'Know This' - An Artist's Tribute to Travel

The ultimate movement; adventure, experience, and escape rolled into one single word. Travel. The word itself, a title to encompass all of life's passion and emotion in transit. Life is frustrating, funny, and challenging; an endless series of events in random order, asking us to interpret meaning and understanding. Travel allows us to put the randomness into perspective, the daily events elaborated as just blessings from the road that eventually tally up to what amounts to be a life fully lived. Travel Photographer Christian Sorensen Hansen does an amazing job capturing highlights from six years on the road, with the camera he always has with him: his phone. His short movie, "Know This," will stir the fire of escape from deep inside and have you planning your next trip in no time.

You will never regret spending money on travel. The notion is arguable, but I promise you, every dime spent on the traveling experience can be justified in the end. Even in the worst cases, you'll never regret the journey. There is a common saying, "The adventure only begins when things start to go wrong." I've experienced many of these dark corners of fear on the road (a rain squall on my motorcycle far from warmth, intense fatigue climbing in backcountry Utah, or a painful breakup on a beach in Nicaragua), but not once did I question being on the road to begin with. This isn't to say something will always go wrong, but rather, if it does the act of transit is never to blame. Exiting your comfort zone will only heighten the experience, stimulate the olfactory, exercise the tactile, invigorate the mind, and leave an impression on your soul that will change your world forever. In a system of peaks and valleys, it can only be argued that to exaggerate the valleys creates an immediate correspondence of influence on the peaks. Hence, a wildly amazing experience harbors both sides of the spectrum, an arena entered sans the routine of daily life. It is only through travel that we can tap into this paradigm shift.

As photographers, videographers, and documentarians, we are all artists at our core. We aim to interpret the world around us and distribute our perspective for all to see. Our experiences and the people around us serve as our muses. Hansen beautifully captures the simplicity and the essence of a life in exploration. His inspiration is found in the world around. "Know This" is a testament that we are made to roam and explore. We are made to make mistakes, make love, and make our mark on the world — all while we experience the beauty of the environment around us.