Motion Designer and Music Producer Cee-Roo has beautifully captured the lush sound and landscape of Kenya in his short film "Feel The Sounds of Kenya." Shot on a Panasonic GH4 (stabilized by a Zhiyun Crane 2) with sound via the Zoom H6, the immersive experience makes you feel like you're standing in the room with the Kenyan people, living life alongside them.
See more from Cee-Roo here.
There's something spiritual about travel, the way it opens us up to the world and possibilities. A new destination can be a new way of seeing life itself. That's why I'm excited to get my hands on a copy of Find the Light: Soul Places Around the World by Katie from The Travelling Light.
I've been enjoying Katie's travel musings and photos for a while now. She specializes in finding "special, sometimes secret places to visit around the world," and the writing and accompanying photography has been a helpful source of inspiration for me.
“With this zine I hope to inspire you to travel, seek, find the light in the world and in everything. I hope when you hold this printed piece in your hands you can connect a little more with the light that’s always there”
The print run of Find the Light is only 100 copies, so get your order in fast.
You're going to look like a tourist most places you go, so why not go in style with Cotopaxi's Cusco 26L Backpack. Available in four colors, the Cusco is currently 33% off here.
Featuring an internal laptop sleeve that fits up to a 15-in laptop, the Cusco is a perfect option to carry all your gear on a short trip, or act as a daybag on longer excursions.
I'm partial to the Beech Canopy color (seen here) for it's understated look and suede leather accessories. Rugged and water resistant, the Cusco also has two side slots for water bottles.
Looking for something a bit smaller, Cotopaxi's Kilimanjaro 20L is also on sale for 37% off.
Boasting touch screen controls, fast-tracking eye autofocus, a new full-frame 24.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and dual SD-card slots, the new Sony a7 III may just be the best camera for travel enthusiasts.
At only $2,000 for a body-only model, Sony has jam-packed its supposed "entry-level" full frame mirrorless camera with most of the bells and whistles found on higher end models like the a9 or a7R III that start at $3,200. Chief among them is the ability to shoot Ultra HD video in 4k at up to 30fps and 120fps images at 1080p for those buttery smooth slow motion shots. All of this comes wrapped in a small, mirrorless body, perfect for fitting in a suitcase or carry-on.
The best thing about the new a7 III is that Sony has rethought the battery. One of my chief complaints about my Sony a7R II is that the battery dies way too quickly. With the new NP-FZ100 batteries for the a7 III, Sony has dramatically increased capacity to 710 shots per battery life, more than enough for a long day out sightseeing.
You can preorder now for an early April release date. Also, skip the kit lens version and go body only and pair it with a nice 50mm prime to start, you'll be happy you did.
I recently finished reading David Sax's fascinating book The Revenge of Analog and it really got me thinking about the way that I consume. Over the past few years I've come to doubt my constant push into digital culture. I've proudly been an early adopter on many occasions without asking myself, "does this actually make my life better?"
As an almost exclusively digital photographer, sometimes I feel like I skipped a step in the process. Sure I had old film cameras when I was a kid but I never learned anything beyond point and shoot. There's an art in composing an image without knowing what it will look like until the developing process. It forces you to really know the concepts of exposure, film speed, focus and depth of field. Many digital cameras do the work for you. It's certainly helpful, but is it robbing you of the experience, the wonder of not knowing?
My friend Danny reintroduced me to film photography as we walked the streets of Seattle a few years ago. His Leica was definitely a lavish way to dip my toes into the art form. I was honestly petrified as I looked through the viewfinder because each time I hit that button, I was committed to whatever image I had captured. It was exhilarating.
Today I carry around a Fujifilm X-T20 with a simple 27mm pancake lens. It's digital but it looks like an old film camera and you can turn off the back screen forcing you to look through the viewfinder and not look at images right after they've been taken. It's a semi-compromise in a ever quickening digital world. The functionality of digital exposures coupled with the slow method of not looking at every picture immediately after it's taken. I have also put every setting to fully manual, forcing me to rely on my eyes and hands to focus, set shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
There's a satisfaction that comes with analog technology that you don't always get with digital. Take listening to a vinyl record. This past Christmas, my lovely wife bought me my first turntable and included was a copy of Glen Hansard's Didn't He Ramble. As I sat and basked in the songs, I realized something. I hadn't listened to one of my favorite albums all the way through, probably since the day it was released. Amazing songs like "Paying My Way" and "Stay The Road" were routinely skipped over in iTunes playlists. The act of listening to the record on vinyl made me slow down and appreciate the complete album as art.
Does that mean I'm giving up on my iTunes and AppleMusic playlists? Off course not, but maybe I need to work on trying to bridge the digital and analog divide. Why not make album playlists and listen to the content as the artist originally intended.
There's nothing wrong with digital technology as long as it actually brings value to your life and doesn't serve as a distraction from the world around you. In this fast paced world we live in, slowing down a little bit is probably a good thing. Take the time to appreciate the things in your life that take time, effort and craft. You never know what might actually spark a new interest.
