Monday Movies: Manhattan in Motion

A couple of time lapse videos that although completely different, nevertheless manage to compliment each other. The first is a beautifully shot video of Manhattan recorded at various times across multiple days and nights. The other, a somewhat surreal piece showing the slow decay and transformation that an ant colony wreaks on an old scanner.

 Manhattan in Motion Time Lapse

Josh ‘Getting My Time Lapse On’ Owens publishes his videos under the Mindrelic pseudonym.

Apart from his page on Vimeo from where this video was sourced, Josh can be found on Twitter, Facebook, RedBubble and his Mindrelic website. However, other than that he appears to be from Rochester, New York, none of these websites offer any insight or information about Josh. Nor does he try to explain why he makes his films or what he hopes to achieve by their creation. He seems happy to let the videos ‘speak’ for themselves. So without further ado, here is Manhattan in Motion...

Mindrelic - Manhattan in motion from Mindrelic on Vimeo.

More information
www.mindrelic.com
www.vimeo.com/mindrelic
www.twitter.com/mindrelic
www.facebook.com/Mindrelicphotography

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Ants in My Scanner Time Lapse

Describing Ants in My Scanner as “… an exploration of the aesthetic of life and degradation”, Paris based François Vautier, the creator of this short video explains that five years ago he…

"…installed an ant colony inside my old scanner that allowed me to scan in high definition this ever evolving microcosm (animal, vegetable and mineral). The resulting clip is a close-up examination of how these tiny beings live in this unique ant farm. I observed how decay and corrosion slowly but surely invaded the internal organs of the scanner. Nature gradually takes hold of this completely synthetic environment.”

Vautier (whose work was presented at the WORLD EXPO Shanghai 2010), adds that the ants are still alive, and that the process of recording the colony continues.

ANTS in my scanner > a five years time-lapse! from françois vautier on Vimeo.

Music : Franks - Infected Mushroom.

More information

www.francoisvautier.tumblr.com/

Bergdorf Goodman, New York City

If you have ever been to New York City, you will know there are some truly amazing stores waiting to be discovered and enriched with your hard-earned money. The famous stores that most visitors head for if they have shopping in mind are generally Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Another store that doesn’t seem to get as much press is Bergdorf Goodman, which has two stores on Fifth Avenue – and that store is the subject of this post.

Now let me say from the outset, that I don’t travel to shop. Apart from picking up a handful of cheapish t-shirts, or some other essential item that I forgot to pack, or need to replace, I carry everything I need with me. However, I can still remember the shock and delight I experienced when I walked past the Bergdorf Goodman (BG) building on Fifth Avenue at 754 Fifth Avenue (at the corner of Fifth Ave., & 58th St.). The other BG store across the street is officially the Bergdorf Goodman Men outlet.

Above: Note the mini display built into the subfloor space of this window. The image below presents a close up view of this subfloor display.

Having never heard of Bergdorf Goodman before I first visited New York in 2008, I was, as mentioned, shocked and delighted by the stunning displays this store is famous for. Like most department stores all over the world, the main BG building is graced with large windows which feature displays that are designed to draw shoppers into the store. But whether you enter or not, there is much to appreciate and savor in the regular Bergdorf Goodman window displays.

The Bergdorf Goodman site name checks David Hoey and his visual team as the creators of the 2011 holiday displays. Designed around the theme, Carnival of The Animals, as the theme suggests, each window includes a range of creatures – real and imagined – including some very surreal creations.

While the official Bergdorf Goodman site has five or six images of the latest holiday displays, the always excellent Vintage and Modern website has large photographs of all, or most of, the current display windows. If you can’t get to New York City yourself to see the displays, these images are surely the next best thing.

Finally, all the images illustrating this entry are of Bergdorf Goodman window displays dating from April, 2008. As you can see there is a stunning richness to these presentations that the photographs barely do justice too. Judging from the photos, the store appeared to have a Carnival or Circus theme in that year. Clearly, a lot of care and thought has gone in to these displays, and I highly recommend a spot of ‘window shopping’ at Bergdorf Goodman if you are in the vicinity of the store.

Feeding Your Travel Bug

It has been over two years since I wrote about the post-travel blues: that feeling of depression, or comedown, that hits once your trip of a lifetime has come to an end. I thought I’d return to the topic today to shed some new insights into post-travel coping strategies. But first, to recap. Among the suggestions in my previous post are: Start working on your next trip; Take a short course; Be a tourist in your home town; Learn the Lingo; and Use the Internet to connect with like-minded travellers.

 Since returning to Australia in March from an eight month trip that took me across America, into Europe and finally to Cambodia, I have continued to feed my travel bug in three major ways:

By turning my best travel photographs into a constantly changing slide show

Like most people who travel today with any type of digital camera, I returned home with literally thousands of images saved to my laptop. Putting some of these to good use, I have created a folder for my favorite photos. These are programmed to change the Desktop image on my computer every 60 seconds. In this way, I am constantly reminded of my trip highlights, and always thinking about my next journey, which as of this post is less than a month away (when I head to Melbourne for a five week house sitting stay).

I have also started posting a daily photo online via my Twitter profile. This forces me to go through my files looking for interesting images to upload, which again serves as an ongoing reminder of the travels I have undertaken, and kept me focussed on the travels still to come.

By treating my return home as just another extended stay in a never ending journey

I figure if Bob Dylan can embark on a ‘Never Ending Tour’, I should be able to embark on a ‘Never Ending Journey’. Therefore, I try not to think in terms of being ‘home’. Instead, I tell myself I am simply paying an extended visit to Adelaide, from which in due course I will move on. So, after returning to Adelaide from Melbourne early in February, 2012, I will once again spend time here before heading to Europe in May, and America in July. And thus the never ending journey rolls on.

This is just a mental mind game, I know, but it works for me, and may well work for you too, so give it a try, and let me know how you get on.

By Writing, Reading, and Researching

It is far too easy to fall into the routine of the daily grind once you return from your travels. I deal with this by maintaining this blog, and by writing guest posts for other blogs. This forces me to remember my trip, and to engage with the wider travel community wherever it may be found.

I also read as many books as I can about the cities and countries I plan to visit. And by books I am not talking only about travel guides. I look for histories, biographies, and novels that will help give me an understanding of the culture and the countries I will be passing through.

Recent titles include Paul Auster’s The Brooklyn Follies; Bill Brysons Life And Time of The Thunderbolt Kid; and The Historical Atlas of New York City by Eric Homberger. Right now I am reading two books, Bloody Crimes (James Swanson), about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the hunt for Jefferson Davis; and Douglas Brinkley’s The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and The Crusade for America.

Add to these a shelf full of books still waiting to be read covering Venice, the Crusades, the pirate Captain Kidd, and the history behind the gardens at Versailles (to name just a few areas of interest), and you can see how I manage to keep myself occupied when I’m not actually on the road – or online.

Quite frankly, there is almost never a waking hour when I am not thinking in some way about travel: either journey’s I have completed, those about to begin, or still others on the distant horizon. I think it is fair to say, my travel bug is constantly being fed on a steady diet of information, images, and ongoing plans that help keep it full and focussed on the next travel ‘meal’.

Feel free to share your strategies for dealing with the post-travel blues via the Comments section below.