Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, in northern Finland. Almost totally destroyed during World War II, today it’s a modern city known for being the “official” home town of Santa Claus, and for viewing the Northern Lights. It’s home to Arktikum, a museum and science center exploring the Arctic region and the history of Finnish Lapland. The Science Centre Pilke features interactive exhibits on northern forests.
This one-of-a-kind home is made almost entirely from reclaimed materials salvaged from surrounding areas and inspired by the structural design of a sandcastle. But what makes Sandcastle House so special is Gesner built it with his own two hands for his family, making it a true labor of love.
“I was invited by Visit Qatar to explore what Qatar has to offer beyond football. After two amazing and very hot weeks of shooting, I have condensed hours of footage into a bite sized film with less than 3 minutes that you might hopefully enjoy. Check out stunning desert landscapes, breathtaking art installations, amazing beaches, oriental markets and a vibrant and futuristic urban capital.”
A time-lapse & tilt-shift & aerial video by Joerg Daiber
Witness the story of an extraordinary man and a mysterious animal living on an island at the end of the world…Tasmania. Pete Walsh is a Tasmanian with no background in natural history, yet he’s become obsessed with one of nature’s least understood creatures, the platypus. Before it is too late, Pete is on a mission to observe and understand these animals and save them from urban development in the capital city of Hobart. Pete befriends one particular female platypus he names Zoom. She lets him into her secretive world and Pete learns more about the life of this enigmatic species, capturing unique footage of their behavior.
The latest installment of the popular Spy in the Wild series takes place in the ocean, the largest ecosystem on Earth. This four-part Nature miniseries deploys animatronic spy cameras disguised as marine animals to secretly record behavior in the wild. These uncanny robotic look-alikes take us to places where no spy has gone before. They will swim, float, paddle, waddle, drift and fly into every nook and cranny to film rarely seen behavior that reveals how ocean animals possess emotions and behavior similar to humans – including the capacity to love, grieve, deceive and invent.
Small animals, even tiny ones, must sometimes make epic journeys to find a home or a mate. While the distances may not seem monumental to us, to these little creatures the journey is monumental. Grasses appear like skyscrapers, mounds become mountains and raindrops fall as big as cars. Meet six heroic, tiny travelers risking it all to complete big journeys against the odds.
The most famous bear in Yellowstone is responsible for 22 descendants. Grizzly 399 has become a symbol of the clash between humans and the wild, as well as a measure of success for her species as it creeps back from the brink of extinction. Now, the stakes are higher than ever as the State of Wyoming petitions the federal government to remove grizzlies from the endangered species list—which would make it legal to hunt bears for recreation. But 399 is far more than just a symbol, she’s the protagonist of a riveting story full of twists and turns, hope and heartbreak.
Sir David Attenborough unearths a once in a lifetime discovery: the fossil of a giant Pliosaur, the largest Jurassic predator ever known. Follow a team of forensic experts on a perilous expedition to excavate the skull, uncover the predatory secrets lying deep inside the fossil, and unlock clues about the life of this giant sea beast.
For years, Patrick Dykstra has traveled the globe following and diving with whales, learning how whales see, hear and perceive other creatures in the water. In Dominica, Patrick has a life changing experience – a close encounter with a sperm whale he names “Delores.” Witness Patrick and the whale attempt to communicate with each other in extraordinary footage never before seen.
The planet’s most successful large predators are a group of birds known as raptors. United by a hooked beak, a taste for flesh and a set of razor-sharp talons, these birds of prey have conquered the globe. Raptors dominate every habitat in which they live. Learn more about eagles, hawks, and falcons as well as the lesser-known hunters like the secretary bird, the caracara, kites and more.
Ukrainian YouTuber Anton Ptushkin documents the work that Ukrainian citizens have done to rescue and care for the pets and zoo animals abandoned during the war. Before the invasion in February 2022, Ukraine had the second-highest population of pets per capita in the world. In the face of violence, pets and their owners became symbols of resistance, heroes and frontline volunteers. See how a national tragedy transformed into a global story of incredible devotion and love.
Shorebirds fly thousands of miles each year along ancient and largely unknown migratory routes called Flyways. Species travel from feeding grounds in the southern hemisphere to breeding grounds in the Arctic regions and back again, flying up to nine days non-stop without food or water. But their populations are crashing. Follow a conservation movement of bird-loving experts and citizen scientists as they mobilize to the challenge of understanding and saving shorebirds.
Gabon’s Loango National Park is home to a group of western lowland gorillas that have become accustomed to biologists who have studied them for almost 20 years. This documentary presents an intimate look at a silverback and his family, and features a newborn baby gorilla, brave researchers, forest elephants, buffalos and the last remaining wild coastline in the African tropics.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro the Californian Inspired Family Home 00:50 – The Location of the Home 01:08 – A Desert Modernism Brief 01:36 – Connection to the Landscape 02:09 – A Walkthrough of the Home 03:18 – Behind the Collaborative Process 03:52 – The Material Palette 04:30 – Unique Aspects of the Home 04:53 – A Robust, Relaxed, Character Filled Home
After spending some time travelling around California, the clients delivered a detailed brief for a home renovation that was inspired by the architecture and interior design of desert modernism. Additionally, the brief requested a family home designed to suit a growing family and allow them access to an abundance of natural light. As the clients were a winemaker and photographer, the brief also requested a connection to landscape and the garden beyond.
The house tour begins in the original part of the house, where a considered renovation to the interior design has taken place; the bedrooms, master ensuite and main bathroom are now located here. Moving throughout, the original portion seamlessly connects to the new extensions through carefully designed openings. In the new extension of the home, the house tour reveals a simple open plan living space with a wealth of natural light. Cutting the family house in four quadrants, the family home designed by studio gram employs one quadrant as the kitchen, another for the dining space and the third for a living area.
The fourth quadrant is removed and, in its place, a courtyard garden is included to enhance the connection to nature. As a collaboration between studio gram, the client and the landscape designer, the garden and home unfold as one and give the owners a home that seamlessly connects all aspects. Additionally, discussions of midcentury Palm Springs and desert modernism played a major role in the renovation as well as the architecture and interior design of the home.
Vertigo is a 1958 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock. The story was based on the 1954 novel D’entre les morts (From Among the Dead) by Boileau-Narcejac. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor. The film stars James Stewart as former police detective John “Scottie” Ferguson, who has retired because an incident in the line of duty has caused him to develop acrophobia (an extreme fear of heights) and vertigo, a false sense of rotational movement. Scottie is hired by an acquaintance, Gavin Elster, as a private investigator to follow Gavin’s wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), who is behaving strangely.
The film was shot on location in the city of San Francisco, California, as well as in Mission San Juan Bautista, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Cypress Point on 17-Mile Drive, and Paramount Studios in Hollywood. It is the first film to use the dolly zoom, an in-camera effect that distorts perspective to create disorientation, to convey Scottie’s acrophobia. As a result of its use in this film, the effect is often referred to as “the Vertigo effect”. In 1996, the film underwent a major restoration to create a new 70 mm print and DTS soundtrack.
Video timeline: 00:00 Origo 01:52 Bar La Camila 03:04 La Sagrada Familia 03:32 Suculent 05:02 Gothic Quarter 05:20 La Campana 05:53 P&O Cruises (Ariva) 08:09 El Born 08:27 Bar El Born 09:27 Mariposa Negra 10:37 Suru Bar
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico. The Natural Entrance is a path into the namesake Carlsbad Cavern. Stalactites cling to the roof of the Big Room, a huge underground chamber in the cavern. Walnut Canyon Desert Loop is a drive with desert views. Rattlesnake Springs, a desert wetland, attracts reptiles and hundreds of bird species.
0:15 Scientists develop concrete battery – It could one day be built into the foundations of homes or incorporated into a roadway so electric cars can charge contactlessly as they drive. MIT researchers discovered a new ‘supercapacitor’ by combining cement with carbon black. A sooty residue left over when things burn, and mixing them both with water.
1:48 3 farmers tell how heat is affecting their crops – Experts rank the food supply crisis as one of the world’s top 5 currently manifesting risks. This German farmer has started planting lavender. It’s best suited to the sandy soils and sunshine of the Mediterranean but climate change is bringing these conditions to southern Germany. The lavender is used in cosmetics and perfumes. Matthias Tafelmeier planted his first lavender crop in 2019 after what he says was a decade of declining soil quality. Farmers in the region are also trying other crops more suited to warmer climates such as chickpeas and kidney beans.
3:25 Smartwatch detects Parkinson’s 7 years early – By keeping track of our movement, they can help doctors spot who is vulnerable, years before visible symptoms show up. Cardiff University scientists looked at data from 100,000 smartwatch wearers. Tracking their speed of movement over a single week between 2013 and 2016. Using AI, the team could distinguish those who went on to develop Parkinson’s from those who didn’t and detect early signs up to 7 years in advance.
5:04 Cleaning your house can help tidy your mind – “Cleaning is a great practice, which reminds you of the connection with the ground and the Earth and the universe.” To Buddhists, cleaning is not just cleaning. In Zen Buddhism, it’s known as samu, or work practice and it offers the chance to meditate and be present in the midst of daily tasks.
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