All suffering needs a break, a chance for creatives to find their passion and positivity again. Thus, warm photographer vacations are paramount for the best photos we will see in 2021.
What inspires some of the best photographs? The struggle, the perils of life, the most authentic pain visualized.
Part of what makes a good photographer is being unafraid to do whatever it takes to achieve the perfect shot. And if that means taking a break from the cold, barren winter, so be it.
When you’re looking for inspiration and need a change of scenery. A dash of sunlight and a sprinkle of warmth, here are some warm paradises on the Western Hemisphere to pull up to.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, the home of the steel pan, delicious food, and the height of multiculturalism, is also home to some of the most beautiful vistas a West Indian island can offer.
There is much to see on this island in the Western Hemisphere, making it a perfect warm photographer vacation.
Visit Lovers Bay in Tobago where you can enjoy the bright lush greenery and sparkling clear waters, or stop by the Caroni Swamp and Bird Sanctuary to get shots of beautiful protected species. Just be careful, because there may be snakes hanging down from the trees!
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, is a warm, beachy getaway perfect for photographers in need of a warm vacation.
When the grey skies and early sun-downs of late fall and early winter are putting a dampener on your inspiration, Cabo San Lucas acts as a chance to get reinvigorated. For landscape, cultural, and even group pictures.
The Arch is a natural limestone formation that will give your swimsuit photoshoot an exotic backdrop. All of the beaches in Cabo have beautifully windswept rock formations, but you should definitely make an effort to visit Lover’s Beach, which is surrounded by diving spots perfect for underwater scenes.
Key West
Despite the rest of Florida being known as a breeding ground for retirement homes, Florida Men, and COVID, Key West might as well be a part of another world. It is a perfect warm photographer vacation for those in the states not in the mood to leave the country.
It’s also basically the closest you can get to Cuba without leaving the United States, and just a bit West is the Dry Tortugas National Park, known for its undisturbed beaches rife with marine life.
Martinique
Martinique’s colorful tropical backdrop has inspired artists like Gauguin and Van Gogh. The main city, Fort De France, is a patchwork of buildings nestled into a hill, making the perfect backdrop for those warm vacation photos.
Dormant volcano Mount Pelée is capped by pure-white clouds. The island is studded with villages, bays and waterfalls. With this diversity in scenery, Martinique is the perfect warm photographer vacation.
Bermuda
Bermuda is a treasure trove of beautiful locations to photograph. Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve has white sand and turquoise beaches straight out of a Sandals commercial.
Jobson’s Cove is secluded by weathered rocks and the village of St. George has beautiful cobblestone streets, brightly colored buildings, and The Unfinished Church.
If you are a photographer on the Western Hemisphere in need of a warm vacation, check out Bermuda. The inspiration will consume you.
Jamaica
Jamaica is a paradise of rainforests, rivers and waterfalls perfect for nature or model shoots.
Visit the Roaring River Park and Cave, which is a hidden oasis about 70 feet underground. Or go high in the sky to Blue Mountain Peak, which is 7,042 feet in the air.
Luckily, these areas are all popular destinations for the summer vacation, so you’ll have extra room to get the perfect shot free of annoying tourists. These spots will give you the help you need to keep pushing through the winter until next spring and summer can thaw you out.
Fantasizing about a warm photographer vacation? Get your skills up and watch our Finally Focused series
When someone says “the robots are taking over” you usually imagine your kitchen appliances turning into military-grade mini machine guns in transformer fashion. Or your security system refusing to let you leave because it has deemed the world too “unsafe” à la Smart House Disney Channel movie.
But what is society’s biggest influence if not the symbols and images it idolizes? That’s what makes these CGI Influencers terrifying.
Who do they say they are
So peep this, Miquela, Bermuda, and Blawko are CGI’d humans with full-fledged influencer level Instagram accounts. Miquela, the most popular of the three is a self-described “musician, change-seeker, and robot with the drip.” She has 1.6 million followers on IG and several singles on Apple Music and Spotify.
Besides the fact that Miquela is a perfect ‘female appearing’ CGI in new-age sex doll form and oozes a culture vulture level branding, the “CGI influencer’s” existence is problematic because she reflects back to an even higher standard of perfection on IG.
Blawko, the only male-appearing CGI, is suspiciously ethnically ambiguous enough to appeal to a (white) mainstream audience. According to the CGI, his full name is Ronald Fucking Blawko.
He’s the male model of the group and his Instagram bio reads “low-life and high-tech in the City of Angels.” He appears as the supreme-loving, drippy love-interest. With little to no personality besides the appearance of relevance to pop culture fashion, he’s a brand’s dream collab. The trio, in general, are constantly securing a bag.
Bermuda identifies as “robot/Unbothered mogul with daddy’s PIN and a flawless highlight.” Her IG is basically a Paris Hilton rip off with all the glitz, glam and irresponsibility of a rich white girl and none of the growth.
Maybe that’s what’s so creepy about Bermuda. You feel like there’s a guy controlling a CGI in the form of a hot blonde, and this “woman” appears as a reckless wealthy girl with none of the potential consequences of a human.
It’s an absolutely dangerous form of human perspective, especially if the marketing agencies take this route; an untouchable and infinitely moldable team of CGI brand ambassadors.
Virtual feuds
The trio has ongoing feuds and made up stories to keep people interested in them.
In fact, in 2018, Bermuda was a trump supporter who hacked the Instagram of Brazilian-American and then BLM supporter Miquela. Her motive? To get Miquela to come to terms with not being human. I–
According to a Cultured Magazine article, the creator of these CGI influencers is the company Brud. Brud apparently insists that it is a “technology start-up specializing in artificial intelligence and robotics,” despite not having any patents in AI tech or robotics.
Their Instagram bio claims the mission of “building a more tolerant world by leveraging cultural understanding and technology.” Additionally, the company is definitely very concerned with image, because of its consistent refusal to communicate who is in charge of the design of their CGI, or any in-depth explanations of their business model.
@brud.fyi
Built-in rejection
However, there is some natural built-in rejection of these CGI ‘robots’ in most of us. It’s called the uncanny valley, where you feel a level of disgust for robots and tech that try to appear human a bit too much.
And there’s plenty of disgust to go around, comments on Miquela and Bermuda’s posts never fail to generate those who find their performance of millennial women behavior disturbing.
Just because you can make something doesn’t mean you should. Black Mirror has warned us time and again not to fuck with creating sentient adjacent beings part of the mainstream.
