Panoramic Group Photos

I often find it a dilemma on how to take a group photo on a trip. The issue is either that I'm not in the mood to ask a stranger, I'm afraid my iPhone will get stolen, there is a communication issue, or there isn't anyone around to ask. For the last few months I've been working on perfecting the panoramic group photo.

There is a Pano feature under the camera settings on more recent iPhones and iPads (or I'm sure there is an app that can be downloaded). The way I set it up is to have the group stand in the normal line with one space open at the end for the photographer. Then start the pano and when you get to the person in the middle stop moving and keep the phone as still as possible. The person standing in the first position leaves the group and takes the phone from the photographer. Then the original photographer walks behind the group and takes their place in the photo at the end of the line. The second photographer continues with the pano like normal. 

After several failed attempts at doing a pano group photo I've learned a few strategies. Stand in the middle of your subject matter (if you have five people, stand lined up with the third person--include yourself in this count) or if there is a building or statue you want as a focal piece, square yourself with it. 

Another tip is to consider the height of the tallest piece of your subject matter (I cut off the top of Highclere Castle in the first photo but kept our feet in full view). 

The biggest thing is to try hard not to shake the phone because that will end the pano. It can be difficult but with some practice you can do some really fun things with your photos! My brother-in-law orchestrated my favorite pano in the photo below. My sister and I alternated letters in the 'I amsterdam' sign one morning before all the tourists arrived. This is our pinnacle pano photo, but I'd love to be upstaged by a clever reader.

10 Things to Be Ready For When Traveling To India

Full disclosure: India was one of my least favorite trips. This list started out as a list of things I found surprising when traveling in India but a friend of mine pointed out that a lot of the things come across as negative. My intention is not to be hard on India, but these were just some things that I wasn't expecting.

1. I was unaware that "smoke" was a forecast. I'm familiar with cloudy, rainy, sunny, and maybe a few others, but seeing this forecast took me by surprise. But boy, was it accurate!

2. India was much colder than I expected. My packing list included shorts and light shirts but when we checked the forecast days before we left, I started scrambling to figure out what to wear since it was going to be a high of 71 F for most of our trip. 

3. It seemed that wherever we went, people wanted to take photos with us. It was mostly fun (I only turned down a photo op once when we were really short on time), although I preferred when people would ask to take photos with us rather than trying to sneak one. 

4. I've travelled to countries where there are a lot of stray dogs on the streets but I was still surprised to see so many animals on the street, especially cows, goats, pigs, plus loads of dogs and puppies. To my surprise, we did not see very many cats. 

5. I brought some food along with me but I incorrectly assumed we would find a grocery store or bodega to buy snacks at some point. The most we found were little stands selling dusty bags of expired chips, a few candy bars, and soda/water. 

A typical stand with provisions

6. I've been really bad lately with trying to learn the local language before traveling and in preparation for this trip had read that we'd be able to get by with just English in India. However, this is one trip where I wish I had studied the language a bit beforehand. I was surprised at how difficult it was to communicate in English with taxi/tuk tuk drivers, hotel staff, and others we came into contact with.

An example of a tuk tuk that we used several times in India

7. As an American I am very familiar with disposable cups, but I was surprised that the disposable cups in India were handmade out of clay! People would drink chai out of little cups and then smash them on the ground. The lassi place we went to in Varanasi used larger versions of the disposable clay cups. 

8. My brother-in-law was really looking forward to eating a bunch of samosas, but surprisingly we never found them on a menu. We saw a lot of them being made and sold at street vendors but we read beforehand to avoid eating street food. 

One of the fancy, non street food establishments we tried

9. Horn honking is encouraged by other drivers to alert as you pass them. I now see how necessary it is because drivers don't stick to one lane and it sometimes felt like a game of Mario Kart. 

10. Bombay belly is real. I had hoped that I could avoid stomach issues by eating at reputable restaurants, taking probiotics, and drinking a lot of lassi. I discovered how wrong I was as I puked my guts out in our hotel lobby in Mumbai. Amazingly, Mumbai is still my favorite city even after missing half our time there due to illness. Here I am looking pretty rough with the only thing I could keep down for a few days, 7Up. 

India Top Ten

After spending many hours sorting my photos, I decided the best way to sum up our trip is to limit it to my ten favorite sites and ten things that surprised me about India. I'll start with my top ten best India moments. 

1. Taj Mahal
I was concerned that the Taj Mahal would be overhyped and may not be as impressive in person. I had no need to worry because it was amazing. The grounds are very large so even though there were a ton of people we didn't feel crammed. It is clean, beautiful, and huge with the most impressive mosaics I've seen. 

2. Sunrise Hindu Ceremony
One morning in Varanasi we got up at 5am to watch a ceremony that is performed twice daily (sunrise and sunset). Young women from a religious school chanted while young men from the school performed the different stages of the ceremony, most involving fire or smoke. It was beautiful and fascinating to watch. Our guide told us that this is a fairly new ceremony so I couldn't find any more information about it.

3. Boat Tour on Ganges
After the morning ceremony, we took a boat to the northern end of Varanasi. We got our first look at the burning ghat where Hindus are cremated. We were so fascinated by what we saw that we decided to walk to the burning ghat for a closer look later that day. Photos are not allowed at the burning ghat but anyone is allowed to walk through the area. The burning ghat is especially sacred as it is believed that people who are cremated there will be released from the cycle of reincarnation. Male mourners carry the body wrapped in orange fabric to the ghat where the workers place the body in the Ganges river before placing it on one of the many fires. It was a solemn experience to see how other cultures handle end of life for loved ones. 

4. Varanasi Street Food
On our guided tour of Varanasi we stopped for breakfast at a stall full of locals. We tried this vegetarian dish with bread that was delicious and then had a dessert called jelebe, which was a crisp, fried sweet filled with a syrup. Also in Varanasi is a delicious lassi place where we tried apple pomegranate, strawberry banana, and banana chocolate coconut.  

5. Mumbai
I love big cities and Mumbai was no exception. The architecture was incredible, the shopping was excellent, and the city had a busy vibe that was energizing. I was surprised to read that Mumbai doesn't see much tourism, especially from foreign visitors. 

6. Ranakpur Temple
This Jain temple in Rajasthan was built in the 15th century as a show of devotion to Adinath, the founder of the Jain religion. The temple is named after the provincial monarch who supported the project. The temple is massive with 80 domes and 1,444 individually engraved pillars. Our audio guide mentioned that if you crawl between the legs of one of the carved elephants inside it would bring good things to your life. 

7. Pushkar
This town is on a holy lake and has 52 bathing ghats (a ghat is a flight of steps leading to the water). Even though the main streets were busy with people, some of the areas around the lake were peaceful and we were able to sit and enjoy the beautiful view. 

8. The Great Kebab Factory
We mostly ate vegetarian dishes while in India but we went to this restaurant that was recommended by a friend. They had a set menu and brought more of whatever item you wanted. The fresh fruit with strawberry and mustard sauce, the boneless chicken, and the lentils were my personal favorites. 

9. Safari Camp
We stayed one night in a tent at a safari camp where we rode camels to watch the sunset. I really enjoyed riding a camel and thought it was a smoother ride than a horse but getting on and off was a pretty big challenge! 

After sunset, there was a performance of traditional Rajasthani dancing and music. They even got us involved and taught us some of the dances. At one point one of the dancers balanced a stack of pots on her head while dancing, standing on glass, and picked something off the ground with her teeth.

10. Forts, Forts, Forts!
We toured many forts in Rajasthan in northern India including Kumbhalgarh, Jaisalmer, Mehrangarh, Amber, Agra, and the Red Fort. The earliest fort was built in the 5th century and the oldest in the 18th century. Each one was different from the next: some were intricately carved, some had been used as palaces, and some had heavy walls surrounding them. I enjoyed each fort we toured and never got tired of them.