Passport photos are often taken by inexperienced photographers in drug stores with cheap no-brand cameras, who then charge $9 for the service.
The other option is to visit a professional photographer who then charges $30 to take your photograph with a special Polariod camera—these photos may or may not be accepted by the passport agency. Would it not be nice to take your own photo and just adjust it to the right dimensions for the passport agency?
IDPhoto4you.com allows you to upload a photo and reformat it for your country’s passport regulations. The maximum allowable original photo size is 10000X10000, and your photo must be a JPG, PNG or BMP.
First, choose the country for which you need a passport photo. Most countries appear on the list.
The settings for your passport photo are automatically chosen. Next, click the Choose File button to find a photo to upload. Most countries require passport photos to appear on a white background, a white curtain or a piece of 25-cent piece of poster board will do the trick nicely.
A photo of yourself looking directly at the camera is best, but if the head is slightly turned, idphoto4you can correct the angle—just put a checkmark next to Use Angle Correction. Click the Upload button when you are done.
A page will appear displaying your original photo and your resized, cropped ready-for-the-passport-office photos.
Click Download and save the new photos to your computer. Now all you need to do is print the photos on photo paper and submit your passport application.
Maybe visiting a theme park or laying on some sunny beach with a Mai Tai isn’t really your idea of a great vacation. Telling coworkers about your shark diving adventure or Mt. Everest expedition will certainly be more interesting than Bob’s photos from California wine country. They’re sure to be impressed, a bit jealous, and possibly questioning your sanity.
1. Gorilla Safari One of the most mysterious and revered animals in the jungle, Mountain Gorillas have remained largely inaccessible to most people. And for good reason, years of poaching and civil war in Central Africa have left fewer than 700 of these apes in the wild. Generally known as “gentle giants” male silverbacks can weigh up to 400lbs and will defend their group with serious “whoop-ass capabilities” if needed. Four day safaris in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park are available to wildlife goers. A good rule of thumb for observing Mountain Gorillas, don’t look’em directly in the eye – it’s a sign of hostility. Kind of like in prison.
2. Big Game Safari Hunting Gun crazy or PETA for life, whatever your views on hunting may be, that’s not the issue here. Hunting a 4,000lb elephant or 250lb lion on the African savanna is sure to provide an adrenaline rush… or get you killed. It’s not often that a game hunter is taken out by the very prey they’re stalking, but it does happen. However, for those that are willing to shell out $9,000-20,000 for big game safari hunts, that’s a price they’re willing to take.
3. Diving with Great Whites Remember that scene in Jaws, where Richard Dryfus is in the shark cage with the spear gun waiting, then the shark rams the cage and he almost get’s eaten? Doesn’t that sound like fun?! If Shark Week on the Discovery Channel just isn’t doing it for you anymore, now you can get up close and personal with Great Whites. Shark diving tours off the coasts of South Africa and Mexico put you face to face with these 20-ft long swimming garbage disposals. Just a steel cage, between you and rows of teeth… lots of teeth. Try it with Makos and Blue Sharks, sans free the cage for an extra rush.
4. Tow-in Surfing Not for the casual surfer who’s just looking to catch some waves on a day off from the office. Tow- in surfing involves a motorized watercraft that tows another surfer out to otherwise unreachable big waves. It involves quite a bit of skill, as well as dependability on the person operating the watercraft to pick you up before the next big wave hits. A good deal of tow-in surfing is done off the coasts of Hawaii, South Africa and Australia – which are all frequented by Great White sharks. So, that’s giant waves, the possibility of drowning, and sharks – vaya con Dios, brah!
5. Extreme Mountain Biking The word “extreme” gets tossed around in sports a lot and has become somewhat watered down over the years. Yet, there is probably no better word (other than insane) for riding the Cliffs of Moher on Ireland’s Atlantic coast. Try to imagine riding on rock ledges only 6 inches wide, 600 feet above the rocky shoreline with unforgiving winds constantly attempting to pull you off balance. That’s just what Hans Rey and Steve Peat did in 2006, purely for the thrill of it. But unless you have a death wish it’s probably best to leave the Huffy in the garage when visiting the Emerald Isle’s coast.
6. Heli-Skiing When double black-diamonds don’t provide enough of a challenge and you really need to impress the snow-bunnies at the ski lodge, try heli-skiing. Here’s what you’ll need: A pair of skis or snowboard, helicopter, and balls – big ones. Lured by untouched snow covered peaks and pure solitude, being dropped off on a remote mountain top by helicopter to ski down is the ultimate rush for winter sports enthusiasts. Valdez Heli-Camps offers tours to Alaska’s 13,000 feet Chugach mountain range. Just don’t expect the ski patrol to come to your rescue with hot chocolate should you get cold feet.
7. Climb Mount Everest If you like hiking, camping, comradery with friends and frostbite, then climbing Mount Everest might the vacation for you. Located on the border of Nepal and Tibet, its peak of 29,000 feet was first climbed by Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Once climbers reach the “death zone” (altitudes higher than 26,000 ft) low atmospheric pressure, high winds, slipping on ice and frostbite become severe threats. 179 people have died in pursuit of the summit and many of the bodies have never been recovered. Climbing packages can cost up to $60,000, but upon completion of the climb you get a cool “I climbed Mt. Everest, Bitches” t-shirt. Totally worth it.
