Since we’ve been on “lock down” as we await the outcome of this whole Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to start taking some travels back in time through some previous adventures. Over the years I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience some amazing places, and for this first “Quarantine Journey” I’m heading back to Iceland 2015.
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Recollections, reviews, discoveries, and future plans.
QUARANTINE JOURNEYS | Iceland 2015
RHINO 911 > Anti-Poaching in South Africa
I'm part of a nonprofit anti-poaching team called RHINO 911, we focus on ensuring species survival in South Africa. This is a compilation of footage I shot between January and March of 2017. During this time, was fortunate to work with some amazing people from a number of different organizations, all coming together to help save the rhino.
For more info or to make donations:
www.rhino911.com
www.paypal.me/rhino911
Music:
"This is the Walk" by David O'Dowda www.facebook.com/davidodowda
https://soundcloud.com/davidodowda
https://twitter.com/DavidODowda
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/david-odowda/id530348216
Elephant Roadblock
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.
South African Sunset
Last night's sunset.
Get Outside
Director Amon Barker grew up exploring the mountains, valleys, and deserts of New Mexico and developed a passion for the outdoors. He was drawn to photography in order to share his experiences with the landscape. Along the way he met others with a similar connection to the environment even when living very different lives. When we came up with the concept for the Human Nature short it was very simple. We wanted to create powerful images of the natural world that would remind viewers of their connection to the land and it's personal meaning to them. We hit the road on a series of production road trips and the story of the edit unfolded through our journey. None of us will forgot the moments along the way. View more by visiting: www.apresvisuals.com License our work at:
https://app.nimia.com/profile/apresvisuals/ Full Credits Director: Amon Barker Production: Après Visuals, Amon Barker, Karissa Tuthill Cinematography: Amon Barker, Tim Barker, Brian Morrison Talent: Demi Petersen Editor: Amon Barker Original Music: Madelaine German, Adam Schmidt Sound Design: Scotty Beam, Cleod9 Music Titles: Eric Bucy, Kailey Tuthill, Scott Sutton
Source: http://apresvisuals.com
Good Times at the Grand Canyon
Over the weekend Gage and I went on a spur of the moment road trip to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Jerome in Arizona. We packed in a lot of activity over 2 days and even stayed in a haunted hotel, always a great time!
Adventure Flow Chart
I thought this was pretty awesome.
When You Start to Enjoy Being Alone, These 10 Things Will Happen
1. You’ll get to recharge.
Often times when we’re surrounded by other people, we’re expending a lot of energy. Trying to keep others happy, make them laugh, soothe their egos, read their emotions, and all of the other rigors that come along with regular interaction.
It can be mentally draining if you’re constantly connected to other people. A little alone time lets you recharge and take a break from the emotionally and mentally taxing job of constant interaction.
2. You’ll reflect more often.
Your life is always moving at a crazy fast pace. So fast in fact, that it’s probably rare when you have a moment alone to sit and reflect on your life.
Being alone gives you the perfect opportunity for a little self reflection. Since you aren’t spending so much time processing the thoughts and feelings of others, it’s the best time to turn your focus inwards.
Solitude provides the perfect environment for reflection.
3. You’ll get in touch with your own emotions.
Again, when you’re surrounded by other people all the time, you’re constantly trying to read, and cater to, the other persons’s emotions. So much so, that you could end up losing touch with your own.
When you start to enjoy being alone, you’ll gain a greater perspective for your own emotions. You’ll create a deeper understanding of what makes you happy, what upsets you, and what saddens you.
With that knowledge, it’s then easier to regulate your emotions. But it all starts with understanding how you feel, and that comes from a little bit of solitude.
4. You’ll start doing things you actually enjoy.
When you’re constantly in the company of other people, you’re always making compromises in order to find solutions that the entire group can enjoy. And unfortunately, the things you want most, may not always line up with what the group wants.
So it’s easy to enjoy being alone once you realize that doing so gives you more freedom to do the things you actually want to do.
5. You’ll become more productive.
Being in the company of other people can be fun and entertaining, but it can also seriously affect your productivity. There are times when the company of other people acts as nothing more than a distraction from getting your work done.
Time spent alone can be some of the most productive time in your life—mostly because there are less distractions, and you can just put your head down and get to work.
6. You’ll enjoy your relationships even more.
When you spend time alone on a regular basis, and eventually start to enjoy being alone, you’ll come to find that you also enjoy your relationships with other people even more.
And that’s because the time spent alone gives you a greater appreciation for yourself.
But it also let’s you appreciate all the great things that come from your relationships with other people, most of which you were oblivious to before.
7. You’ll feel more independent.
Once you enjoy being alone, you’ll feel more confident in your ability to actually be alone. And that naturally leads to you feeling more independent.
You’ll no longer feel that anxiety, or burning desire for company, once you learn to enjoy being alone. You won’t feel the need for constant interaction with other people, or the anxiety associated with looking around and seeing no one but yourself.
8. You’ll get a break from constantly trying to keep other people happy.
Life is filled with relationships, and most relationships only last when both people are kept happy. And that can turn into a draining job depending who that relationship is with. Now, this does’t only apply to personal relationships, but every kind of relationship.
Once you’re alone, the only person’s happiness you have to worry about in that moment, is your own. You can treat yourself to thing that makes you happy, but may have upset someone else.
9. You won’t have to apologize for anything.
When you start to enjoy being alone, you’ll quickly see that solitude means you don’t have to keep apologizing for what you’ve done. So often, we do things that end up upsetting other people, or hurting someone else’s feelings, and then have to quickly apologize for it.
But when you’re alone, you don’t have to apologize for anything. And that takes a lot of pressure out of most situations. You get to stop second guessing everything you say, or every move you make because you’re afraid someone is going to be offended, or saddened, and angered.
10. You’ll stop looking for validation.
So often we feel we the need to get the “OK” from our friends and family before we take action. We constantly look to other people for advice on what we should do next.
Of course, there are times where it’s not only perfectly acceptable to ask for advice, but downright necessary. But there are also times where we’re perfectly capable of acting on our own, be we instead of looking to others for an answer.
When you start to spend more time alone, you’ll learn to trust your instincts and make decisions without any third party validation.
Loving This
I made this from a photo I took of @missykgibson while we were in Florida earlier this year.
The Thousand Year Journey: Oregon To Patagonia
"I want to be aware of everyday I'm alive."
I hope that this film is a healthy nudge for people to shake up their lives a little bit. Jed's radical choice to quit his job and ride his bike across the world is a perfect challenge to the rest of us to get out of the routine and make some scary decisions. If you're afraid of a decision ahead of you, you're probably on the right track. Choose it. ! Follow Jed's adventures @jedidiahjenkins My Instaspam @kennyjamez