The next chapter: The 360 Degree Years

“You’re definitely a different person at different stages in your life”

Ben Harper

I can’t fault Ben’s logic.  As I type this I’m sat in downtown Rio, listening to Que Pena Amor by Ra₢a Negra (a beautiful tear-jerking tune if you’re looking to expand your media library), and relaxing between recording 4 short 360 degree travel videos and then heading out soon to record my 2nd street performer 360 music video.

Compare that to 4 years ago when I was in South America for the first time and I was a relative train wreck! Drinking with, and ultimately getting abducted by, Costa Rican cowboys and hairdressers (2 separate incidents… Tico cowboys tend not to mingle with hairdressers), getting lost in the Patagonian mountains without a water bottle and doing the walk of shame back to my Paraguayan hostel with a hangover and a shiny new tattoo.

Times have changed… and so have I.

If you’ll bear with me I’d like to take you back just over a year, to January 2017, and a purchase that would send my life in a completely new direction.

(Just a heads up that this is mostly a recap post from the last year.  Apologies in advance if I drop in and out of Geek Mode)

The origin story.

On January 6th 2017 I posted my first 360 degree photo on Instagram (If you’ve not already, be sure to follow here). It wasn’t the most artistic image ever – 4 empty bottles of Jagermeister (Tremble Picasso!), but it was the start of a beautiful relationship.

The previous October I’d been shown a video of a 360 camera in action (Eternally grateful JP!).  Although I remembered little else from the birthday party, the 360 video stuck. I was already addicted.

When funds allowed, I made the leap and bought my first camera – the LG360.

I’ve always loved taking travel photos, but mainly only for my own memories. As soon as smartphones were able, I’d forever be taking panorama shots.  I loved the idea of having the tiny chance to relive those moments by once again panning around to soak in the view… and then came 360!

Fast forward one year, two 360 degree photo competition wins, an invitation to London to be one of the first in the country to test drive a brand new 360 degree camera before the official release, and then an invitation to take that camera to Brazil to shoot some travel videos for Ricoh Theta………. not bad!

I’m now the proud owner of four 360 degree cameras, and more importantly, a new vision/dream/goal.

The dream.

I reached a level with my travel writing, being nominated for 2 UK Blog Awards, but I never really capitalised on it. Whether hubris, a lack of direction or just self-destruction, I never really took it to the next level.

I shall not let this opportunity slip away.

In 1 short year my 360 degree journey has taken me 5813 miles across the world. Who knows where I’ll be this time next year?  There’s already a mini 360 music documentary in production, along with a 30-day road trip movie up the east coast of Brazil.

So what should you expect from this site in the coming days/weeks/months?

My partner Carolina has been relentless in her encouragement to get the blog back up and running… and for that I’m eternally grateful.

The majority of my time will be taken up with filming and editing, but I also want to document that process in the hope of inspiring others who may be toying with the idea of jacking it all in and hitting the road. All the successes, failures and anything in between. Some may be pure travel, others dripping in geek speak, and others begging for spare change. Whatever they are, I promise they’ll be entertaining.

There’ll also be some tutorials coming out over the coming weeks, for those interested in 360 photography.

I’ll be posting my 360 videos on my Youtube channel, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe.
As I said above, follow my Instagram account for new daily images/videos.
There’ll also be random updates and nonsense posted on my Facebook page.

I’ll also be recording each post for your listening pleasure, as I understand that not everyone has the time to sit and read my ramblings. If that proves to be popular then I may explore it further.

Well… that’s it for now.  If you’re reading this, I love you.

Beijos,
Fray

Disclaimer:  Occasionally I’ll be dropping a few affiliate links into the posts, or even doing a full product review. I would NEVER recommend something that I either don’t use myself or know without a doubt that it’s awesome. Clicking on those links won’t cost you anything extra, but it will help out the site (it’s not cheap making videos around the world). There’s also a Donate button at the side of every post, for those with a penny or two to spare to keep this dream alive.  I also plan to start making some sweet merchandise in the near future, so keep an eye out for that too.