Only With VEO
Vanguard Professional Laurence Norah is one half of the travel blogging duo at Finding the Universe, as well as the other half of Independent Travel Cats, and President-Elect of the Professional Travel Bloggers Association.
Laurence's aim is to frame the wonders of the world in such a way as to make them new again, using different processing techniques to tell the story. His goal is to inspire others to visit the destinations he's been to, as well as take their own photography to the next level. He travels the world, taking pictures and teaching photography to all levels.
We set Laurence up with a VEO 235AB tripod, a part of our brand new VEO Collection of travel tripods, monopods, and bags. He is documenting his tours 'round the world with it. Laurence took all the images that follow either with or of the VEO for a series of photos that were possible Only With VEO.
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Laurence's Journey with VEO
November / The Atlantic Ocean & Venice
Laurence wrote about photographing his own weddings (both of them).
"One type of photography I’ve not attempted though is wedding photography. Largely because it looks like very hard work, and I’d hate to mess up someone’s vision of their big day. Seems like a lot of stress.
Still, you’ve got to try everything once, right? So it was that I found myself nominated by Jess as the official photographer for our two (!) weddings this year. No pressure.
The first wedding we had was a wonderful private ceremony in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on board the Cunard ship the RMS Queen Mary 2, roughly halfway between the USA and the UK, which seemed fitting given that I’m from the UK and Jess is from the USA.
So, how does one go about shooting one’s own wedding? Well, to start with, I’m not the most photogenic person in the world. There’s a reason I like to be on the button side of the camera. So, shots of the bride were easy enough to manage.
Still, you do have to be in the odd shot of your own wedding I’m told.
The actual solution was much more obvious – the use of my tripod. And some patience on the part of my lovely bride. With the tripod, I could set up the shot and use the timed release to set it off when I was in position. And, since I’m a Vanguard ambassador, I have no shortage of tripods to my name. In the case of this shoot, I used two – their lovely travel focused VEO 265CB, which has been accompanying me on a variety of shoots across the world, and the slightly weightier Alta Pro 254CT."
October / San Francisco
Laurence wrote a guide to great photography locations in San Francisco.
"San Francisco is a seriously photogenic city. Having been based around this area for a period of time whilst in the US, I took advantage of the photography opportunities it presented to test out my Vanguard VEO gear. Which, it turns out, is just at home in the city as it is in locations as stunning as Yosemite and the Grand Canyon.
Today I want to share some of my favorite locations for shooting in San Francisco, from my personal photography expeditions around the city. I’ll also share some resources at the end which will help you find more locations for your own adventure. Just be aware – San Francisco has countless opportunities for photography, so you’re going to need a while!
Let’s get started with some of my favorite places to shoot San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge, and then move onto some other locations around the city."
September / Grand Canyon
"...I’m doing a project with Vanguard (who I’m an ambassador for), where they’ve asked me to find some photogenic places to try out their lightweight VEO range of travel accessories, which includes some excellent tripods and bags.
Admittedly, Yosemite was a tough act to follow. Maybe I should have aimed a bit lower for my first post. I think, however, I may have found a worthy successor. On our recent road trip through the USA, we stopped off at the Grand Canyon.
Which is rather a pretty place, quite nice for photography. I have no idea how I’m going to follow these two locations up, to be honest, it’s probably going to be downhill from here. Sorry Vanguard."
May / Yosemite National Park, CA
"...[I]f you are looking for a tripod (and if you’re serious about your photography, you absolutely should have one!), then Vanguard has an excellent range. The VEO system I was using for this shoot is specifically designed for travel, meaning it’s super-light and easy to use, plus they won’t break the bank."
