PBS - Outside Beyond the Lens: Series 1 (2019)

Outside Beyond the Lens is an adventure-travel show that explores America’s national parks and, and scenic wonders around the world.

Part 1: Australia
Australia is a popular destination, but most never visits the rural southeastern coastline. A group of friends, Jeff Aiello, David Boomer, Jon Neely, that are award-winning landscape cinematographers set out on Princes Highway to film a different side of a land down under. Small fishing towns, stunning rain forests and advice from the locals about where to explore leads to unplanned adventures.


Part 2: Alaska Off the Grid
In a remote part of Alaska’s Aleutian Peninsula, accessible only by floatplane, a single camp sits on the banks of a river. Every summer, fishermen come here to catch salmon in a place where brown bears roam free and wolves howl in the wind. Jeff Aiello tells the story of this “family run” camp, friends that’s come to fish and captures the rarely seen beauty of a part of Alaska far off the grid.


Part 3: Storm Chasers
Every spring, the heartland of America gets hit with severe storms. “Tornado Alley” draws a storm chaser and his twin daughters through the Texas panhandle to see the power of Mother Nature. Beyond the lens, another side of this extreme hobby is revealed as we pass through the dying towns of a forgotten part of America.


Part 4: East Side Colors
The east side of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains is home to high deserts and towering peaks. Each fall, this region’s aspen groves explode in color as winter approaches drawing landscape photographers from around the world. Jeff Aiello explores the eastern Sierra at the peak of the fall color show and discovers why this part of the Golden State is becoming a favorite place to bring a camera.


Part 5: New Zealand
Home to some of the most incredible landscapes on Earth, the south island of New Zealand is explored by the Beyond The Lens crew in search of the perfect frame. But Jeff, Jon & David quickly realize there’s a lot more to New Zealand than meets the eye. An overnight stay in the amazing lakeside city of Queenstown & a helpful local they meet leads to an unforgettable off-the-beaten path discovery.


Part 6: Super Bloom
About every 10 years, heavy winter rains in California lead to a phenomena called the “Super Bloom.” Mountain ranges and sprawling valley floors erupt in colors that are almost impossible to believe. Jeff Aiello, his son, Jett and David Boomer wander through southern California’s Carrizo Plains National Monument down a long dirt road that leads to discovery.


Part 7: Utah Overland
Southern Utah is home to some of America’s top national parks. Zion, Bryce and Arches National Parks attract millions of visitors each year. But a 50-mile drive through Utah’s remote Cottonwood Canyon delivers curious travelers into a world with landscapes that will rival any national park on Earth but a lonely camper they encounter along the journey becomes the real treasure of this adventure.


Part 8: Grasslands
In southeastern Colorado, scattered among the small towns and wind-swept plains two National Grasslands areas remain. Open to visitors but rarely seen, these wide open spaces protect a part of America’s heartland frozen in time. Jeff, David and Jon take their cameras into these remote grasslands and discover the remains of a WW2 Japanese internment camp.


Part 9: Alabama Hills
It’s been the backdrop for Hollywood films for nearly 100 years. From Hop-Along Cassidy to Iron Man, the Alabama Hills and its unique geologic formations has been the backdrop to more than 100 films. But this is also an amazing place to explore and shoot landscapes like nowhere else on Earth. Jeff, David and Zack set up camp and discover a different side of this movie-making hotspot.


Part 10: Switzerland
The Beyond The Lens camera crew visits one of the most scenic locations on Earth. Jeff, David and Jon wrap up a year of exploration with their cameras in the heart of the Swiss Alps. A road trip into the green valleys and snow-capped peaks reveals a side of Switzerland that is sometimes overlooked by all the scenic wonders…the people and food.