Home Blog Page 1601

The Best Global Vacation Destinations for Aspiring Travel Photographers

For aspiring photographers, a vacation is not just about soaking up the sun and relaxing with a few drinks by the pool; it’s an excuse to find and capture something truly remarkable and step outside your comfort zone. The reason why so many of the world’s best photographers are travel photographers is that the natural world still holds so many secrets; secrets that can only be shared with the rest of the world with the right eye and through the right lens.

But what destinations will inspire your natural curiosity and give your camera hours of creative sustenance? We’ve focused on a few of the most gorgeous and photographic natural locations in the world to help inspire you into action.

The northern lights – Millions of people visit Iceland every year, even though the population of the country is less than the number of annual visitors it receives. Why? Because it’s the best place on earth to get a peek at the northern lights (aurora borealis). You’ll need some decent equipment to capture it properly, of course, and you’ll need more than a little bit of luck too, but it’s a truly exceptional snap and more than worth the effort.

Greek culture – The Greek island of Santorini is famous for its white-washed buildings, which are set against a monumental blue backdrop of some of the world’s clearest oceans. The landscape is also unique thanks to a volcanic eruption that forever changed the shape and the nature of this picturesque paradise, making it a perfect travel photography destination. If you want to explore the island at your own pace, you can choose Enjoy Travelfor comfortable car hire in Santorini. They have a variety of vehicles to suit your needs and budget.

Oh, Canada – Whilst countless photographers have captured the beauty and majesty of North America’s national parks, but nowhere near as many have been able to capture the equally commanding natural wonder north of the border in Canada. From the clean and powerful skyscraper of Vancouver to the glistening mountains and woodlands hidden just outside the major cities, Canada is worth visiting for the spectacle of its natural wonders alone.

Underwater love – If you decide to splash out (pun intended) on some underwater camera equipment then a whole new world of opportunity awaits you. From the great barrier reefs of Australia and New Zealand to the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean and the alpine lakes of Europe, there are hundreds of incredible underwater locations waiting for your camera to explore them.

Outside the box – Finally, if you really want to capture something unique then consider booking an adventure holiday – something outside of your comfort zone that will offer up not only incredible locations but incredibly experiences to capture. Exodus Edits, for example, is an organisation that is engineered towards professionals in their 30s and 40s and specialises in unmissable, life-defining adventures. If you struggle to find something to photograph on one of those jaunts then you truly have no business calling yourself a photographer!

4 Splendid Monaco Buildings and Their History

Monaco is known for its massive amount of varying architecture despite it being such a small country. With the number of sharp hills and narrow coastline, the people of Monaco had to be creative with how they built because of the limited amount of flat land. Most of the architectural influence hails from the South of France, especially during the Belle Epoque (Beautiful Period) period that lasted from 1871 to 1914. Spain and Italy are other cultural influences, but none are as big as France. With the warm climate that encourages outdoor living, most of these homes have balconies. Let’s take a look at some of the most beautiful buildings you can find in Monaco.

1. Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate

A Roman Catholic Church built in 1911, it was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The church is still active to this day with a regular mass on Sundays at 10 am. The cream-colored stone, which sits on a rocky spur is considered large compared to the other structures in Monaco. Although it was constructed over 100 years ago, it contains the remains of multiple screens such as Brea, La Pieta, and St-Nicholas. The episcopal throne that sits outside of the structure is made of white Carrara marble, while the rest of the building has Mediterranean influences that are found through the Romanesque Revival architecture style.

2. Casino de Monte-Carlo

The Monte Carlo Casino is a gambling and entertainment complex that includes a casino, opera house, and a ballet theatre. It is owned and operated by the Societe des Bains de Mer de Monaco, which is a public company run by the government and the ruling royal family. They have their own sports club, food service, and nightclubs. Along with the various gaming centers, many of the casino games like slots, blackjack, and poker can be found online at Casumo casino, just in case you can’t make it to this building. Made in 1863, this building is arguably the most recognizable and well-known building in Monaco.

3. Hermitage Hotel

Located at Square Beaumarchais in Monte Carlo, this structure was built at the beginning of the 20th century, designed by architect Jean Marquet. It’s one of the largest structures on the island, and it a famous example of the Belle Epoque architecture seen during the late 19th century. The ceiling of the dining room, filled with hand-painted pictures, features and elegance, and refinement that makes the Belle Epoque movement so memorable. It used to be a one-level hotel but over the course of its lifetime the architect Joseph Lori added two more levels with multiple wings and bedrooms. It was awarded the Renaissance Trophy for the “most elegant period decor” by Gault and Millau Guide.

4. Oceanographic Museum

This museum is a scientific and cultural gallery, filled with aquariums, fauna, and marine-flora. It was built to face the cliff of the Mediterranian Sea and was designed specifically to represent the seas’ life of the adjacent ocean. It was the first in the world to successfully keep and reproduce corals in captivity. Inaugurated by Prince Albert in 1910, it’s home to a wide variety of sea-related objects including sea animal skeletons, model ships, tools, and weapons. On the first floor, A Sailor’s Career shows off the work of Prince Albert’s research yachts, the phenomenon of anaphylaxis, and aquariums with live fish. This place is definitely worth a visit, not just for the beauty of the building, but due to the wide range of information found inside its walls.

Microrocks by Pol Solà

Pol Solà, an illustrator and artist our of Barcelona, Spain, presented a superb mini-series named Microrocks in which he explores and interprets the microstrucutre and nanostrucure of rocks. Solà utlises brilliant colours to create stunning combinations that bring a sense of calmness and reflection in his work.

Find more work by Pol Solà here.

Winter Wander by Gabor Nagy

Gabor Nagy, a photographer and creative out of Hungary, presented an eye-pleasing series that takes you into the German Alps. Writing about the series Gabor Nagy stated “Last winter I’ve teamed up with my fellow photographer Frederik Schindler and we headed to the German Alps for a week, searching for the perfect winter conditions. The hardest part was to be a model and a photographer at the same time, so all these photos were taken by a remote controller or a drone.”

Find more work by Gabor Nagy here.

How to Decorate Your Home like The Crown

If you’re a fan of the TV show The Crown, you’ve most likely been lusting after not only the beautiful costumes, but the lavish interiors too. Sadly, not all of us can live in a palace, but with a few tweaks here and there, you can make your home fit for royalty. If you’re thinking about home improvements, you might have to consider how you’re going to afford them. However, the good news is these updates won’t take up a lot of your budget. Read on to find out more.

Go bold with royal blue

No regally inspired décor would be complete without at least a hint of its namesake colour. It’s easy to incorporate royal blue into a room. Go big with a feature wall complete with an antique gold mirror, or you can simply add royal blue accents like lampshades or vases. If your budget will stretch to it, a sumptuous royal blue velvet sofa will make a striking statement in any living room.

Create a wall of art

Fans of the show will know that much of Buckingham Palace’s wall space is covered in art. Recreate the look by reframing your existing art in antique gold frames and hanging them all on one wall. Make sure you use a mix of frames and metals for an authentic look. Hunting and pastoral scenes, portraits and landscapes will up the regal factor in your home – browse the Royal Collection for inspiration.

Upsize your curtains

If you’re not lucky enough to have palace-sized windows, you can create the illusion of height and space by hanging curtains or drapes from near the ceiling to the floor. This will instantly make a room feel more spacious and regal. Light curtains will increase the feeling of space, whereas a dark, textured drape will add a touch of opulence to the room.

Hike up the heirlooms

Buckingham Palace is a treasure trove of family heirlooms and valuable antiques. Take a tip from The Crown’s set designers, who scour vintage and charity shops to find interesting and period pieces of furniture. You can give your existing furniture a regal makeover by upholstering it in a sumptuous fabric like damask. Take it to an upholsterer or even try your hand at doing it yourself.

Go pastel

In the third and latest series of The Crown, set during the period of 1964 to 1977, the interior of the palace changes from a dark and sombre décor to a lighter, pastel-hued tone. Recreate the look at home by repainting your walls in pastel shades of green, blue or pink, or you can simply add arrangements of silk carnations and roses, or muted soft furnishings to up the feminine feel.

Give your home a vintage touch

Who doesn’t like a good vintage? The Crown didn’t spare any expense in recreating a classic luxe life by skillfully putting all rooms together with vintage items. The queens’ vintage desk is a refined statement piece that has old photographs that you can draw inspiration from. Maybe you too can transform your living room into a sumptuous interior by using the Greater Than Gatsby application to create vintage images.

Eye-pleasing Illustrations by Alina Bohoru

Alina Bohoru, an established Romanian artist and illustrator, over the years has presented some truly eye-pleasing illustrations that stand out from the page in an instance with vivid colours and striking shapes. Here is some of the latest work by Bohoru.

Find more work by the brilliant Alina Bohoru here.

 

Interview: Harry Clabon

Harry Clabon has been creating some of the sharpest and wittiest comics and animations over the last two years. His regular Frog Wrap series details the absurdity of everyday situations in ways that are as relatable as they are funny. Harry very kindly sat down with Our Culture Mag this week to talk about his work, where his inspirations come from, and what’s next for Frog Wrap. 

All examples of Harry’s work included in this piece were chosen by Harry for inclusion in this interview.

Hello Harry! Thanks for speaking to Our Culture Mag. How about an introduction? 

It’s my pleasure! I’m Harry Clabon, a 22-year old comic artist and animator from Birmingham. I’ve been out of education and working freelance for just under a year and I specialise drawing funny cartoons and fantasy adventure stories. 

Frog Wrap has been going for over a year now, and its self-contained adventures are always funny. Where did Frog Wrap come from?

Frog Wrap initially started because I felt that I wasn’t creating enough stuff that could be regularly seen. I was spending months working on huge animation or comic projects, but it meant that I’d only really be sharing my big work once or twice a year and as someone with a perhaps unhealthy need for constant validation, that just wasn’t cutting it. I was also struggling with the feeling that what I was putting out didn’t necessarily reflect “me”. It’s an odd, and very self-absorbed, thing to worry about but I was really feeling like my work was quite impersonal and any small following that I had gained for it didn’t really know me. So, these messy, short, autobiographical stories about myself seemed like the perfect solution. It’s been very nice just to have this constant project that I’m working on and sharing with people. 

What inspires the stories?

Just before I started Frog Wrap, the artist Lucie Ebrey had just wrapped up on her five-year-long daily autobiographical comic series, Muggy Ebes. I remember reading the last one after years of keeping up with it and being filled with the feeling of “this is it! This is something I want to do!”. I’ve never quite reached the vulnerable and diary-like quality of that series but it’s definitely the start of me wanting to dive into autobiographical daily comics. I call Frog Wrap auto-biographical but that’s probably only about 70% true. They’re all based on real events from my life, often from the day that they’re drawn, but I take a lot of artistic liberties when it comes to telling it in the comic format. I try to focus much more on how the event happened and always slant it to a more comedic angle. For example, I don’t literally shoot lasers out my eyes if I touch a pot that’s too hot, but it sure feels like it and makes for a much funnier comic. They all start as real events though. 

What got you into drawing stories like this in the first place? 

There’s not like a specific moment from my childhood where I was like “hey I’m gonna start telling stories now” but I think I always struggled with seeing the point in drawing an illustration if it wasn’t building to some kind of narrative or outside purpose, so comics and animation have always been a good fit for me. I remember my older brother used to make comics when I was like 7 and obviously, I copied him and stole all his ideas and made comics to pass around in my junior school class. I think from that I learned at a very young age how good it could feel to have people read your work and respond to it and that kind of feeling for me has always been associated with telling a story. 

What’s next for you as an artist and animator? 

Aside from just continuing to make Frog Wrap, my biggest current project is my new web-comic Detonator Girls. It’s a fantasy western about two outlaw gals travelling across a land ruled by a mega corporation. It’s just a comic at the moment (it’s still in its first month of being released!) but in the future I have plans for animated components like short action scenes, fake TV show openings, that sort of thing. I think it’s going to be lots of fun and very good and I haven’t felt this motivated about a big project like this in a long time! 

OC: Thank you so much for talking to us, Harry! One last question, what is your definition of culture?

Oof, big question and not something I’ve necessarily given that much thought about in the past. I guess if I had to put a definition on it then I would say that it’s everything we absorb that informs the things we make. If something has inspired you, changed the way you thought about something, or affected something you were making, then I would call that culture. 

Harry Clabon’s artwork can be viewed on their Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr pages. You can also view more of Harry’s work on their official website and KoFi pages!

Albums Out Today: Grimes, BTS, King Krule, Agnes Obel, Ozzy Osbourne

0

In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on February 21th, 2020:

Grimes, Miss Anthropocene

Image result for grimes miss anthropoceneGrimes has put out her fifth studio album, stylized as Miss_Anthrop0cene, via 4AD. The Canadian artist’s long-awaited follow-up to 2015’s Art Angels is presented as a loose concept album about the “anthropomorphic goddess of climate change” with influences from Roman mythology and villainy. It sees Grimes shifting away from the pop leanings of her previous album, focusing instead on a darker sound with hints of nu-metal and ethereal wave. The title is a pun on the words ‘misanthrope’ and ‘anthropocene’, which has been proposed to refer to the geological era the Earth is currently in. “I want to make climate change fun. People don’t care about it, because we’re being guilted,” she explained in an interview. “I see the polar bear and want to kill myself. No one wants to look at it, you know? I want to make a reason to look at it. I want to make it beautiful.”

BTS, Map of the Soul: 7

Image result for bts map of the soul 7 album cover BTS are back with the much-hyped follow-up to last year’s Map of the Soul: Persona titled Map of the Soul: 7. It is the second in a series of albums inspired by Jungian psychoanalytic theory as laid out in a book by psychoanalyst Murray Stein. The album is packed with 20 tracks, including ‘Boy With Luv’ featuring Halsey, Suga’s solo ‘Interlude: Shadow’ and ‘Black Swan’. The album has already made history as the best-selling South Korean album of all time, and with over 4 million preorders, it is set to be one of the best-selling albums of the year worldwide.

Ozzy Osbourne, Ordinary Man

Image result for ozzy osbourne ordinary man album coverOzzy Osbourne is back with a new album titled Ordinary Man, his first since 2010’s Scream, out now via Epic Records. The album was recorded in Los Angeles with a star-studded line-up of producer Andrew Watt on guitars, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses on bass, and Red Hot Chillie Peppers’ Chad Smith on drums. It includes contributions from the likes of Elton John, Post Malone (who featured Ozzy on his latest studio album), Slash and Tom Morello. “It was a lot of fun to do though it’s a lot different from my other albums,” Osbourne stated. “We recorded it quickly, which I haven’t done since the first Black Sabbath album. This made it a different process, which I actually enjoyed.”

King Krule, Man Alive!

Image result for king krule man aliveEnglish producer and singer-songwriter Archy Marshall aka King Krule has released his fourth studio album, Man Alive!, via True Panther Sounds, XL Recordings, and Matador. The album follows 2017’s The OOZ, and includes songs that were featured on Marshall’s Hey World! short film, including the singles ‘(Don’t Let the Dragon) Draag On’ and ‘Alone Omen 3’. The album’s release was delayed due to the birth of Marshall’s daughter in mid-2019: “Right in the middle of the record, this big change came in my life that I didn’t really comprehend initially,” the artist explained. “It was like, ‘Oh, I’d better get my shit together!’ To be honest, I was really glad to get away from all that so I could focus on more pressing matters – like keeping a child alive and stuff.”

Agnes Obel, Myopia

Image result for agnes obel myopia Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel is back with a new album, out now via Blue Note Records/ Grammaphon. Like her previous album, 2016’s Citizens of Glass, Myopia was also recorded as a one-woman project in her Berlin home studio. “The albums I’ve worked on have all required that I build a bubble of some kind in which everything becomes about the album,” she explains. About the album itself, she said: “For me the production is intertwined with the lyrics and story behind the songs. Paradoxically, for me I need to create my own myopia to make music.”

Other albums out today:

Best Coast, Always Tomorrow; Guided by Voices, Surrender Your Poppy Field; Banoffee, Look at Us Now Dad; Katie Pruitt, Expectations; Rose Cousins, Bravado.

 

Premiere: Cubicolor ‘Rituals’

0

Before the release of their new album Hardly A Day, Hardly A Night, Cubicolor, an electronic trio, presented us with their song Rituals. The song features a signature production by Cubicolor which features rich, smooth sounds with ear-warming textures that are led by the honey-like vocals of Tim Digby-Bell. 

Cubicolor formed in 2014 as a duo with Ariaan Olieroock and Peter Kriek. A year later, Falling, a single which reached new heights featuring Tim Digby-Bell was released, this helped to mark Tim as the new member of Cubicolor. With a constant rise, Cubicolor delivered their album Brainsugar in 2016 which was released by the highly-respected Anjunadeep label. With over forty million plays on their discography, Cubicolor will be looking to make 2020 their biggest year yet with the release of their new album.

Talking about their song Rituals, Cubicolor said“We came full circle on this one. It was the first sketch of the first song we started after Brainsugar. It was then abandoned and returned to over a year later in a completely different form, reassembled with the earlier parts. When we dropped the album we made, Peter said we turned left when we should have gone right and we had to go back to the start. This song was the where we found the path again and it had to be the first song on the record.”

At Our Culture, we are proud to say that we are premiering Rituals, a truly euphonious song.

Chasing the Elements in the Faroe Islands by Christian Hoiberg

Christian Hoiberg, a photographer out of Norway, released a superb series back in 2018 named Chasing the Elements in the Faroe Islands. In this series, Hoiberg explores the stunning and majestic nature of the Faroe Islands. The islands have a population of around fifty one thousand, and are known for their dramatic yet stunning weather.