Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

Trekking: Delve into “The Great Wide Open” with Gestalten

By

Man isn’t meant to stay indoors — our weekly “Trekking” column can attest to that. It’s a column dedicated to the adventurer inside of all of us, the one pining to ditch the office humdrum for a quick surf session or seven-week jaunt in the Grand Tetons. One day we may highlight an ultra-light stove and the next a set of handmade canoe paddles. Life doesn’t just happen inside the workplace, so get outside and live it.

The realm of outdoor photography isn’t particularly spare, but nonetheless, it’s always been peppered with notable standouts. These photographs— whether talking the contemporary work of David Muench or the many iconic images Ansel Adams captured during his 1930s heyday — serve as visual testaments to the awe-inspiring planet we call home, ones that promote conversation efforts while continually fueling our desire to leave civilization and the claustrophobic cityscape behind us in the rear-view mirror.

Recommended Videos

Related: See the slopes with Jeff Curtes’ “Chasing Epic”

thegreatwideopen_press_p206-207As one of the latest in Gestalten’s tabletop book series, The Great Wide Open ($68), continues to explore our ongoing relationship man has with nature. It’s a remarkable collection of images from a select group of a photographers, encompassing everywhere from Mongolia and Australia to Iceland and Peru (and everywhere in between). Renowned photographers like Chris Burkard and Julian Bialowas catapult you through the dense forests of Canada and warmly lit canyons of the southwestern United States, while the likes of Sophie Radcliffe and others showcase distant mountain peaks and glimpses of northern Germany. Moreover, the glossy-paged book is dotted with the stories behind several of the photos, thus giving you some insight and perspective on just what it takes to exist in some of these rugged expanses of wilderness. Hint: it takes more than a little ambition.

Check out Gestalten online for more information, to make a purchase, or to browse the German publisher’s outstanding collection of books.

Topics
Brandon Widder
Brandon Widder
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brandon Widder is a journalist and a staff writer for the Manual and its brother site, Digital Trends, where he covers tech…
The best movies on Max you can stream in May
New to Max? Here are the top movies to start with
Scene from The Hobbit

Now that HBO Max has rebranded as Max, it's the right time to get acquainted with all of the great movies to watch on the streaming service. In addition to large portions of the Warner Bros. catalog, it also has tons of seminal, classic films, as well as plenty of foreign releases. Because the catalog is so big and rich, there are about 250 titles that could go on this list. There's a wealth of options to choose from whether you're into action movies or comedies, and you shouldn't feel limited by the selection below.
Instead, you should treat it as a jumping-off point of HBO Max movies, one that will hopefully allow you to explore many of the titles that didn't quite make the cut. Max has great movies in every genre and from every period of film history. This is just a sampling of the best movies on Max. And if you're looking for more Max content, we've rounded up the best shows on Max to watch right now.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Read more
Where do cigars come from? A guide to the premium tobacco growing regions
man smoking small cigar by engin-akyurt unsplash

Cigars are composed of various tobacco leaves, including fillers, a binder, and a wrapper on the outside. The tobacco that makes up those leaves is grown in a variety of regions worldwide and undergoes several processes to create the flavor and blend that is eventually rolled into a premium cigar. While many factors influence the result, mainly how the tobacco tastes when it's smoked, none are more important than its cultivation, growth, and harvest. Tobacco grown in Nicaragua will taste very different from tobacco grown in Cuba or even Indonesia. It has to do with the local climate, the soil and its contents, average sun exposure, and much more. But most cigars include a blend or mixture of tobacco leaves, sometimes from entirely different regions, like Nicaraguan fillers and an African Cameroon wrapper. So, when posing the question, "Where do cigars come from," it makes more sense to look at the regions where tobacco is grown.
The Big Five

Not all tobacco comes from the Big Five regions; however, a large majority of the tobacco leaves produced and sold, even to partners in the business, come from fairly localized tobacco growers in the following locations:
Cuba
Everyone has heard of Cuban cigars, Cuban tobacco, and the forbidden fruit, at least in the United States. Ever since the U.S. government activated an embargo against Cuban goods back in 1962, Cuban tobacco cannot be imported or sold in the country. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that Cuba is the birthplace of modern cigars and has inspired many of today's biggest tobacco producers in the world.

Read more
The best shows on Netflix to stream in May
Binge-worthy Netflix series you don't want to miss
Bojack Horseman and Princess Caroline

TV may not be peaking quite the way it was a few years back, but there are still more than enough shows out there to keep you busy. After Netflix emerged on the scene and revolutionized how we all watched TV, it was joined by a huge swath of competitors determined to take advantage of the streaming boom. All of those competitors have great stuff to watch, but Netflix is still many people's hub for all things TV. Even within the streamer, though, it can be difficult to figure out what the best shows on Netflix are.

Thankfully, that's where this list comes in. We've compiled a rundown of what to watch on Netflix, and these Netflix shows should add up to days and days of endless binging. You can also check out our list of the best Hulu series, best Amazon Prime series, best Disney Plus series, and best Netflix movies after you've made it through the series listed below.

Read more