Funny food moment in Australia!

Posted on April 17, 2017 by ryang

Hi Ma!   I’m OK!   Except I might be broke soon.. Send money!!!  Australia is expensive…   🙂

 

So this is a quick blog post, with a video blog included.  I think I might start doing more videos.. What do you guys think?

So I am at the grocery store.  I ask the STORE manager if he knows where I can find Vanilla Extract (of course he does, he’s the store manager right). If you need to know, I am making french toast for the group the next day.  The conversation goes like this.

Me: Excuse me sir, do you know where I can find the Vanilla extract?

Store Manager:  Yes I do, follow me (as he starts to laugh a little).

Me: To myself, I wonder what is so funny.

He walks me to the vanilla extract and now he’s pretty much laughing, so I have to ask.  “What’s so funny”.

SM:  Well you see this is the second time in 3 hours that I have been asked where VANILLA extract is located.

Me: Confused,  “OK…….”

SM:  Yeah, I’ve been the manager here for 3 years, and NOT ONCE has anyone EVER asked me where Vanilla extract is, but today in a matter of 3 hours, 2 different people ask. So it’s funny.  Americans, Is this a common thing?”

Me:  Well I only have ever used it to make French Toast

SM:  French Toast, really?   You Americans are some odd people.

SO I got him on video as a little interview..  You can see the video Vanilla Extract in Melbourne.

Americans, Odd people?  This coming from a culture that likes Vegemite sandwiches..  OO and YES I Tried it.. if you want to see my reaction to Vegemite you can see that video INSERT VEGEMITE VIDEO HERE.

Told ya this one would be short..

 

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Thanks

Ryan G

Posted in Australia, Melbourne, Photography, Travel | Leave a comment

The Good and the Bad

Posted on March 20, 2017 by ryang

Hi MA, I’m OK!  Here is a little snap from Bondi Beach. 

Soooo.. You already heard about The Ugly so I don’t need to go over that again.  This one is dedicated to the Good and the Bad.  There is SOO much good here I will try and fit it into just one post.

 

Of course being a photographer I see things a bit differently. I look for landscapes, architecture, cool things to take pictures of.  Like the lighthouse above (for my mom cause she is my lighthouse). Well let me tell you, there are A TON of things to take pictures of here in Melbourne.  The skyline is spectacular, the architecture is incredible, and lastly if you are willing to travel a little bit there is a place called The 12 Apostles   Be sure to check it out. Quick pic below.

 

 

The best way to describe Melbourne, well the downtown area anyway, is a really small NYC.  There are a TON of stores and shops and you can buy anything and everything you want on any given street.  Also it’s pretty clean here (unlike most of NYC) and the people are again SUPER friendly and are always willing to stop and help when you are lost or need some help with something.  Here’s an example.. As I am walking down the road during sunset I notice a guy with a humungous tripod and motor system.  Naturally I am intrigued and stopped to talk a bit about photography.

 Dave, his name is Dave, tells me that he is a teacher and teaches photography.  Well we hit it off, talk for a while about photography and then BOOM there it is the sunset is PERFECTLY in line with the bridge down the river that separates both sides of the skyline.  Man.. what luck.  I must have taken 1,000 pictures of that sunset (bracketing HDR shots) no kidding.  Below you will see one of the finished HDR shots.  It was even better in person.

 So venturing off to who knows where hoping to get some pictures of some flowers at dusk I come across an amphitheater. Turns out there is a concert in the park that night and what do you know the security guard hands me a free ticket.   So not only did I see an amazing sunset, I get to see a botanical garden and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as well.   Not only THAT, but the Amphitheater overlooks the skyline.  Man what a great day (except for the hostel experience, which if you didn’t read about you can see again in the past blog post. 

I wish I had a tripod with me, but I don’t. The images of the Orchestra and the skyline would have been pretty amazing. You have to settle for these.

So YES.. That is the Good.. Even better is that about 10 minutes from where I am staying (after the hostel mind you) is the Footie stadium, the dockside, all sorts of really cool art on the water, an enormous ferris wheel (which I did NOT go on, as you know I am scare of heights) and just some really cool architecture. Here’s some captures.

So I know you are asking with ALL this Good, how bad could it be..  Well not TOO bad.  The bad really comes down to money.  If you have a decent amount of money to spend while in Australia, well you will be fine.  If, however, you are like me and want your money to last you the next 2 years of traveling, well it can get ugly rather quickly.   My meal at a burger place was $21.50 for a cheese burger and a small water.  I bought a snickers bar (a small one) for $2.70.

 A big bottle of water was $7.00.   O yea and if you want a can of soda, expect to pay around $5.50.   So yea it can get rather pricey.  If you are aware of this you can always cut corners and save money by buying groceries and not eating out and of course there is always Maccas (McDonald’s for everyone else but Auzzies) which actually is rather reasonable.

So what about the Ugly you ask, well read my last blog post.   I am sure there are other UGLY sides, but my only gripe with Melbourne was my hostel experience and that really wasn’t Melbourne’s fault.

 As always.  Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think.  Of course Like and Share it as well.

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RYAN G PRODUCTIONS 

Facebook: Ryan Gphoto

Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Thanks

Ryan G

Posted in Australia, Melbourne, Photography, Travel | Leave a comment

Melbourne – Rocks! The 12 Apostles Lots of pics

Posted on March 8, 2017 by ryang

So this post is dedicated as you would guess to my mother.  She got some bad news recently, so keep her in your prayers… You’re my rock MA! So this is for you..

Hi Ma, I’m OK!   As you can see this place is amazing and I wish you could experience it with your eyes. Maybe one day but for now you can see it through my eyes (err lens).  Love ya.

 

What can I say.  This might be one of the most amazing places I have ever seen with my own eyes.  I HAVE seen some incredible pictures that take my breath away, but in person, this is probably tops on my list.  Of course IF I ever see Scarlett Johanssen in person that might take the cake, but that’s a different story.

 

I am pretty much going to let the picture below do the talking.  This day is also pretty memorable for me because it was the first time I was ever in a helicopter, which is where a good bit of the photos are taken from.  SO enjoy the images below and if you have any questions or comments please leave them below for me.

 And I present the 12 Apostles

 

 

And my favorite!

As always.  Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think.  Of course Like and Share it as well.

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Thanks

Ryan G

Posted in Australia, Melbourne, Photography, Travel | 2 Comments

Hostel Experience – The Ugly

Posted on March 5, 2017 by ryang

Hi Ma!  I’m OK!   They let me drive a Yacht!!

As I arrive in Melbourne I was reflecting on my time in Thailand.  Even if there was a huge language barrier I noticed that everyone was super friendly, nice, kind, and very trusting.  Most food vendors let you order, eat in a general area where you COULD walk off, and then pay when you are done eating.   The people are so kind and generous as well as respectful of time. One person even went out of their way to find me someone that spoke English, so that they could help me.

This brings me to Melbourne. Again everyone is super friendly, but in a different way, they are still pleasant, and helpful but not like in Thailand.  I guess I can’t explain it other than to say Thai people go out of their way, where most cultures do not. In Melbourne they are VERY laid back, and time isn’t as important.  Or so it seems…  In Thailand however, people are not only laid back, they are also a culture that lives to sleep in their days off, where in Australia in general they are very active.

Hello / Good evening Melbourne

So after I take the Skybus and get on some wifi I need to book a hostel (yes, it was last minute because I got the dates wrong when my friends were coming in and well, I ended up arriving a day earlier.  Therefore, I am in need of some last minute accommodations.  I am now in Melbourne and I decide to book a NOMAD hostel (The name of the organization that owns the hostel is called Nomad). I have stayed in these over the years and they are normally pretty decent.   Welp, this one was a wee bit different.   I arrived at 6:45pm and they have free wifi until 7pm. The website says free WiFi, I guess they weren’t technically lying.  Lovely.  It turns out, you have to pay for WiFi after 7PM. The cost is $5,which isn’t much, but it’s really about the nickel and diming people that gets me.  I check in and I was told I get a free welcome beverage, awesome.. not so awesome..  It’s actually buy 1 get 1 free because they don’t have “anymore” free beverage coupons.  Turns out Happy Hour is the same buy 1 get 1 free from 5pm – 7pm… Not a good start. O and yeah thanks for lying to me!   I decide to come back for the beer later since it doesn’t matter when I get it.  I head up to the room and there is a pretty awful funk. There are 6 beds, which is rather par for the course in a hostel dorm (sometimes upwards of 12 beds and even 34 beds in a room).  There are two people that are there in the room.  One guy I come to find out has been there a month (apparently they don’t change the sheets ever).  He let me know there is a party tonight and I should definitely check it out.  We chat for a bit about travel and apparently it’s cheaper to stay in a hostel for a month than get your own apartment, something I didn’t really think about, but good to know.

As I glance around the room I notice only 2 outlets for 6 beds. I ask my new friend if there are any more outlets and he of course says no, but I can charge my stuff downstairs if I want.  Well that’s rather inconvenient. There is no air conditioning and only a broken fan.  You have to leave the window open at night so you can get even a slight breeze, but then you hear all the noise from a busy street and the people outside (more on that in a bit).  The bathrooms are seriously dirty.  I have been in some pretty dirty environments and this is definitely up there. There is no toilet paper (I inform the desk which apparently they know about it),and no water, and not no HOT water but NO WATER at all.  Apparently, something is happening with the pipes.  I can’t shower, I am super tired from traveling for some 20+ hours, I am admittedly cranky, and I probably smell.

Finally, I decide to check out the rest of the Hostel, which surprisingly, isn’t so bad.  Nice little kitchen, a mini pool table with miniature balls and pool cues, an outside patio area where EVERYONE is smoking, (I didn’t stay out there very long) and some really cool graffiti.

After getting the lay of the land I venture out to see what I can find, as I am famished.  Turns out, after talking to a guy at the hostel,there is a really great burger place down the road!  I get there and it’s called 8-bit because they have free, YES FREE arcade games. Ya know the ones with like 1,000 games, Ms. Pac-man, Pac-man, Galaga, Tetris, Street Fighter, etc..?  Pretty cool.   Well it turns out the reason that is free is because it’s an arm and a leg to get any food.  I got a plain cheese burger, comes with fries, you can’t even NOT get them for less money,  and a SMALL water (8oz) and it was $21.50.  I shit you not.

I almost lost it when I saw the total. In their defense it was a good burger though.   I got my order and I forgot to ask for some more ketchup…  Guess what.. You have to pay for ketchup.  Of course that ain’t free. $1 for a TEENY TINY ketchup, wanna see how big?  Of course you do..  Below is a pic of the THIMBLE sized portion of ketchup you get for $1.  No I DID NOT edit this in Photoshop, honest.  That is the size of it.

Be prepared for money shock when you get to Australia.  Sure our dollar goes a little farther, but with what stuff costs here it’s way more expensive than the US, hell even prices in NYC are on par with Melbs.  After leaving there I really wanted to get back to the hostel to get some stuff done.  UPON arriving there is a full 4 table beer pong tournament.  Normally this would be pretty cool, but tonight I just want to relax a little and organize some things.  I decide to grab my “free” beer and hangout for a bit and take in the environment.  I grab my laptop and start organizing.  I ask the person behind the counter how long the event goes until and the answer was “Well at least 2am, it’s party Wednesday”.  No one told me about this upon check-in. At least it’s not too loud, AND THEN BOOM!!!!  DJ hits the music… Seriously it’s like being in a ROCK concert or an EDM concert (for the younger peeps).  They had a glass door that separated the lobby from the party and well I literally heard the music up a flight of stairs, through 2 doors, and into my room. CLEAR as DAY.   So much for sleeping tonight.  Around 2:30am the DJ finally goes off, but the people go outside and start playing their own music (remember we have to keep the window open for air cause there is no air conditioning).. Yea I got to bed around 4am.  I was up for 47 hours straight… Not the best experience, but I will be looking at hostels a bit more closely and asking a lot more questions upon booking, from now on.  That’s the hostel experience.   Let me know if you guys and gals have any horror stories about your stays.

I will give them something… They do have really nice beaches and water though.

As always.  Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think.  Of course Like and Share it as well.

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Thanks

Ryan G

Posted in Australia, Melbourne, Thailand, Travel, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Off to Australia I GO!!! Thanks Thailand!

Posted on February 23, 2017 by ryang

HI Ma!!  I am still ok.. I learned a few really important lessons about traveling recently and I will share some of it with you all.

I am skipping around now.  I had such an amazing time in Thailand it’s hard to put into words.   Traveling on my own and having no agenda really puts things in perspective for me.  When you are working with other people’s schedules things can get hectic and dicey and above all frustrating.   That being said I am making the best of the situation.  I will tell ya from experience, just do your own thing, and don’t worry about trying to accommodate for others.   I lost a good deal of money and a lot of hours trying to adhere to other people’s schedules.    So first tip… Plan your own trip, stick to what you want to do, and if people want to come along great, if not don’t worry about it.  It’s ok to be on your own agenda. $1400.00 lesson learned.

I promise I will get back to the adventures I had in Thailand but I want to keep you all up to date with what has been happening.. There have been some REALLY great things, some ok things, and some not so great things.  Traveling has ups and downs just like every day life.  It’s not ALL just fun and simple unless you are going away for 1-2 weeks (and even then it can be trying).

I tell ya, after Thailand, Australia is EXPENSIVE.  I was NOT prepared for the pricing increase.  I definitely would have bought a lot more things in Thailand had I known.  I lost my towel, as I believe most people know, and I was just going to get one in Thailand, but I decided to wait until Melbourne, Australia, well…. In Thailand the towel I wanted was roughly $15 (similar kind of towel to what I had), but in Melbourne $45 AUD, which is roughly $38 USD)..  A haircut in Thailand $4, Melbourne, $30 USD.  I was going to pick up a hammock.. In Thailand I found a local shop that made them in the country, beautiful craftsmanship, light, travel friendly.. $45.  Melbourne $145, not including straps, and some other things plus I have no idea on the craftsmanship and warranty.  (I was lucky enough to have a good friend ship me one from the USA via Amazon for $130, but it came with everything, I know the brand, and it comes with a lifetime warranty. (and excellent news, due to the not arriving on time, I received a $21 shipping refund)

So, when in doubt. Buy it in Thailand.  🙂

Here is a double rainbow for your viewing pleasure.     Thought I would try something different this time and just throw in some other cool photos you all might like.   Maybe it works maybe it doesn’t, I wanna know what you think.

So a small confession.. I haven’t’ been in Thailand for a few weeks now.  I have been traveling through Australia.   I have been seeing and doing much, I can’t keep up with the blog.  It’s a good issue to have of course, none-the-less I apologize to you guys for not keeping you up to date real time.   I think I might change the direction a little and show and tell you guys about the experiences I am having and it NOT be on a timeline..  What do you think?  Let me know below.

HELLO Australia!!!   Here is a view of the skyline and right in the middle of this river is where the sun sets behind that bridge.  I did get a shot of this, but well honestly I haven’t had time to work on it.  So, I flew into Melbourne (pronounced MelBIN here or just Melbs)..  It’s nothing like Melbourne, Florida either.   The first thing you will notice about this place is how EXPENSIVE everything is.  I mean a small snickers bar is $2.70, a can (12oz) of coke is $5.50, this is at a 7-11.  It’s even more expensive at the airport (which in most airports everything is expensive of course).  A regular bottle of water is $4.50.  So you really have to mind what you buy and where.  I could blow a week’s budget in Thailand on a very average day here that’s for sure.  I already miss Thailand Ha!

The other thing I noticed, everyone is so friendly.  I noticed that people are just really nice here.  They are friendly, greet you with a smile, talk with an amazing accent (ok maybe they don’t have the accent, I do) and everyone is really just, HAPPY here.  I did fly from Bangkok to Melbourne, but through the Gold Coast where I had a layover (I also changed planes and airline carriers) and something you might want to note you DO have to collect your bags when transferring airlines.  Meaning you have to go to baggage claim, pick up your bag and go BACK THROUGH security again to get on the other flights.  Just something that is very common over on this side of the world.  Be sure to check with your initial booking airline what they require.  You don’t want to be in Sydney when your bags are on the baggage belt in Gold Coast (which thankfully I checked or that would have been the case with me).  Ok.. back to the Melbourne.

My arrival in Melbourne was interesting…  The flight from Bangkok to Gold Coast was about 8 hours and Asia Air does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT serve ANY free drinks to anyone.  Water $5, soda $6, meal (I get they don’t serve meals free), $10+.   How do you get on a flight for 3+ hours and NOT serve even water.  Don’t people get massively dehydrated on planes?  Pillow or blanket, good luck.. I didn’t even ask how much it was as they weren’t free.   After all that though, I had the BEST landing of any flight I have ever been on.  It literally felt like we were still in the air and then they were putting on the brakes, I didn’t even realize we touched down.  Of course I gave the captain my compliments on a job well done, to which he said “Cheers mate!”.. I just love this place already.  So there was a silver lining after all.

Above you will see NO public transportation goes here, and truthfully I am not really a guy that LOVES public transportation, but it’s growing on me.  From learning to use the bus in Bangkok, to renting a motor scooter in Pai, I have gotten a decent handle on things.   How bad could Melbourne be…I mean, they speak english right?   Well getting off the flight and trying to get to downtown was a little difficult considering I didn’t have wifi or a SIM card.  They want to charge you at the airport (in this day and age that’s just crazy, right?) for WiFi.  Well after wandering around, I found a SkyBus.  It will take me to downtown (right near where I will be staying mind you) for $19 AUD (australian dollars) The conversion is .77  so you can do the math to USD if you want.  Not too shabby, and GET THIS.. The Bus.. Free WiFi..  awesome.   I am on my own in Melbourne for a day until my friends arrive so what to do. Book my hostel and set out to tour the city is what…  It’s like a small NYC in the center of the city.  Everything is pretty much within walking distance and they have a Tram that is totally free inside the square that is the downtown area.   

Of course while you spend some time here you will find some pretty interesting things.  I actually LOVE lighthouses, they signify strength, foundation, and being grounded, and a beacon of hope (to me anyway).   I also just love that they are there for you in the darkest of hours.  This one came just the right time and I am grateful for it.    Hopefully you like this one as it’s pretty important on my trip.  I know all of you are wondering, what darkest hour.. Well I won’t get into too many specifics, but I got some pretty terrible news on this trip and I can’t really do much about it from 12,000 miles away, but this lighthouse showed up at the perfect moment.   Let’s just ask that you keep my family in your prayers.   Ok off of the less than pleasant news and onto something just a little more fun.   I got to see the ocean again!!  Yea, I know.. I am petrified of the water, but it’s interesting.. Not having seen the ocean for a long time makes you appreciate it that much more.   So yea this image is a big deal to me.  All that being said.. the next blog will be pretty interesting.  So far everything has been pretty great, but eventually you will run into some bad experiences as well and the next blog will be about a terrible

Hostel Experience I had here, so stay tuned.. It’s an interesting story.  I think you will like reading about it.    Ok I am off, talk soon.

As always.  Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think.  Of course Like and Share it as well.

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Thanks

Ryan G

Posted in Australia, Melbourne, Photography, Sydney, Thailand, Travel | 1 Comment

Pai – Hippie Paradise, more sunsets and fun!

Posted on February 19, 2017 by ryang

Hi Ma!!!  I am OK!..  I am currently in a hammock in this picture and I have decided that I really like them, and I will be getting one soon.  They are so relaxing and I have a bit of downtime coming up soon and laying in one of these bad boys is going to be just what I need for the rest of my trip, which keeps getting extended (more on that later).

This was a pretty iconic landmark in Pai.  This the a town that is about a 3hr minibus ride from Chiang Rai (which will get a couple blog posts coming up).  It’s a windy ride through a big mountain and man if you can get car sick, this is the place that it might happen.  It’s basically the “hippiest town in the world”.  There isn’t a sign that says this, but there should be.  I mean it doesn’t even feel like you are anywhere in the world, and certainly NOT Thailand.  The tourists actually outnumber the Thai people.  It’s an interesting thing to see and experience and I can only say that this place left a lasting impression on me.  I really enjoyed my time in Pai and I am happy I was able to experience life there for a little while.

Of course what would Pai be without a Big Buddha?  This Buddha was about 400 steps at a 30 degree incline to get to.   It was really rewarding to have the opportunity to see this.  At the top of a mountain (we did take scooters to the top of the mountain, but then did take the 400 steps up to the Buddha itself).  It was about 150 feet or so tall and this perspective doesn’t do it justice at all.  Maybe next time I will stand a bit closer to the tall statues so you can get a perspective.  The details in the sculpture are just incredible.  Everyone should see this up close and in person, it blows my mind the detail of the craftmanship here in Thailand.

After a nice little scooter ride up through the mountains we arrived at this really cool area.  Again, walking is involved but not too bad, definitely not like the Buddha.  At the top there is an incredible view of all of Pai.  I mean the flowers and the scene at the top are pretty incredible.  Below you will see a view of the entire city and some colorful flowers that I was able to capture.  I really enjoy capturing the simple things, flowers being one of them. They are so easy to appreciate.  I love a quote and there are a great number of people who say it’s from Buddha and then some others who discredit this as well.  Anyway I am not sure who came up with it, but it works really well.

“When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily.”

This is kind of how I feel when I see a really pretty flower.

I just loved these flowers and thought maybe you all would as well.   This view just so happens to overlook the city of Pai.   It’s all about the little moments in life.  You’re welcome.  🙂

I posted this because well.. I love strawberries.  We have a strawberry festival in Florida every year and I try and make it when possible. I mean we do have some great strawberries there.  Then I saw this and just knew I had to get back there and take a picture with this giant strawberry.  The whole place was filled with strawberry paraphernalia.  I just wish they were real.  I mean can you imagine a strawberry this big?  What would that cost?  What would it weight?  I dunno, but let me know if you find one… I am in for 1/2 the cost.

There were so many cool signs all around Pai.  I mean hippie love and all right?  Ok so as much as I like to poke fun, I really do love cool signs. This is literally just on the side of the road as you are driving.  I found it on a whim and had to stop before I left.  I have a picture without me, but who wants to see that?  Ok, FINE.. maybe I will post it another time.  For now the one with me in it will have to do.  🙂

As you all know.. I love sunsets.  Yeah.. They are my jam (not jelly mind you, jam only for this guy and yes there is a difference.  I mean it’s like when people say there is no difference between white and yellow american cheese.. Well..There is, OK!).

Ok back to the sunsets.  In Pai, I saw some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.  I keep seeing even more precious moments that involve the sun going down below the horizon.  Below are some of them.  These are all different locations technically, but they all are from PAI Canyon on different days.  This gives you an idea of how amazing the sunsets are at Pai.  I would LOVE to stay there for a year and just go back to the same place and take a sunset picture everyday and see what I would come away with.  I am pretty sure I might try this for a few weeks sometime in the future.  I mean this place is magical.

Here’s a cool panorama I thought you guys would love.  I love this pano.  I mean this was one of the first days I was in Pai and I was really surprised that the sunsets were this incredible.  This actually was the photo that made me decide to go back to the Pai Canyon 2 more days in a row.  This shot was taken from a very easy vantage point to get to.   So just imagine what the other vantage points would be like.  Well you don’t have to…. 🙂   I have included them below.   Also if you want to see a video of how to get to the other vantage points, check out this video of me getting to the other view points.

Yep!.. I KNOW right??!?!?!?  These sunsets are incredible.  You can see the trek above in the link, it wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t easy with my gear either.

This is the second best sunset I have ever seen.  It was simply magical.  The mini trek to get there.  The beauty of the surroundings.  The mountains in the background.  The people that were all just THERE in awe.  It was just amazing.  I really enjoyed this moment in time and was truly at peace when I clicked the shutter.

My friend Sean took this picture for me.  It was the moment after I took the photo above.  I was truly content, satisfied, mesmerized, astonished, and at peace. I wanted a picture to remember what it felt like and this is it.  I can’t tell you how happy I was.  More happy than I have been in a very long time.

This is almost the same shot as above but from a different angle.  Still in a really great place.   So I made a quote.  My very first one and it’s perfect for my situation in life right now.  A PATH which I will probably continue for quite some time.

As always.  Thanks so much for reading and I please let me know what you think.  Of course Like and Share it as well.

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Thanks

Ryan G

Posted in Pai, Photography, Thailand, Travel | Leave a comment

Friends and People I have met Part II

Posted on February 13, 2017 by ryang

Hi Ma!!!   Yes as you can see I am OK!..   Since this is a post dedicated to the people I met along the way I figured what better way to show you that then with the very first post.   🙂

As you can see Sean makes another appearance, along with Mike..  Yea MIKE!!   Way to get in there man.   Here are some friends you might remember from the first post.  Charlotte, Kelly, and Bella.

 

Below is a really great image of some friends.  One I knew for a longer period of time, Katrina (Katri Na), she was in my Guesthouse the first night I arrived and such an incredible human being.  She was such a pleasure to travel with.  Laid back, went with the flow and just liked seeing other cultures and experiencing the people and society she was it.   She is the woman just next to me.  She will also be in a couple other photos as we traveled for a few days together.  Meet Gus (The guy next to Katri Nah).  Gus lives in Spain now (or was it Portugal?) and is a professional Futbol player (Soccer for the Americans out there).  He was on break and traveling with the woman next to him, Habiba.  Pretty interesting guy who has seen most of the world.  He loves to travel and see a ton of countries on his breaks.  He had some really interesting stories and someone I really wanted to spend some more time with, but unfortunately Habiba and Gus would only be in Bangkok for 1 day so I am thankful to have met them, if only for a very brief time.   Habiba lives in Dubai, currently but I believe she is from London (or at least she studied there).   She has ALSO been all over the world and had experienced some amazing cultures.   I feel like I started a little late (but well AT least I started).  From Gus and Habiba I have learned that I really need to embrace life and travel and experience different cultures.  I really truly thank them for the time they have been in my life.

Here is an amazing picturesque image.  I mean the view from this lookout was breath-taking.  You all recognize Sean and Mike (maybe Mike, but definitely Sean).   It looks like I actually made Sean bigger in Photoshop, but I promised I did NOT do that.  🙂   So it’s Sean, then Kristin and Sabrina.  Kristin and Sabrina I met (along with meeting Sean) on the Night Train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.   I have posted the link to the video of the Night Train accommodations.  Click if you want to see what the travel is like.   Not the best of accommodations, but not the worst (even though some people commented that they could never travel this way).   Anyway, Kristin is from Germany (no NOT Munich, actually she doesn’t even like Munich and has never been to Octoberfest, which I found crazy as I thought it was a National Past time there).   She speaks fluent English which I keep finding a blessing to encounter SO many people that speak english.  It’s sad as americans we do not take more pride in learning other languages.  I WISH I had really made an effort to learn and keep the languages I was taught, but I never did.  I am going to be taking up a language here soon.   Not sure what, but leave me a comment and let me know what you think would be a good idea.   Sabrina is from the North of Italy, a little town called Kaltern,its near the “big” city called Bozen.   She actually speaks fluent Italian, German, and English.  She lives so close to German that they learn multiple languages in school.  I wish America would do this, MAKE kids REALLY Learn other languages.. It would be so useful in their adult lives.  I spent some really great moments with this group.   I truly enjoyed the time I had with them.  I was able to see the second best sunset EVER in my life and again, I live in Tampa, FL and I have traveled a little bit so that is saying something.  If you want to see the sunset I am talking about you are going to have to wait for my next blog post coming soon.

Meet Jessica.. A pretty awesome chick (she likes the term actually) from Yorkshire (NOT LONDON)..  Apparently I thought everyone from England is from London, and THIS.. IS..NOT…THE…CASE..   DO NOT make the mistake that I made.  Apparently they sound different and use different words from different part of England as well.   Interesting..   So interesting story about meeting Jessica.  I met her and Hannah (the women in the picture below this one closest to Jessica) in Bangkok at our hostel (which was pretty great and located in a really great area central to everything in Bangkok) called Once Again Hostel.  It’s the image of me with all the cake pans in the background if you guys remember that one.  Well anyway, we got to talking over breakfast and of course we both noticed the accents and I just LOVE British accents so over breakfast we talked about all the different words that are different.  Interesting.   Anyway.. I only saw Jessica for a day before I left the hostel and was heading north.  Turns out we were meant to meet again.  This time 427 miles away on the streets of another city.   I was randomly walking down the street when I hear this British voice that I IMMEDIATELY recognize.  Yep.. Jessica.   Totally random.. So she convinced me to take a cooking course.. Why not!!!  This is our finished Spring Rolls..  Yep. They were delicious.  Ain’t she a HAM!!!

Below you will see of course Jessica, and Hannah (who Jessica is traveling with) and Rebekka.  We all took this cooking class and man was the food incredible.   I learned a little about Thai cooking and how to prepare the meals, but best of all I got to eat with these fine ladies.   I truly hope our paths cross again in the near future.   You gals rock!

Kristin and Rebekka and Sabrina at our Thai cooking class.  Of course we are going to have fun..  Sorry about the quality of the pics, apparently my phone doesn’t take the best selfies.  I need to take a class on taking better selfies.  Maybe some of the younger women out there can show me, as all I see from them is selfies..  Someone should write a book..

I love this kid.. He’s hysterical.  I originally wanted a selfie with me and this temple because well, it’s pretty cool.   Sean saw this and photo bombed it.. Priceless.  It’s one of my favorite pics because Sean is truly one of those people I enjoyed spending time with.  It’s bye for now, not goodbye.  I look forward to coming to visit man.

Below is a pretty cool garden we found in a little square that you can get food from different vendors.  They have these heart shaped flower symbols.   You can see of course Sean, Mike, Sabrina, and Kristin, but here’s Lucas making an appearance next to me.  He and Sean are traveling together from China (Lucas ALSO teaches English in China, but he’s from the USA and doesn’t have an accent, so he’s probably just a WEE BIT more qualified than Sean to teach these poor Chinese kids English).

Randomly running into Jessica, but this time out and about in Bangkok going down Khao San Rd (look it up if you don’t know about this road, it can get pretty wild).   If you remember the video of Me Eating a Scorpion, it was down on Khao San Rd.  You can apparently buy anything on this road..  It’s pretty crazy (don’t worry mom, I only ate a scorpion I didn’t do much else crazy).   Just after this picture was taken I was seen dancing within a big circle of people with a crowd around us.   I there is a video Of Me Dancing, but the crowd had dispersed by this time.

Below you will see some guys I ran into a couple days before this.  Next to me is Damian.  He’s from Amsterdam and speaks like 6 languages.   This is simply amazing to me.   He is a really cool guy and loves traveling (who doesn’t, I mean really).   We all met randomly actually and from all walks of life.   Next to him is Christian.  Christian has an interesting story.  He’s from Norway (speaks 3 languages including perfect English).  He is writing his doctoral thesis on a specialty in Economics and the packaging industry.  AND.. He came to Thailand to take a break and actually TRY and write while he is here.   He did confess to me that he REALLY has NO Idea if he is going write at all, but he’s going to try.   A couple weeks later, he still hasn’t written a word.   Poor Christian.   I will keep checking in with him to see if he has done anything.  Next to Christian is Roman.  Roman is actually from Munich, Germany and I will be meeting up with him later this year in Munich at Octoberfest (if nothing goes differently that is).  For some reason I JUST kept missing Roman at every single stop in Thailand by a day or two.  I hope to meet up with him at some point in the future..  He was really great to be around.  I can’t wait to meetup with these guys in the near future.

Meet Davide (yes there is an “e” at the end.  He’s from Italy and I met him in my very first hostel as he was one of the suite mates there.   He speaks a couple different languages and man was he just awesome to be around.   I had the pleasure of hanging out with Davide for a couple of days and he’s really funny and quirky and just a lot of fun to be around.  He’s always making funny faces and just a pure jokester.  Like Roman, I kept missing Davide by a day or two in each city that I visited.   I would really love to meet up with Davide again in the future and plan to visit his city sometime through my travels.

Below is a group shot of Damian, Davide, Christian and some other females we met out drinking one night (Ma, I swear I am doing more than just drinking).

So..  here’s Stephanie and Jenny.   You might remember them from my Facebook post (if we aren’t Facebook friends you might want to ask yourself why we aren’t)..   This shot is a night on the town at a Skybar in downtown Bangkok.  Drinks are expensive by ANY standards let alone Thai standards.  To give you an example my 1 shot of bourbon on the rocks (Woodford Reserve mind you) was $15.00 (yes that’s US dollars).   That’s roughly 550 baht, which is roughly the cost of 14 meals here.  Yep 14 meals I could have eaten for 1 shot of bourbon.   Well I guess you pay for the view.  Below this image is a shot from the Skybar.  So Back to Jenny and Stephanie.   Again NO I am listing last names.  These two are pretty damn awesome.   They are taking some time off from life and traveling, like most, indefinitely (which really means, “Until our money runs out”).   So basically all the people I have met for the most part are traveling this way.    Jenny and Stephanie are basically bouncing around all of SE Asia and enjoying their time off.  We met in Bangkok, hungout for a couple of days (I introduced them to Krua Apsorn as well).  They went on their way, but we keep in touch (thank God for technology) via pictures and messaging about each others travels.   I look forward to the next time we meet.

Skyline of Bangkok, sorry for the crappy version this is from my phone.  But the skyline is AMAZING and the view is a 360 degrees in all directions.   I loved the top of the Skybar, if only it wasn’t so expensive.  I mean everything here is so inexpensive, I guess I expected when people told me it was expensive I thought $5 or MAYBE $8 a drink..  $15 is like NYC prices..   I am NOT used to that here.  I blew my entire daily budget on 2 drinks.   I mean even beers were $13.   I guess since they don’t charge admission it’s a way of justifying it.   I am glad we went and I did have an incredible time that is for sure.  These two girls are just amazing and I glad that I am still and pretty much always will stay in touch with them to see where in the world they are and that they are enjoying life.   It’s not very often that you get to spend some time with genuine people that leave a lasting impression, but that’s exactly what happened once I met Stephanie and Jenny.    Thanks for being YOU!

Another pic of Stephanie and Jenny, but this time with Sojiirat.   I met here through a friend in Tampa who connected us through Facebook (isn’t Mark Zuckerberg great?).  Through the powers of Facebook I have met some incredible people.  Sojiirat was able to meet up with me and was actually THE person to introduce me to Krua Apsorn (you remember the amazing restaurante here in Thailand that has a Michelin award (or several).  It’s apparently her favorite place to eat and well it’s certainly one of mine as well.   Thanks to her for this amazing find.  I would DEFINITELY NOT have found it if it wasn’t for her showing it to me, that for sure.   ALSO… She showed me another place called Toast (what an amazing concept they have).  At Toast they make, YEP you guessed it, Toast.   However they add chocolate, or condensed milk, or Taro, or Yogurt, or a number of other things, and MAN it’s amazing.

Yet another pic of these two amazing ladies..    I really loved spending time with them and getting to know them.  So many hysterical times talking about the differences of words in our countries.   And of course I LOVE the British accent.   That and Australian are probably the best accents.   I also head over to Melbourne really soon and can’t wait to see the adventure that is ahead.

Here is another pic of Katrina, Davide, and I… but meet Jan and Edoardo.  Jan (the guy in the Adidas shirt directly behind me) is a young, 20 year old, backpacker from Germany.  He is pretty new to traveling, but he is also getting started REALLY young compared to me.   He started in Bangkok and pretty much blew his entire budget in the first week.  He likes to drink, eat and generally just spend money.   Behind Jan is Edoardo.  Edoardo is from Italy, Como to be specific, which is not very far from Milan.   He’s also a professional photographer back in his home town.  He specializes in baby and family photography, so as you can imagine we had a lot to talk about.   I credit him with some of the photos on my blog.   He has a pretty great eye and actually he’s a really great person too.   I am DEFINITELY planning on visiting him in the future, and apparently according to him I have a free place to stay while in Como.   I’ll take it.   Thanks Edoardo!!!!   He’s currently traveling for a few months and we are staying up to date on where each other is and man this guy sure does know how to travel.   I am taking some pointers that is for sure.

Another pic of Katrina and Edoardo relaxing on a bench watching people pray at a buddha station in the middle of the city.

Hey!!! What do you know, Katrina again.  🙂    She is in a lot of my travels around Bangkok, mainly cause she is awesome, but also because it seemed like we both had the same agenda while we were there.  Now, meet Miranda and Mattia.  Miranda was also a suite mate in the guesthouse when I first arrived in Bangkok (although she got there a day after I arrived).   Mattia is her friend from Italy that now lives in London (also where Miranda is from).  Mattia is about 6’6 and loves to eat, I mean he is Italian ya know.  So we got along fabulously.   Miranda it turns out is pretty damn awesome herself.   We really both love travel and music, and we found ourselves in the middle of Bangkok looking for a Jazz bar of all things.  Well we found one, but well, it wasn’t really Jazz per-say, just good music of all genres.  Sadly Miranda and Mattia had to leave not too long after I met them, but they will continue to leave a lasting impression on me throughout my travels.

So there ya have it.  Some of the people that I have met on my travels so far.  I am sure there are going to be more, that in some way leave me with a sense of awe and I will update you all when that time comes.

Thanks for checking out the blog.. Check back soon for the next installment.

Please share and comment.  AND if there is something you want to see.. Please let me know.

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Thanks

Ryan G

 

Posted in Photography, Thailand, Travel | Leave a comment

Friends and People I have met so far

Posted on February 10, 2017 by ryang

Hi Ma!  Yes I am still OK..  🙂   Fear not,  for this is not a real Tiger.

 

So a few people have been asking, where are all the people you are meeting.   Well I guess I will do a better job of writing about them, but I didn’t want to post a really LONG blog, because well I wasn’t sure people would read it.   SO.. This blog post is dedicated to the people I have come across so far in my travels.  Some I have made a lasting impression that will stay with me for ever, and others came into my life for different reasons, but they have all changed me in some way.   I am grateful for the opportunity both good and decent (not so much bad) to have met these individuals.  They are in NO particular order.

I think everyone remembers Mint from one of my first posts.   Such an amazing woman.  She is a friend of a friend from the US.  Not only did Mint talk with me via facebook for a few days before I arrived to give me a little bit of a heads up about Thailand (especially Bangkok), but she agreed to meet with me on the day I arrived and be a tour guide for the day.  I gotta tell ya, arriving in a foreign country, not knowing anyone, not speaking the language, and having no clue on how to get around sounds scary (well it is kinda), but Mint saved the day.  She not only showed me around, she helped me with ordering food, talking to locals, tell me what and where to eat.  I mean she really was a godsend (is that how you do that one?  Hyphenate it?  Does God need to be capitalized then?   I guess I should look this stuff up before posting, but someone will comment on it I am sure).

Meet Sean Morris (you can find him on my facebook if you so choose, along with all the other people in these posts, except Mike, Mike doesn’t do facebook…Don’t be like Mike.. Do facebook).

Sean is one of the goofiest, fun-loving (I did that one right I think), care-free (yes or no?) guys I have met.    He’s from Scotland, so I can’t understand a damn word he says (at this point my mother has gotten over me cursing so I don’t feel the need to keep apologizing).  He literally speaks in a manner in which it’s not really English at all, but IF you have ever seen the movie Snatch with Brad Pitt, he talks like that, but without being a Gypsy.

He is ALSO, wait for it, an English Teacher in China.  I SHIT YOU NOT!  (ok sorry mom).   He literally teaches adults and children how to speak english.  I can’t even understand a word he says sometimes, these poor Chinese people.  I don’t know how the hell he got hired, but he loves it and is trying to talk me into moving to China to teach English.. I mean hell, if he can do it I am a LOCK.  Sean will be in a lot more pics, cause he’s a pretty awesome guy and funny as hell, without trying to be.

Meet Charlotte (The blonde closest to the picture) and Kelly (the brunette between Sean and I), No I am not giving you their direct last names you stalkers, if you really want to find them you have to stalk MY profile and find, although it will be pretty easy I am sure.   Two pretty incredible women that come from the UK.   We had a pretty interesting time together TRYING to speak english to each other.  ILI-TRALL-LI. could not sometimes understand the slang that they were using.  It was pretty funny.  Also they MIGHT have had a hard time with my slang as well… I think they are crazy, but in such a good way.   I told them my two favorite words that people from Britain use (and it’s totally true) are Literally, which Americans and MOST other people pronounce LIT-ER-ALLY, but THEY pronounce it like LI-TRALL-LI.  I just love that one.   Also  Aluminum.. Americans and other places around the world say AL-UM-INUM.  BUT.. THEY (and most of the UK) pronounce it like  AL-U-MIN-IUM.  Weird I know… Right?!?!

Here’s Kelly and I enjoying some fun in the 3D Museum (most of the pics of all of these gals and I are from there..  SUCH a cool place.  I will probably double up pics on this one as I had such a great time there.  She makes the most animated faces.. I just love it.   I have other pics with her where she is always doing something funny or goofy.   Such a cool girl.

This photo is just hysterical.   I LOVE Charlotte and Kelly’s faces here.  Sean of course is being Sean and we thought up the idea.   It’s such a cool Museum.  It’s called Art in Paradise and it’s in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  It’s a little pricey (by Thai standards) at $11.50, but totally worth it IMHO (in my humble opinion for those less tech savvy).  We had such a good time roaming around the museum.  I would def go back.

Some more fun, but this time MIKE! makes an appearance.  He doesn’t like photos of himself, and he doesn’t do Facebook (who doesn’t have a facebook?).  There are kids in the remote jungles of the world on Facebook and Mike chooses NOT to have it.  Crazy right??!?!!

Apparently there is a Grand Canyon in Chiang Mai, Thailand.   Who knew?  I mean it’s not as big as THE Grand Canyon (the one in the USA for all the people around the world), but it’s still pretty cool.  It’s basically a BIG ass watering hole.  They have a few places that you can dive off 14 meters and 8 meters (that’s 46.62 ft and 26.64 ft).. Yes I jumped off the higher of the two (and YES I was a little scared but I am trying to get over this fear of heights thing).   Sean did go first I must say so after that I wasn’t going to be scaredy cat and wimp out.

The above pic is of Sean, Myself, Bella (a pretty awesome girl from Sydney, well not really Sydney, but 2 hours outside Sydney that no one ever heard of).  Charlotte and Bella met at the hostel we are staying and they were in the lobby when Sean, Mike, and I came home (ok not HOME mom, but back to the hostel) one night and we all decided to head to this Grand Canyon).  Bella is a travel junkie and has been to a TON of different places, so it was cool to get to talk to her about her travels along the way.

Another pic of Bella and I at the Grand Canyon after some lunch and a really refreshing Coconut ice cream.

Sean and Mike after a few drinks.   Btw.. not sure if you can see it, but Sean doesn’t drink beer, so he was constantly have wine coolers, and such.  I believe this was a Raspberry Smirnoff Ice… Yep, you read that right.  This guy who is roughly 6’4 and weights roughly 260 drinks Smirnoff Ice like a champ, and loves every minute.  Also making another RARE appearance is Mike… I met Mike about 4 years ago in Hong Kong while staying at the same hostel.  OO this is a good story, so I will tell ya.   So.. we exchange email addresses back then and this is before my monthly photo blog and of course he isn’t on Facebook, and we really only ever emailed twice since meeting back then.    SOO.. I put Mike on my email list a long time ago with the whole Photo of the Month thing (which I totally have to start up again)… Anyway.. fast forward 4 years.  Mike gets an email from me (along with all the other people on my mailing list), and he says “O, and email from my ol’ buddy Ryan, maybe I should read it now…  nahhh I will come back to it a little later………..   OO Ok, I will open it now… Blimey, he’s in Bangkok” (now Mike is only 2 hrs away) so he emails me asking if I remember him (duh of course I do, he’s pretty awesome) and we decide to meet up for a few beers as he is going to be in Bangkok in a couple days anyway.   To confess he says he has NO idea WHY he opened THAT email when he did, but he just did (probably because he doesn’t have a clock and no agenda and just lives life how he sees fit (where I want to be soon for sure).   So a guy I met randomly 4 years ago in a hostel in Hong Kong just happens to read my blog and next thing you know, we are set off on an amazing journey.

Meet Eva..  She is from the US and is traveling for an indefinite period of time (I love that word, because it doesn’t have a set end date).  We met briefly in a totally different city than this picture was taken.  We actually met because I was stalking her breakfast at a restaurante one morning.  We talked briefly (5 mins maybe) and we parted ways.. but not so fast.  About 6 days later, we randomly run into her at a night bazaar in a city 3 hours away.  I guess I made a quick lasting impression because she remembered me (as the Avocado and Toast guy, totally a story for another day) and we all sat together to get some food.   Throughout the night she was telling me about all the places she’s been and wants to go and how she wants to see the world and not go home (sounds pretty familiar actually) and we got on the topic of how people don’t smile enough anymore, well there was the IN to SmileCause.org.   If you haven’t gone to the website and liked our Facebook page, well NOW is your chance.   GO there now.  Here’s the link.  Smile Cause.org   She said she would post a pic, but I have yet to see it on the page.. So we shall see.    She’s a pretty cool gal and I wish her well on her travels.

This is Patsy.   You ever have one of those nights that just takes you in a totally different direction because you are open to it.   Well that’s how I met Patsy.   I was actually across the street from this Skybar in Chiang Mai.  I was getting a foot massage (yes they are incredible and only cost $8 for an hr long one, OMG), where I met these 7 girls on vacation from an exchange program in Singapore. Being the outgoing guy I am (and the only guy in the massage place mind you) we all strike up a conversation talking about traveling (there’s a theme here guys, travel more and you WILL meet interesting, fun, women, trust me).  They said they are going to the Skybar across the street and I should come by after I am done.  Well I actually had a conference call at 9pm my time so I doubted I would be able to come over and meet up with them as they were only staying for a short bit there, but thanks for the offer.   After my conference call I decided, Ya know what I am going to go.. I was tired and wanted to go back to the hostel and just sleep since I was on the go for 8 straight days now, but I figure “What the Hell!” .  So I went.   As I am walking up the girls I met earlier are leaving, but told me it was really cool upstairs so check it out.  Reluctantly, I did.  It was pretty cool, an open rooftop bar with mats all over the floor and people just everywhere sitting on the ground on these mats drinking, dancing, talking.  It was really cool.   So this random guy names Shelton (not kidding) comes over to me and says “Hey man you wanna dance over here with us, we got a dance party going on”.   Me not one to turn down a good dance party (it turned out it was NOT a good dance party, cause no one knows how to dance that he was with (more on that in a minute), I saunter over.  I see everyone LI-TRALL-LI, doing a surfing, gyrating, move that was something out of a B-movie, and then they were doing the Limbo (I kid you not) but instead of an actual stick, they were using their arms.  I ain’t judging here (ok I TOTALLY AM) but that’s not dancing in my book..  That being said they WERE a great, fun group of people.   Well back to Patsy… we were both kinda making the same remark that this wasn’t dancing at all.  She’s from Chile (pronounced properly it’s CHILL – A).

So she making the comment about how in her country they dance a bit closer and there is way more rhythm to the dance.   So a song comes on that is a little more salsa / reggae.  So her sister (who was also there) stars dancing with Sheldon, who has no clue what in the world to do with her, because well she’s actually dancing and he’s looking like you would imagine Sheldon from Big Bang Theory can dance like.  At this point you would think that I would jump in and start dancing with her (and I was going to), but I get pulled aside by another guy to talk about where I am going and for how long, etc..  So anyway.. I missed the actual dancing part of the night, BUT I did have a very long conversation with Patsy that left a last impression of where in the world people should go and see and engulf themselves into different cultures.    Yeah I know ALL that for a simple sentence I could have typed in 35 seconds.   #SorryNotSorry.

Like I said, Sean is pretty awesome guy.. and LOVES laughing at himself.   He came up with this idea actually and I had to go with it.  I told ya you would see more of him in this blog.

Above might be the funniest video I have seen in a really long time.  The girl is Ting-Ya… she’s from Canada and a total hippie at heart.  She is a free-spirit and just loves meeting new and interesting people.  Needless to say her and Sean hit it off enormously.  Here’s a little clip of them dancing.  You def wanna watch the whole thing, and if this doesn’t make you laugh, well then you have no soul.

Here’s a shot that Sean took (selfie mode, he has the longest arms of any human ever) at a Big Buddha.  I will get to the other two girls in the next post.  Friends Part II.   Should be up in a few days.

Last one of Sean and I.   I really am so happy to have met this guy.   He’s changed my life for the better I will tell ya.   Such a great person and I am happy to call him a friend.

Please share and comment.  AND if there is something you want to see.. Please let me know.

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Thanks

Ryan G

 

Posted in Photography, Thailand, Travel | Leave a comment

Pattaya.. Sunsets, Food, and Something I forgot!

Posted on February 3, 2017 by ryang

First off..  Hi Ma!!   I am, as you can see, OK!.   🙂   This is one of the hostels I am staying in.  Pretty basic with a bunch of bunk beds.   I am afraid of heights so I took a bottom bunk.   They give you these little lockers to put your valuables while you are gone, but basically everyone trusts each other with clothes, because well, who wants someone else’s dirty, smelly clothes.   That being said.. a pair of my trail running shoes did get taken from in front of the hostel, so now I have to go buy another pair eventually.   Good news.. I have more room in my bag so it’s not all jam packed.

So I have to apologize (AGAIN).  A few people were asking what the BEST Thai food was and it’s the place below.   Krua Apsorn (apparently it has a Michelin Award, which is a big deal in the food world).   They have a ton of awards from the New York Times, The New Yorker, and too many others to mention.. I can’t even count that high with the awards they have won. It’s right in Bangkok near the Giant Swing, located here: Krua Apsorn.

Below is their signature dish.  Lump crabmeat in a yellow curry.  I cannot even begin to explain the flavors in this dish.  I mean the yellow curry was not spicy (I can’t handle spicy food) but had a zest and kick to it, which I can handle and loved.  The crabmeat was succulent and fresh and just melted in your mouth.  The red peppers were again not spicy but yet filled with flavor.  The texture just added to the dish as well.  Overall I would say probably a 94 out of a 100.  It was that good.  It was a bit pricey at 450 baht ($12.85) and pretty much blew my budget on this meal for the day, but it was certainly worth it.  Side note:  I would go back here for lunch and dinner 2 more days of my stay in Bangkok that’s how good ALL the food was.   Second Side Note:  The Pad Thai is incredible here and it’s relatively cheap for a restaurante with a Michelin award, so try that if you want to save some money.  I literally blew my daily budget on food eating at this place daily, but so worth it.

This is a small appetizer at Krua Apsorn.  You take the mint leave and then you add in the mini shrimp, peanuts, tofu, and a few other ingredients.  It was pretty cheap for what you get at 120 baht ($3.42).  Yes everything is pretty inexpensive here, and again everything just has more flavor.

So Below you will see a picture of some Scorpions.  Why do you ask am I posting a picture of this?  Well.. in Bangkok apparently it’s a big deal to eat one.  So of course I ate one.. Ask my mom.. I once drank a cup of bleach as a kid cause I thought it was Ice-T.  What did I know as a 5 year old?  I was willing try anything back then. #DareDevil.  YES they are REAL scorpions, and yes they are Fried, so they are dead, do you really think I would eat a LIVE scorpion?   I have no idea if there is still poison in the tail, but I am guessing it’s gone because I haven’t seen anyone else die yet.  People passing out drunk on the streets, absolutely, die.. not yet, but give it some time.

So if you want to see a video of me EATING A SCORPION click the link.  🙂

This is Pattaya.  I know I posted a little about this in the last post, but I really enjoyed my time here so there are some more photos for you guys to look through.  This is right by walking street where there is a VERY small beach.  It’s not the nicest of beaches, but the water is pretty incredible.  That being said.. This entire strip, night AND day, is lined with prostitutes.. yep.. prostitutes… They are just there calling out  “Hey Pretty man”, “Hey big boy”, “Hey Handsome man, you want good time”.   Seriously..  My mother is booking her flight currently to take me out of here I bet.

FOOD time.  So these little guys.. Let me tell you what.. These might be the most savory little waffle ever.  For 15 baht (basically $.40, yep not even 4 bits) They have filling in the middle of them.  Delectable, amazing, delicious (yes I know delectable means delicious, but I had to reiterate) filling.  I chose to get the Nutella and the chocolate ones.  The Nutella (if you like Nutella that is) one is down right amaze-balls.  The chocolate isn’t far behind, and it’s not any of that crappy (Ma, you just have to deal with my foul mouth) Hershey’s chocolate you find in other places, this is melted chocolate bars in there (I don’t know what kind, but certainly not Hershey’s).  They have all sorts of fillings as well, but for now just Nutella and chocolate for this guy.

Closeup picture of the waffle above.   They are coated with what I can only figure to be sugar (and you know I LOVE sugar).  I think there might be a little bit of cinnamon in there as well.   Then they heat it up in a waffle iron to make it nice and warm.   I can only say I wish I bought more.   A LOT more.   I have to find these again and try all the other kinds.. there just isn’t enough time in a day for all this food.   What am I going to do when I get to Vietnam?

This is the beach in Samae Beach Thailand.  This is a real beach, with lots of Blue, Blue water, as you can see.   I mean I know we have some incredible beaches in Florida and all, but these are pretty damn (I have to stop cursing I know and YES Damn is a curse word, well it was when I was a kid) nice too.  I did actually go IN this water, up to my waist cause that’s about as far as I care to go.  I am slowly getting over this fear.  This trip is making me push the boundaries for sure.

A little cool creative panorama. What do you think?   I saw it in an article a while back and figured I would try it out.

Some more pics from Samae Beach, Thailand.  They have these incredible cliffs right off the beach and so of course I had to go take a look.

Me on a boat that doesn’t say Carnival, or Royal Caribbean.  Not sure I thought I would see the day, but here it is.  🙂   Yes that is everyone else wearing a life vest and I am just a rule breaker.  Ever since I was a kid, I pushed the envelope.  Ask my mom about the times I would hide under the clothing racks in department stores.  Yea my butt STILL remembers those times.  Ha!

Giant Buddha.. If only they were made of real gold.  Now that would be cool.  Ok, Ok, it’s still really cool.  As you can see from the little guy on the left closest to the Buddha it’s REALLY tall, probably somewhere close to 60 feet tall actually.  I am just pretty close to the camera so it doesn’t look as tall.   While I was standing here for this picture I noticed some butterflies flying in sync.   They were so amazing to watch, so well I took a little video so you guys can all see as well.   Here is the video of the butterflies for your enjoyment.

So THIS is the same big buddha as seen from about 300 steps away.  Maybe this will give you a better perspective on how tall it is.  It was rather impressive.

I can’t remember who asked for sunset pictures wherever I was going to be, but here is quite possibly the best sunset I have ever seen.  For me, there is a story behind this one.  I am on a boat, headed back to Pattaya from Samae Beach, one of just a handful of boat rides NOT on a cruise, and I had the most incredible, relaxing, calm day in years.  I also had one helluva pineapple smoothie on that island and then it was capped off by this sunset.  So yes to me this might have been the best sunset I have ever seen (EXCEPT for MAYBE a sunset I saw in Morocco once, but that’s for another time).

Another sunset in Pattaya.  This time from the beach on Pattaya.  I just love the little boat out there all by itself.  I have another shot of this without people, but I thought the people enhanced this shot a little.  People just enjoying life, not a care in the world for a little while.  This was taken 4 blocks from the hostel I was staying in.  Considering I was walking roughly 10,000 – 20,000 steps a day 4 blocks was nothing.   So I went back there a few different times.

This too was in Pattaya on a separate day.  So many different and beautiful sunsets in one place on different days.   As I mentioned I would come back here to see these sunsets time and time again.   I really love all the different colors on different days.   I mean I used to live in Tampa, FL where we get the sunset everyday and I guess I never took the time to go see it much because it was always going to be there, and now I treasure the moments where I can see a sunset.  Similar to when I lived in NJ.. NYC was just right there.  I could go and see the Statue of Liberty or the Twin Towers, or the Empire State Building anytime I wanted, until one day.. I couldn’t.   It’s a little sad that we only really cherish things once they are gone.  Maybe this is a little deep, but I now realize you need to cherish those things in the moments and hold on to them and do whatever you can to make them part of your life daily.  Don’t waste those moments.   I won’t be able to see another Tampa sunset for a long while and it’s kinda sad, but on a positive note I have this entire world to explore and that’s exciting.

This was again in Pattaya on the final day I was there.  I really enjoyed Pattaya.  What I will say is there are a few cool things to do in Pattaya, but mostly it’s for drinking and debauchery.  I am drinking less and less these days, so Pattaya isn’t really a place to spend a lot of time.  That being said it I have a few great memories from here.  I really enjoyed the people I met and I really loved the sunsets.  They reminded me of home just a little bit.  Something I didn’t think I needed until now.

A lot of people are asking me about the people I have been meeting on my trips.   My next blog post will be covering some of the people I have met along the way.

Thanks for following along.  Please share this blog with anyone you know that might be interested in finding out more information about my travels.

Thanks

Ryan G

 

If you want to follow along on my other social media platforms:

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com
Posted in Pattaya, Thailand, Travel | Leave a comment

Goodbye Bangkok & Hello Pattaya

Posted on January 29, 2017 by ryang

Well of course I forgot to put in the pic below.  HI Mom I’m OK!!!!..  Sorry about that.  Won’t happen again (who am I kidding, of course it will happen again).

This was taken at the Canyon just on the outskirts of Pai, Thailand.  It was a little bit of a hike to get to this point, but it was majestic.  I mean probably one of the best sunsets I have ever seen (and I live in Tampa, FL so that’s saying something).

Soooo sorry for the late blog post.. Time flies when you are living in the future half way around the world (Thailand is 12 hrs ahead of EST, hence the living in the future).

I am saying so long to Bangkok and onto new adventures, but first, this is a picture of the Skyline of Bangkok as seen from Lumpini Park.   Such a great place to go for a run, or play in the playground, play basketball (more in a minute on that), do some yoga, or Jazzercise.  I have a video but don’t know how to get it uploaded right now.  There literally 100’s if not 1,000’s of people doing dance aerobics in the park at 5pm.

To harness my inner yoga I found this at the mall.  I had to try and do the pose and get it just right. I think I did a pretty good job for only have done yoga twice in my life.  I guess I should start since so many of my friends do Yoga now.   Hell, there I go again cursing, I even know a few instructors.  Hopefully they approve.

So this was just a Mall, but in the middle of the mall there were these lanterns that glowed so bright it almost made you walk to the middle of the mall to see them.  I am surprised they were brighter in the picture (I did tone down the lights in photoshop, but still).   They were so beautiful I had to take a picture..  What do you think?   Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think.

So this is near the mall above, but also in the downtown part of Bangkok.   This is a little buddha area with TONS of flowers (Sorry I didn’t get the name).   People come to pray for their family and friends and loved one (both living and dead).   They also burn a ton of incense, as a way of showing respect and prayer.   I found this woman dressed in traditional clothing praying and just had to capture the moment.  Such a profound experience.

What can I say… I still got it (a little)!!!   Hoopin’ it up with the locals.  They were kind enough to let me shoot around some this day.  Do you see the range?  That’s Steph Curry-esque.  I mean I am clearly at least at the NBA 3 point line here.  If memory serves me right it did go in too (I mean would I lie about something like this?)   I guess I did a good enough job that they asked me to come back and play the next day (which I did).   I played pretty good for not having played in a long while.  Maybe I will try and shoot hoops everywhere I go.   I hear basketball is huge over in Indonesia.

Another sunset from Bangkok.   This time over one of the largest temples in Bangkok.  This is right by the Grand Palace.   Such a beautiful thing to see.  I really recommend everyone comes to Thailand at least once in their life and enjoy the Culture as well as the Food!  In this picture there was a group of us walking back from the Pier and Wang Lang Market (where they have the best local food to take-away in Bangkok).  Take-away is their term for To-Go.  They serve everything in these little baggies, but you can’t really eat much AT the market as everything is made to take-away.   It’s super cheap though so it’s worth it.

Goodbye Bangkok for now.. You will hold a place in my heart, BUT, HELLO Pattaya!!!

Pattaya is known for a couple things, I won’t mention them here cause my mother is reading this and I don’t think she needs to hear about them.   That being said, it’s also known for a beautiful skyline (according to me anyway), and only about 1 hr boat ride (it’s a slow boat) to a really nice beach as you can see below.

This shot above is one I took at Samae Beach (Ko Lan, Thailand).   Such a beautiful place and the water is actually quite clear.   The far thing in the upper right corner is an ENORMOUS solar panel.  I have no idea what it’s used for, but it looks rather impressive.

The shot below is also from Samae Beach looking out of my lounge chair area that is covered with all these umbrellas.  They literally cover an incredible amount of area with these umbrellas.  There was zero light spill into the area.  I almost wonder how they did it. For those wondering about the beaches, well they aren’t like west coast Florida sand, that’s for sure, but they are like eastcoast Florida sand (think Jersey Shore, but even a little nicer or Ft. Lauderdale).

As you can see the water out there is really clear.   So much that even I went into the ocean (those of you that know me, know I am deathly afraid of the ocean)..   It’s really only because I can’t see and I want a fighting chance if a shark is going to attack me.   (Think Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie The Beach).  I just want to be able to throw a punch before I go down.  Yeah I know it will be slow motion, but still.

From my lounge chair on Samae Beach in Ko Lan.

Remember that beautiful Skyline I told you about here in Pattaya.. well here it is.   Crystal clear water, boats, boats, boats, and of course a skyline.  What else could you ask for?  Well I guess a beach would be nice, but you won’t find a good one here.  For that you have to take a boat at least 1 hour to one of the other islands, like Samae Beach above.   Those beaches are going to be MUCH nicer, not eastcoast Florida nice, but still much nicer.

Lastly,  what would a blog post be without some FOOD!!   I don’t know why, but the food just tastes SOO much better here in Thailand, there is just so much more flavor (not sugar, just flavor).  You see that shake in my left hand?  That’s a pineapple shake.  Not just an ordinary shake, one of the best damn pineapple shakes ever.  I used to think Burger Fi had great shakes, or Portillo’s, but they ain’t got nothin’ on the shakes over here.  Maybe they don’t drown their fruit in pesticides or maybe they just go and pick the stuff off the trees, whatever it is.. it’s amazing.  It’s delicious, scrumptious, even Fantabulous!!!

I know you are asking yourselves, well Ryan.. what’s that in your right hand then?   Well you will have to wait for the next blog post to hear about those amazing little things.  IF you are following along on facebook, you might have an idea already.. Just don’t spoil it for anyone.

Thanks for following along in my adventure everyone.  Please share this and if someone you know wants to follow along have them reach out to me to be added to the blog.   I would love to figure out how to have people OPT IN to the blog, but that might have to wait for a few days.  If anyone knows or wants to help,  let me know.

Thanks

Ryan G

 

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Bangkok Round2 – Temples and Parks and FOOD!

Posted on January 23, 2017 by ryang

So I almost go arrested for walking up to the gate.  Apparently the King lives here and well, how was I supposed to know???  Maybe all the armed guards walking around might have been the first clue, but like I told ya in the first post which is here (Bangkok – I’m OK, and.. The Food) I was a pretty curious kid… and maybe not the smartest kid when it came to stuff I shouldn’t do.

So they guard was nice enough to let me snap this pic. Here ya go Ma!… I love ya.

SO.. Meet MINT.  One of the coolest, nicest, genuine people you could happen to have the pleasure of meeting.  She didn’t know me from Adam (I never understood that saying, who IS Adam anyway.. Do people mean Adam from Adam and Eve?  If so of COURSE no one knows Adam, that dude lived like ages ago)

I met Mint through a friend in Tampa and she came to my hostel when I got into BKK (That’s Bangkok for you non travelers) and literally toured me around the entire city showing me the inns and outs (or is it INS and OUTS, I never get this one right).   It was also really awesome to have someone that spoke Thai from Thailand as I didn’t get taken advantage of as often.   I will be posting an example in the next blog post so be sure to check it out.  

Yup some more food..  These are little crepes with what looks like carrots, but alas they are NOT carrots.. They actually much better than carrots,  they are shredded egg yolks… I mean who has time to shred egg yolks to make yummy treats… Well Thai people that’s who, and let me tell ya.. it’s fricken delicious.

They have all sorts of other toppings that you can put on them, (And I have tried them ALL, well I hope so, or do I? God there is so much food, squirrel)   Anyway.. back to it.. these things are amazing, just like all the other food here.  I Know.. I KNOW.. how can EVERYTHING be amazing, if that’s the case well then NOTHING can be amazing.. well that’s just stupid.  Of course ALMOST everything can be amazing.. Trust me I have had a few things here that suck (sorry mom, I had to be descriptive, I seriously think she still things I am 9 and shouldn’t say bad words, ok ok  I shouldn’t be .. ok again anyway)..   and so THAT’s why I can say what’s amazing.  I mean I had some fried birds feet, yup NOT AMAZING.   See where I am going with this?

So why am I showing you a picture of a restaurant you ask?  Ok, by now you probably are NOT asking that, you actually know that I am going to tell you that this place is Amazing.. ok you got me.  I am.   It’s the second best place in Bangkok to get Pad Thai.. Where is the first you ask?  I know you are all asking and wondering, well I am not going to tell you.  I am going to in the next blog post, which will come sooner than expected.  Anyway.. apparently all you have to do is show a cab or Tuk Tuk and motorbike this picture and they know exactly where it is, cause all the locals eat here.  It’s actually rather reasonable too at only 180BT for a dish of Pad Thai (which is $5 for you Foreigners, or Farang’s as Thai people call us).

Yep here it is..  Second best Pad Thai in Bangkok..  Holy crap (sorry Ma!) that was DELICIOUS.. I can’t wait to try the best.. ok I already have, but I can’t post it just yet.    This version actually looks all fancy and stuff, and it’s a bit nicer on the inside than all the other places, but it’s still only the second best..  O I know you guys and gals can’t wait until the next post to see the best place.   I got a surprise for you all on that one too.  🙂

 

Here I am…at a floating market.. What is a floating market you ask?  Well let me tell ya.  It’s a market on water (original right?).   You have all these places ON the water and you can walk to them on the wooden planks or you can actually take little boats around the market and pull up next to the vendor and get your food, drink, or souvenirs.  It’s rather awesome (yes I love that word).   This is the Damnoen Saduak floating market in Damnoen Saduak District and is the largest floating market in the world.   It’s fricken (sorry Ma!) huge (pronounced UGGEE)

Just a super small portion of the market, but you can see the vendors on the water on both sides, so this will give you a good idea of what to expect on your travels.   This market is open 7 days a week, unlike almost ALL the other floating markets around which are only open on the weekends.   This is a BIG tourist stop.  It’s about 550BT to go there via van with return trip to BKK (Bangkok).  The conversion right now is about 35bt to 1 USD.. So you can do the math, ($15.75), ok so I did it for you all, cause I know you are all lazy and won’t do it yourselves.

Some more vendor food.  She was nice enough to allow me to take a picture.

YEP.. more food.. You know you like it..

I just really liked this image.. More vendors on the left side and then a large outdoor area on the right side to eat all the yumminess (or is it yummyness?)

OMG!!  These are rice fried in a ball with Salmon (my friend Henry would PRONOUNCE the L and emphasize it too and it used to drive me nuts, but it’s ok cause he’s Portuguese, so you have to forgive him)… anyway, back to these things.  So Salmon or Tuna (my two favorite fish btw, just in case you ever want to buy me something, ok.. don’t buy me fish, a we can talk about what to buy me another time, anyway.. They are delicious.  Like seriously, who thought this stuff up.  Then the black and white stuff all over the rice balls are this sweet and semi sour stuff.  WOW!..  These were 40bt for 4 of them, so that’s roughly $1.14.  Yep $1.14!!   I love this place, did I Mention I love this place?

My friend Katri Na took this for me.. Yep.. enjoying every single bite.

Someone asked for a sunset pic in every place I went.. I will try my best to oblige, not sure I will be able to, but I will do my best.   This is from the Pier north of Wat Pho in Bangkok. It was just beautiful.   I could spend days just watching that sunset.

Thanks for checking out the blog.  Please share on Facebook and feel free to have anyone y0u know that might want to take this trip with me around the word email me to get on the blog email.

Happy traveling!!

Instagram: RyanGproductions
Facebook: Ryan Gphoto
Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

 

Posted in Travel | 2 Comments

Bangkok – I’m OK, and.. The Food

Posted on January 18, 2017 by ryang

So the first post is almost always going to be a photo showing my Mom I am OK!!..  What can I say I have a mother that worries about me, and rightfully so.  I was an injury prone kid growing up.   One time I was told not to play on this steel fishtank thing back when I lived in Jersey City and guess what… Yep I played on it.. rocking back and forth.. What happened you ask?  Let me tell ya.   I feel hit my head, CRACKED my head open and bled like a, well a kid who just cracked his head wide open.   With blood pouring down my face (I was 5 or 6 mind you) I went running into the house to my mom and her friend nearly faint at the sight.   Rushed to the hospital and hours later I came away with some stitches and a scar.   And don’t get me into the time I slammed my thumb in a car door during the winter.  They cut my fingernail off in the emergency room and they said you could hear me on the second floor WAILING away.. True Story, just ask my mom.    So yea.. She has the right to worry.    So MOM.. I’m Ok!

 

So I have only been here for 4 days so far, but I can tell you I have eaten about 48 meals so far.  Snacks, meals, desserts, breakfast, tea, dinner, supper (those are for my English friends), and everything in between (you like that Oxford Comma don’t you).

This is hands down THE Best thing I have had so far in Bangkok.  Ihave had an average of 3 of these a day.  They are THAT good.  As you can see by the image below that is how good they are.  I could almost say they are orgasmic but my mom might be reading this (sorry mom), so I will just so they are  UH-Maz-IN.  (Another English joke).

Check out the ladies face in the pic.  She is really interested.. I imagine, just like in the movie”When Harry Met Sally” the old lady after Sally gets done faking the orgasm (again sorry mom), “I’ll have what she’s having”   Priceless.   Side note:  That woman that says that line is Rob Reiner‘s actual mother.  I could totally picture my mom delivering this line better.

Yep, her face says it all!

 

O, How to describe this?…. It’s a noodle based dish, but the one on the white side it’s salty with a cream base and on the other side (reddish side) its super sweet with cinnamon and sugar. You SHOULD NOT mix them as then your taste buds will not fully enjoy the flavors.   I did this anyway against suggestions, cause what can I say I am a rule breaker.  At the beginning though I took their suggestions.  So.. You take a little scoop on one side, then a little scoop on the other on the spoon and eat them as one bite…

SO.. When I mixed it up a little it’s true.. You can definitely tell the difference of flavors and it’s better when they are NOT mixed. I have no idea how or why, but it’s incredible.  Only $1.50.  It is another one of those local dishes that not many others know about. I can’t remember the name, but if you want to know drop me a line and I will be happy to get the answer for ya.

 

The obligatory “food in mouth” shot.   Sometimes I make the funniest faces.

 

Apparently some of the best Curry in Bangkok. ALL the locals eat at this woman’s stand.  It’s through this labyrinth in the Wang Lang Market.  It’s also apparently where all the locals go because everything is so Inexpensive.   I don’t want to say cheap, because that implies a lack of quality, and that is certainly NOT what this is.  This is top quality food made with love. The only issue..  You HAVE to take it to go and eat it later because they don’t serve it in bowls, just to go baggies. Interesting. Only $1 US for a complete bowl of Curry. YUM!

A

Ask anyone that knows me, even remotely knows me for that matter and they will tell you I LOVE sweets.  I used to eat dessert first at a restaurant just because I wasn’t sure I would be to find the dessert.  You can always bring home the meal, but never the dessert (they usually come with Ice Cream in my case).

Ok so back to sweets, I love them.. I mean I could live on them if I wasn’t afraid of getting diabetes, and Bangkok has no shortage of sweets.  I don’t get it though, everyone here is so in shape or fit.  Well most people I have met anyway. That being said I think I know why they are able to stay skinny, they WALK everywhere.  That’s not too easy for a guy from Tampa, FL.  We don’t walk.  We get a ride or take an Uber.  Walking.. only if it’s less than 3 blocks.

Ok back to sweets (these tangents are killing me).   They have so many..  Cakes, and pastries, and sweet cream, fruit tarts, and fresh fruit (not a sweet persay, but it does the trick, and smoothies, and … and …and so many more things.

This is the place to be for food (for now!)

Thanks for checking out the blog.

Instagram: RyanGproductions

Facebook: Ryan Gphoto

Blog : TravelWithRyanG.com

Posted in Travel | 4 Comments

The First Things You Need to Know About Becoming a Photographer

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Paige Butterfield

You’re a new photographer, and you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of alien cameras and funky-looking gadgets. Where do you start?

 It’s Okay to be Lost at First

In a realm of reflectors, lighting, DSLR cameras, and more, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. Some things are more obvious than expected; for instance, a reflector is simply a tool that’s used to reflect light on your subject (hence the name.) Start with the basics, and the rest will fall into place with practice and time.

Only Be in Competition With Yourself

Professional photographers spend their whole lives practicing the art. Malcom Gladwell, an author who studied how successful people achieved their goals, wrote that it takes 10,000 hours to master a field. What matters is that you’re getting better, not how good you are now.

Chances are, the professional photographer’s photos that you gawk at weren’t taken with a phone or a point and shoot, but a camera worth a couple thousand dollars (not to mention the lens!)

Work hard, practice, and better your art. In time, you’ll be able to look back at your photos and see how much you’ve progressed.

Equipment Isn’t Everything, They are Just Tools

While an expensive lens or a fancy camera body might give you the tools to make a better photo, it can’t transform a bad one. There’s no way around it — quality photography equipment is expensive.

But, if you’re a student or you just can’t afford that multi-thousand dollar lens, or even that $500 lens, it’s okay. Work within your budget and practice your art. If you can produce quality work, you can earn money from it and save up enough money over time to purchase better equipment. Practice patience and perfect your craft.

Some websites, like B&H, offer used photography equipment for much cheaper than the original retail price. If you’re a student, you can apply to qualify for even greater discounts.

Don’t be dizzied by the intimidating information and options as a beginning photographer. Making mistakes is the first step in growing to be the photographer you want to be. The learning process never ends, and you should take joy in that it’s only just begun!

Happy Snapping!

Is there a photography question that you just can’t find the answer to, or you’ve been too embarrassed to ask your friends about?

Ask a question in the comments, and Ryan G. Photo would be happy to assist.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Look Better in Photos

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Paige Butterfield

We’ve all been there — you wake up Sunday morning to a Facebook notification that says your best friend has tagged you in a photo. You can’t help but grimace, as it’s a 95 percent chance it’s a bad one. Okay, 99 percent. Heck, it’s probably even worse than that photo your ex-boyfriend tagged you in two weeks ago with spinach in your teeth.

  spinach1

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t promise you your friends won’t tag you in unflattering photos, or that photo from high school prom. But, I can promise that if you follow these photo-taking tips, you can prevent bad photos in the future.

 

Don’t Look Like A Doll

Blink! Many people are afraid of having their eyes closed when they have their picture taken. But, purposely not blinking can cause your face to look stiff and awkward, and can make your eyes watery. If the photographer caught you while you were blinking, it’s unlikely they’ll use the photo. However, if you look like a glassy-eyed doll, your friend might just decide that’s your problem.

 

Assess the Angle

Whether the camera really adds 10 pounds is still up for debate, but most of us can say that in one photo or another, it sure feels like it does. Facing the camera straight on isn’t favorable. Instead, try having photos taking at an angle. Digital Camera World reports that positioning the camera high and getting the right lighting at eye level can help create a flattering portrait.

 

Pose Like Nobody’s Business

pose1

The more photos you’re in, the more likely it is that you’ll find one you like. This is especially true for group photos or selfies. Take as many as necessary to KNOW what angle your body and face look their best.

 

Don’t be Cheesy

A fake “say cheeeeeeeese” smile is never flattering. It doesn’t look like you’re naturally happy about anything; In fact, it looks like you’re in pain. Pass the cheese and instead try to think of a funny joke. If you can’t, try faking a laugh or two. This smile will come across as more natural in a photo.

If you’re not up for faking a laugh, Lifehacker suggests replacing “cheese” with a word that ends in an “uh” sound, like yoga or mocha. It’s said these sorts of smiles will come across as more natural to the camera, rather than the widespread, unnatural grin that saying “cheese” gives (plus, who wouldn’t be happy about a relaxation technique and a caffeinated beverage?)

Posing for photos doesn’t have to be painful once you’ve mastered these techniques.

Happy Snapping!

What’s your favorite technique for achieving flattering photos?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How to Be an Instagram Food-Photo Guru

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Paige Butterfield

Instagram was once a medium to showcase snippets of your life, and share them with your friends. While those kinds of “Instagrammers” still exist, more and more foodies are taking over the Insta-scene with quality, professional food photos that make our eyes pop out of our heads like cartoons and our mouths water.

Double chocolate cupcakes adorned with freshly picked strawberries, homemade vegetable pot-pie, and overflowing smoothies taunt us with their digital counterparts. But for every tantalizing food photo on Instagram, there’s an equally lackluster food photo right below it on your feed. Usually foodie amateurs post these photos, but even some quality food professionals and bloggers struggle with the art of food photography.

 

Let Lighting Lift Your Photos

You don’t need to have expensive photo equipment to harness good lighting. In fact, natural light is often the most flattering, not to mention the cheapest. Turning off the lights in your house and opening a window can transform your food photos.

For a better balance of light, you may want to consider buying or making a reflector. A reflector can quickly be made yourself with a piece of tin foil and cardboard, or by using white poster board.


(Without a reflector)

 


(With a reflector)

Play with Angles

Just as you need to try different angles to learn what looks best in regular photography, Instagram food photography follows the same rules. Finding the best angle may take some work, but the right angle can make or break your red-velvet cake.

Don’t forget to keep in mind the square photo frame on Instagram differs from the average photo frame. Therefore, make sure you set your camera to take the photo in a square frame, or leave enough cropping room.

 

Keep the Set-Up Simple

Don’t let clutter crowd your Cool Whip. The more mess in your photo, the less your food will be highlighted. Having a simple set up goes beyond de-junking the scene. Pay attention to what the food is sitting on. If you use your grandma’s ornate 1940s plate to display your cupcake, it might steal the show. You don’t want your food to have to compete for the spotlight. Instead, try basic colors, like black or white. Sometimes, a simple piece of black or white foam board mounted under and to the side of the photo works like a charm.

What you can add to the photo are “scene setters.” For instance, if you photograph a batch of decadent chocolate-chip cookies, placing a cup of milk in the background could prove beneficial by making the photo look less staged and more natural. Just make sure these pieces are used to frame your food photo, not overwhelm them.

Whether photographing your morning smoothie for your vegan blog, or snapping your birthday dinner to share with friends, keeping these tips in mind can elevate your Instagram photos to the next level.

Happy Snapping!

Practice shooting food around the house with different lighting and composition. Could you make a can of SpaghettiOs or a Nutri-Grain Cereal Bar look appetizing? Challenge yourself! Share your favorite food Instagram photo below, and let us know why you loved it.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How to Take Better Photos, Part I – Composition

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Paige Butterfield

Did you know that on average, according to Buzzfeed research, there are 27,800 photos uploaded to Instagram and 208,300 to Facebook per minute? So how do you make your photos stand out in a sea of eye candy?

Fear not – we have plenty of photo tips that will take your photos from mediocre to masterful in no time.

Think of the composition of the photo as the building blocks of a good photo. You could photograph a model, but if the subject is standing in the middle of the frame with nothing to frame her, the photo lacks movement and interest.

 Remember the Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds - Lightning

Gone are the days when you took your kids to get “professional” photos done at the mall department store (at least, we hope so.) Today, nearly everyone owns a digital camera or a smartphone, and can call himself a photographer. Whether you want to spruce up your family photos to strut on Instagram, or you’re looking to take your photography skills to the next level, keeping your photo within the rule of thirds can help.

The rule of thirds is a loose guideline that applies to the composition of your photo. Ignoring this rule can create uninteresting, and even awkward photos. By positioning the subject in one of the four places the imaginary rule of thirds grid intersects, the photo is given balance and interest.

Some digital cameras and smartphones have this grid available to use as an overlay while you’re taking your photo.

 

Don’t be Afraid to Try New Angles

How do you know which angle will make your photo look the best without trying them? You don’t. Taking the same photograph from a variety of angles is the best way to learn what angles create the best photographs in different situations.

Different angles can create anything from a better perspective, to a better-composed photograph. For instance, if you’re shooting a portrait and you’re facing toward the sun, you’re likely to get an unwanted lens flare and a washed-out photo. However, you might find that by positioning the sun behind you or to the side of you creates the effect you’re looking for.

Stand on something, squat down, move to the left, move to the right, angle your camera down on the subject, or angle it up at the subject. Don’t be afraid to move. Afterward, you can choose which angle you like best, and learn how to position yourself better next shoot to save time.

Many professional photographers will take tens to hundreds of photographs before they get the one they’re happy with. This is a normal part of the process. The more photos you have to choose from at the end of the shoot, the more likely you’ll find one you like.

 

Practice Makes Better

Every photographer will admit they have room to grow and get better at their craft. However, like any art, the more you practice, the better you’ll become. Don’t get discouraged if your photos aren’t what you want them to be– keep practicing.

Practice is where every professional began.

“But the truth is that– as any avid Instagrammer knows– it often takes about 10 tries to get the perfect photo,” said Lauren Conrad on her personal blog.

Indulge in some of her tips and tricks on the anatomy of a good Instagram photo on her blog.

Happy Snapping!

Practice composition and post your favorite photo below and let us know why you chose the angle you did. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Starting the year off with a bang!

Posted on January 22, 2015 by ryang

Welcome to our first blog post of 2015! We are excited to be starting a blog this year for all of our clients and followers to read. This blog will be for all sorts of information including, but not limited to video blogs, behind the scenes from our photo sessions,photography tips, camera tips and so much more!

Ryan G Photo is a unique branding company specializing in photography and videography. With over 15 years of industry experience we understand the importance of your companies image from executive portraits, head shots, architecture and marketing collateral and how it aligns with your corporate vision. We bring clarity to business branding which will increase your market presence.

We will be posting at least once per week so make sure to click the follow button so you are always up to date on the latest from our company. We will be featuring topics outside of photography from time to time and we look forward to your feedback. Let us know what you want to see on the blog.

We hope that you had a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year! We look forward to having you follow our blog! Feel free to leave a comment with anything you might want to know about regarding photography!

Enjoy!

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Starting the year off with a bang!