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Norway-based freelance photographer Trond Teigen specializes in news, sports, and adventure – with a passion for the outdoors and the extreme. His website clearly showcases this passion and the imagery is absolutely stunning.

We think you’ll love our featured website this week – and don’t forget to head on over to www.trondteigen.com to see even more amazing photos!

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

TT: Simplistic, Stylish, Clean.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

TT: The hardest thing about having a portfolio is choosing what to put in it! But I tend to go for photos that have a lot of contrast and a lot of things happening in them. But still, it’s always hard to pick which ones go up and which ones don’t.

Q: How often do you update your website?

TT: Not often enough! But every other month or so.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

TT: I love the fact that nothing is local, it’s all cloud-based. And I can access and edit my liveBooks site from anywhere in the world. The editSuite is nice and simple and easy to understand and the pre-designs are great!

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

TT: If I were to give any advice to future liveBooks users, it would be to consider the fact that most people who will be viewing your site, that are potential clients, will be viewing it on nice, big monitors, so I would opt for a Scaler site. I would aim for the simplistic and easy-on-the-eye designs (less is more). You have to capture people’s attention, and the more stuff you have on your page, and the more cluttered it is, the less likely people are to spend a lot of time on it.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com!

The latest in the Drones and Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Special Series, in which Kike profiles interesting information, research, and thoughts using drones, UAVs and remotely piloted vehicles for journalism and photography. 

Shopping for a “drone-obsessed” friend, family member, or yourself? I have decided to update my article The Best Drones for Beginners that was enjoyed by thousands of readers, and think of a general guide (list is not in order of preference) to help you choose your first drone.

I recommend you read my Drones and Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Special Series before buying any aerial platforms, including:

• So You Want to Fly Drones?
• So You Want to Shoot Aerial Photography Using Drones?
• So You Want to Backup Your Aerial Footage Taken From Drones?
• So You Lost Your Drone Again?
• So You Want to Fly an FPV Racing Mini Quadcopter?
• So You Want to Keep Track of All Your Drone Flights?
• So You Want to Create Maps Using Drones? (New book)

1.  Byrobot Drone Fighter GX100: 2.4GHz RF two-way communication with six channels mini drone. Remove the rotor guards in expert mode to cut down on the weight and you can even do 360 flips. It has infrared transmitters and receivers on it, so if you have two or more, you can assign them to different teams. If your Drone Fighter is “hit” by an infrared shot, its LEDs flash and your controller vibrates in your hands. Get hit six times, and the game is over.

2.  Sky Viper Video Drone: With a Super Tough Duraflex Body made of resilient polypropylene, it’s easy to perform easy one-tough stunts. Perform barrel rolls in mid-flight with a simple tap of the Stunt button. Experience a true bird’s eye and record 720p High Definition pictures and video. Be sure to check the Sky Rocket S670 Sky Viper Stunt Drone too.

3.  Holy Stone RC Quadcopter Drone with HD Camera: A key 360 four-ways flip (left, right, forward, backward), continuous roll for perfection action and wonderful performance. It’s equipped with a key return and “headless security system” to prevent from losing the copter.

4.  Cheerson CX-10 Mini RC Quadcopter: The 29mm 4CH 2.4Ghz-6-Axis Gyro LED RC Quadcopter incorporates a 6-axis design which makes the gyroscope adjustable, promoting flying stability. Flight time is up to 4-8 minutes and it includes a 3-level adjustable speed flip function.

5.  Syma X5C Explorers 2.4G 4CH 6-Axis Gyro RC Quadcopter with HD Camera: Equipped with HD camera, it performs flips at the press of a button with 360 degree eversion. Wind resistant, the X5C can be flown indoors or outdoors for about a 7 minute flight. A 6-axis Gyro stabilization system ensures maximum stability. For an FPV version, look at the Syma X5SW WiFi FPV, working with both Android and Apple iOS mobile phones.

Check out the rest of Kike’s drone recommendations and the full article here, and don’t forget to head on over to Amazon and iTunes to pick up a copy of his new book, So You Want to Create Maps Using Drones?

Photographer Stephen Guenther has been all around the world taking stunning photos and videos. We absolutely love how his images command the screen on his website and his video integration – which is why we wanted to feature his site this week.

Enjoy his commentary on his site’s creation and then head on over to www.stephenguenther.com to see more amazing work!

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

SG: Contemporary, Clean, Inviting.

Q: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

SG: It can be challenging. Of course every photographer has a “new” image that they are in love with, but keeping the client’s eye in mind is important. Finding the balance between a personal aesthetic and one that is marketable is also important. Using creative friends to double check your selections can be enlightening.

Q: How often do you update your website?

SG: The landing page and color palette is adjusted quarterly so that regular visitors will easily notice the change, which will invite them to explore and look for other new images.

Q: What is your favorite feature that liveBooks offers?

SG: Actually a couple features. Low learning curve was key, and recently the ability to link a Vimeo collection of videos is amazing, as many photographers move into motion work.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

SG: Look at a lot of other photographer’s websites. Have a strategy before you begin, remember do not just “populate” your website with images. And be willing to showcase your personal vision and to take some calculated risks in the process to help differentiate your work from others.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.

liveBooks Ambassador Marcela Taboada’s exhibit, Sanmigueleñas, is currently running through the end of January at the Centro Cultural San Pablo in Oaxaca, Mexico. 

These Mexican girls are daughters of farmers who learned how to grow vegetables organically. They are the future mothers who will transmit to their children how to stop the use and abuse of pesticides and to eat healthy. I photographed them the day that the harvest was done. My idea was to raise awareness that we all belong to Mother Earth and that by having a healthy and conscious society we can respect our planet in this globalized world.

Due to lack of information, children are fed sweets and processed drinks that affect their physical development. Although corn is the basis of our diet, at schools and other institutions, junk food abounds.

I decided to make these portraits of girls and young Zapotecs of San Miguel del Valle, a district of Tlacolula in Oaxaca, when the harvest of an organic garden that participated in the global collective project “I Have a Dream” was made. The vegetables they carry as “crowns” are what they themselves planted, irrigated, tended and harvested with their parents. My intention is to raise awareness to all women that we are related to land and fertility. We feed our children who will carry this message to future generations. I consider it very important to rescue organic home gardens that help make a healthy and conscious society, obtaining a sustainable supply in this globalized world.