BLOG

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

10 Hotel Secrets from Behind the Front Desk

1. HOTELS ARE RAKING IT IN.

The fact that a hotel could fail to be profitable astounds me. Why? The average cost to turn over a room, to keep it operational per day, is between $30 and $40. If you’re paying less than $30 dollars a night at a hotel/motel, I’d wager the cost to flip that room runs close to $5. Which makes me want to take a shower. At home. That $40 turnover cost includes cleaning supplies, electricity, and hourly wages for housekeepers, minibar attendants, front desk agents, and all other employees needed to operate a room as well as the cost of laundering the sheets. Everything. Compare that with an average room rate, and you can see why it’s a profitable business.

2. STAYING FOR JUST ONE NIGHT? YOU MIGHT GET “WALKED.”

The term “walking a guest” sends shivers down any manager’s spine. Since the average no-show rate is 10 percent daily, hotels will overbook whenever possible. The sales and reservations departments are encouraged to book the property to 110 percent capacity, in the hopes that with cancellations and no-shows they will fill every room. What happens when the numbers game doesn’t play in the hotel’s favor? Someone gets walked. The hotel will now pay for the entire night’s room and tax (plus one phone call—how cute is that?) at another comparable hotel in the area.

A guest is more likely to get walked if:
1. He booked using Expedia, hence he has a deeply discounted rate and is less important.
2. He never stayed here before and may never visit the city again.
3. He’s a one-nighter.
4. And this one is so much more important than all the others: He is acting like a jerk.

Read More

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 ÞingvellirGullfoss, Geysir, and Hvítárvatn.

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

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) .

The Global Society

I had the good fortune of being exposed to numerous cultures and countless history lessons while growing up, and because of this, I think I was given the opportunity to see the world from many different perspectives.  Now in my 30s, I continue to travel and expose myself to as much of the world as I can.  Whether it's close to home or in the middle of nowhere in a remote corner of the planet, there are cultures and traditions worth experiencing and memories waiting to be born.

Colonia, Uruguay

Colonia, Uruguay

When you first embark on a quest, whether it's one of curiosity or one of travel, you start to notice that there are two different breeds of people.  The first of the two consists of those that like to stay close to home and are either afraid of or have no desire to experience the world beyond what they've become accustomed to.  They stay within their bubble and if they do happen to venture out, they appear uncomfortable and remain tethered to home in one form or another.  If and when they travel, they tend to stick to all the typical sites found in a travel guide and never venture out to experience real local culture. If they're in New York they'll visit the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London, etc . . . and they'll eat at major chain restaurants which they probably frequent back home.  This is an extremely boring way to travel and see the world, yet when these people return to their homes they will speak of their experience as if it were really exciting, while recommending the same trip to everyone they talk to.  The reality behind this kind of travel and this breed of individual is that they really aren't trying to learn anything new because they lack true curiosity and have no interest in experiencing local life.  They enjoy telling people where they've been, even though in most cases they know nothing about those places.  Instead of exposing themselves to new experiences, they bring what they know with them on their journey and return home as the same uninteresting person they were when they first set out.

The Narrows | Zion National Park

The Narrows | Zion National Park

The other breed consists of the more adventurous types.  This doesn't mean they're roaming around the globe seeking near death experiences, this just means they're comfortable being uncomfortable and willing to immerse themselves in whatever it is they're doing.  If they travel somewhere new, even if only for a day, they live there for that day.  They don't visit a place, they make it their home for the duration.  People of this breed make new lifelong friends wherever they go.  When I cross paths with one of these individuals I immediately notice something different, yet familiar.  It's as if we both were part of the same fraternity or grew up in the same town.  Although we may have never met before, we feel an instant connection.  The reason for this is because we're both part of what I'll call the Global Society.  People that are members instantly recognize each other without saying a word.  Even though we may have spawned from different corners of the globe, our roots are embedded everywhere.  Some people that are part of this worldwide club may have never traveled a day in their life, but they possess an inquisitive nature and desire that expands their horizon beyond where the sun sets.  It's always refreshing to stumble upon such individuals and share stories while at the same time adding another chapter to your own captivating autobiography.  When parting ways you both feel like you've learned something new and know that you've made a friend for life, a friend that will most likely relate to you more than most of the friends you grew up with.  The Global Society is the closest thing you'll find to a utopia, it's a place where race, religion, and politics have no relevance.

Mendenhall Glacier | Alaska

Mendenhall Glacier | Alaska

Members of the Global Society are some of the wealthiest people you'll ever meet, regardless of the monetary value of all their assets or what they have in the bank.  These individuals are a wealth of knowledge and experience.  These people keep you humble and modest and constantly remind you to ditch the blinders and look at the world with eyes wide open.

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

A Life Well Lived

This is a short documentary that I first saw last year and happened to stumble upon it again a few minutes ago.

Fifty years ago, Jim Whittaker became the first American to summit Mt. Everest.

Directed by Eric Becker. www.weareshouting.com. This film was made possible by support from Seattle University. Archival footage courtesy Eddie Bauer and The Whittaker Family.

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.