Here’s an interesting opportunity for any landscape photographers who need a “summer job” in the most literal sense of the term.
Wyndham Hotels’ property Days Inn—which features a rising Sun as its logo—has posted a job add seeking a photographer to serve as its “Sun-tern” for a one-month gig this summer. The chosen photographer will capture images of the sunset in cities around the US, providing them to Days Inn for use in hotel properties, on the company’s social media accounts, and more.
Days Inn is offering a $ 10,000 stipend for the gig, paid travel expenses, Wyndham Rewards Diamond status, as well as “a glowing recommendation upon completion of the Sun-ternship from Barry Goldstein, Wyndham Hotel Group’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.”
The company is seeking “a creative amateur photographer,” according to the Sun-ternship Web page. Applicants must be at least 21-years-old, located in the US, and have an open schedule during the project. Anyone can submit an application via email until May 20th, and all applicants should include an original outdoor photo as well as 100 words detailing “why you’re the best person for the job.”
Red, best known for its high-end video products, has dripped out some pre-order and release date information about its Hydrogen One super-smartphone, which was announced last July and first demoed IRL in August.
The most notable feature of this phone is its 5.7″ 1440p display, which can display 2D and “better than 3D” holographic images. It can also shoot 3D or 4V (holographic) content using its onboard cameras, and stereo sound is converted to spatial audio when played back. The One uses Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835x processor, dual SIM card slots, a monster 4500 mAh battery and support for add-on modules like external batteries and a ‘cinema-grade’ camera.
The new info came via Red’s forums, where the company revealed that pre-orders for the Hydrogen One are expected to begin in April, with ship dates sometime this summer. The aluminum model will be priced at $ 1195, while the titanium version will set you back $ 1595.
[ By SA Rogers in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]
It’s virtually impossible to get a sense of just how large this world-record-smashing sand castle really is until you see a shot that includes crowds of tiny humans gathered around its base. The German city of Duisburg may be landlocked, but that hasn’t stopped it from hosting an enormous sandcastle building effort two summers in a row. Last summer, their attempt at snagging the title was foiled when the castle faced a minor collapse during the building process. This year, they unseated a record set by a 50-foot-tall sand castle in Puri, India in February with their 55-foot-tall creation.
since last friday it is official. this is the tallest #sandcastle in the world. 16.68 metres. #landschaftspark #guinnessworldrecord #duisburg #ruhrpott #ruhrgebiet #ruhrgebietsliebe #sandburg #lpn #landschaftsparkduisburg
It took 3,860 tons of very fine quartz sand, a team of designers from 10 countries and three weeks of building time to complete. The sculptors incorporated imagery from their own nations and histories, resulting in an interesting mishmash of global influences. Look closely and you’ll spot the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Acropolis, a Buddha, Elvis’ grave and the Colosseum. A Guinness World Record jury judged the enormous sculpture on Friday, making the win official.
Want to check it out in person? The city of Duisburg will keep the sandcastle standing through September 29th, assuming something doesn’t cause it to collapse before then. You can see lots more photos of the sand castle by searching Instagram for the tag #landschaftsparkduisburg.
Bike Autobahn: Germany’s 60-Mile Highway for Cyclists Only
Germany is already home to the world’s best-known superhighway, the Autobahn, and now cyclists have 60 miles of breathtaking scenery reclaimed from disused railroad tracks all to themselves. …
Bigger & Better: The World’s Largest Record-Setting [Blank]
Giant objects are fascinating. The amount of time, effort, and expense that goes into something as banal and fantastic as a pencil that has to be moved by a crane is incredible. It’s no wonder that …
Peking Yuck: The 9 Worst Statues In China
These 9 Chinese statues are so awful, many were demolished within days of their unveiling after enduring scorn and ridicule by the People’s Republic’s people.
The Brylcreem Buddha of …
[ By SA Rogers in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]
After paddling a heavy expedition paddleboard in Missouri River 340 race I returned back to my racing board – 14×30 All Star by Starboard. It is definitely more fun for short 4-6 mile workouts. Of course, I wonder how my […] paddling with a camera
Elinchrom has introduced its new ELB 1200 portable lighting system for photographers, a model that builds upon the company’s existing ELB 400 system introduced in 2015. The new system features three new flash heads, the Action, Hi-Sync, and Pro, as well as a TSA-approved ‘Air’ lithium-ion battery capable of powering 215 full-power flashes and 80 minutes of continuous LED use.
In addition to the TSA-approved ‘Air’ version of the battery, Elinchrom also has an ‘HD’ version with a higher capacity that can power 400 full-power flashes and 120 minutes of continuous light. The batteries are also capable of powering accessories via a 5v USB outlet, and they can both be switched into a ‘shipping mode’ for long distance travel.
The three aforementioned flash heads feature a daylight-balanced and dimmable LED CRI 92 lamp, which Elinchrom says is equivalent to a 250w Halogen lamp. The Hi-Sync flash head supports shutter speeds as fast as 1/8000s. The company expects the ELB 1200 to be available in the ‘middle of 2017,’ with pricing information being provided at a later date.
Check out Elinchrom’s product video below to see the kit in action.
Sticking with its plan to introduce a whole bunch of new lenses this summer, Samyang has announced the 35mm F1.2 ED AS UMC CS for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras. It will be produced for Sony E, Canon M, Fujifilm X and Micro Four Thirds mounts.
The 35mm will include nine elements in seven groups, using two aspherical elements and Samyang’s ‘Ultra Multi Coat’ technology. A cinema version of the lens has also been introduced: the 35mm T1.3 ED AS UMC CS, with gears for follow focus and a de-clicked aperture ring.
Samyang is making good on its promise of a new lens every week for five weeks, kicking things off with a XEEN 135mm T2.2 cinema lens. It slots into the company’s relatively new lineup as the longest lens in the range.
Like its siblings, the XEEN 135 is offered with interchangeable mount fittings for PL, Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E and Micro Four Thirds bodies. Its manual focus only and uses an 11-blade aperture. No price is given, but XEEN series lenses have averaged around $ 2500 each.
Korean lens manufacturer Samyang has announced that it intends to enjoy a summer of new lenses in what it is calling a ‘Samyang Blockbuster’, starting on Monday 18th July and running until 15th August.
The ‘5 NEW Samyang Lenses will be released on every Monday for the next five weeks’ promotion was placed on the company Facebook page with no clues about what those lenses will be. There is some ambiguity, too, around whether Samyang intends to release five lenses a week for five weeks – making 25 in total – or (probably more likely given the accompanying graphic, above) one lens per week, for five weeks.
Samyang makes lenses for still and movie photographers, with a relatively new ‘Xeen’ range of dedicated large-scale cine lenses. Autofocus is also quite new for Samyang lenses, with only one lens (AF 50/1.4 FE) available and one more in the pipeline (AF 14/2.8 FE) – both of which are designed for the Sony fully frame FE mount.
For more information see the Samyang website, and the promotion on the company’s Facebook page.
[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]
A series of sleek but whimsical models blend photorealism with fantastic concepts for treehouses, hilltop homes and even dwellings mounted on the sides of cliffs.
Santi Zoraidez is an art director and designer from Buenos Aires who does visual, graphic and architectural work, sometimes real and sometimes conceptual.
In this set of summer homes, he bends, twists, warps and cantilevers wood in amazing (if sometimes implausible) ways, putting houses on spindly stilts or hanging them from steep rocky surfaces.
The results are at once daring and provocative while retaining a sense of minimalism, that core feature common to Modernist Scandinavian designs.
By maintaining a simple palette of colors and textures, the artist manages to accomplish a natural aesthetic that makes sense for countryside dwellings while letting the details of designs – long horizontals and asymmetrical shapes – define each work.
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[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]
