Now that's different - 3

Identical twins always seem to draw attention, but when they are also big - very big - they need to be photographed with someone of normal size to show how truly different in size they are.

These amiable giants tower above just about everyone else. Faithful brothers, they are also inseparable friends who seem to even think alike.

Showing scale is an important aspect of any photograph that is intended to show the relative size of large persons or objects. Include an object (or person) of recognizable size when your picture needs something to illustrate the scale of its subjects.

Who doesn't daydream every now and then of rafting leisurely down a slow-moving stream under the hot summer sun?

Aah! The sheer pleasure of it all! The gentle lapping of the waves and the unhurried current. No worries. No one to disturb you. Just pure relaxation and uninterrupted peace.

But, would you bring your bicycle on the raft? And your dog? Would you also load up with an umbrella, your bike's mini-trailer and anything else you happen to have?

You would if you were this rafter on the right, and if your raft was an especially-spacious inflatable mattress. That is a different way to travel by raft down a stream.

The trailer (a bit difficult to make out beneath the umbrella) is obviously for the dog to travel in, so the canine can be this rafter's constant companion on his pedal-powered voyages when he's not floating along in a river's current. (The dog's nose can just be seen in the lower photo, poking out from beneath the umbrella. He seems as content and relaxed as his master. Lucky pooch, we'd say.)

These unusual scenes were photographed in Penticton - a picturesque town nestled in the mountains of the Okanagan region of British Columbia in Canada.

This little western Canadian city is famous for its lakes and outstanding scenery, its proximity to acres of vineyards, its outdoor activities and especially for its very popular river channel, which attracts rafters of all ages from far and wide.

If you are looking for a great vacation spot, you can do a lot worse than to visit this charming town, with its numerous outdoor summer and winter activities and its great accommodations and restaurants.

Whenever we feature a particularly attractive place, a fun activity or an unusual attraction on PhotographyTips.com, we get a ton of inquiries asking for more details, so we may as well tell you now about this one.

Penticton is especially famous for its gentle, shallow, slow-moving river channel that runs right through the town, joining Okanagan lake with Skaha Lake. Both lakes are hot spots in the summer months, with clean, clear water and sandy beaches that are easily-accessible.

The channel run takes approximately two hours, unless you pull over to chat and share a cold drink with fellow rafters, drop off for a refreshing swim, or paddle on ahead.

Tube or raft rentals are available locally at modest cost, or you can bring your own. An air mattress, an inner tube or just about any serviceable flotation device will do the job. No boats; no motors, though.

Rafting operators provide life-jackets and even an optional bus pick up service at the conclusion of the trip to bring you back to your starting point. Some passengers say the bus ride, with its usual festive mood and sing-along atmosphere, is as much fun as the channel rafting.

What more could you ask?

If you take part in the fun, be sure to bring a waterproof camera. You wouldn't want to ruin your normal camera by getting it wet, something that could be hard to avoid. A disposable underwater camera is relatively inexpensive and will provide you with acceptable pictures as memories of your rafting adventure.

If you are the family photographer and don't go along for the ride, be sure to position yourself on one of the many bridges over the channel to capture pictures of your kids, family or friends (or their bicycles and dogs) as they glide leisurely past.

But, keep in mind that it can get crowded.

The river channel in Penticton is a very popular place. It is jam-packed on any warm, summer weekend (which describes just about all summer weekends in the Okanagan) with rafts of all designs, and rafters from every corner of the globe.

But, it's the kind of crowding that doesn't seem to bother you.

There is still plenty of space and water around you, and everyone on the river seems to be in a laid-back, jovial, holiday mood. No one is in a hurry, or they wouldn't be there.

Besides, when the river channel is crowded, you have the chance to meet some relaxed fellow rafters, or just wave at them as you pass. The last run of the evening is always more mellow than the others, even quite romantic in fact, and a great way to end a great day.

Visit Penticton's web site, here at www.penticton.ca.

Deep in the desert in Arizona stands a Titan II missile that, to the casual eye, appears ready to be launched in response to a nuclear threat.

Is it real? Yes, it sure is - a genuine, 103-foot tall ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) - the largest missile ever made by the United States.

Is it armed and ready to go? Not any more. It is decommissioned, as is the entire site. It has been rendered harmless, but it sure makes quite an impressive and unusual picture in its silo (its launch duct, to be completely accurate), and its location, a preserved underground missile site, is a very interesting place to visit.

The missile can be found at the Titan Missile Museum, which is the only publicly-accessible Titan II missile site in the United States. This unusual museum is situated in Sahuarita, Arizona, roughly 20 miles south of Tucson, where you can take pictures of the Titan II similar to this photo on the left, and learn everything you might wish to know about it.

During the Cold War of the 1960s to mid-1980s, there were 54 Titan II underground complexes, together comprising a major component of the United States' nuclear deterrence program. This was one of them, and is the only surviving site.

Anyone can tour this underground missile complex today, where you will see its three-ton blast doors, the eight-foot thick silo walls, and the real thing - an actual Titan II missile in the launch duct.

A visit to the Launch Control Center will allow you to experience a simulated launch. In fact, you may be the one who is sitting at the console when the "Launch" command comes through, and you have to decide to push the button.

Now, that's different.

The Titan Museum is operated by the non-profit Arizona Aerospace Foundation.

The museum is located at 1580 West Duval Mine Road, Sahuarita, Arizona, USA. Visiting hours are 8:45 am to 5:00 pm. The museum can be reached by phone at (520) 625-7736.

You can visit the museum's website at Titan Missile Museum.