Video of the Day – Hong Kong Honey

by Stephen Greenwood on

Having spent six months in Hong Kong in 2009, I thought I knew the city fairly well at the end of my stay. I could navigate the night markets, had committed the sleek metro system to memory and even attended a few local weddings. But there was one facet of the city that I was completely oblivious to; Hong Kong’s beekeepers.

Hidden among the thousands of rooftops that comprise Hong Kong’s iconic cityscape, there are nearly a dozen beehives that are being cared for by a community of beekeepers, artists & designers. Their aim is to harvest the honey for use in local cafés and design products that relate to the growing trend of urban beekeeping.

This vivid portrait, produced by Sean Mattison, features a short interview with Designer / Beekeeper Michael Leung & sheds a little light on a practice that, at first, seems out of place.

Have you encountered a surprising community or practice on your travels? Share it with us! Leave your video suggestions in the comments below or submit photos to our Flickr Group. There’s a good chance we’ll choose your picks for our next Photo / Video of the Day!

A journey to Mecca

by Grant Martin on

The pilgrimage to Mecca, or the “Hajj“, is a once-in-a-lifetime journey required by all followers of Islam. Each year, millions of pilgrims make the journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to pay respects to their religion, resulting in a tidal wave of visitors, traffic and stress on the local economy.

Vimeo user KDMart captures the journey spectacularly in the above video, from the masses of crowds migrating towards Mecca to the circular movement around the Masjid_al-Haram. In real life, the mass of bodies in the high temperature desert can often be a noisy and crowded affair, but in time lapse, the pilgrimage takes on a macroscopic beautiful movement of bodies and nature, a beautiful display of religion in motion. KDMart does a great job in telling the story.

How many continents are there?

by McLean Robbins on


We are commonly taught that seven continents exist – North America, South America, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. But is this answer really true? As YouTube sensation C.G.P. Grey points out in a new video, the definition of a continent isn’t consistent. In a nearly four-minute video, Grey explains (to I-guarantee-it-will-be-stuck-in-your-head kind of music) that depending on the determining factors, the number of continents could range from as few as five or four to as many as dozens.

Using the definition of “large land masses separated from others by oceans,” is problematic, Grey points out, as technically Europe and Asia aren’t separated by an ocean, North and South America are technically only “separated” by a man-made canal and Antarctica, if one is to be precise, is actually an archipelago covered by ice rather than a legitimate land mass. Very confusing.

Weigh in below – is the traditional definition of “continent” correct? Or, like the shocking discovery that Pluto is, in fact, not a planet, should our definition and childhood textbooks be revised?

Lights, Camera, iPhone: iPhoneography for Travel Videos

by Jen Pollack Bianco on


Travel photos are great, but these days where viral video memes are the cultural norm a mere picture with the 900 pound Marlin you caught on vacation just doesn’t cut it anymore. When it’s all about the money shot, it’s time to shoot video. Thanks to cool new technology and iPhone apps, you can be on vacation and in the director’s chair at the same time.

There are apps that let you edit in the field (or stream) and slap it up on YouTube via your mobile device, all with the ease of a few finger swipes and a decent wifi connection. Just remember that your awesome iGadget has its limitations, particularly poor sound quality and a tendency for shakiness. So here’s a rundown on a few Apps that can help you turn your potentially boring travel movies into bite sized tasty morsels of travel porn.

High Tech, Lo-Fi: 8mm Vintage Camera

Hipsters know the best thing about cool new technology is how easy and fun it is to make things look old and crappy! 8mm is the video capture App that shows just how right they are. This app is excellent for recording video and adding that veneer of nostalgia with a selection of filters. It even lets you insert a well-timed film snag, a manufactured glitch that adds to the charm of the finished piece. There is even an 8mm HD for iPad version, should you have some “vintage” video from your old Flip or other camera that you want to spruce up. A bonus asset is that the 8mm App has one of the highest quality recorded sound capabilities out there (as good as it gets within iPhone limitations). If it’s windy or you find that you don’t need dialogue, just replace your original soundtrack with sound effects, or music from your iPod.Silent Film Director is an essential entry level app and not as old fashioned as it sounds. Its Pro mode has a user friendly interface and is perfect for assembling clips you’ve already shot and adding simple titles and a basic sound track. You can add or layer filters. Pimp your clip by altering the time line. Try speeding it up or slowing it down. You can also share/upload from within the App. Borrow Quentin Tarantino’s magic equation:

Cool imagery + hyperspeed+ ironic 70’s song = awesome


One key tip in making your iPhone videos: keep it short and sweet, 20 seconds or less. No one wants to watch your two-week vacation play out in real time. Avoid editing complex sequences (and alienating your travel buddies) with your phone. Think of iPhone travel films as video postcards, and aim for emotion and action over perfection.

Go ahead and pull out your iPhone and shoot. If you aren’t happy with what you got on the fly, you can always try to fix it in post. Rad apps like Cinema FXV can help you correct some exposure goofs and add cool special effects. That boring plane ride might be more interesting as a cartoon. This is the app that can make that happen.

Think that the jerky footage you shot is unusable? App it before you hit delete. Not to worry – that bumpy helicopter ride on an overcast day gets much more visually appealing once you slow it down and add the apps negative filter. You can put in titles and soundtrack together with user-friendly ReelDirector and you might discover you’re more talented than Michael Bay.

The downside to shooting on your lightweight iPhone is that it’s hard to keep it steady. If you’re a little shaky you may want to think about investing in a hands free mount . The flexible In Your Face Viewbase is a great option, or try the Joby Gorilla Mobile. These require a little more cash investment but are still a bargain compared to buying a serious video camera.

What if your vacation sucked? I don’t think there is an app for that. But you can learn from Indie Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and add the fun in post-production. You may not have his visual effects team, but with a few good apps out there to play with, you can turn that endless wait for room service into a fun ode to Mary Pickford in your hotel bathrobe.

Hang glider vomits repeatedly from 2,000 feet

by Mike Barish on

Motion sickness sucks. Whether you’re on a plane, in a car or on a boat, that type of nausea is just crippling. On top of that, it’s really embarrassing to throw up in public. It grosses people out and makes everyone, including you, uncomfortable. Imagine, then, what it must feel like to throw up while laying on top of someone…in a hang glider…2,000 feet above ground. Apparently, however, that type of airsickness is not the least bit awkward. In fact, the hang glider in this video seems to possess the magical ability to make such aerial regurgitation downright amusing (at least to the pilot, who seems positively tickled by his passenger’s condition).

We’re really left with only two questions: What did that guy have for breakfast and were the people below wearing ponchos?