Monticello Indiana Camping Trip Information

No family camping trip is complete without the practice of some popular camping traditions. Singing songs around the campfire, setting up tents, etc. are all camping traditions that are deeply-rooted in history. Make your next camping vacation one to remember by incorporating these fun camping traditions into your stay.

1. Setting up Tents

Staying in tents is not only an economical way to camp out – tents are a traditional dwelling that Native Americans used long before Europeans arrived. The tents that Native Americans used were known as Tipis. Tipi is a Sioux word for “dwelling.” The shape of Tipis allowed them to shed wind and rain. Nowadays, tents are far more compact and easier to carry around. The nights you and your family spend camped out in a tent while listening to the sounds of the night and going outside to admire the star-studded sky will become lasting memories.

2. Campfire Songs

Campfire songs are an oral tradition that cannot be traced back to a particular culture or time in history. Singing around the fire is a common practice across many different cultures and popular campfire songs have a variety of origins. The popular campfire song, “Home on the Range,” is Kansas’ state song while “Blow the Man Down” is a traditional sailor song from the 19th century. Some campfire songs even have spiritual significance. Both children and adults love to belt it out in front of a campfire. Bring a guitar, hand drums, and/or tambourines to make singing around the fire with your family even more fun. Only the crickets will hear you so it doesn’t matter if you don’t exactly qualify as a good singer, let loose and enjoy singing around the fire on your next camping trip.

3. Campfire Storytelling

While packing your tent, food, and everything else you need for your family camping trip, don’t forget to stock up on great campfire stories! Storytelling is a tradition in every culture of the world. Native Americans have been telling stories for thousands of years in North America. Telling stories around the campfire with your family will bring you closer together. Let your imagination run wild and make up your own stories or consult a great storybook and pick out the best stories you can find.

4. Making S’Mores

No one knows exactly where everyone’s favorite campfire treat originated but there was a recipe for a similar treat in the 1940 Girl Scout Handbook that was called “Some Mores.” Everyone in the family can enjoy this delicious sandwich cookie that consists of fire-roasted marshmallow, melted chocolate, and graham crackers.

5. Campfire Cooking

Whether you’re going to cook with a charcoal grill, dutch oven, campfire, or camping stove, making and sharing food with your family is a lovely tradition that shouldn’t be left out of any camping trip. Cultures around the world have different methods of outdoor cooking and in North America the Scouting movement and wilderness educators are excellent sources of information on the subject.

Margie Dettman, is the owner and operator of the Jellystone Park Camp-Resort at Natural Bridge, one of the most popular sites for camping in Virginia. Her work has allowed her to become very familiar with family vacation hotspots such as the Natural Bridge campground and cabins in Virginia, enabling her to give insider tips for fun family vacations.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Margie_Dettman

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Take Monticello Vacation Pictures

Photos make great souvenirs; here are our insider tips for how to make your vacation photos the best they can be.

First, take lots of photos. Remember that it is often quantity that helps the pros achieve their quality — they might take hundreds of photos in a single session to find that perfect shot. For most of us, the easiest and most cost effective way to do this is with a digital camera. Don’t forget to erase the images with closed eyes and cut-off heads so you’ll have more room in your camera’s memory for the good ones and won’t have to download as often.

Learn all about your camera. Yes, we recommend that you read the manual. Sound boring? Maybe, but knowing all your camera’s capabilities will help you choose the settings that are most appropriate to your situation. And you might pick up some extra tips, like dating your photos, that will come in handy.

Time it right. Outdoor lighting is perfect during what professionals call the “magic hours” — right after dawn and just before sunset. For most people, there is more magic in the latter, but if you are traveling through time zones that make early mornings feasible, you might also find that the peace and quiet inherent to this time of day makes framing the perfect shot easier. Noon is the worst time to take photos because the sunlight is too harsh (and is also likely to make your travel companions squint — and who wants that in their photos?).

Light it right. The sun or indoor light source should always be behind you (the photographer), illuminating your subjects so they don’t appear in silhouette. Worried that there isn’t enough sun? Remember that on overcast days, the light is softer so there are no harsh shadows on the faces of your subjects.

Set up your shot. Take a moment before you snap each photo to examine exactly what is in the frame. These tips will help you set up shot:

Think of triangles. As you compose your shot, try to include subjects on three different levels. For example, if you are photographing three people, have one person standing, the second sitting, and the third person kneeling down in front. These different heights make the composition more interesting than lining people up in a row.
Keep things in proportion. If you are using a wide-angle lens, you may find that whatever is closest to you as you snap the photo appears exaggerated and out of proportion. You can escape this problem by stepping back a few feet and then zooming in.
Fill the frame with your subject instead of leaving lots of empty space around it. If you need to, move closer or zoom in.
Experiment with different angles. Try approaching your subject from different directions and holding the camera both vertically and horizontally.
Take a second look. Is that a tree branch or lamp post sprouting from someone’s head? Check what you see in the frame one more time, to make sure the shot is set up the way you want it.
Good moods lead to good pictures. This shouldn’t be hard — you’re on vacation after all! Professional photographers are always thinking about ways to add energy, interaction and movement into their photos and you should, too, remembering that laughter evokes all three of these special qualities.
Look your best. Whether you’re in the photo yourself, or taking photos of the friends and family with whom you are vacationing, following these tips to make sure everyone looks as wonderful as they really are:

Minimize a wrinkly or shiny face. Airplane trips can be very dehydrating, so use extra moisturizer to keep skin looking radiant, since the camera can make sallowness and wrinkles appear more pronounced. Of course you don’t want a shiny face either — so use foundation and translucent powder when necessary. And be sure to extend foundation to the neck and decolletage since differences in skin tone will be more apparent on camera.
Maximize available light. Set up your shot to get as much light on the face as possible. Indoors, pose your subject close to the window or other light source. And indoors and out, always use the flash — the light will illuminate the skin and conceal imperfections. The exception is for photos taken on a white sand beach or out in the snow — the reflective qualities of the scenery itself will help light up your subject’s face.
Act natural. To keep your subjects from looking too posed and rigid, keep up a natural conversation as you set up the shot, have them sit on or lean against something, and have them hold onto something — even just their sunglasses or hat — to ensure that their hands aren’t straight down by their sides.
Banish double chins. Avoid the dreaded double chin by ensuring that the camera is at or slightly above the subject’s eye level. Shorter photographers can achieve this by having their subjects sit down and look up toward the camera, or by having their subjects bend their knees a little bit. (And now you know why fashion photographers so often use tep ladders!)
Don’t blink. Closed eyes can be a problem for everyone (we all have to blink from time to time), but it seems to be most pronounced in group photos when just one person with eyes closed requires another shot. So tell everyone to shut their eyes and count to three. On the count of three, say something funny or unexpected so that everyone will open their eyes and laugh, and you’ll snap the perfect picture.
Turn, turn, turn. By directing your subject to turn his or her head slightly and look over your shoulder rather than directly into the camera lens, you’ll avoid both the “deer-in-the-headlights” look and help your subject look slimmer, since in the resulting photo, the viewer’s eye will be drawn up and down rather than from side to side (if it is a full-body shot, encourage the subject to turn his or her whole body for the same reason).
Get rid of red-eye. No one likes the appearance of being possessed. Since red-eye occurs when the pupils have opened up in response to dim light (which allows the flash to light up all the eyes’ red blood vessels), you can avoid it by having your subjects look at a bright light just before the photo is taken. Note that this is essentially what the anti-red-eye feature on some cameras does

Of course taking wonderful photographs during your vacation is one thing. Finding a way to enjoy the fruits of your labors once you get back home is quite another. Sure you can print them out and create a photo album the old fashioned way. But now, thanks to the wonders of the web, there are more (and better) options:

We love online photo sites like Shutterfly, which help you organize, print out, and share your photos. And right now, Shutterfly is offering special enticements to get you to use their site. So we encourage you to check out Shutterfly – you’ll get 50 free prints and a free Collage Poster to get started. Plus, you’ll enjoy free photo share and unlimited photo storage.
Or try animoto, which allows you to upload photos and a song to create a free 30-second video. All your friends, colleagues and relatives who would grown at the thought of paging through an album or slide show will be delighted with your cleverness (and brevity).
Picasa, which lets you add photos onto a Google earth map, is another good option. An annotated map that your pals can view online (or via email) at their leisure (and, again, for a brief time) is a great way to share the details of your trip in a friendly, rather than imposing, way.

This article is by Victoria Franzese, courtesy of The Insider Travel Guides, which cover Bermuda, Boston, Hawaii, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco, providing an insider’s view on what to see and where to go. Our guides update you with regular tips about how to save money getting to and enjoying your destination, how to survive the hassles of traveling, what “hidden treasures” you might have overlooked as you planned your trip, and what is on the upcoming calendar.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victoria_Franzese

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