House Sitters Are Coming to the Rescue of Many Travellersby: Ian WhiteEveryone seems to have accepted the fact that the days of leaving your door unlocked are over. The rise of crime is affecting everyone, not just those who live in the larger cities. In fact, homes in rural areas are being targeted like never before–due to the opportunity a secluded area provides to the burglar. Statistics tell us that theft of property is among the highest of all personal crimes committed in the United States. While many families do install some type of house alarm, this alone does not bring complete peace of mind. Home alarm devices can be disabled by a crafty intruder.
These facts alone would explain why many people are turning to house sitting directories to help them find a house sitter when they need to be away from home for an extended time. The presence of a human is the main deterrent to a burglar. When you have a house sitter come into your home to live while you are away, you can almost be guaranteed your home will not be targeted by a thief or vandals.
While safety is the number one reason people are seeking out house sitters, they are quickly finding there are many other added benefits. First and foremost, they are saved the cost and worry of boarding their pets while they are away. Pets are happier when they are left in their own environment and kept on their usual routines. Many pet owners find they are not able to enjoy their vacation when they are forced to leave their pets at a kennel. For the individual or family who has to relocate for months at a time, having a house sitter greatly reduces the stress upon a family pet, and the money that is saved from boarding fees can be astounding. A house sitter can see to the many diverse needs of your pet such as feeding, walking, grooming, playing and health monitoring.
People that do have to be away from home for an extended time are finding it is much easier to have a house sitter come and live in their home–rather than renting out their house or imposing on family or friends to come by to tend to the day to day issues. House sitters can do tasks such as checking mail, routine lawn maintenance, home repair, and more. Having a house sitter can bring assurance that when you return from your travels you will still find healthy house plants or gardens–and that your goldfish is still alive! Your house sitter saves you the expense of arranging for pool and lawn maintenance while you are away, as well. House sitters are also invaluable if a major problem arises within you home, such as a leaking hot water heater or storm damage.
So, how does one go about finding a house sitter? The safest way to locate a house sitter is to go through a house sitting directory. Here you can find a house sitter which can meet your needs. Standard guidelines for a house sitter generally include them taking responsibility of your home, pets and property in exchange for rent free accommodations. Other individual needs can also be added to your house sitters guidelines such as arranging for them to supervise a major home repair while you are away.
You may be wondering who actually does house-sitting? You may be surprised to learn there are many individuals who become house sitters because it gives them the opportunity to save money on their living expenses. This enables them to save money for their own homes. Other house sitters may be retirees who are looking for a change of environment after years of work, or they wish to relocate to your area to be near relatives. A few individuals who are temporarily relocated due to their employment may also look into house sitting. House sitters are everyday people just like you and me.
It is usually standard that house sitters will be responsible for paying the utility bills while you are away. This takes the worry off a home owner who is concerned about coming home to a large phone or electric bill. All other bills, such as taxes, mortgage and home insurance is still the responsibility of the owner.
When you contact a house-sitting directory you will have access to their data base of registered house sitters. Registration for home owners is usually free with most directories. You privacy is assured, and your personal information will not be given out to any prospective house sitter. You alone decide when you are comfortable with a house sitter and are open to having him or her know your personal information.
When selecting your house sitter, you should only choose one that can meet all of your criteria. Once you have narrowed down your choices, you will be given references for the candidates. This is an important part of the process when selecting a house sitter. Many times you will be able to talk with other home owners who may have used this individual as a house sitter in the past.
Once you have decided upon a possible candidate, you will want to interview them. During the interview you will want to let them know what you desire from them when they are living at your home. This is when you can tell them about your pets, home maintenance such as a pool, mowing or shovelling snow. This is also when you can get to know the personality and character of your prospective sitter. You need to be assured you are having an animal lover come into your home if you have pets. It would be unreasonable to have someone come into your home who is allergic to cats if you have one for a pet. Also, if someone is fearful of animals, your dog may not get as much interaction as they need.
When you have chosen the house sitter you are comfortable with, you should have a contract drawn up. This contract can be obtained through most house sitting matching services, or you may prefer to have your family attorney draw it up. This contract needs to be as detailed as possible. It should thoroughly explain your expectations for home maintenance, pet care, emergency contact information, etc. If you would like to have a major home project completed, such as having someone come in to clean your gutters, or replace your windows while you are away, you should have all the details included in your contract.
It is advised that you have a face to face interview with your house sitter, or at least have them arrive a few days early so you can show them particular things about your home. While they are there, you can familiarize him or her with aspects of your home, such as window that likes to stick, or how to program the alarm system. This is also a great time for your house sitter to interact and make friends with your pets. They can see the routine of your pet throughout the day. This will help them tremendously. For instance, if you have a dog that does nothing but sleep all day behind the recliner, your house sitter will know this is normal and not a sign of illness. However, if you have a dog that bounces off the ceiling and he or she is laying around in a stupor all day, your house sitter will know this is out of character for that particular pet.
The peace of mind a house sitter can bring to you when you are away from home is priceless. Using a house sitting matching service is also the safest and speediest route to take when looking for a house sitter. Both the home owner and house sitter benefit by these matching services. The sitters can enjoy being in a new area while saving money for school or a home. Retirees are particularly pleased to be chosen as house sitters. Becoming a house sitter allows them an opportunity to travel to a place where their fixed income may not have afforded them to visit otherwise. Home owners can be assured they are not imposing on a family, friend or neighbor to watch over their home. The comfort level that a house sitter can bring to a pet is also a major plus. House sitters not only help deter your home from being the target of a burglary, but they step into your shoes and take care of the small things on a day to day basis.

Photography Tips While Travelingby: Robert BezmanWhether you’re embarking on a family vacation or your family reunion, it’s going to be a special time. When we think of trips we’ve taken, we tend to remember them best with photographs. Here’s some ideas to enhance your vacation as well as your memories of them.
Location Preparation
1) Since you know where you’re going (that’s a minimum requirement), doesn’t it make sense to check out the location before you get there? Create a list of attractions, accommodations, special points of interest, amusement areas, shopping, etc. A good source to help you do this is: the Places and Travel section of msn.com ( http://groups.msn.com/Browse?CatId=179)
2) Figure out the photo opportunities for each appropriate venue. Anyone can take a “that’s nice” picture of the kids at an amusement park. Wouldn’t you rather capture a “WOW” photo that could be hung over the mantle?
3) Depending on the location you’re traveling to, you can see what books are written about them that highlight the best photo opportunities for the entire area
4) If you’re cyber-savvy, start at www.google.com and search using different combinations of: your destination, best photography locations, for images of the location, scenic spots, etc. The options are endless.
5) If you’re off to a non-big city area, scout out the national parks in the area. The great thing about national parks is that the scenery is usually so breathtaking, that a so-so shot looks outstanding, just because of the subject. Once in www.nps.gov, do a search on photos and you will be presented with terrific shots of all the parks
Photography Preparation
OK, you’re either traveling through or you’re at a wonderful location full of photo opportunities. You began this leg of your trip at the crack of dawn and as you’re pulling into the most scenic overlook for 400 miles, the sun is just starting to crack the horizon.
You instinctively pull the car over, grab your camera and your tripod, and look for the best spot to set up. Just one tiny little problem… YOU FORGOT YOUR TRIPOD! Rather than smack yourself on the forehead then, why not plan these things now, before you leave?
Your list should include AT LEAST the following consideration…
1) Do I need to repeat – BRING YOUR TRIPOD? It doesn’t take up much room, and as explained at www.best-family-photography-tips.com/tripod-photography.html, tripods allow you to capture entirely new categories of photographs that won’t be possible without one
2) Memory. Of course, bring all the memory you have, but also pack your portable storage device (explained at http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/digital-photography-tutorial.html)
3) If your camera has a hot shoe, bring your external flash, and any additional equipment that can be used to help with bounce flash
4) Remember your external shutter release cable for those long exposures. How else are you going to get that “angel-hair” look of the waterfalls?
5) Don’t forget the basics like: batteries, battery charger, camera bag, and additional lenses and filters (if applicable on your camera)
6) And just in case you need it, bring the manuals for your equipment.
Finally, don’t get so wrapped up in taking perfect shots that you don’t enjoy the trip. Remember to use the tripod so that you’ll be in at least some of the photos.
Article courtesy of www.best-family-photography-tips.com, where you can see some sample pictures including more photography tips. Copyright 2005 Robert Bezman. All rights reserved.

Rail Europe for the Student Travelerby: David LazzarinoRail Europe As a Student PassengerRead Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.comRead this entire feature FREE with photos athttp://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/sports02/adventure/trains/raileurope/student/eurail.html
Hitting the Rails —
It has been a time-honoured tradition for the North American university grad to leave his sheltered nest and seek the unknown in a distant land.
Unfortunately, tradition also lends way to cliché.
The early twenties, book smart grad is filled with an ambition to add some life experience to his new set of professional letters. He sits in a dockside café eating hometown food with French provincial names as he writes into a leather-bound booklet some deep insights that he assumes are original. He dreams of having a torrid love affair with some local peasant girl but settles instead for swapping email addresses with some Canadians doing the exact same thing. As entertaining as this prospect seems, it was not my wish. I wanted to carve out my own adventure, and in Europe there is no better way than by train.
The European rail system has been for years second-to-none for accessibility, comfort, and, with Rail Europe, affordability. There are a variety of Rail Europe passes for different prices that can get you anywhere you wish in little time and from city center to city center. North Americans must purchase the Rail Europe tickets before departing Europe (you can’t get them in Europe) and well in advance of their trip, and in certain countries the passes are valid on ferries and riverboats. The passes are easy to use and, if taken advantage of fully, are cheaper than most other forms of transportation. Best of all is that trains can get you to remote areas that you would otherwise miss. For the budget-minded the night excursions or hotel trains save you hotel rooms so that you awake the next day in a new country!
Copenhagen —
I landed in Copenhagen and got immediately roped into the standard tourist sites — Tivoli Gardens , the Royal Palace, etc.
I saw an incredible exhibit of Danish design at the National Art (Kunst) Gallery, and I took a bike ride through an area called Christiania, an area started by a group of Danes in the 1960s looking for free love, free drugs, and free rent, and it hasn’t changed much since. I was here when I was thirteen years old, staying with a cousin. Since, the government has made an attempt to clean up Christiania by taking out most of the drugs but the general atmosphere remains. Old military buildings painted in bright colours are home to all sorts of the local free thinkers from vagrants to artists to very accomplished architects. The tour ended at the National Library, also called the “Diamond” because of it’s seemingly transparently beautiful aesthetics. It is a remarkable example of the old world class of an European city (half of the building is the original building of the National Library) and the clean lines and simple concepts of modern Danish design that act to seemingly tell a story with nothing but light.
Munich —
As wonderful of a city as Copenhagen is, the tourist route begins to lose its luster and the rails are calling me East. I’ve been to Germany before so I wasn’t interested in staying for too long, but the food and beer would be a shame to miss — yet another perk of train travel. Local trains can always be caught if you simply feel like ending up in a small town outside Munich, ordering a heaping lunch and a few giant steins of local brew and making your way out the same day. Needless to say, between Frankfurt and the Hungarian border I was full, comfortably brewed-up, and happy as the beautiful sites of central Europe flew by.
As can be expected, this type of life can take it’s toll on a person’s ability to remain conscious. By chance, when my body and mind were screaming for sleep, I happened upon a rather quiet train car. In fact, at one point a person was asked to keep the noise down behind me. I thought there was going to be some sort of movie starting that necessitated such silent attention until I realized that some of the train cars are specifically designated for the lazy kind of traveler that I felt like being. They are quiet cars and I will snore my praises of them for years to come.
Budapest —
A city full of history, incredible architecture, and beautiful women. As you walk around the city you get a definite stench of the former socialist society coupled with an obvious existence of capitalist growth. The city sits on the banks of the Danube. The Pest side is where you would find a much more built-up city center with malls and shopping areas, not to mention the late night venues. You can imagine my desire to visit the other side of the river.
The other side of the river is the Buda part of the city (are you picking up on the basis of the name yet?). A little quieter and lush, Buda contains some beautiful homes and sites. The Gelhert Hill, marked by a statue that can be reached by hiking paths, offers an incredible view of the city. I was lucky enough to meet a lovely local named Janka and I was invited to a dinner party. Hungarians are often seen as slightly less personable than some western European counterparts. This can be chalked up to a very dry sense of humour. I can attest, however, that this is not the case at all. After a great, home-cooked meal and a few cocktails in a quaint apartment in the hills filled with great people, including Zigga (who I knew for a few days and offered me a lift to the train station), and of course the beautiful Janka; I would say that kindness and generosity are staples in the social diet of Hungarians. They also have an uncanny ability to have a good time.
Again, some relaxation is in order after seeing so many sites.
Read this entire feature FREE with photos at:http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/sports02/adventure/trains/raileurope/student/eurail.html
By David Lazzarion, Canada, Correspondent, Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com

One way to overcome these problems and still have all the convenience of a pocket sized camera is to learn how to edit photos so that they end up looking professional even though the equipment used wasn’t high end professional photo taking equipment. Go to http://www.abcphotoediting.com and check out their simple to read e-book that takes you through step by step exactly how to sharpen your images, take out any distractions from the photo, improve the lighting, or anything else you’d like to do. This e- book is easy to understand, and very good value!

In recent times professional photographers have made use of infrared film predominantly for black and white portraits. However infrared photography is now not out of the realm of possibility for the average amateur photographer. Digital cameras are now providing the clever photographer with the opportunity to create beautiful infrared images at a fraction of the cost when compared to film.

Not all (or more accurately ? not many) digital cameras are set up to be able to shoot infrared images.

So how do you know if your digital camera can shoot infrared images?

This is a simple one to answer!

Point your digital camera at a television remote control and take a photograph of the infrared sensor that’s located at one end of the remote while pressing buttons on the control to send out an infrared beam. If your camera can shoot an image of the infrared light being emitted from the LED of the TV remote control then you are on your way to producing an infrared image!

It’s not enough to simply have any old digital camera for shooting infrared images. The type of digital camera that you’ve purchased will determine whether infrared images will be successful. Your camera should be at least a semi-professional digital or digital SLR-type with screw fittings to be able to connect filters to the lens.

The lenses of the cheaper and smaller digital cameras don’t usually support fittings for filters so may not be appropriate for digital infrared imaging. Check your camera’s documentation to see if it will accommodate filters.

Next you will require an infrared filter. The Hoya R70 infrared filter is one of the best and cheapest to buy, however at around US$40 or more it can be out of the price range for most would-be infrared amateurs ? especially since you still don’t know if the end-product image will be what you want to achieve! If you’ve got the money to spare (or to blow!) then give it a go.

After purchasing an infrared filter, attach it to your camera, set up a tripod outdoors on a sunny day and shoot away! The first thing you’ll notice is that you can either see nothing or very little through the camera eyepiece.

Your camera will be recording images in the infrared spectrum ? not visible light ? so you would expect to see very little light through the filter with your own eyes.

Be aware that adding an infrared filter may have serious effects on your camera’s electronics or lens. Consult your camera’s operations manual or manufacturer before fitting any infrared filter to your camera, and never look through an infrared or any other type of filter with your own eyes.

Photo Shop Australia http://www.PhotoShopAustralia.com/ has a large array of infrared example images captured using combinations of shutter speeds, aperture and light sources.

Phill Petrovic is the owner of Photo Shop Australia at: http://www.PhotoShopAustralia.com/

Photo Shop Australia provides unique and amazing Australian nature photography including macro, infrared and landscape images of Australia. Photo Shop Australia also has a page of totally royalty free images available for free download for businesses and personal users.