For this week’s edition of Audio Visual we present an abstract interpretation of NYC by Lena Steinkühler. What appears to be an ordinary day gets transformed into a beautiful new world where urban assets transform into their biological plant-like counterparts. As Lena describes, “My graduation project – New York Biotopes – deals with abstract plants and creatures, which change their forms because of insufficient living space and adapt themselves to the surroundings of the metropolis New York City. A type of metamorphosis, where the newly developed vegetation assimilates with elements of the city and makes them useful for their own purposes. These creatures and plants, partly mechanical, partly organic in appearance, spread more and more over the city and fill it up with life.” View this awesome video below.

Words: Taj Reid
Photography: Lena Steinkühler

VIMEO
BEHANCE
ANIMAL NEW YORK

A SKIER’S JOURNEY
TORONTO RISING
A WEEK IN TOKYO

Ski season is quickly approaching for us east-coasters. We’re looking forward to making a couple runs this year and this video just pushed us over the edge. Japan: A Skier’s Journey follows two skiers, Chad Sayer and Forrest Coots, as they make their way through Japan and uncover the beautiful contrasts between Tokyo’s urban density and Hokkaido’s sprawling forests. The director, Jordan Manley does an excellent job telling the story and providing plenty of eye candy for the viewer. It’s a real inspiration to watch these two skiers experience the vast cultures and landscapes. As they describe it, “This episode explores spaces of simultaneous anonymity & intimacy, rigid tradition & an embrace for the future, finding epic powder each step along the way.” And note, this is only episode one of the series. It looks like they have their eyes set on Dubai for episode two. So stay tuned. We posted the video below with a few pictures.

Words: Taj Reid
Photography: Courtesy of A Skier’s Journey EP1 S3

TORONTO RISING

A WEEK IN TOKYO

MANY STEPS

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Toronto is a beautiful city. Each time we visit, it gets harder and harder to leave. The people, culture and architecture keep us coming back. If you haven’t visited Toronto yet, get ready to be persuaded. For this week’s Audio Visual we present an amazing time-lapse video by Tom Ryaboi.

Capturing the city wasn’t easy. As Tom describes, “When I started time-lapse photography a year ago I thought it would be something I could just jump right into and master, as I’ve been taking stills for nearly a decade now. But I was quickly humbled by the medium as I struggled to put together worthwhile footage after repeated early attempts. This, I realized, was a whole other animal. The relationship between the cold glass, steel and concrete below coupled with the often majestic clouds, sky and sun/moon never ceases to be a source of wonder.” Click Read More to view.

Words: Taj Reid
Photography: Tom Ryaboi

TOM RYABOI

VIMEO

ANIMAL

A WEEK IN TOKYO

MANY STEPS

POINTS IN SPACE

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Lukas Backland is a photographer and video editor from Stockholm. While visiting Tokyo he shot an amazing piece about the city. We’ve seen several shorts on Tokyo, but this one is particularly compelling because its pacing, range of perspectives and clarity is excellent. In a short amount of time Lukas’ video provides plenty of incentive to visit one of our favorite cities on the planet. If you enjoy people-watching you’ll definitely enjoy this. We’ve posted a few photos with the video below.

Words: Taj Reid
Photography: Lukas Backland

LUKAS BACKLAND

VIMEO

ART IN THE SUBWAY

MANY STEPS

POINTS IN SPACE

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Whenever we parachute into a new city our first mission is to walk around and explore. Sometimes, after hours of being out, we’ll arrive at our hotel to realize we’ve walked miles and miles just soaking in the city. So when we came across this week’s video, it resonated. Takayuki Akachi’s Many Steps is a beautiful expression of travel. It’s the traveler, the local, the location, the traditions, everything. It uniquely demonstrates a larger global connection, and as he describes it, “All of us breathe in the same air and step on the same ground.” Get ready to be inspired. View Many Steps below.

Words: Taj Reid
Video: Takayuki Akachi
Music: DULO

TAKAYUKI AKACHI

VIMEO

POINTS IN SPACE

MIDNIGHT SUN ICELAND

STILL IN THE SKY

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This week’s Audio Visual celebrates the urban ecosystem. Shot in Melbourne, Benjamin Ducroz and his team placed a camera at the the city’s busiest intersections to capture beautiful stop motion effects applied to a single billboard. The results are outstanding. It’s a stunning interpretation of the city’s energy. As he describes, “Using 1050 individual A0 sized frames with long exposure photography, ”http://www.ducroz.com/" target="_blank">Points in Space presents Melbourne’s Central Business District and its cycles of repetition by responding to the flow of traffic at key intersections." We really enjoyed this video. We’ve posted it below with a few additional images.

Words: Taj Reid
Video/Photography: Benjamin Ducroz

DUCROZ

VIMEO

FUBIZ

MIDNIGHT SUN ICELAND

STILL IN THE SKY

ABOVE LONDON

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It’s June and this time of year presents a special opportunity to witness a natural phenomenon. In Iceland, the sun never fully sets and remains in the sky for 24 hours a day. Midnight Sun – a fantastic short video by Michael Levy – captures this beautiful event while Iceland’s awe-inspiring landscape sets the stage. Michael describes it best, “For 17 days I travelled solo around the entire island shooting almost 24 hours, sleeping in the car, and eating whenever I had the time. During my days shooting this film I shot 38,000 images, travelled some 2900 miles, and saw some of the most amazing, beautiful, and indescribable landscapes on the planet. Iceland is absolutely one of the most beautiful and unusual places you could ever imagine. Especially during the Midnight Sun when the quality of light hitting the landscape is very unusual, and very spectacular.” We’ve posted the video and a few photos below.

Word: Taj Reid

Photography: Michael Levy

MICHAEL LEVY

VIMEO

SCIENTIFANTASTIC

STILL IN THE SKY

ABOVE LONDON

HERE TO THERE

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This week’s Audio Visual is pure eye candy for folks who love flying. After Japan’s devastating earthquake in 2011 the artist, Merce Death, found himself flying back and forth from home to work almost every weekend. In those moments he decided to create something beautiful using his iPhone 4S and a makeshift stand he crafted himself. The end result is beautiful. As he describes, “The flight between Tokyo to Fukuoka takes about 2 hours, and you are allowed to use your electronics for about an hour within that time. I came to the conclusion that if I can compose music while I am in the air, I might be able to make a piece that is fit for the sky. While I was composing a piece, I thought of using the beautiful scenery from the airplane window to create a music video. So I began shooting and editing the video simultaneously.” Watch this soothing video as it captures the tranquility of being above the clouds. Click Read More to view.

Words: Taj Reid
Photography: Courtesy of Merce

STILL IN THE SKY

THE CONCEPT

FRESHNESS MAGAZINE

ABOVE LONDON

FROM HERE TO THERE

FESTIVAL BAIXO CENTRO

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This week’s Audio Visual takes our readers on a dreamlike tour of London. Sweeping over the city, Jason Hawkes captures London’s structural DNA – the grid & the architecture – as he displays the city’s staggering size and intricacy. It’s a fantastic piece. We’ve been following Jason’s work for a while now. He’s specialized in aerial photography since 1991 and has produced over 40 photographic books for publishers like the BBC, Random House and Harpers Collins. We’ve posted the video and a few screen shots below. Click Read More to watch.

Words: Taj Reid
Videography: Jason Hawkes

JASON HAWKES

VIMEO

VIA GIZMODO

HERE TO THERE

FESTIVAL BAIXO CENTRO

KIEV’S CITY SPACES

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For this week’s Audio Visual we present From Here to There – a short series about surfers and their quest for the perfect surf. In their latest video they feature Lars Musschoot and follow him as he travels 3000 km through the waters of Norway to Tarifa, Spain. While most people probably think of surfing among warm Barbados waves, Lars starts his interesting journey in the Arctic Circle. You don’t want to miss this video. It also features a great soundtrack courtesy of Pulpa. View a few photos and the video below.

Words: Taj Reid
Photos: Courtesy of Protest Boards
Spotted via: Booooooom!

FROM HERE TO THERE

LARS MUSSCHOOT

SPOTTED VIA BOOOOOOOM!

FESTIVAL BAIXO CENTRO

KIEV’S CITY SPACES

VOYAGES BY KARL HAB

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We promise no cars were injured during the making of this incredible video. In celebration of Sao Paulo’s Festival Baixo Centro, performance artists took to the streets one morning to pour 200 Liters of water-soluble ink throughout a busy intersection. As cars drove through the colorful puddles, they created a massive installation of literal street art. Naturally, not everyone was thrilled with the social experiment, but it was largely enjoyed by locals in honor of the festival. We have a few images listed below with a video of how it all went down. Click Read More to view.

Words: Taj Reid
Photography & Video: Mídia Livre

VIMEO
FACEBOOK
IGNANT

KIEV’S CITY SPACES
VOYAGES BY KARL HAB
BARCA’S BEAUTY

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Guilty as charged. Tilt-Shift videos get our attention every time. And our latest edition of Audio Visual presents a fantastic one by Tel-Aviv based artists, Efim Graboy and Daria Turetski. Over the course of 2 nights and 5 days they captured 25,000 frames of Kiev with their Canon 550D camera. Entitled, MiniLook Kiev, the duo present the city’s beautiful architecture, parks, transit systems and other tourist attractions. It took them months to select the final 4,500 frames composed for the stop-motion video, but it was well worth it. We’ve posted the video and a few images below. Click Read More to view.

Word: Taj Reid
Photography & Video: Efim Graboy & Daria Turetski

MINILOOK

ANIMAL

HYPEBEAST

KARL HAB

BARCA’S BEAUTY

JAPAN BY MIKE MATAS

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This week’s edition of Audio Visual presents the awesome works of Karl Hab. We’ve admired his photography for a long time and had the pleasure of collaborating with him on a number of projects. Over the last 10 years Karl has documented the art and fashion scene in Paris, and more recently began documenting his travels. In this week’s video, Karl beautifully captures the anticipation travelers feel while moving through various modes of transportation toward their destination. Below, we’ve posted the video with a few photos.

Words: Taj Reid
Photography & Video: Karl Hab
Quick Info: Shot with 5D Mark II and Go Pro HD
Destinations: Hong Kong to Phuket

KARL HAB
VIMEO

BARCA’S BEAUTY

JAPAN BY MIKE MATAS

PANAMA SPIRIT

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For this week’s edition of Audio Visual we’re spotlighting the work of Maurici Mayol. The acclaimed photographer spent a few months in Barcelona and created a beautiful time-lapse capturing the city’s architecture, people, transit systems and more. Shot completely with a Canon 400D and a variety of lenses, Mayol’s work inspires you to visit Spain’s beloved city. We have the video and a few stills listed below.

Words: Taj Reid
Video: Maurici Mayol

LOYAMFOTO

TWITTER

JAPAN BY MIKE MATAS

PANAMA SPIRIT

FLIGHT OF THE FRENCHIES

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Mike Matas is a user interface designer and cofounder of Push Pop Press – the digital publishing company that worked with Al Gore to create the first full-length interactive book Our Choice. You might have seen his work profiled on sites like Cool Hunting. And late last year, he and his girlfriend traveled through Japan visiting Kyoto, Nara, Hakone and finally Tokyo. Along the way they snapped more than 4,000 photos and created an amazing stop motion video of the trip. Each moment is beautifully relayed in this entertaining and inspiring video. View below…

Words: Taj Reid
Photos: Mike Matas

MIKE MATAS

PUSH POP PRESS

ON VIMEO

PANAMA SPIRIT

FLIGHT OF THE FRENCHIES

TOKYO SLO MODE

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