One look at the facade of Japanese restaurant Tori-Tori and the word “homey” doesn’t even occupy a tiny sliver of your imagination. Dreamed up as a collaboration between Rojkind Arquitectos and Esrawe Studio the lattice type exterior looks like a futuristic type of plant, clinging to the outside of a wavy building. But inside, Tori-Tori, which specializes in sushi, trades in the future for a more classic vision of home, sporting natural wood flooring and simple, but elegant, table and chair designs that provide an entirely unique experience. Expertly hidden by a leafy surrounding wall, Tori-Tori is a futuristic and homey Japanese oasis in the middle of Mexico’s capitol.

Source: White Zine

Everybody’s favorite travel guru/man to be jealous of, Anthony Bourdain, is back with a new series, this time exploring the most exciting places around the world to visit when you have limited time and a limited budget. “The Layover” makes its first stop tonight at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST, as Bourdain takes on the southeast Asian metropolis, seeking out both the red-light district and the famous Thieves Market. You can be sure to expect substantial amounts of eating and drinking in any show with Bourdain, especially with such classic stops as New York, Los Angeles, London, and Amsterdam on the itinerary. “The Layover” is definitely worth a watch tonight, even if it gives you just a little too much wanderlust.

“The Layover” debuts tonight at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST on the Travel Channel.

Source: Jaunted

Building upon his series of elegantly capturing the true feel of major metropolitan hubs, filmmaker Christian Andersen has skipped across the globe only to land in Germany’s capital of Berlin. As in his video starring the Big Apple, Andersen once again frames some excellent shots of this distinctly European city, moving from streets to buildings to parks to public transit to display all of the excellent sights Berlin has to offer.

Although actually visiting the city would be the number one option, watching Andersen’s videos offer a portrayal second to none.

Check out more of Christian Andersen’s work here.

Source: Fubiz

Freshly installed on the exterior of the Mondrian SoHo is the new permanent outdoor exhibition featuring the photos of famed minimalist Sol LeWitt. Titled “SOL LEWITT: On the Walls of the Lower East Side,” the installation contains 120 of LeWitt’s photographs of the area back in 1979. The photos paint an interesting picture of a different era, highlighted by the powerful brick wall graffiti spread throughout the city. Spanning a massive 20-feet high and 60-feet wide, the photographs, printed on vinyl, live next to Lafayette entrance to the hotel, providing a unique visual experience for visitors.

The Mondrian SoHo is located at 150 Lafayette Street in New York.

Source: Porhomme

Normally portrayed by the media as a war-torn barren wasteland, Afghanistan isn’t usually a country that receives a fair depiction, especially with all of the natural beauty and peace it has to offer. Coming from Augustin Pictures, the video shows scenes of the country from Kabul to Mazar-e Sharif, displaying views of absolutely incredible landscapes that deserve to be seen. But perhaps the most incredible images come from the people they saw: people who know how to work and play and love as much as anyone in the rest of the world. Sometimes it takes a closer look to really discover the truth about something as confusing as Afghanistan, an aspect that this film undeniably accomplishes.

Check out more from Augustin pictures here.

Source: PORHOMME

For many of us, there is no way to make it through a day without a functional backpack. Pockets are great for carrying things, sure, but a backpack can hold everything from a laptop, to a sweater, to that Chipotle burrito you have stashed away for later. Some of us still rely on our trusty Jansport, stained and beat up as it might be, we love our backpack. L.A. based brand IGNOBLE also loves their backpacks and this appreciation comes through in the design and materials they use to create their ultra-functional packs.

Founded in 2009 by a pair of equally backpack obsessed brothers, the brand focuses on creating “intelligently designed” backpacks of a single, powerful hue: black. While the color options may not offer much in the way of variety, the excellent selection of designs create enough variety to satisfy even the pickiest of buyers. All IGNOBLE bags are hand-assembled in the U.S.A at a military-grade soft goods production facility, which means incredible durability and construction, but more on that later.

The brand’s most recent effort, the Alternate Future collection, is self-described as “emphasize[ing] unique, shape-driven design, clean aesthetics, and unobtrusive, function-centric features,” a description that is spot on. Both the Stilwin Seedpod Backpack and the Wonderly Canister Rucksack, the two bags we were lucky enough to test, certainly don’t look like any standard pack, and that’s a compliment. Each pack has enough features stashed inside to satisfy the avid traveler, sports enthusiast, tech toting individual or even me: a textbook-laptop-lugging college student.

It’s not very often that watching a 4 minute video can leave you out of breath and sore from hanging on to the edge of your seat, but in this trailer for the documentary “I Believe I Can Fly” by Frenchman Sebastian Montez-Rosset, it’s entirely possible. Chronicling a group of “skyliners” (which seems like a combination of slack lining, base jumping, and a general death wish), the excerpt is absolutely beautiful, featuring vistas of the group over the gorges of Noway and in between two skyscrapers in Paris, among other death-defying locations. Along with the striking imagery, the sound design also aims to literally blow you away, as the howling winds that are out to ruin the group’s goals (and possibly their lives) can be heard in full force.

Watch the full length feature here on November 14.

Source: Fuzbiz

In a distant land where tanning is always an option because the sun never sets, some of the most striking images on Earth can be found, especially in the short film “Midnight Sun” from filmmaker Joe Capra. After spending 17 days traveling around the island with his lens, Capra managed to capture some incredible time lapses of the beautifully diverse landscape. Editing together over 38,000 images over the span of 2800 miles is quite the task, but Capra blends together the collection of images with ease, creating an inspiring piece. It’s a blessing that the sun hardly ever leaves Iceland, as all of these views don’t deserved to be left in the dark.

Source: Matador Network

Tokyo Slo-Mode depicts Tokyo in a truly ironic way. Tokyo is crowded, busy, and extremely fast pace. Alex Lee turned this city on its head when he did the editing, Lee slowed shots of both individuals and the masses. This allows for a more in depth look into brief clips of life within the Capital. While watching this video the audience is able to capture details in a few second span of footage. Lee then pairs this with quick rewinds, fast forwards, and time lapses. This video ads great modern art to a ancient yet extremely modern city.

TOKYO SLO-MODE from alex lee on Vimeo.

Source: Trendsnow

Nicolas Hermann views photography as a way to expand his vision of the world. He sees his Leica M9 as a devise to expand his vision past a material world and into his true personality. After ending his pursuit of a degree in linguistics and a career in real estate, Hermann discovered his passion for photography. His mother’s best friend, Richard Geneste, became his mentor. Geneste helped Hermann develop his eye through painstaking critiques.

For the last two years Hermann has been working to capture realistic situation in the streets of Paris as well in India, where he traveled for six weeks with only his Leica M9 and a 35mm Summilux f/1.4 lens. His photos from this trip capture the emotion of his subjects as well as the overall essence of the environment, and has an unbelievable talent for capturing personality with a still photo.

You can read more about Herman, his trip to India, and his passion for photography in his interview with the Leica Camera Blog.