Search Results for Gor (32)

The 2017 Tiny Shiny Home Travel Route

Jonathan Longnecker / March 31, 2017

Below you'll find a map showing our travel route in 2017. Click on a marker to get a link to any articles we've written about that area. We'll keep this post updated so you can follow along with us. Enjoy!

Valley of Fire State Park

Jonathan Longnecker / May 16, 2016

After our mud filled disaster with the help of some good friends we got back on solid ground at Lake Mead. This allowed us go explore Valley of Fire State Park - which happened to be right down the road!

In case you didn’t know, Valley of Fire gets its name from red sandstone formations, created from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs. Basically all the rocks are a shockingly bright red.

Hiking the Dog Canyon Trail in Alamogordo, NM at Oliver Lee State Park

Jonathan Longnecker / April 26, 2016

We've hiked a decent amount of trails since we started traveling. Most of the time they're fairly easy - we do still have a 4 year old after all! We've done a few difficult ones, too. All of those trails we've just kind of mentioned in posts about the area or threw up a couple of pictures on Instagram. But this trail gets it's own post. Because it was hands down the most beautiful, spectacular and difficult trail I've ever been on. Seriously.

It all started when Ashley found Oliver Lee Memorial State Park - a first come first serve park and campground at the base of the Sacramento Mountains. She showed me one picture and the only thing that came out of my mouth was, "yes."

Moment Lenses - How we ditched our SLR and started getting better photos from our iPhones

Jonathan Longnecker / March 07, 2016

Friends, our eyes are amazing creations. Sometimes a picture just doesn't do justice to what we're seeing in front of us that very moment. Our brains are pretty amazing, too - but in all honesty, mine doesn't remember everything I want it to.

So we document. We take photos. We write here on this blog. And we can re-live those moments even when our trusty brains can't quite recall certain details.

Photography has long been something that Ashley and I both enjoy. I've always been fascinated by the art of it - capturing the feel of something without layers of exposition. It's probably the designer in me not wanting to deal with text and calls to action. We bought a Canon Rebel years ago for FortySeven Media, but Ashley was the one who picked it up and found ways to make beautiful photos without any training at all. I was a little jealous.

We still have a DSLR + some nice lenses that we brought with us on our journey. It's come out of the bag maybe 4 times. Why? Because the best camera is the one you have with you. For us, that's our iPhones. And we use them a lot. We're literally documenting our journey with these little slabs of aluminum and glass in our pockets. But even with the amazing cameras built into the iPhone 6s, we found ourselves longing to take even better pictures without lugging around a huge camera bag.

We knew you could buy lenses for the iPhone, but those crappy little clip on fisheye lenses that cost $5 at Target weren't going to cut it. Thankfully, we found Moment.

Travel photographer Austin Mann tipped us off to Moment Lens, and after some research we were sold. Literally. I think we bought one of everything they were selling. If you're going to do it, go all the way right? Seriously, though - our goal was to go 100% iPhone and the gear we've gotten from Moment has pretty much gotten us there. (P.S. If you need a Canon Rebel XTS and some really nice lenses they're for sale)

We've been using our Moment gear for over couple of months, taking it to deserted islands, forgotten forests and beautiful hiking trails. Here's what we think so far:

Lenses

Let's get this out of the way - Moment lenses are of exceptional quality. They were about 3x heavier than I was expecting, and deliver a clear, sharp image. You can tell a lot of love went into crafting not only the lenses, but the cases, covers and packaging.

Once you have a mounting plate attached to your phone (or a case - more on that later), it's easy to switch out lenses. Just line up the dots and give it a twist. Little touches like magnetic lens caps with microfiber lining are icing on the cake. At $99 a lens, I feel like the pricing is right on point. Especially since I can switch them out, use on both our phones, and continue to use as we upgrade our hardware every couple of years.

Let's look at each lens in more detail.

Wide (18mm)

The wide lens is probably the most popular - and for good reason. The iPhone is already great for landscape photography, and the wide angle adds to the size and scope without stretching things to the point of insanity. It's also great for tight shots (hello, we live in a 300 square foot RV)!

Thankfully, this one stays nice and sharp even if you don't have super steady hands so it's ideal for quick, off the cuff shots. This lens really lets you get some unexpected shots out of your iPhone - and I mean that in the best possible way! It's a whole new perspective.

The 2016 Tiny Shiny Home Travel Route

Jonathan Longnecker / January 26, 2016

Below you'll find a map showing our travel route in 2016. Click on a marker to get a link to any articles we've written about that area. We'll keep this post updated so you can follow along with us. Enjoy!