“PHOTOWALKS” TRAVEL SERIES SHOWS HOW, WHEN & WHERE TO GET PHOTOWORTHY SHOTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kelly Bevan | kbevan@ruggedentertainment.com | (424) 354-3835
Los Angeles, CA — Rugged Releasing, a subsidiary of Rugged Entertainment, announces the worldwide release of Photowalks, the video series hosted and produced by veteran journalist Jefferson Graham. Best known for his tech columns for USA TODAY and popular Photowalks posts on social media, Graham hosts each episode, bringing his expertise in technology and photography to exotic and interesting locations from around the world in search of “the perfect shot.”
Join Jeff and his cameras as they explore exotic locales like Portugal (Porto and Lisbon), the big island of Hawaii and all 363 miles of the Oregon Coast, as well as urban Los Angeles, from LAX to DTLA, the islands of Catalina and Balboa and the Central California Coast beach towns of Morro Bay and Cayucos.
For each Photowalks, Jeff joins local experts in search of the best and hidden photo spots, including Jose Manuel Santos in Porto, Ginger DiNunzio in Morro Bay, Susan Dimock in tiny Bandon, Oregon, and Kristin Metcalfe on Catalina Island.
The Photowalks concept, which originally debuted on YouTube in 2018 and racked up over 4 million views, is moving OnDemand in an expanded, more in-depth, and cinematic format.
“I created Photowalks because traditional travel shows wow you with beautiful pictures of places you’ll want to visit, but never slow down and show you how they got them,” says Graham. “They give you a travel brochure version of what a town is like, but you rarely hear from the people who live there about their insights. I wanted to share my love of exploring the outdoors on foot and show what’s possible with a smartphone and a camera that’s within anyone’s budget.”
Scott Kelby, the number one photography book author, Photoshop expert and CEO Of the Kelby One photography education website, says “If you’re not following Jefferson Graham, you oughta — he posts a lot of cool stuff, and in particular videos of photo walks in various locations where he gives you really interesting ideas of places and things to shoot.”
“Jeff acts as the advance team and scouts out locations for you and records it, so when people travel there, they don’t have to figure it out from scratch,” says Frederick Van Johnson, the host of the “This Week in Photo” podcast.
Executive Producer Peter Spirer says, “finally a place for the everyday person to go, to easily understand where and how to get the most memorable shots of their vacation, whether at a staycation or on travel worldwide.”
Check us out on: Google Play Tubi and YouTube.
SERIES LOGLINE: Grab your camera and take a walk with Jefferson Graham to some of the world's most photoworthy spots, meeting locals, discovering hidden gems and learning where and how to get photos that will make your friends ooh and ahh.
EPISODE SYNOPSES
PORTUGAL
Jeff visits the two top Portuguese cities, Lisbon and Porto, where you’ll see monuments and the dynamic street life of the second oldest European capital city (after Athens). Then it’s off to the dynamic smaller city of Porto, where Jeff will show you how the Harry Potter book series found its inspiration at a little book store in town. Jeff meets up with street performer Luis Reis who addresses the Lisbon/Porto rivalry, and photographer Jose Manuel Santos joins the Photowalk to show some of the best-hidden photo spots in town.
BIG ISLAND, HAWAII
A visit to the “Big” Island of Hawaii, a place so big it dwarfs the other main islands (Oahu, Maui, and Kauai) combined. The tour starts in the lush, tropical, garden spot of Hilo, where we meet Paul Cubio, a master chef who does things his way, with a tiny cafe that only has 8 seats. He and Maria Macias, who runs a local B&B, point out some of the top photo spots on this side of the island. The tour continues through waterfalls, top surf spots, and lush floral gardens before continuing through Hawaii Volcano National Park, near where the big Kilauea volcano erupted in 2018. Then it’s onto to the “dry” side of the island, Kona, and the top photo spots there.
THE OREGON COAST
The Road Trip beginsat the very top of the state, in Hammond, and weaves all 363 miles down the coast to the California state border. Key stops: Cannon Beach, home to the iconic “Haystack Rock,” and one of the locations for the classic film The Goonies. You’ll meet the mayor, the woman who churns out thousands of salt water taffy pieces every day and area photographer Andrew Funderberg for suggestions on where to photograph. Next is Newport, a classic fishing village, where Jeff meets up with Janelle Goplen, the owner of the Clearwater restaurant, for a downtown tour, and local photographer Sharon Biddinger to see the hidden spots. Finally on to Bandon, an out of the way but so photoworthy spot down south, where Susan Dimmock, the owner of a local motel and master photographer, joins Jeff to show the art of how to photograph local icons Howling Dog and Face Rock.
CALIFORNIA
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST
Jeff starts the Central California coast trip in tiny Morro Bay with a pontoon boat ride to the giant Morro Rock, for otter and sea lion sightings with local guide Bailey Christenson, then meets up with local photographer Ginger DiNunzio to head off to the nearby small town of Cayucos. There they explore the historic Cayucos Pier, offer tips on how to do great portraits on and around the pier, the best approach to sunsets and what to look for photographically, when exploring a small town.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
What if you only had 1 day to see the top spots in Los Angeles? Where would you go? Jeff takes you from one side of town, starting near LAX, through Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Sign, and ending at Griffith Observatory, home to the best city views. Jeff shows where to get the best photo spots at these L.A. landmarks, and if you have a second day, Jeff follows up with a trip to Downtown Los Angeles, home of Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Bradbury Building, Staples Center, Union Station, City Hall and more, ending with the best spot in DTLA for overhead shots of the city -- without a drone.
CATALINA/BALBOA ISLANDS
Jeff visits two local Los Angeles area islands, Catalina and Balboa. The journey begins in Catalina, 22 miles off the coast, developed by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley in the 1920s. Jeff drives around on a golf cart with Conrado Vega, who shows off some hidden spots and how to get the perfect video shot with the cart. He then jumps in a car with Kristin Metcalfe from the Catalina Island Company, who shows where to get the best Catalina sunset, on the other side of the island from Avalon. Jessica Boudevin shows off the back country and best hikes and returns Jeff to Avalon, where he boards a ferry and ends up on a manmade island off Newport Beach, Balboa.
The island itself is tiny, only 1.7 miles long, and Jeff walks the entire island and shows the walk with a sped up GoPro, photographs the historic beach homes and beach motif, and demonstrates the “magazine trick” with his friends Chris Raney and Tanya Yuan, for better portraits in open, mid-day sun.
PHOTOWALKS “FUN FACTS”
Catalina: the Casino was the first theater for “talkies” built in 1929.
Bandon: The unique string of rocks, Face Rock, Howling Dog, Wizard’s Hat and Elephant Rock, were named centuries ago by local natives. Tilt your head back when you visit Face Rock, and you can see a visible face in front of you.
Balboa Island: Was created out of dumping a bunch of sand into the water for a tiny island that became home to Hollywood royalty, like John Wayne and Shirley Temple. The TV series “Arrested Development,” was set in Balboa, but actually filmed in Marina del Rey.
Harry Potter: Back before she started writing her acclaimed Harry Potter novels, J.K. Rowling was living in Porto, Portugal, where she spent many hours hanging out at the 100 plus year old local bookstore, Livraria Lello. The building today seems right out of Potter, with a stained-glass ceiling, gorgeous wood carvings, ladders, and rails to move the books around. And take a good look at the uniform for local Porto University students, and they look just like those from Hogwarts.
SOME PHOTO TIPS
Timing: Get up early. The best colors arrive just before sunrise, as you can see below. You can take your siesta later.
Best lighting for portraits? Shade. The open mid-afternoon sun is the most unflattering light for people. See the difference?
So how to get portraits in the midday sun? Use Jeff’s magazine trick: Hold a magazine over the subject’s head to make shade and cover the sunspots.
CAST & CREW
JEFFERSON GRAHAM, Host/Writer/Director
Jefferson Graham is a veteran photographer, journalist, videomaker and guitarist, talents he’s called upon to put together the Photowalks series.
He is a longtime USA TODAYtech columnist, podcaster (“Talking Tech”) author (9 books, including Vegas: Live and In Person, and Video Nation: A DIY Guide to Planning, Shooting and Sharing Great Video) and working photographer in the Los Angeles area. His daily early morning beach photos have struck a chord with the crowd on social media, where he has over 50,000 followers.
Graham has written and/or photographed for a host of publications, including Rolling Stone, People, Us Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, Easy Reader, Playboy, Esquire and TV Guide, has spoken to industry events like CES, PSRA and NAMM, appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, “Good Morning, America,” “Entertainment Tonight” and other programs.
PETER SPIRER, Executive Producer
The Academy and Emmy award-nominated founder of Rugged Entertainment has directed and produced over 32 films, including several which have been official selections at the Sundance Film Festival.
Notable directorial productions include Rhyme & Reason, Dunsmore, The Legend of 420, Thug Angel: Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G. Bigger Than Life, and Queen Mimi. Peter began his career as a musician, opening with his band the Toyz for Joan Jett, the Ramones and Motorhead before switching to directing, making music videos for bands and segments for MTV’s House of Style.
DEAN ROBINA, Audio
Dean Robaina is the owner and creative director of the D5 Media Group, which has worked with X productions over the last ten years. Notable films and TV shows include X and X. He has worked with Rugged on such titles as X and X and is known for his work on Deliverin' the Goods (2013), Interno (2013) and The Gravedigger (2019).
PAUL ELLIS, Music
A longtime Los Angeles guitarist, composer and teacher, Ellis has released 3 CDs, including one of solo classical guitar. Ellis composed and performed much of the Hawaii Photowalks episode, a good chunk of Portugal and all of the Oregon Coast.
JEZ GRAHAM, Music
Called one of the city’s “treasures,” by an Atlanta newspaper, Jez Graham is a long-time keyboardist and composer. A fixture at local Atlanta venues like Eddie’s Attic, the St. Regis, Ray’s on the River and the Ritz Carlton, Graham has released 8 albums, including the recent “Freedom Parkway.” For years, he was musical director for Francine Reed and Colonel Bruce Hampton. Graham composed and performed the Photowalks theme, and scored much of the Los Angeles, Catalina/Balboa and central California coast episodes.
JAN SCHRIEBER, Art Director/Music Supervisor
A full-time graphic designer for a southern California life insurance company, Schrieber runs the YouTube channel, AdventureMuse, where she is often seen barreling down mountains on her bike, with a GoPro and/or Sony A7iii in her pack. She did the key art for Photowalks in Crystal Cove, California, oversaw the artl direction of the series, and selected key music for the Portugal and Catalina episodes.
TONY PRINCE, Photography
A Redondo Beach, California-based photographer and videographer, Tony specializes in portrait and event photography, while also having worked on commercial assignments for companies like Nestle and Azulana. He has traveled all over the world and loves photographing new people and places. Tony did the videography for the “L.A. in 1 Day,” Photowalk.
SERIES GUESTS
Jose Manuel Santos, Portugal
Based in Porto, the world-renowned photographer runs Pictury Photo Tours, which brings visitors to Santos’s favorite hidden spots in the city and environs. His work has been showcased in many exhibitions in Portugal and abroad and earned him the title of an award-winning photographer.
Charlotte “Ginger” Rushton, DiNunzio
Based in Morro Bay, California, DiNunzio has been photographing since a child, worked as a photojournalist all over the world, a high-end wedding photographer across Europe, and currently as owner and primary photographer at the boutique photography studio Sandprints Photos. She also teaches photography at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo and offers local workshops as well. Her latest book is devoted to chronicling redheads like herself —Gingersnaps, A Photographic Exploration of Redheads Across England.
Susan Dimock, Bandon, Oregon
Susan Dimock is a retired clinical social worker and psychotherapist who quickly channeled her energy into a second career as a fine art nature and travel photographer. Based in Bandon, Oregon, she specializes in wildlife and seascape images of the coast. Her travel images of Oregon are seen throughout the world in print and in on-line publications due to her tourism contract work and her affiliation with Circles in the Sand of Bandon.
Sharon Biddinger, Newport, Oregon
When not doing senior portraits for the local Newport high school and taking awesome photographs of the local coast,. Sharon Biddinger describes herself as “the crazy gal that hangs off the bridges, scales muddy hills, and jumps around the jetties for that gotta-have have footage,” in her other career, as a news photographer.
About Rugged Entertainment, LLC
A full service film and media production company founded in 2007 by Academy Award Nominated Director Peter Spirer. Rugged Entertainment secured multi-picture documentary and narrative deals with distribution companies such as Image Entertainment/RLJ and XLrator Media. Rugged has successfully worked with noteworthy filmmakers, guiding them through the process of production and distribution. Current releases have received critical and viewer accolades: Bobcats On Three; The War at Home; Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me To Be; Disarm Hate; Who the F**k is that Guy?; Glitter Tribe; Feel Rich; Smash; and The Legend of 420.
Contact: Kelly Bevan | kbevan@redentertainment.com | (424) 354-3835