How to Publish an Online Photo Album

Every time I travel somewhere I always put an album together. As an Apple iMac perosn, I use the iPhoto to put the album together, convert and save it as a PDF, then upload it to Yudu - an online publishing service.

Here is my latest Album of Bali and Lombok in 2912:

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Digital Publishing with YUDU

I started putting these albums to together after a trip to Vietnam in 2008. And this was the result:

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Digital Publishing with YUDU

Creating a photo album in iPhoto isn't all that difficult. The hardest part is sorting out what images one want to include. There are a wide variety of formats to choose from and Yudu is a free service with an option to upgrade to Yudu Plus so that you can sell your publications online. This is a step I haven't taken yet.

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Publisher Software from YUDU

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Publishing Software from YUDU

Nusa Lembongan - a Hidden Treat

The island called Nusa Penida lies off the east coast of Bali. At the eastern end of Nusa Penida lies a much small island (two islands actually) - Nusa Lembongan.

Lembongan is small enough to walk around. Most tourists come across on tour boats from Sanur every day, and after they depart the island returns to a quiet paradise. This place is a paradise for divers - particularly if you like the idea of diving with Manta Rays, as I did while I was there.

Diving with Manta

This is one place to which I must return. There are some spectacular cliffs around the island that warrant further attention, which I didn't get to on my last trip. The people who live here are all Balinese, and things move at a relaxed pace.

The tidal movement here is significant. When I was there, the tide was in at sunrise - several metres deep, only to have totally receded by the end of the day at sunset, leaving all the loacl fishing boats left high and dry on the reef that surround the island.

Harvesting seaweed is the major activity for locals here, along with tourism, diving and fishing. During the day the surfers enjoy a riding the standing wave that breaks over the reef.

Next time you visit Bali, or if you are thinking of going there, then add a few days at Lembongan into your itinerary.

Lombok - the Next Bali?

Bali has changed a lot over the last 30 years, since the time that I first started going there. The next island to the east is Lombok, and to be honest I think that it has a lot of untapped potential.

Like Balil, Lombok is dominated by a volcano - called Rinjani. Lombok isn't overrun with tourists and is very under developed. The roads are very quiet and life moves at a slower pace here.

Mt Rinjani

There are several spectacular waterfalls that one can visit in Northern Lombok. There is a restaurant at the start of the walk down to the two waterfalls in this area. You must be accompanied by a local guide.  It appears to be a way to create work for the locals. But, when you get to the waterfall I visited the day I was there - the walk down was certainly worth it.

Waterfall near Senaru

The shot above was captured with a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 29mm, so that I could capture the grandeur of the cascading water. I put my wife in the picture to give the viewer some idea of the scale and hight. 

One of the other things we saw while we were there, was a group of macaque monkeys that live in the area. I was able to get close enough to capture one with a 300mm lens.

Curious monkey

On the way back to where we were staying on Lombok, at the Puri Mas Hotel, our driver took us via the Monkey Forest. A road winds its way through the hills in this area, and there are literally monkeys everywhere. The greatest challenge is finding a place to park your vehicle beside the road, in order to get out and get up close and personal. We were there late in the afternoon. The light wasn't great. Next time I'm back at Puri Mas, I'm going to dedicate a lot more time to this area.

Finally, a few words about Puri Mas. From here you get some great shots of the sun setting over Bali. This image gives you some idea as to what I mean.

Bali as seen from Lombok Nikkor 70-300mm @ 180mm

At the end of the day the local fishermen are heading home and it easy to capture a shot like this one.

Lombok Fisherman at sunset

Does this place have photographic potential? I think so.

Sunset Point - Gilli Trawangan

The Gilli Islands

Every evening one of the best places to visit is Sunset Point, on the southern tip of Gilli T. You can walk, ride a bicycle or catch a chidomo to get there. Trawangan isn't a big place as you can see from the map above.

On the way there are lots of photographic opportunities, and the island is a "hussle bustle" of activity, with people having a good time in the various restaurants and bars that dot the road that circumnavigates the island. As you get further away from the busy area, on the east side, things become quieter and distinctly more relaxed. That's not to say that Gilli Trawangan is not already relaxed, it is certainly a lot more tranquil than the over developed Kuta Beach area in Bali. Gilli T, is different - very different. No cars or motorcycles for a start!

Gilli Trawangan - the Other Kuta

If you travel to Bali, as many Australians do every year, one tends to forget that there are other paces one can visit. As a frequent visitor to Indonesia over the last 25 years, this is a trap that we fell into until just a few years ago.

Gilli Trawangan

In 2011, I took my first trip to Lombok. Then, armed with a Nikon D3s I discovered Gilli Trawangan. One of three small islands located off the north west coast of Lombok, Gilli T as it is colloqually know is the largest of three small islands, the others being Gilli Meno and Gilli Air.

There are no cars on Gilli T, its bicycles, walking or horse drawn Chidomo (taxis) if you want to explore or go anywhere. Gilli T is more colourful than Kuta Bali, in fact as a destination it has a much friendlier feel about it.

In 2012 I ventured back to Gilli T and captured these with my Nikon D800.

I shoot only in RAW and have discovered that the D800's wide dynamic range produces sharp images with plenty of depth. All my images are processed in Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Nik Software's Complete Collection adds to some amazing results.

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