Onelargeprawn
It’s not quite rain drops on roses but UK-based photographer Sharon Johnstone shows that macro photography is one of her favourite things.
Johnstone directs her lens at the tiny dew drops that have formed on dandelions and produces some stunning photos in the process. Have a look at them after the jump.
As part of an all-sky astronomical survey, NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (or WISE) satellite took over 2.7 million images and beamed back 5 trillion bytes of data to eager astronomers back on Earth. This composite image is made up of 18,000 images covering the sky and shows more than 560 million stars and galaxies! You’ll notice that the prominent Milky Way Galaxy runs horizontally at the centre of the map.
The mosaic image has an oval shape and that is because of the method used to render the 3D sky onto a 2D map.
The sky can be thought of as a sphere that surrounds us in three dimensions. To make a map of the sky, astronomers project it into two dimensions. Many different methods can be used to project a spherical surface into a 2-D map. The projection used in this image of the sky is called Aitoff, named after the geographer who invented it. It takes the 3-D sky sphere and slices open one hemisphere, and then flattens the whole thing out into an oval shape.
Have a look at the full image after the jump.
Envisat (or “Environmental Satellite”) is an Earth-observing satellite that was launched into space by the European Space Agency a little over a decade ago. In that time the €2.3 billion, 8-ton satellite has orbited the Earth thousands of times and had beamed down data that has helped scientists to study ozone depletion, the spread of pollution, and monitor maritime traffic.
Envisat has also taken a few photos during its tenure. Wired Magazine celebrates the 10th anniversary of the satellite with a gallery of images of the earth as shot from space. Have a look at some of the beautiful topographies after the jump.
If you liked Linden Gledhill’s photos of dancing paint or Heinz Maier’s water droplet art, then you might just enjoy the liquid sculptures of Markus Reugels.
The photographer from Schweinfurt, Germany uses similar high-speed photography techniques to capture water and milk in motion, or at the very moment when the droplets make contact with various surfaces. The very precise, synchronized actions results in extremely beaultiful and colourful splashes. Have a look at some of Reugel’s liquid sculptures after the jump.
Terje Sørgjerd and Randy Halverson are my two favourite time-lapse photographers. We posted about both of them in the past, and just a few days ago Halverson published his latest video, Temporal Distortion.
Using his custom rig, he shot in central South Dakota, Utah, and Colorado capturing the night skies, aurorae, and the Milky Way. A meteor makes an appearance too, its so-called persistent train lingered in the frame for over 30 minutes but lasts a fleeting second in the video. Temporal Distortion is magical, have a look at it below.
For more technical details on how he created this most amazing video, visit Halverson’s website, Dakota Timelapse.
[via +Randy Halverson]
Whether they’re angry, irritated or happy some dogs have the kookiest of faces. In his latest series, photographer Seth Casteel captures canine expressions brilliantly, and from a different perspective.
Casteel takes to the pool and using his underwater camera, photographs the looks on the faces of the dogs as they dive into the water after their balls. See his fierce, funny, and utterly adorable photos after the jump.
Photographer Mark Bramley found himself in Tokyo, Japan for two days. He did what any good photographer might do — he created a time-lapse video of the things and people that he encountered in this most cosmopolitan of cities. Lost in Tokyo comprises 10,000 photos, all shot on a Canon 5D MkII. Check it out below.
[via Coolism TV]
On December 7th in 1972, far far above our heads, Apollo 17 blasted off from the Earth on its way to the Moon. About five hours into the journey, the spaceship was 45,000 kilometres away and at the point where it was facing the Earth, the astronauts onboard took photos of our planet. One of those photos (AS17-148-22727) which showed a fully-illuminated Earth looked like a glass marble to the astronauts, and is famously called The Blue Marble.
NASA has continued The Blue Marble series with similar photos in 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010, and the two most recent images date from just a few days ago. The initial image was captured by the Earth-observing satellite Suomi NPP and focussed on North and Central America. Due to popular demand NASA released a second image, this time displaying Africa, Saudi Arabia, and India to the east. Have a look at these two amazing images after the jump.
It’s not the first time that we’ve posted about the Alexander Semenov. The marine biologist works at the White Sea Biological Station (WSBS) in northwest Russia and photographs the most wonderful undersea animals as part of his job. After four years at WSBS, Semenov is now the chief dive master and a camera is always on hand when he journeys into the depths of the White Sea.
When I first began to experiment with sea life photography I tried shooting small invertebrates for fun with my own old camera and without any professional lights or lenses. I collected the invertebrates underwater and then I shot them in the lab. After two or three months of failure after failure, I ended up with a few good pictures, which inspired me to buy a semi-professional camera complete with underwater housing and strobes. I’ve spent the following field season trying to shoot the same creatures, but this time in their environment. It was much more difficult, and I spent another two months without any significant results. But when you’re working at something every day, you inevitably get a lot of experience. Now after four years of practice I get a few good shots almost every time I dive.
There are over 1500 known species of jellyfish in the world and Semenov has photographed quite a few, especially the Cyanea genus of stinging jellyfish. After the jump you will find some of the striking deep sea jellies that Semenov has encountered, more specifically photos of Cyanea capillata, the lion’s mane jellyfish.
Alexander Semenov is a marine biologist stationed at the White Sea Biological Station (WSBS), a remote research centre that is located on the Karelsky Coast in northwest Russia. Semenov is part of the dive team at WSBS and during his excursions, takes close-up shots of the truly beautiful and bizarre fauna lurking in the depth of the White Sea.
Have a look at some of Semenov’s amazing undersea photography after the jump.