Welcome to Travelling Lens Insider, where every weekend I send you a carefully curated letter of all things travel, photography and a little bit of self-discovery.

Now, onto this week’s letter…

✈️ Which One of the Three Types of Points Should You Prioritize?​

The one that gives you the most flexibility of course! Having access to a diverse portfolio of points programs increases your chances of redeeming a good travel deal.

💳 In depth Guide on the Amex Blue Business Plus Credit Card​

I just applied and got approved for this $0 annual fee credit card this week! The two big reasons I got this card (and why you might want it too):

• Great catch-all card for every day spending (2x points for any spend)
• Free and easy way to maintain my Amex Membership Reward points even if I was to cancel all my AMEX Gold Card.

📸 How to get good photos in sunny and bright conditions​

Sunrise, sunset and golden hours are typically great times to take photos. But you don’t always get the luxury of taking photos during “perfect” conditions.

James Popsy shares an unconventional photo taking trick to help you take better photos during the harsh day time light.

(Like what you’re reading? Pass it along to someone who might love it too. And if that’s you, make sure to subscribe here! Thanks so much 😀)

⏪ ICYMI

✈️ Want some help planning and getting organised for your next trip? Get the free Travel Hub planning system in Notion. It’s been downloaded by more than 824 people.

📸 Use these 3 easy tips to get started in travel landscape photography (even if you’re just starting out in photography).

🖼️ How to turn your Instant travel photo prints into a personalised piece of wall art for your wall.

📸 Photo of the week

Last weekend, we were in Washington DC for a long weekend and were fortunate to see cherry blossom in peak bloom.

🕵️ Recommendation Zone

📚 Read

I’m not big on reading memoirs, but weirdly, all my recent books have been memoirs:

A Year Off by Alexandra Brown & David Brown.

Part how-to-travel-the-world guide, part beautiful stories of life on the road. A honest look at the ups and downs of being a traveller for a year.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.

A heart wrenching memoir on dealing with death, growing up as a mixed-race child in America and living an unconventional life.

Ten Years a Nomad by Matthew Kepnes.

He’s best know online as the founder and blogger of Nomadic Matt. He started travelling the world before it was cool, and started travel blogging before it was even a genre. Kepnes shares the highs and lows of long term travel.

📺 Watch

​Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy​

A Netflix documentary that pulls back the curtain on how the biggest consumer brands in the world keeps us buying more stuff we don’t need by using human psychology to motivate us to buy.

And the devastating consequences of consumerism on the planet.

​Emily in Paris​

I started this light hearted dramady on Netflix before our trip to Paris last year. I thought it was a fun little show to see Paris before we visited. And it turned out to be better than I expected (as long you don’t take it seriously).

Just finished the latest season (season 4) and it ends with Emily heading to Italy in 2025! Which is where I’m heading to in July! But it looks like season 5 won’t be released until 2026.

🎧 Listen

​Exploring Yellowstone by Exploring the National Parks (podcast)​

I’m in the midst of planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park in June, this is a great episode highlighting the logistics and must-see for one of the most famous national parks in the USA.

​DK Travel’s USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder (audiobook)​

The National Parks is truly one of the most unique things about the USA. I recently started listening to this audiobook that shares stories of how the National Park Service was formed and it also breaks down the highlights at each of the 63 national parks.

It’s a great way to get an overview of each park to pick out which ones you want to visit.

💬 Final Words

That’s all for this week!

Thanks for reading the Travelling Lens Insider newsletter.

As this is still a new weekly newsletter series, I’m always looking to improve. If you have feedback, I’d love to hear your thoughts on today’s newsletter.

And if you enjoyed it, please let me know why!