I've been busy working on a nonprofit rhino anti-poaching team in South Africa called RHINO 911. I had a few days of downtime 2 weeks ago so I stayed in Marakele National Park for a few nights. As my buddy and I were leaving, this elephant decided to block the road and forced us to go in reverse for about a kilometer.
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Recollections, reviews, discoveries, and future plans.
Urquhart Castle | Loch Ness, Scotland
This was taken about two weeks ago while I was traveling through the highlands of Scotland. I stopped at Loch Ness for the night and took this photo just after the sun had fallen behind the hills to the southwest. Urquhart Castle was built in the 1100s and changed hands many times through out its history.
Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness in Scotland
Behind the Image - The Ghost Road of Iceland
This is a photo of the Kjalvegur Road / Kjölur Route in Iceland which I shot using my Nikon D7000 a few weeks ago while my buddy Chris (@chrislovesadventure) and I were exploring the interior of the country. This route, sometimes referred to as the "Ghost Road," used to be the main road used by vikings to travel between the north and south of Iceland. Some legends say the Knights Templar hid the holy grail somewhere along the route . . . Before embarking on this journey it was highly recommend that we rent a vehicle with 4 wheel drive so we opted for a Toyota Land Cruiser which we picked up from Hertz Iceland. With a trusty map and compass in hand, we set out to circle the island. Once we made it back to Reykjavik we still had a bit of time left on the rental so we decided to check out this highland road through the interior. The route starts just after the massive Gullfoss waterfall and continues on to the Ringroad near Varmahliöand and passes between the Hofsjökull and Langjökull Glaciers (Temple Glacier and Long Glacier).
Some other sites to see along the way are Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir, and Hvítárvatn.
Diving for Dinner
Missy Gibson (@missykgibson) diving for dinner while we were hanging out on the Gulf coast of Florida during a 6 week long road trip that started off in San Diego.
Buenos Aires from Above | Buenos Aires Desde El Aire
I've spent a lot of time in Buenos Aires over the past few years, this video by Willie Leniek captures the city well.
Las primeras imagenes de Buenos Aires desde el Inspire1. Mariano Cabrera - Piloto Musica - Montserrat (Orquesta del Plata) Bajofondo Tango Club (usada sin permiso previo). The first images to come out of the new Inspire1. Mariano Cabrera - Pilot Music - Montserrat (Orquesta del Plata ) Bajofondo Tango Club (used without permission) .
Adventure Is Calling II
This is a great time-lapse video by Shane Black that I saw on instagram the other day and happened to stumble upon the full HD video on Vimeo just now.
I was fortunate enough to spend several months this past summer traveling around the U.S. and parts of Canada, teaching workshops and shooting timelapse along the way. Since the trip was so similar to the year before, I thought it was fitting to dub this video as a sequel to Adventure Is Calling. It was so great getting so much feedback on the last video about how it inspired so many to get out, travel, and spend more nights under the stars. I hope this video will revamp those desires. Special thanks to Arn Andersson for making an extended version of his song The Truth Beyond for me to use for this video.
www.arnandersson.com
Camera Gear:
Canon 5D MKIII
Canon 5D MKII
Canon 16-35L II
Canon 24L II
Canon 50 f1.4
Canon 70-200L II IS
Motion control thanks to:
eMotimo TB3 Black
www.emotimo.com
Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly www.dynamicperception.com
Vanguard Tripods
Editing:
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe After Effects
LRTimelapse
Email shaneblack300@gmail.com for licensing inquiries.
www.shaneblackphoto.com
Instagram @shanemichaelblack
Border Relations
Awhile back I rode my bike down to the beach where the U.S./Mexico border fence runs into the Pacific Ocean. I was hanging out at Border Field State Park when I noticed this kid going back and forth between the two countries as he squeezed through the fence.
Nikon D7200: Sur Argentina
I'm a Nikon guy and have spent a ton of time in Argentina over the past 8 years so naturally I was drawn to this short film that shows off some of the new D7200's features. I'm pretty impressed with what I've seen, but would still like to play with the camera myself. I shot a music video on the new D750 a few weeks ago and that camera kicks ass!
In the making of 'Sur Argentina', photographers Andrew Hancock and Corey Rich head out to Argentina with one mission: to test the theory that creativity is not limited to the size of your kit.
From a breathtaking time lapse of the city lights in Buenos Aires to the expansive natural beauty of Patagonia, the Nikon D7200's 24.2-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 4 image-processing engine delivered extraordinary stills and motion of this vast country effortlessly.
Behind the Image - The Narrows
Date: June 3, 2014
Location: The Narrows | Zion National Park | Utah
Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G
Additional Gear: Lowepro Photo Sport 30L
The photo below was taken about 15 minutes before the sun sank below the rim of the canyon walls. We started running in order to make as much progress as we could before it got dark. The backpacker running in the green shirt is Ryan, he grew up near Zion and was showing me around. Further in the distance you can barely see my friend Christine, she lives near Zion and we had been trying to coordinate this trip for about 3 years.
The Narrows | Zion National Park | Utah
No snow in Snow Canyon
Last summer I decided to take a trip to Utah to explore Zion National Park. Over the years I had seen a lot of photos of Zion and decided that I needed to check it out in person. My original plan was to head out there in 2011 during a 4,000 mile solo road trip I was doing around the southwestern part of the U.S. Unfortunately I didn't have quite enough time to make it there and had to postpone. Finally at the end of May 2014 I had a bit of free time so I packed up my Saab wagon and drove from San Diego, CA to Saint George, UT. After about 6 and half hours I arrived, grabbed dinner, and met with a few locals I had befriended. The first day there I went on a solo hike to Three Ponds in Snow Canyon State Park. It was the beginning of June in the Utah desert so there definitely wasn't any snow in Snow Canyon and the 3 ponds turned out to be one small pool of stagnant water which was covered in dead flies. This was not the most pleasant thing to discover after trekking a few miles through really fine sand in 113°F/45°C heat.
Finding relief in the shade | Snow Canyon
A few days later I met with my new local friends and went to Zion. We did about a 5 mile hike in the morning that took us around one of the other parts of the park and then we headed to the Narrows after. I have to say The Narrows was definitely one of the most enjoyable hikes I've done. Not only is the terrain amazing, but hiking through the cool water in the shade while it's 100+ degrees out makes things much more pleasant. We probably hiked in about 3 miles and didn't start heading back until the sun was setting. Being in a canyon after dark was an interesting experience because it was pitch black, luckily I came prepared with my Petzl Headlamp. The downside to the headlamp was that it attracted a ton of Mayflies that started to circle my head so I eventually just used the headlamp like a regular flashlight.