It's another shot of Christian. When this was displayed, it was hung right at eye level, so the effect is him staring right at you. I shot this indoors, on my 50mm lens, wide open at f1.8, which I was able to use when I got very close (I was within 3 feet of him) to limit my depth of field so only his eyes were in focus, especially his right eye. This really draws in your attention both as the focal point and the bright point, helping to emphasize the staring effect.
But enough rambling about the photo. Today our topic in the countdown series is mobile phones overseas. If you're going abroad to be a student or for work, you're going to make contacts who you'll want to be able to call and have call you. Now in order to talk about phones, we have to talk a little bit about the technologies that make them work, especially here in the US/North America. The world has two competing cell phone technologies: GSM and CDMA. GSM is in use across most of the world: Africa, Europe, Australia, South America, and parts of Asia. In fact, these parts of the globe almost exclusively use GSM. CDMA is in use in Asia (especially Korea), North America, and parts of Africa. GSM requires the use of a SIM card to connect to the network, and is used by companies like AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S. CDMA transmits a special code to the network to connect, and is used by companies like Verizon and Sprint in the U.S. That's obviously an over simplification, but explaining the fine points of the technologies are beyond the scope of this blog, so I made sure to include the Wikipedia links if you want more info.
Ok, so knowing more about how phones work, now its time to talk about finding phone service overseas. Even in if your phone will work in the country you're visiting, your carrier may not, or, at best, will charge an arm and a leg (and your first born child) to get you service. To ensure service, and not pay out the ears for it, you can either find a carrier that specializes in pay-per-minute travel phones like Piccell Wireless or STA Travel (who also handles just about everything else travel related), or look for carriers in your local country. For example, in France there are currently 3 providers (with a 4th on the way): Orange, Bouygues Télécom, and SFR (with Free Mobile currently under deployment) and they all have pay-as-you-go mobile phone plans. Both strategies are based on per-minute usage, and each has distinct advantages and disadvantages.
Rented phones from travel companies tend to have slightly more expensive rates but also tend to travel better through many countries. They're designed for those who are touring Europe, and may be spending time in several different countries, but want to keep the same service and phone number through all of them. They also tend to have conveniences for calling back home or letting home call you. Of course, these come at a bit of a premium, but they can give younger travelers and their parents piece of mind. Another perk is that these phones are rented, so you don't have to worry about accumulating another phone that won't work when you get home, or what to do with a foreign phone after your trip. So if you're traveling through several countries, want some convenience with calling home, or don't want to have to keep a foreign phone kicking around after your trip, and you're ok with paying for those perks, a rented cell phone might be your solution.
Local phones, on the other hand, are nice if you're spending the overwhelming majority of your time in a single country. They tend to have better rates per minute, and you can get them on pay-as-you-go plans (much like Tracfone or AT&T Go). There isn't really any good way to reach these phones from the U.S. though, so I would suggest investing in a webcam and Skype for any calls back home because it's a) video calling, so you can see them, too! and it's b) absolutely free for computer to computer calls. Also, a local phone is guaranteed to work with the electrical grid in your destination country, so charging will never be an issue and you won't have to ship the phone back when you're done. This is nice if you end up extending your stay at the last minute, or if you're like me and are just terribly forgetful about those kinds of things.
The real perk of using a local phone though, is that if you already use a GSM carrier (told you this would be important!) you can most likely use your existing phone overseas! You just have to go in and have them "unlock" your phone for use with other companies' SIM cards, then you can suspend your service when you leave the U.S. and get a pay-as-you-go SIM from one of the local companies. This saves you a ton of money and you don't end up having an extra foreign phone after your trip, without having to deal with any messy shipping. Verizon customers aren't entirely out of luck, though. If you have the newest iPhone from Verizon, it has an unlockable SIM card inside, but you have to wait 60 days after your purchase to have it unlocked. Some companies, like SFR in France, even offer pay-as-you-go plans that include unlimited iPhone data for a certain number of days.
Finally, no matter who your local carrier is, you should have them suspend your service while overseas. It makes no sense to be paying your full bill back home for a service you aren't using, and that money could be better spent in your destination country on food, lodging, and souvenirs. Most carriers will do this for free or a nominal fee, and some may extend your contract by the number of months that you suspend it by. It is important to talk to your carrier about their policies for this kind of stuff, which brings me to my final point. It's important to do your research! Find out your local carrier's policy. Check their pricing. Know the companies in your destination country. Get out your converters (or Google) and do some price comparisons. This is especially important because some of the rental phones can only be obtained BEFORE you leave for your trip, so you need to figure out ahead of time which strategy you think is best for you. Also, if you're going for a study abroad through an exchange program, like me, ask your program if they have any relations with companies, or anyone they recommend students to, as that can sometimes get you discounts. In the end, the best fit is what you think will be right for you and your needs.
That's it on mobile phones. Next time we're going to talk about something that is a little more relevant to the entire blog, and it should promise to be a photo filled post: Traveling with cameras and gear. I'll share my kit with you, and some of the tips and tricks I've found about traveling safely with expensive equipment. I'll also point you to some other sites of travel photographers for more tips, tricks, and tutorials.
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