Category Archives: Travel

New Wildlife Books: “A Lifetime in Galápagos” By Tui De Roy (Princeton)

Featuring hundreds of breathtaking color photos, this stunning book guides you into labyrinthine mangroves to observe nesting herons, to misty cloud forests to glimpse flycatchers and orchids, high onto erupting volcanoes, and into the ocean to swim with hammerhead sharks. 

A beautifully illustrated and deeply personal chronicle of De Roy’s lifelong connection with these spectacular islands

A Lifetime In Galapagos - Tui De Roy - Princeton Press - July 20 2020Tui De Roy was a year old in 1955 when her family left Europe, boarding a banana boat bound for the Pacific to lead a different sort of life in Galápagos, one of self-sufficiency and living close to nature. She grew up on the islands and returned to them often over the next five decades. Discovering photography at a young age, she has dedicated her life to recording the islands’ natural history in infinite detail. A Lifetime in Galápagos is De Roy’s intimate portrait of one of the most spectacular places on Earth, presenting the wildlife and natural wonders of Galápagos as you have never seen them before.

De Roy’s lens provides up-close encounters with orca and sperm whales, colonies of iguanas, and the giant tortoises of Alcedo Volcano. She paints unforgettable portraits of her childhood in Galápagos―the islands at night under the stars of the Milky Way, sea lions at play and on the hunt, the diverse birdlife of Galápagos, and much more.

Blending striking images with vivid prose, A Lifetime in Galápagos also discusses the threats that global warming and other environmental challenges pose to the archipelago’s unique wildlife and fragile habitats.

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Travel & Architecture: “Windsor Castle” In Berkshire, England (Video)

Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is notable for its long association with the English and later British royal family and for its architecture. The original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror.

Top New Timelapse Videos: “Vorticity 3 (4K)” – Storm Chasing By Mike Olbinski

Filmed and Edited by: Mike Olbinski

This past spring was definitely a crazy time. I wasn’t even sure how much I’d be able to chase with everything going on, but luckily the storms waited until the middle of May to truly get going and things seemingly had gotten much better then and made chasing possible.

One thing you will notice in this film is a lack of tornadoes. It was a bad year for them right up until July when I stopped chasing! But the structure was magnificent. So many legendary days. I wasn’t even planning on doing a film this year, as I was figuring to do what I did with the previous Vorticity: Wait to gather up two years worth of footage in order to give you nothing but the very best. Incredibly, this year was so good, I had no idea how NOT to do a film, because if next year was anywhere close, I’d be making a 30 minute movie or having to leave a ton of clips on the cutting room floor.

So I started to work on it, first with the music as always…and I love Ryan Taubert. His album “Fool” actually had four tracks on it I love, but individually they didn’t quite have it all. So I spent a few hours, blended four of them, came up with a nine minute song and boom, went to work!

I wanted to do something a little more methodical, slower paced and majestic this time, fitting with the music and the footage. I hope you enjoy that! The lightning was off charts this year for me, so much night-time structure and awesomeness, plus the daytime supercells were incredible.

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Top New Travel Videos: “Austria – Top Places To Visit” (Touropia – 2020)

Austria is a country that is as well known for its scenic beauty as it is for its cultural activities. Situated in the Alps, it is a very popular place with skiers and hikers, but it is also a country that gave the world an important musical heritage, ranging from the classical composer Mozart to the Strauss waltzes and the Von Trapp family whose story was told in The Sound of Music. Here’s a look at the best places to visit in Austria.

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Top New Travel Videos: “Awsome Armenia” By Joerg Daiber (2020)

Filmed and edited by: Joerg Daiber

Armenia is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.

Armenia has been one of my favorite countries on my Caucasus trip a while back. The people are lovely, the history is intriguing and the scenery is breathtaking.

However, see for yourself and enjoy this ride through this amazing country in only 3 minute.
Shooting locations: Yerevan, Khor Virab, Smbataberd, Khndzoresk, Tatev Monastery, Shaki, Dilijan, Garni Temple, Jermuk, Sevanavank, Noratus cemetery and Lake Sevan.

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Armenia is a nation, and former Soviet republic, in the mountainous Caucasus region between Asia and Europe. Among the earliest Christian civilizations, it’s defined by religious sites including the Greco-Roman Temple of Garni and 4th-century Etchmiadzin Cathedral, headquarters of the Armenian Church. Khor Virap Monastery is a pilgrimage site near Mount Ararat, a dormant volcano just across the border in Turkey.

Top New Motorhomes: “2021 Airstream Atlas” – “Elegantly Expansive”

The Atlas Touring Coach is our most luxurious touring coach to date. It’s a Class B+ RV built on the legendary Mercedes-Benz® Sprinter van chassis and inspired by our trailblazing Airstream Interstate series. In fact, with its power slide-out, richly appointed features and finishes, and understated automotive styling from grill to bumper, we affectionately call it a Class B+. A new standard has arrived for those who believe a well-traveled life begins with the best.

2021 Airstream Atlas Touring Coach

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Top New Travel Videos: “Montenegro” (2020)

Before you see it first hand, we will talk you through the most beautiful parts of Montenegro.

Montenegro is a Balkan country with rugged mountains, medieval villages and a narrow strip of beaches along its Adriatic coastline. The Bay of Kotor, resembling a fjord, is dotted with coastal churches and fortified towns such as Kotor and Herceg Novi. Durmitor National Park, home to bears and wolves, encompasses limestone peaks, glacial lakes and 1,300m-deep Tara River Canyon.

Top New Travel Videos: “Shadow Of A Dynasty – Bagan, Myanmar” By Martien Janssen (2020)

https://vimeo.com/437558430

Filmed and Edited by: Martien Janssen

SHADOW OF A DYNAST is the first and main movie of my Bagan timelapse pentalogy, using (motion controlled) timelapse, hyperlapse and dronelapse. The movie shows you one of worlds’ most incredible man-built locations as it still remains after a thousand years. It aims to capture that element of time that this location has withstood, while capturing the temples as they have survived until today, on this planet, in this galaxy. At the height of the Pagan Dynasty, this city was the centre of the universe with well over two million people trading between the ten thousand temples, by har the largest city on earth. Now all that remains is the ‘Shadow of a Dynasty’.

Capturing the footage for this movie turned out to become the craziest thing I’ve ever done. Apparently no one is allowed at the temples at night. One of the reasons are snakes. Myanmar turns out to be the deadliest country in the world for it. Long story short: I got way too close for comfort and the whole experience was more uncomfortable/dangerous than any other project ever before. I risked a lot for this project and spent a lot. It took me over 20 months, 3 visits of 11 weeks in total to get all the shots for this big project of 5 timelapse movies (a pentalogy) and a stunning drone movie. That lightning footage at the end was the ‘cherry on the icing of the cake’, you will never anything like it ever again, except in my Rogue Storm movie which is about that special night it occurred.

Music: ‘Legend’ by Ryan Taubert

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Bagan is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar.

Travel & Architecture: “Mont Saint Michel” In Northwest France (Video)

Mont-saint-michel, Rocky, Cone-shaped Islet in Northwestern France. The Islet, celebrated for Its Benedictine Abbey, has small houses and shops on its lowest level. Above these stand the Monastic Buildings, many of which date from the 13th Century and are considered outstanding examples of Gothic Architecture. The Abbey Church that towers over the island was built in 11th Century in Romanesque Style with a choir in flamboyant Gothic Style, considered as one of Medieval Architecture’s Greatest Achievements.

Le Mont-Saint-Michel is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately one kilometer off the country’s northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 7 hectares in area.

New Travel Videos: “Simply Taiwan” By Wilkim Tan

Filmed and Edited by: Wilkim Tan

Simply Taiwan is a cinematic short travel film that was captured during my 7 day trip to Taiwan. From the various bustling streets of Ximending, peaceful landscapes and temples at Kaohsiung, traditions and atmosphere at Jiufen and Shifen Old Street and the various night markets scattered throughout Taipei, Simply Taiwan attempts to capture all of those emotions and experiences and delivers it in its rawest form.

Song: Neons & Sakuras by Max LL

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