace and natural beauty of Ischia.
   

Laura Thayer is an art historian and freelance writer living on the Amalfi Coast in Campania, Italy. She writes about travel for MNUI travel insurance and blogs about life on the Amalfi Coast at her own site Ciao Amalfi.

p/s: Photos © Laura Thayer, Ciao Amalfi!

I rephrased the title of the series from Central Europe to Western Europe this time. It is quite confusing here. There are people referring UK, France, Netherland and Italy as central Europe as well as Western Europe. Some might referring UK as Northern Europe while Italy as Southern Europe. If Europe is to be parted into 2, then they shall be geographically located in the west of Europe. Otherwise they shall be part of the central Europe if we split Europe into West, Central and East. I changed it back to Western Europe since more people prefer them to be called this way. So this shall be my Western Europe Experience Day 2, a rainy and chilly day.

We spent our 1st night in London sleeping in tiny bunk beds of 6-person-dorm. Jet lag from our 13 hours flight from KL to London the day before had nearly killed my sleep. Partly due to the chilly weather outside (or maybe I was too exciting ), I did not sleep well and woke up early at 5AM! The morning sun was already up as high as what we normally have at 7AM here in Malaysia. Sadly, the sun was not strong and it was drizzling out there.

At around 6AM, the rain stopped. Jean woke up and we decided to take a walk out. Outside temperature was freezing cold at below 6°C. Though May is supposed to be late Spring with average temperature of 13°C in London, unluckily, the temperature dropped drastically during the 4 days we had in London due to unknown reasons (I would believe it was partly due to the excessive ash cloud from Iceland the week before that)!

It was Sunday so the traffic is very much easier. We walked around the Russel Square, crossing the roads, followed their pedestrian crossing sign, watching people on the streets, in the drizzly morning.

We went back to our hostel to join Chong, Keong and Bobo for our first breakfast in London. Breakfast starts from 7:30AM to 9:30AM. It is served in the dining room which is fairly big but still cramp for all guests to fit in. While waiting for tables, we sit in the living area where there are sofas, TV, table soccer and study tables and chairs.

Basic breakfast with bread, cereal, milk, jams and coffee or tea, was provided by the hostel in buffet style. Oh! The milk was still as good as what I had 13 years ago… I still love it!

What did we do next in our first morning in London? I booked our Eurostar tickets to Paris online through Rail Europe for £55 each without tickets (Check out: Top 5 tips to book cheap transportation in Europe). So we decided to collect our tickets from the nearby Kings Cross train station before anything else.

Eurostar ticketing office is located within the St. Pancras station which is annexed to Kings Cross train station.

Along the way to Kings Cross, we were counting our steps and time between Smart Russel Hostel and St. Pancras station. They are like 15 minutes away from each other. Europe Travel Tips: Always check or the best try the distance and time you need to catch your next train or flight before the actual date. So you could make sure you will not be late for your next transportation. Check also the check-in time you need before the actual departure!

The next thing we do was to decide whether we need Day Ticket or to walk. Since it was a rainy day (I couldn’t shoot much outdoor photos as what I expected), we bought Daily Travel Card for £5.60. Remember we bought £4 for a single trip from Liverpool Street to Russel Square yesterday? It’s a great saving on local transport (underground and buses) if you plan to travel frequently around and within London city.

We took London Underground train following Piccadilly Line back to Russel Square and then walked over to our first travel destination in London, The British Museum < Check out the Travel photos of British Museum here.

Next up was shopping time! We strolled down the street from the museum to the most popular shopping street of London, The Oxford Street. We actually detoured our original itinerary on our first day in London. Because it was raining, we went shopping instead of travel attractions of London! Before that, we bought some sandwiches and breads and juice from Tesco Express minimarket opposite Russel Square underground station. It was our first lunch in London that cost only £2.

The first souvenir stall we spotted on the street. I always love UK souvenirs for their colourful design and full varieties. Fridge magnets are selling for £1.50 each and T-shirts are £3.99 each. Fancy anything from the stall?

Though it was rainy Sunday, Oxford Street was still packed with Londoners and travelers. All major popular brand names for young people could also be found along Oxford Street. For exclusive celebrity designer fashion, you should go Knightsbridge instead.

Oxford Street including New Oxford Street, is stretching from Marble Arch (For Malaysian, you can find Malaysian High Comm here) to Oxford Circus. My Nikon D60 with Tamron SP10-24mm Ultra Wide Angle lense were working very hard here!

Many departmental stores such as Selfridge, Debenhams, House of Fraser, John Lewis, BHS and Mark & Spencers are fighting for higher market share here.

There were quite some bargains found there. I bought a windcheater for only £8 (I didn’t expect I needed it there before) . Jean and Bobo bought a couple of T-shirt and jumpers for their children all for less than £6 each.

At around 4PM, it finally stopped drizzling out there. We finally stopped shopping anymore…. in Oxford Street. We moved on to another shopping street, Brompton Road by taking Underground at Oxford Circus Station. If you’ve noticed by now, many of the London underground stations are tucked in to blend well with other buildings side by side.

You can also choose to hop on to this double decking touring bus to tour around London city. But be careful. Though they are also in red as the rest of the London bus, daily travel card is not acceptable to hop on.

We took the Victoria then Piccadilly line to arrive at Knightsbridge. When people talk about Knightsbridge, they will certainly mention about the landmark, The Harrods, the luxury Departmental Store that attracts many royal families as well as celebrities all over the world. > Check out The Harrods Food Hall photos.

Shopaholics need 1 whole day to shop all its 330 departments in the Harrods. We spent only 1 hour inside its Food Hall as we were rushing for our next travel attraction in London, the Buckingham Palace… coming up next! Subscribe to my Feeds vis RSS or Email for free updates on my Europe travelogue and more Europe travel photos and travel tips! - Travel Feeder, your ultimate travel photo blog

>> Check out all photos taken in London here:

Though it was not first found in Netherland, Tulips has now become the symbolic flower for Netherland. Due to some historic reasons since long time ago when Amsterdam was the main trading port in the region, Netherland is now the biggest exporters of Tulips flower in the world. However, Tulips has its blooming season limited only in Spring between March to May. This made witnessing the tulips blossom so valuable and attractive in Netherland each Spring.

I was so lucky to be able to witness the blooming Tulips in Netherland on my Europe travel last May. Some part of the field had already been harvested but most of them were still growing in the renown Keukenhof Garden. Here is one of them…

There were so many different species of Tulips grown in the garden and this was just one of them with striking deep pink color. Nothing special. I like the color and off course the tulips in this photo. I will post a lot a lot more tulips photos when I come to stories about travel attraction in Amsterdam next. So follow me closely on my upcoming Europe travel tips! - Travel Feeder, your ultimate travel photo blog.