Editor’s Note: This feature is made possible by our friends at UAG
It’s hard to make New Zealand look bad in terms of capturing its incredible landscapes in imagery. It has absolutely everything: the rolling glaciers of the Southern Alps, the grasslands of Wanaka, the powerful seas of the South Island’s West Coast and the awe-inspiring ocean peaks of Milford Sound and the fiordlands.
Now, create a trip that includes some of the world’s most innovative visual creators and the sky’s the limit when it comes to eye candy and visual artistry. During a recent journey, the brainchild of UAG, talented visual artists Prince McClinton, Emmett Sparling, Ben Prescott, Garrett King, Kyle Vandever, Braedin Toth, and Forrest Smith explored the far reaches of New Zealand in all its glory. UAG makes gear built to take imagery-making further (we all have phones) and wanted to use those core tenants to push influencers’ skill sets, abilities, equipment, and creativity further to see what would happen.
“Sitting in our office in Southern California, we were brainstorming ideas for the year, and it hit us… Let’s send a bunch of creatives off on an adventure with the hopes of inspiring something unique. Let’s push them to ‘Go Further,'” said UAG’s Casey Bevington.
The crew definitely took part in South Island staples like bungee jumping and kayaking. But most of them took the mission to heart, working to push their individual skills further while capturing some insane visuals.
“Phones are obviously a big part of collecting imagery,” said McClinton, who runs Art of Visuals, an artist collective with over 1.4 million followers. “You’re out in nature and of course we use cameras but we use phone cameras a lot, too. Not every shot is worth a 90-meg raw file. With a UAG case, one of the most important tools you have is always protected. UAG brought us together and were like, ‘hey, we just want to take you guys on a badass trip to see one of the most stunning places in the world, just do your thing.’ That’s empowering stuff to hear from a brand.”
