Follow Me To Cuba with Gear S3

Since they shot to fame with their iconic ‘Follow Me To’ photo series, social media stars Murad Osmann and his wife Nataly have travelled the world, from India to Jordan, picking up more than four million Instagram followers along the way. The latest stunning shots of Nataly leading Murad by the hand through the streets of Cuba capture the spirit of the Caribbean island, blending iconic landmarks, local culture and artistic flair.

“We decided to capture Cuba’s most iconic sights, including retro cars, colourful buildings and, of course, salsa,” Murad explains. “Planning this was a challenge — we had to frame each shot perfectly to ensure all the key components were in place, including an ideal location.”

For Murad, the versatility of the Gear S3 watch made organising the shoot easier, and while it was his first time using a smartwatch, he found it intuitive and helpful.

“You sometimes have to travel light, with only your camera in your hands. With the Gear S3 watch, I was able to keep my Samsung Galaxy smartphone in my pocket almost all the time and still have all the necessary information within reach.”

Murad was able to keep connected on the go, using the watch’s spinning bezel to answer calls mid-shoot, and the fact that it’s water and dust-resistant meant he didn’t have to worry about taking it off in unforeseeable weather — or for a quick dip in pool.

Being constantly on the move meant jet lag was an issue; thankfully, Murad found the watch helped to gently wake him from a deep slumber. “An alarm is my best friend and worst enemy… I can remember times when I’ve hit the snooze button for several hours! But with the Gear S3 on my wrist, I actually woke up quite comfortably — only this time it was Nataly who was reaching over to turn off the alarm on my arm.”

Despite frequently using all the watch’s functions on a daily basis, Murad was pleasantly surprised to find he didn’t need to charge the watch every night. “I was expecting the battery to drain rapidly because I put my watch face to ‘always on’ mode — but it didn’t.”

The Gear S3 has a range of watch faces for different occasions, with Murad finding the official Travel Watch Face particularly useful on the road due to a host of additional functions.

“We travel a lot and features like dual watch and exchange rate helped us get essential information in seconds, rather than making calculations in our heads, which means a lot when you might visit three countries in a day.

"Being able to see two different time zones on one screen meant we always knew what time it was in Moscow, so could easily see when we should call one of our colleagues without waking them up at two o’clock in the morning.”

After using the Gear S3, Murad was keen to try out some of Samsung’s other innovative products, including the Gear 360 to capture wide-angled views to create striking stills and video content.

“As with the watch, shooting 360 was something new to us. It’s really funny to see our shot in full perspective and actually see my face as I take the picture. I think the whole 360 concept is soon going to become a huge trend, especially with the availability of affordable gear like the Samsung 360. It gives creators a whole new set of features — like photo, video and time-lapse. It’s incredible; you’re almost able to be transported to the very spot where it’s recorded.”

Travel is the couple’s passion, and knowing there are countless other destinations to capture on camera — through video and photography — has fed their wanderlust. “The more we travel, the more we think that we haven’t been anywhere,” says Murad. With their bucket list including New Zealand, Iceland, Norway and South Korea, who knows where they’ll end up next? Follow them and see... @muradosmann