This is my first, and belated, reply to a "Challenge" so I will apologize in advance if my post is done incorrectly.

My first night photo is of "The Bund" in Shanghai and was taken on a very windy night in 2010 using a tripod. The second photo is the Chain Bridge in Budapest and was taken handheld in 2013. I did not have the skill set to maximize the technical aspect of the photos and instead relied on composition to convey the story and emotion of the moment.

I have been looking online for 6 months and have not seen any comments on visiting Burma as strong as yours. Are you aware of tourists being molested in Burma? I have put myself in a couple of dangerous situations while taking photos but this was just me trying too hard to get a shot that I thought I needed to have. Other than getting in the middle of a Communist labor protest on the Chain Bridge in Budapest by accident, I have avoided political activists and demonstrations. However, I am not a gambler, especially with my wife traveling with me so I will probably have to come up with a plan B.

I have my airline booked and have six weeks until my deposit goes hard. Plan B is starting to look like southern India. We did 3 weeks in northern India in January and loved it. However, I am feeling pretty bad about the thought of missing some great photo opportunities in Burma and Cambodia.

Seemed like a good idea when I booked the trip several months ago but recent events have spooked us. Doing all the research I can before I pull the plug.

My wife and I have a trip planned to Myanmar/Burma for 3 weeks in the end of January, 2018. We will start our trip in Yagnon and go on to Mandalay and Inle Lake. We will have a driver and guides for the entire trip and will not be staying or venturing into hostile areas. However, the country is going through political turmoil and we have concerns for our safety. Our guide company is saying that the areas we are traveling have not had conflict and are safe. Have any of you traveled to Myanmar recently and did you feel comfortable? I live in LA so I know that many communities have potential risks but can be isolated from areas that are visited by tourists. This is turning out to be a tough call and I am hoping that any of you who have been there recently can offer your experience or suggestions.

Some very useful suggestions. I will use this info for further research. I know there is a practical solution here. Thanks for all of your input.

Johneccles, I anticipate large crowds. This trip is more about sharing time with friends but I will do my best to get some quality shots. Over the last 7 years I have visited quite a few European countries. I am of Croatian heritage but have never visited Croatia. Given the current turmoil in Europe, this may be my last trip. Traveling on a small sailing ship so it should be interesting.

I have been fortunate in recent years to make many international trips and have tried to take as many pictures as possible. (3,500 snaps on a recent trip to northern India). I do not cary a laptop or other device to do a daily download of my images for safety. I have upcoming trips to Venice, Croatia and Greece as well as an extensive trip to Myanmar and Cambodia. While I am careful about securing my SD cards, I would like to find a cost effective way of backing up my cards. I do not need to do editing on the spot (I'll save that for my computer when I return). Are there any suggestions for a storage device that only requires a simple connection directly to my camera? (I mothballed my Canon 5DII and recently switched to a Lumix GX8.)

I have been using blurb.com for the past 7 years. I have done approx. 15 12x12 coffee table art books for my own use. The site is used by many professionals. You can see hundreds of books on their website that are open for preview. A great source for seeing the creative ideas of very accomplished photographers.

As for quality, you can order various grades of paper. I have used their highest quality papers and have been very satisfied. These books are expensive but if you have put in a lot of time in capturing and processing your shots, you will be looking for the best results.

What makes this funny is that I was on a breakwater looking back a the scenery of a beautiful harbor filled with boats all surrounded by mountains and a azure blue sky. Sometimes you just need to find what is out of place.

The Vapperato is a great suggestion. Hadn't thought of it. Thanks

A rusty post in the Santa Barbara harbor. Can anyone explain why I even have a shot like this?

I'll be in Venice for less than 24 hours in mid August and want to get a few photos at sunset (6:00 to 9:00 p.m.) and sunrise (6:00 a.m. to 10:00a.m.) Haven't been there in several years and am looking for suggestions for shooting locations. Assume I only have time to walk to 4 different spots in the evening and the morning. Which would you pick? I want to take advantage of the morning and evening light. I am not trying to find something unique as I know I will be fighting for space with other photographers at every stop regardless of the time.

My hotel is midway between St. Marks and the Rialto Bridge. Any suggestion for a dinner restaurant?