FROM THE APOD Explanation: Our solar system's miasma of incandescent plasma, the Sun may look a little scary here. The picture is a composite of 25 images recorded in extreme ultraviolet light by the orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory between April 16, 2012 and April 15, 2013. The particular wavelength of light, 171 angstroms, shows emission from highly ionized iron atoms in the solar corona at a characteristic temperatures of about 600,000 kelvins (about 1 million degrees F). Girdling both sides of the equator during approach to maximum in the 11-year solar cycle, the solar active regions are laced with bright loops and arcs along magnetic field lines. Of course, a more familiar visible light view would show the bright active regions as groups of dark sunspots. Three years of Solar Dynamics Observatory images are compressed in the video:
Miniature Scenes Every Day
Tatsuya Tanaka who brings his curiosity and craft as a photographer and art director to his project Miniature Calendar, has been coming up with a daily miniature scene since late 2011.
Stunning Photos of the Abandoned Beelitz-Heilstätten Red Army Military Hospital by Robert Götzfried
Robert Götzfried is a favorite of ours here. His photos of metro stations, swimming pools and stadiums dazzled us with their geometry and composition. The set of photos from the abandoned Beelitz-Heilstätten Red Army Military Hospital are striking in their empathetic eye; capturing at the same moment both the pathos and the grotesque of these eery environs.
From wikipedia:
"Originally designed as a sanatorium by the Berlin workers' health insurance corporation, the complex from the beginning of World War I on was a military hospital of the Imperial German Army. During October and November 1916, Adolf Hitler recuperated at Beelitz-Heilstätten after being wounded in the leg at the Battle of the Somme.
In 1945, Beelitz-Heilstätten was occupied by Red Army forces, and the complex remained a Soviet military hospital until 1995, well after the German reunification. In December 1990 Erich Honecker was admitted to Beelitz-Heilstätten after being forced to resign as the head of the government.
Following the Soviet withdrawal, attempts were made to privatize the complex, but they were not entirely successful. Some sections of the hospital remain in operation as a neurological rehabilitation center and as a center for research and care for victims of Parkinsons disease. The remainder of the complex, including the surgery, the psychiatric ward, and a rifle range, was abandoned in 2000. As of 2007, none of the abandoned hospital buildings or the surrounding area were secured, giving the area the feel of a ghost town. This has made Beelitz-Heilstätten a destination for curious visitors and a film set for movies like The Pianist in 2002, the Rammstein music video Mein Herz brennt and Valkyrie in 2008."
Make America Think Again
This is a hat I designed. You can get one too.
It was $19.99, but now only $16.99
http://5thin.gs/make-america-think-again
Photo by Chip Phillips
Ice Bubbles in Abraham Lake
The artificial Abraham Lake in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies has become know, especially among photogs, for a rare phenomenon where bubbles get frozen right underneath its surface.
Photographer Fikret Onal says:
"The plants on the lake bed release methane gas and methane gets frozen once coming close enough to much colder lake surface and they keep stacking up below once the weather gets colder and colder during [the] winter season."
"Even though I've walked on a frozen lake before, Abraham Lake made me feel completely uneasy since the lake was not covered with snow." "Even though the icy surface was around 8-9 inches thick, it still scared the hell out of me, not only because of the fact that I could see all the cracks...and the darkness of the lake bottom through the glassy surface, but also [because of] the deep boomy, cracking sounds coming from underneath the lake's surface."
NASA's Best Photos of 2016
NASA puts out tons of amazing photos. Here are 20 of 2016's best.
LED Light Painting to Capture Motion by Stephen Orlando
Photographer Stephen Orlando creates light paintings, using LED lights and slow shutter speeds, to reveal the motion of paddling and rowing in this series.
Christmas Tree Made From Hundreds of Sleds in Budapest
Architecture and design studio Hello Wood collaborated with the Palace of Arts (MÜPA) in Budapest to create this towering Christmas Tree made of 365 wooden sleds. After Christmas, the it will be dismantled and the sleds will be donated to kids living in the SOS Children’s Village homes in Hungary.
Thai Photographer's Vision
Thai photographer Weerapong Chaipung exhibits both a crisp technical prowess with a storytellers eye in these gorgeous photos.
Wild Men of Europe
Photographer Charles Fréger examines costumes and masks of folk festivals and traditions of 18 different countries in Europe in his series Wilder Mann.
Star Wars Bujinga Sumi-e Portraits by Masayuki Kojo
Bujinga (武人画) evolved during Japan's Kamakura period. Bujin (武人) means warrior and ga (画) is painting and often capture the legacy of samurai warriors. Artist Masayuki Kojo renders figures from the Empire in the world of Star Wars.
Disintegration Series by Fabian Oefner
Each one of these shots from Fabian Oefner in his Disintegration Series (http://fabianoefner.com/?portfolio=disintegrating-part-ii) represents an enormous amount of work, hours, vision and effort.
Bosch'a original
Paradise – A Contemporary Interpretation of "The Garden of Earthly Delights"
The contemporary interpretation
Netherlands-based Studio Smack has reinterpreted Hieronymus Bosch's painting "The Garden of Earthly Delights" (1490–1510).
In their latest work, the group cleared the original landscape of the middle panel of Bosch’s painting and reconstructed it into a hallucinatory 4K animation. The creatures that populate this indoor playground embody the excesses and desires of 21st century Western civilization. Consumerism, selfishness, escapism, the lure of eroticism, vanity and decadence. All characters are metaphors for our society where loners swarm their digital dream world. They are symbolic reflections of egos and an imagination of people as they see themselves - unlike Bosch's version, where all individuals more or less look the same. From a horny Hello Kitty to a coke hunting penis snake. From an incarnate spybot to headless fried chickens.
Mesmerizing Underwater Photos by WAYNE LEVIN
Wayne Levin has an ever-growing portfolio of stunning underwater photography.
See also Beautiful Underwater Shots of Freediving in the Cenotes of Tulum
Outstanding Pen Creations from Shohei
Shohei (son of world-renown manga artist Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of Akira), does some truly amazing work with just a pen.
He did a bit of work with Pilot, the Japanese stationary company, using their Justus fountain pen to create this astounding image.
Coffee 31 Ways You May Not Have Heard Of
There are so many of these I've never heard of, let of tried. But I want to. Have any of you tried these?
Featured
1914 Paris in Color
When time and distance are suddenly jumped, when something as far off and long ago as Paris on the eve of World War I, when people then and there look a lot like people here and now. Yeah. Love it.
Paris In Motion - Beautiful Timelapses of the City of Light
Mayeul Akpovi has created these three stunning time-lapse stop-motion videos as part of his “Paris in Motion” series.
Still Lifes Lit By Their Own Electricity Brings Science and Art Together
This witty and gorgeous photo series, Back to Light, from photographer Caleb Charland, has fruit, vinegar and loose change generating enough power to light lamps and LED lights.
Charland explains:
"By inserting a galvanized nail into one side of a potato and a copper wire in the other side a small electrical current is generated. The zinc coating on the nail gives off electrons due to the electrolyte environment within the potato. These electrons then travel along the copper wire providing the electrical voltage to illuminate a small light emitting diode. The utter simplicity of this electrical phenomenon is endlessly fascinating for me."
Studio Ghibli Characters in Real Life
Korean video artist Kojer placed the animated characters from some of Studio Ghibli's most famous, including My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, etc., with real life locations shot mostly in South Korea such as Han River Park, Naksan Park, and the N Seoul Tower.