Olympus PEN E-PL1

The Classicist: Celebrating the Season in Style with Range Rover at Wheatleigh

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spirits, Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos, Wine, Books, Men's Style, The Classicist

Click above for high-res image gallery. Photos exclusive to Luxist.

Winter can be a long, cold interlude verging on a test of endurance in the Northeast, and it's all too easy to get bogged down by the doldrums. Plenty of people either hibernate by their hearths or hit the beach until the mercury makes its ascent, but there are myriad ways to keep warm with style, verve and panache. We recently gathered some of our favorite accessories of the season at Wheatleigh, the majestic mansion-turned-luxury hotel in the heart of the Berkshires' winter wonderland. Getting us there in style and comfort through anything the weather cared to concoct was the 2011 Range Rover Sport, a luxurious way to see the landscape safe in the knowledge that the elements have met their match. The pedigreed SUV's smooth, refined, performance and rugged good looks mark it as a thoroughbred in all respects, a suitably stylish conveyance for arriving at a desirable destination like Wheatleigh. And we had the great new Olympus PEN E-PL1 compact, versatile digital camera on hand to record it all for your vicarious enjoyment.

Wheatleigh, located in Lenox, Mass. next door to Edith Wharton's famed country manor The Mount, is a grand estate based on a 16th century Florentine palazzo built in 1893 by New York financier Henry H. Cook for his daughter who married a Spanish count. Many of the materials and over 150 artisans were brought from Italy to produce intricate carvings and design flourishes for the grand interiors and facades. Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York, was responsible for creating "Wheatleigh Park" on the land surrounding the palazzo. Following a four year multimillion dollar renovation it was transformed into one of the most unique luxurious small hotels in the world. The nineteen suites, guest rooms and baths artfully combine antiques and custom furnishings with original museum quality contemporary art. The baths are finished with English limestone, marble and hand-blown glass fixtures, and most rooms feature fireplaces and Bang & Olufsen TVs. Check out the gallery to see the perfect accoutrements for a stylish seasonal sojourn – from books to watches, champagne to cashmere sweaters, and boots to bags – no matter where your journey takes you.

Gallery: Range Rover at Wheatleigh Dec. 2010

Graf & Lantz wool felt Boat Bag, personalized Tumi Alpha wheeled case.

Tumi Alpha case; Dom Perignon Tribute to Andy Warhol edition; Private Stock jeans; Graf & Lantz Quiver wine carrier w/ Robert Mo

Tags: Bang Olufsen, Berkshires, Brooks Brothers, Central Park, champagne, Dom Perignon, Edith Wharton, estates, Frederick Law Olmsted, gardens, Holiday 2010, L.L. Bean, Lenox, luggage, luxury hote, mansion, Massachusetts, mens style, New England, Olympus, Olympus PEN E-PL1, palazzo, Persol, Ralph Lauren, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, spirits, stolichnaya, sunglasses, SUV, teNeues, The Mount, Tumi, vodka, Wheatleigh, winter

Hone Your Photography Skills on a Private Jet Tour of Central & South America

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jay Dickman (above) is leading an incredible 16-day private jet tour of Central and South America, part of the National Geographic Expeditions program, set to take place from Mar 26 - Apr 10, 2011. Dickman, a National Geographic Expert who has covered events as diverse as the war in El Salvador to the Olympics for numerous publications including National Geographic magazine, is part of the Olympus Visionary Program, a group of prestigious professional photographers who all use Olympus cameras like the brilliant new PEN E-PL1 for professional and personal assignments. The luxe trip via a custom Boeing 757 takes you through lush rain forests, magnificent mountain ranges, lively cities, and the legacies of mighty civilizations.

Destinations include Guatemala, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica, from "the soaring pyramid temples of the ancient Mayans to the alluring grace of Argentina's tango, and from the awe-inspiring rush of Iguazú Falls to the serene rain forests of the Amazon", with luxury hotel stays in between. As the excursion is priced at $46,950 per person, you'll obviously want to make sure you get great photos – which Dickman helps ensure, leading photographic expeditions and discussing technical as well as aesthetic issues that make for great photography and photographs. Book your seats now as space is limited.

Tags: Brazil, camera, Costa Rica, digital camera, Jay Dickman, luxury travel, National Geographic, Olympus, Olympus PEN E-PL1, Peru, photographer, photography, private jet, South America

Win an Olympus PEN E-PL1 Camera and $5,000 in "PEN Your Story Challenge" [Video]

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

Olympus' great new compact PEN E-PL1 digital camera with professional-grade digital single lens reflex (DSLR) image quality, point-and-shoot simplicity and high-definition (HD) video encourages you to realize your creative vision. To emphasize the point they have launched a contest to win one of the 12-megapixel cameras, along with $5,000 to bring that vision to life, and then some. Dubbed the "PEN your story challenge", the contest runs through June 6th at http://www.youtube.com/getolympus and http://www.getolympus.com, via video proposals submitted by entrants. Your "vision" can be anything you can produce with the PEN E-PL1 and a $5,000 budget, be it a short film with HD video, a fashion spread of pro-quality still images, an adventure chronicle combining both, or an amazing photomontage.

Once the proposal submissions have been narrowed down to 20 semi-finalists selected by the community via thumbs up "likes", six of the best will be selected by a panel of judges from Olympus, as well as the YouTube community. Those six individuals will receive the PEN, the funds and time to bring their proposals to life. Once the six finalists have uploaded their final creations to YouTube for the world to see, one lucky Grand Prize winner will be selected based on a combination of popular vote and the panel of Olympus judges. The Grand Prize winner will receive an all-expense-paid trip for two to New York City to attend the Olympus-sponsored US Open on Olympus Day. The winner's work will be displayed on the giant video board at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center before an audience of thousands.

To help things along Olympus is offering professional tips on making your filmmaking dreams become a reality from multi Webby-Award winner Erik Beck, executive producer of the online DIY filmmaking network Indy Mogul . Beck has produced a how-to video with tips and tricks to assist you with the production of your submission for the PEN your story challenge. The challenge is open to residents of the United States and Canada. When submitting your video proposal for the PEN your story challenge, be sure to explain how, as a finalist, you plan to use the creative features of the Olympus PEN E-PL1 such as the in-camera art filters for your project. Meanwhile check out http://Twitter.com/getolympus, http://www.Facebook.com/getolympus and http://www.Flickr.com/groups/getolympus as well.

Tags: camera, contest, digital camera, New York City, Olympus, Olympus PEN E-PL1, tennis, US Open, video, YouTube