There is no doubt that the Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful and dramatic landscapes on Earth, drawing in millions of visitors each year. But seldom has it been captured so spectacularly as it has in this time-lapsevideo. To create this short film, the photographers spent seven weeks in and around the canyon, shooting over 80,000 photos in the process. The results are hard to dispute. This is simply one of the best time-lapse videos I’ve ever seen.
The very best travel photos should trigger two desires. First, they should inspire the viewer to want to travel to the place that is the subject of the image. And, second, they should instill in the viewer a curiosity about the art and craft of photography.
Today’s photo of the day satisfies both of these criteria. Oilfighter used his Canon 5D Mark II DSLR to photograph sunset at Horseshoe Bend, the famous spot within the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River bends. In his description of the photo, Oilfighter tells us a brief story of why he decided to photograph Horseshoe Bend on that day. Additionally, he provides info on the lens and filter he used, thereby giving a welcome photography lesson to accompany this marvelous shot.
Memorial Day is fast approaching, kicking off the beginning of the busiest time for America’s national parks – the summer season. Budget Travel has just published some confessions from a national park ranger (stationed at the Grand Canyon, judging from his anecdotes). Think Americans are the most reverent about our national treasures? Think again. It’s more likely to be a foreigner who knows better than to ask where the bridge across the Grand Canyon is, or be genuinely interested in the history behind the parks. But if you show some real interest and respect, a park ranger is likely to help make your experience in the park even more memorable.
The Grand Canyon is truly epic in scale. Not only does it stretch for more than 277 miles in length it is also as much at 18 miles wide at certain points and plummets to over a mile in depth as well. It is indeed one of the true natural wonders of our planet and attracts millions of visitors on an annual basis.
But what many of those visitors don’t know is that there are a series of smaller canyons that twist and wind their way across the region. Most of those side canyons have never been explored and even in the 21st century they remain mostly unmapped and unseen by man. Recently a group of explorers dropped into those twisty, narrow passages and filmed their adventure. The full documentary of their expedition will debut at the 5Point Film Festival in a few weeks time but the trailer for the film, entitled “Last of the Great Unknown,” can be viewed below. It gives us a glimpse into this amazing place and what these modern day explorers had to go through to plumb its depths.
Earlier this week, Nature Valley launched a fun new website that delivers a Google Street View-like experience for hiking trails in some of America’s most popular and iconic national parks. Dubbed Nature Valley Trail View, the new site allows hikers to explore over 300 miles of trail directly from their browser.
Much like its counter-part from Google, Trail View actually puts us on the ground and gives us a 360-degree view of the surroundings as we take a virtual hike through the wilderness. It also offers information about the trail that is currently being displayed, including: its length, level of difficulty and important points of interest along the way. This makes it a great tool for scouting potential hikes in the national parks before we go while also providing insights into what to expect when we’re actually out on the hike.
At the moment, Trail View features three of the more popular and famous national parks – Grand Canyon, Great Smokey Mountains, and Yellowstone. The video below gives us a glimpse at the technology that has gone into creating the new website, which is just the latest initiative from Nature Valley, a company that has a long history of supporting the national parks in a variety of important ways.