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Recollections, reviews, discoveries, and future plans.

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.

Twenty Eight Feet | Life On A Wooden Boat

This is a great documentary about David Welsford and the life he lives on his 28 foot wooden sailboat.  The things worth appreciating the most are usually the most simple things in life.

A short documentary about David Welsford, who has given up the luxuries of land in search for happiness and adventure on a 50 year old wooden boat he restored from a scrap heap.

Alaskan Holiday

This was a fun travel documentary to watch, now I want to go find some snow.

ISENSEVEN presents "Alaskan Holiday" - A Story by Stolen Paradise "Tobi, Fips and me spent the last twelve months traveling around the world and one of many highlights was our roadtrip from Seattle to Alaska. In Alaska we spent three unforgettable weeks at Tailgate AK: camping on a glacier 20 miles away from the road, riding our first steep AK lines, seeing northern lights and just hanging out with friends. In the end we met up with Elias Elhardt and went Heliskiing in Haines. For me personally this was the last trip of my professional snowboard career and I couldn't ask for a better final. Alaskan Holiday. That's what it felt like." - Marco Smolla Supported by Nitro Snowboards, Chiemsee, Planet-Sports.com and Tailgate Alaska Cinematography by Julian Pintarelli Edited by Alex Schiller & Max Neumeier / Hey You! Films Additional Cinematography: Fips Strauss & Callum Swift Aerial Cinematography: Christoph Thoresen Photography: Fips Strauss Check out the teaser here: https://vimeo.com/114295490 Music: Wake Owl - "Gold" www.wakeowl.com Daniel Norgren - "Whatever Turns You On" www.myspace.com/danielnorgren The Walking Who - "With Roses" www.thewalkingwho.com Jon And Roy - "Every Night" www.jonandroy.ca Filmed on Sony FS700. Edited with Adobe CC. Graded with Magic Bullet Looks. www.stolenparadise.net www.isenseven.tv

Food Find - Makers & Finders

Makers & Finders
1120 South Main Street
Las Vegas, NV 89104
makersandfinderslv.com

Makers & Finders is an awesome coffee shop and restaurant located in the Art District of Las Vegas.  After working in Vegas for almost 3 months I thought I was going to lose my mind because it really isn't my scene and definitely is not a destination I would choose to go for fun.  However, toward the end of my stay I discovered Makers & Finders and really liked it and actually miss it now that I'm not there.  I'm not really a big coffee drinker, but all the coffee there tasted as good as the presentation looked.  Since I don't normally order coffee my typical drink of choice was always the chai tea latte and I've been craving it everyday since leaving Vegas.  I was just in San Francisco and couldn't find anything there that was even close to being in the same league as that chai tea.  I know that I'll have to go back to work in Vegas at some point in the near future and I'm excited to head back to Makers & Finders as soon as I get there.  Aside from great coffee and tea, they also serve some amazing food.  If you happen to stop by there get a shot (or two) of the new espresso from Honduras that they're experimenting with.  The last time I was there Josh Molina, one of the owners, gave me the very first sample and it was surprisingly good, better than any other espresso I've tried during my short espresso drinking history.

 

 

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.