Venice is widely thought of as one of the ultimate romantic destinations, especially in Europe. Today’s Video of the Day, Around Venezia, captures the charm of the The Floating City’s beautiful canals and colorful architecture. Venice’s trademark gondolas are included, too, but what I like about this video is how it goes a little deeper than typical videos about Venice to show the beauty in objects that might seem mundane in other cities: a reflection in a puddle or clothes hanging out to dry. In less than two minutes, the video has me wishing I was walking around Venice on a sunny day-but who wouldn’t want to be in that situation?
Video Of The Day: 10 Days In Thailand
“Ten Days in Thailand” from fredparis11 on Vimeo.
This video of Thailand is gorgeous. Chronicling ten days spent in the country, filmmaker Fred Albrecht captures his moments spent in Thailand with precise beauty. It seems as though each shot could suffice as a telling photo on its own – a characteristic that truly distinguishes the best films from the rest. If you need a relaxing break from your day, take a moment to watch the scenes in this video unfold.
Video Of The Day: Starry Nights In Namibia
For more than a decade, Dutch professional photographer Marsel van Oosten has been venturing to Namibia, where he has been creating an extensive night photography portfolio. Oosten, who specializes in nature and wildlife photography and has won awards from National Geographic and Photo District, used his photography expertise to create the time-lapse video above, which is an excellent example of how to artfully use lighting, composition, color and perspective.
According to the write up on Vimeo, each second of video consists of 30 photographs. To create the video, Oosten shot more than 16,000 images over a period of two years. According to the photographer, the idea was to create a night photography time-lapse video featuring his most popular subjects in Namibia: the fairytale-like quiver trees, which are a huge tourist draw in Namibia, and the eerie giraffe thorn trees, which can grow up to 55 feet high. What is most remarkable to me, however, is the mesmerizing way in which the stars appear to move across the sky.
Oosten’s efforts for this video and his accompanying photographic work paid off when he won first place in the Wild Planet category at the 2012 Travel Photographer Of The Year Awards. Here’s to hoping he continues to capture amazing scenes in Namibia and beyond.
Video Of The Day: Escape To The Beaches Of Bali
This sleepy video made in Bali, Indonesia, by InfinityList has me daydreaming about a sunny escape. Shot from Uluwatu, Balangan, and Bingin, it perfectly captures the relaxed beach vibe that so may of us seek out in our travels. One watch and you might also be fantasizing about dipping your toes in the sand, spending your nights under thatched roofs, and sharing seafood and drinks with friends.
Video Of The Day: Italy’s Biggest Food Fight
Each year, thousands of people in the town of Ivrea in northern Italy have one of the largest food fights on the planet during the Battle of the Oranges. Part of the city’s annual Carnival celebrations, origins of the tradition are somewhat unclear, but it’s believed to have originated by the townspeople’s revolt against their tyrant during the 12th or 13th century. As the story goes, the tyrant was looking to exercise his power and attempted to rape a girl on the eve of her wedding, but the young woman instead decapitated the tyrant, and the townspeople stormed and burned the palace. Today, the story is loosely reenacted: an actress is chosen each year to play the part of the young woman, and organized teams on foot (representing the rebels) and in carts (representing authority figures) duke it out in the streets. The weapon of choice has morphed over the years from stones to beans to apples to oranges, a good choice considering the former options.
The video above by Andry Verga sheds light on just how epic the battle becomes. This year, the Battle of the Oranges will take place on the weekend of February 9 and 10. It’s just one of the more than 60 events on our list of events worth planning a trip around in 2013.