LAS FALLAS DE VALENCIA

“With out a doubt a trip to remember, I recommend it to anyone and everyone that likes food, art and burning huge monuments to the ground!”

So on a Tuesday night, at around 2 30 am, whilst studying for an economic maths midterm I received a message from a friend of mine asking about las Fallas de Valencia, which is a very famous Spanish tradition held in Valencia, which is located on the east of Spain, hitting the Mediterranean sea.

Las Fallas consist of a large variety of different sculptures made from flammable materials that are constructed throughout the year and then put on display all around the city. The reason its made out of flammable materials is because well… you guessed it, they burn them. The reason as to why they burn them goes beyond me, I never really looked into the festival all that much but what I do know is that its beautiful to watch and that it’s a hell of a party.

So my friend Pat, an Australian, Hawaiian shirt, man bun looking bloke asked if I wanted to go to this festival this upcoming Saturday. Of course my mind was mush from all the studying but I said I would think about it after my exam… next thing I know I’m buying the bus tickets from this odd looking party website less than 24hours after his message.

 4 hour bus ride listening to ear bleeding reguetton music

The bus ride there was a laugh. Imagine a small cramped up bus filled with reguetton (or however you spell it) listening Spanish kids round the ages of 18 to 23, with cheap Spanish beer and snapbacks… a 4 hour bus ride listening to ear bleeding reguetton music was actually pretty funny, thank god I had my music.

So we arrive to Valencia and immediately it sounds like we are in a war zone…. BAM BAM BAM BOOOM fireworks and ‘petardos’ exploding everywhere and VERY loud. It took us about 30 min walking to reach the first falla and it was beautiful, colourful and impressive in all standards. It was only when you see them that your mind gets boggled as to why anyone would burn such beauty that took so long to make.

We kept walking and seeing more impressive fallas that each time got bigger and bigger till the point where we reached the biggest one, located on the centre of the city, the size over passing the buildings, a huge beige statue of a woman looking down at the people.

The mass of people also increased the more we walked and the beer stands looked more and more tempting… We soon stopped for lunch and had the traditional Valencian paella which is where paella originated in the first place I believe… the point is that beer and good paella hits the spot just right.

 

The night came quickly and the people did as well, sooner than later
walking became a hazardous sport. It wasn’t till we saw the first falla being burnt that we realised how beautiful it was and understood the reason behind it. We talked with some locals and apparently these sculptures called fallas serve as a type of purge where they sculpt monuments that depict a message that’s similar to that of street art. When they burn it serves as a release. Without a doubt a great reason behind this incredible tradition.

It was soon time to burn the last one, which was of course the biggest one, the one that brought most attention and the most number of people. This was a tough moment because the amount of people was scary and it got to a point where you were crushed by thousands of people in every direction to the point where one from our group could not touch the ground from the pressure on his body… I know… but soon enough, after waiting in the mass for 15min the fireworks and burning began.. HOLY SH*T they were loud. By far the loudest I’ve heard… damn. However, when they burnt the statue it was incredibly beautiful.

 
After the fallas was over, which was around 2am, we still had to somehow make time till our bus left which was at 7am. We had no hotel reserved due to budget reasons so we found ourselves spending the night like true homeless people.

 

“After that night I truly empathise for the people that have no home and have to live like this” – PAT

 

We spent the night sleeping in a 24h McDonalds on a table with our head rested on the plastic table. Finally, it was time to go home in a bus that smelt like the type of feet you get at ChuckyCheese. BUT it was both beautiful and by far a night worth to remember.

Here are some images:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed! if you did then hit the like and share button down below!!

If you want daily updates on tips, quotes and news go follow us on

Twitter: @NICKKAHR

Instagram: @NICKKAHR

Liked the post? Put your email and follow the Blog! (on the right hand side)

Okay Loveya bye!!

A Mountain, Trees and a Pineapple called Fred.

The Sunrise

“This will be Fred’s first hike!”  

My sister and I decided it would a great idea to hike a local mountain here in Marbella, Spain called ‘La Concha’ which, depending on the country, can mean various different things.. but in Spain it means The Shell, reason being because it actually looks like a shell when viewed from the town of Marbella. We also thought it would be a great idea to invite two of our close friends to go with us, well… three if you count Fred, the traveling Pineapple. He’s a plastic pineapple that loves to travel so, I decided not to be rude so I offered him a place in my backpack. (you will understand more about Fred further on) We agreed to wake up very early in order to have good temperature during the hike, with that being said, waking up at 6:30 for a coffee and sunrise at 8am was definitely one of the highlights of the day… Golden colours coated the sea and the cool sand that hugged my toes. A great start to the day.

I Vlogged the day through the use of Snapchat which turned out to be a lot of fun! so I will definitely be vlogging my adventures from now on until I have time to set up a YouTube account so make sure to add that (username in the description).

“Kyle! unless you want to clean up a giant mess and buy a new microwave I suggest you change that from aluminium mug to ceramic!”

The coffee was a great addition to the morning.. not just as an energy booster (taking into account that during the coffee-making process one of our friends almost put an aluminium mug in the microwave which probably would have ended up in a big mess.. thank god my sister was actually awake enough to notice.. but because it gave the whole pre-hike mood a general feeling of happiness and stoke!

THE HIKE

I was the designated guide for the hike seeing as I had already done it at year ago, but there was really no need because there’s a lovely path that takes you all the way up… all you need to know is what turn off to take and which rocks to climb.

The first stretch of path you pass is a very wide and open dirt path that takes you through a lovely garden of olive trees. The grass was coated with a layer of condensed water droplets that looked like frost and made the grass shine, it looked like a great start to the hike. As we moved forward with some motivational music (like Kids by MGMT) coming from a speaker in my backpack we started to get into deep conversations about Tv series… yes… Tv series and music. Before we reached the forest of pines and trees we found an incredible little patch of sand and stone that was kinda randomly there.. I mean, how do you react to seeing a patch of perfectly smooth sand and some stones in the middle of a mountain… can anyone explain?

The forest was absolutely breath-taking

sky scraping trees and ferns that seemed to pop out of everywhere filled the path with incredibly green and brown colours. Not to mention the blue sky peaking from above when you looked up. Everywhere you looked there was an abundance of skinny trees that looked in a perfect unorganised yet synchronised manner.. what I just said might not make any sense to you guys but if you see it you would understand.

“I can see my house from here!”

The views from the top were more rewarding than expected! definitely worth the hike! the wide open space makes you feel so small and indifferent from anything else.. the mountain peaks with a foggy touch made it feel as if you were in a scene from ‘The Hobbit’ or one of these movies where civilisation is miles and miles away… Even though you could physically see the houses and small buildings, there was still a sense of loneliness that was actually very pleasing.

Okay, here it is, if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you might already know about Fred… The idea is to create a photo project where I take pictures of Fred, The Travelling Pineapple throughout all my travelling destinations (or most.. depending on his will to live and stick to me) so, I thought it would be a great idea to involve him in this hike to start the  photo project.

“That is one lonely tree”

The way down was just as nice as the way up but not as forgiving on your ankles… It was tricky not to hurt yourself on the way down but it was still fun. when we reached the strange beach area again we thought it would be nice to chill, have some raspberries and an orange juice. Yeah.. we ended up falling asleep for an hour under the warm sun… only to be woken up by the tickle of ants on our feet and a backpack full of peanuts… unfortunately my bright idea of bringing a box instead of a bag turned into a broken box with about 500 peanuts spread around the backpack and a plastic pineapple that now smells like peanuts… I’m sorry Fred…

All in all the hike was wonderful, definitely have to do it again soon and for photography it’s an absolute playground. I mean.. look how nice this is:

Hope you enjoyed the images! if you did then hit the like and share button down below!! If you want daily updates on tips, quotes and news go follow us on:

Twitter: @TheMagicCompass 

Instagram: nickkahr96

snapchat: nickkahr96 

Liked the post? Put your email and follow the Blog! (on the right hand side)

Okay Loveya bye!!

The Secrets to Lightroom 5.7

The Storm

“What was thought to be a terrible picnic day turned out to be one of my most successful shoots of the year so far”

The other day I had the opportunity to take my D-SLR to the beach… Little did we know that it was a very dark and cloudy day with onshore winds and very messy waves. What was thought to be a terrible picnic day turned out to be one of my most successful shoots of the year so far… and a pretty kick-ass picnic. The messy sea and the dark clouds made it easy to compose great shots as oppose to the golden light given by the sunset behind us. The sun would reflect on the clouds and give a perfect pale tone of pink that enriched the images, yet the clouds did seem to cast a dark spell on the background as the sun disappeared behind us… a grim overcast would darken the tone of the images which adapted to my style of moody and relaxing nature photography.

The header image was taken just as the sun displayed its golden colours behind us, I played around with the shutter speed to give the water a smooth and paint-like feel and took it a bit overexposed but with lightroom I managed to bring the colour back in. Definitely one of my favourites. The pink clouds gave the image a dreamlike aspect and the long exposure allowed for some awesome looking waves with a soft touch.

Lightroom 5.7

Okay, so a few of you awesome people started to send me messages on twitter asking how I do my edits.. so here you go!!!

Lightroom is great for giving your images life, it lets you enrich your image and most importantly, it lets you get creative. It hurts your wallet but its worth it! anyways.. Im not an expert but I can more or less guide you guys to knowing the basics.

Before I get into the whole “what I do and How I do it etc” I want to show you guys how much a picture can change with Lightroom 5.7…

HOW I DO IT

For both of these images I used a technique I always use for the highlights, shadows, whites and blacks which I actually learnt from a youtube channel which will be linked at the end of this post! (if i remember to actually put it in…). Okay lets cut to the chase!

For the temperature I always usually just go with what feels best. If I shoot in cold or stormy weather I usually just increase the temperature by a minimum just to add some extra “sun light” but thats only if I want to give it more light.. if i want a dark and gloomy image like the first one, would I make it colder to fit the mood of the image. Following on, I never really mess with the tints if theres a lot of movement in the image, it would just take colour away from the objects your focusing on.

Looking into the exposure, I Like my images to be moody and emotional so I tend to keep that under the middle line, but not too much. In case of long exposure shots (like the second image) I would bring the exposure down more to compensate for the amount of light hitting the sensor. In terms of contrast, I rarely increase contrast in images that have a lot going on due to difficulties with the quality as you progress.. so I either use it last or not at all.

The technique I usually use for highlights and shadows goes as seen in the images… I move the highlights to 0% and the shadows to 100%. What this does (and you will see when using it) is that it brings out the detail that was hidden in the shades, it makes your image have more to show… if you catch my drift.. if you don’t, well then you will see what I mean when you do it. Furthermore, (and yes I feel like using fancy english words) for the whites I hold the ALT button down and move the slider to the right until you start to see some coloured spots on the screen (those spots show were quality is being lost). For the Blacks I do the same but move the slider to the left.

Finally, (yes, I don’t want an over edited image) I would increase the clarity by about 15-20% and then go to my favourite section… HLS / COLOR / B&W Its on the right side under basics. I highlighted the word color because thats the option I use from the three. Here is where you can make the image increase the colour range and make them look more vivid and alive as seen here:

BEFORE AND AFTER:

As you can see, I brought out the colours of the sunset through this. My final edit move is just the lens correction option you have at the bottom. It lets you put what lense you used and then fixes the chromatic aberration, the barrel distortion it may have and other camera things that go above my skill level of camera vocabulary.

All in all, the way you edit is up to you, these are just the typical editing techniques and alterations I use. Hope it helps you guys have a better understanding of how lightroom works! If you cant have access to Lightroom any editing system will work because at the end of the day… It all about creativity!

Here are some of my images post Lightroom edit:

More images will be posted in a future gallery that I’m working on!

Youtube channel link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkHNVO_aPDSqjfIG_XHlYIg

hope you enjoyed the images! if you did then hit the like and share button down below!!
If you want daily updates on tips, quotes and news go follow us on

Twitter: @TheMagicCompass 

Instagram: nickkahr96

snapchat: nickkahr96 

Liked the post? Put your email and follow the Blog! (on the right hand side)

Okay Loveya bye!!

SUNSETS

Hope you enjoyed the images! if you did then hit the like and share button down below!!
If you want daily updates on tips, quotes and news go follow us on Twitter: @TheMagicCompass
Liked the post? Put your email and follow the Blog! (on the right hand side)
Okay Loveya bye!!

The Secrets Behind The Perfect Travel Partner

Camera: Canon eos 1100D (entry-level) Settings: Shutter priority mode // shutter speed: 1/14 // ISO: 800 // aperture (automatic with mode) // White balance: -1

“One of the great things about travel is you find out how many good, kind people there are” – Edith Wharton

We all travel in different styles. Solitary traveling has been very popular lately and is something I plan to do at some point, traveling with the family can be extremely fun but sometimes you just want to make unforgettable memories with certain people… What you guys have to understand is that traveling for long periods with people reveals aspects and behaviours that you may or may not like, living with someone or spending a long time traveling with someone can get very complicated. In this post I will explain what aspects and key features are essential for a perfect travel partner that will ensure an unforgettable experience with no arguments or tense moments!

Point number 1:

Make sure the candidate has very good hygiene. You don’t want to be stuck with a smelly person that has bad breath… especially when you have to go on a plane or train ride with them. It’s also important when you meet new people around your travels to give a good and clean vibe, so that involves your travel partner too…

Point number 2:

You guys have to have something in common. I was debating between putting this as point number one but then again… I thought being clean was more important. It’s important for you to have a few things in common, you don’t have to be soul mates but at least something so you don’t end up arguing or starting disputes about pointless things. A while a go I went on a surf trip to Tenerife (check Tenerife Bound) and my good friend went with me, we both loved surfing, traveling, trying new things and the result was a stress free and memorable trip.

Point number 3:

You have to agree on a similar budget. You don’t want to have your friend sleeping in a hotel whilst you are in a motel or in a tent… depending on your style of travel you will have different budgets and traveling with a companion that has a higher or lower budget can lead to arguments or separations.  Your budget pretty much determines what you’re going to do: where you will stay, what you will do, what you will eat, etc. It is vital for a pre agreement on a budget to be made if you want your partner and you to have a harmonious trip!

Point number 4:

Organisation People! It’s very important!! Missing flights or loosing train tickets is actually extremely common and having an organised partner is just as important as your own organisation. Wasted time packing the stuff you had to have ready 3 hours ago can really irritate the other partner/s and cause tension build up and a ton of other unnecessary delays. Moreover, unless you plan on staying longterm in the country you traveled to, I suggest you keep your passport close to you and in sight at all times!

Point number 5:

Make sure communication can flow between you. I know this is a pretty obvious and stupid point but you would be surprised to know the amount of travels that have been ruined by miscommunication… Awkward silent moments can really make a trip very uncomfortably, so the ease of talking to one another is pretty important if you want to make the most of the whole trip…

Finally, make sure your partner is able to withstand the style and length of your planned travels. Not everyone is into the same style of traveling and if your best friend is more into luxurious travel than backpacking well… spare the time to ask and find someone else that’s more suited for that travel, easier said than done yes, but trust me.. its worth the search!!

All in all, it’s fairly easy to find the perfect travel partner, but often enough you can realise half way through a trip that the person you chose was not cut out for the task…

Thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed! if you did then hit the like and share button down below!!

If you want daily updates on tips, quotes and news go follow us on Twitter: @TheMagicCompass 

Liked the post? Put your email and follow the Blog! (on the right hand side)

Okay Loveya bye!!

Bees and Burnt Amber

WHY DO I TRAVEL?

Traveling is a necessity to some of us, we crave it, we want it, but most importantly, we NEED it

Traveling is different and varies depending on your style of living and your personal preferences. One may like to travel alone, another may like to travel with family, others in style with luxurious hotels or backpacking on a low-budget… The point is we all have a traveler inside of us, a free spirit that wants to let loose and fly away (literally). Some unfortunate individuals may not be able to travel due to personal circumstances, but for those of us who can, well.. lets just say that we crave it.

Early morning coffees at 6:00 am with some toast before hitting the airport or some last-minute packing, running back home to pick up that passport you forgot… All of these lovely pre-travel memories create a feeling of euphoria we admire.

If we look hard enough into our own lives we can discover that we live in a world full of complexity and routine, a life that might as well be in shackles. Polluted skies and a general set goal of numerical success narrow our scope on life and drive us away from being unique, we are subconsciously led into taking decisions we don’t really want and our creativity is ripped away from us the minute we begin to worry about homework assignments. Media diminishes our drive towards true happiness, it brainwashes humanity and pushes us into social conflicts that result in problems beyond out grasp.

We constantly devour the only home we have, polluted seas, deforestation, excess carbon dioxide in the air… These are all major flaws in our civilisation that are not fair for the earth we live in, the other living species that through no fault of their own have to suffer our wrath.

Why do I travel? Well… I want to escape the shackles of civilisation and the social routine to live a life that allows me to feel free, to see the world for what it really is.. If you look at The Bucket List (menu bar on the top left) you can see that I wish to explore the natural world and be active in the purest sense. I travel because I want to be in touch with the essence of what life should aim for… Happiness… Do I want all the riches in the world? no, Do I want the biggest house with the biggest boats or the fastest cars? NO, NO and NO. I want to be happy, and for me happiness is being at peace with what there is to offer and for me the ability to travel around the world makes me happy… I look at traveling in a slightly different way… traveling for me doesn’t necessarily mean taking a plane and flying to a different country..

“Traveling for me is taking in the adventure that is not present in your every day life, whether that be 5 minutes away from your house or 5 days away… The experience that lies away from your comfort zone that allows for the experience intake”

Well That was all for this post.. Make sure to Follow on Twitter: @TheMagicCompass to get daily travel info!

Frontal Picture credit to: @cataapizarro follow her on Instagram!

Did you like this post? Follow the Blog (Put your email at the bottom left) and Leave a comment with your opinion and ideas for future posts!

Okay! Love ya bye!

TARIFA

Photo credit to Fabi B photos on Facebook! check out her Instagram: F_abi

Is the south of Chile a Photographers dream?

PATAGONIA

“Nature has a great simplicity and therefore a great beauty” – Richard Feynman

Speechless, absolutely speechless. I had no idea what I was in for… one day your flying over there not knowing what to expect and the next thing you know your on the plane ride back home trying process what just happened… you ask yourself if it was a dream because even though you were very concious during the trip, you still can’t comprehend the beauty you just witnessed…

The reason I chose to title this post/story as a question is due to the fact that I still feel that what I saw was part of a dream or an illusion. Before I get into the details, no, I am not a sponsored nor professional photographer for that matter. I am simply a wanderer that wishes to see the different corners of the world for what they really are, and by that I mean the purity and beauty nature has to offer.

Where to begin…

Icy turquoise water, winds that reach speeds that lift my skinny body off the ground, wild nature and mountains that simply take your breath away. Everywhere you look is worth taking a picture… it has its pros and cons.. you know when you are witnessing nature at its finest and you suddenly realise that the camera is stealing the moment? Well eventually you learn when to take the shot and when to enjoy the moment… you can always do a bit of both but sometimes it’s better to keep that shutterfinger away from the camera and look up.

Venturing into one of the coldest parts of the world, you begin to realise that nature acts differently… The first memory I have of my trip to the south of Chile was when I was in a car on my way to the place were I was going to stay and a cute little bunny just happily hopping about and probably thinking about its carrots appears in the middle of the road. What this innocent bunny didn’t know was that a giant friking bird was on its way to make him supper… in front of my eyes I see how a Patagonian Condor swooshes in and beats the living shit out of the bunny leaving a road full of blood… poor bunny.. Even though the whole animal kingdom act happened in about five seconds I managed to take a picture…

” The poor bunny had no idea what was about to happen…”

In case you didn’t know, the Patagonian Condor happens to be the bird with the largest wingspan up to date… at least that’s what the guide said… feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

Another friendly aspect of the wild Patagonian animal kingdom are the Alpacas, furry and friendly animals that are apparently related to the llamas! so in appearance they are really similar to the ones you see in the childhood movie ‘Kuzco The Emperors new Groove’ ahh memories… anyways.. here are some of the alpacas:

Look how photogenic this Alpaca is:

                            

“Dude look! it’s a Fox! let’s call him Mr Fred”

Mr Fred was a lovely fox that came up to use whilst having lunch at a local diner. I find it fascinating how vibrant his (or her, didn’t really know) fur was and I managed to take a quick picture to leave as a reminder but instead I happened to end up with one of my favourite pictures, the reflection of the window giving of a red tint gives it an awesome touch and if you mix that with the vibrant colours of Mr Fred and the grass.. puff.. i love this picture.

Moving on to the actual scenery, we took this awesome tour to see what are known as  ‘Las Torres del Paine’ and in the english language they are known as ‘The Devils Horns’ due to their horn like resemblance… I know I say this a lot in my posts but this place left me speechless!  absolutely wonderful… I could never imagine nature could get that incredible! i mean, i know it could get beautiful but when you see it with your own eyes.. damn… completely different thing…

             

“Absolutely perfect… Theres no better way to spend the day than taking pictures of nature at her finest” 

 

Besides the WOOOW mountains, Patagonia also has beautiful forests were the trees and rock fortresses loose you in a world of fantasy, something I would relate to ‘The Lord of the Rings’… yes.. I watch a lot of movies ok? oh and btw I know that TLOTR was filmed in New Zealand but it still reminded me of it.. you get the picture…

                                                    

 “this place is absolutely magical and leaves you wondering and planing your next trip back”

green, yellow, red and brown.. incredible walks along the dirt tracks made this experience all the better…

All in all, my experience here was absolutely magical… its hard to express myself fully and this trip fully.. i think that’s because I’m not a writer… however I love writing my experiences for you guys… I honestly recommend Patagonia for any traveler and photographer, it is absolutely incredible… Between the giant mountains, the forests and the wild life, this place is absolutely magical and leaves you wondering and planing your next trip back.

Well that’s the end of this post! did you like it? if you did, hit that like and share button.. common.. I know you want to!

Follow and stay tune to my next posts! so much more to come!

Follow @TheMagicCompas on twitter for daily updates!

Okay, love ya bye!

Rainy Days