January, 2014 Picture of the Day

The Twisted Sifter has one objective:

To educate, entertain, and inspire each and every day.
Three new posts daily. Sample the Picture of the Day to whet your appetite, or feast on the Best Of‘ if you’re hungry
Every Friday the Sifter publishes the Shirk Report. A weekly collection of the:
- 25 funniest images
- 10 most interesting articles
- 5 most entertaining videos

 

Jan 30, 2014

Picture of the Day: Reflection Perfection in Paris

REFLECTION PERFECTION IN PARIS Photograph by JOANNA LEMANSKA Website | Facebook | 500px | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram In this beautiful black and white reflection photo by Joanna Lemanska aka MissCoolPics, we see the pedestrian underpass at Pont de la Tournelle, an arch bridge spanning the river Seine in Paris. According…
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Jan 29, 2014

Picture of the Day: NYC from the Top of the Rock

SUNSET IN MANHATTAN Photograph by Örs Cseresnyés Website | Facebook | 500px | Prints available In this evening capture by Örs Cseresnyés, we see the Manhattan skyline as observed from the ‘Top of the Rock‘ observation deck at the Rockefeller Center’s GE Building (RCA Building). The Top of the Rock observation deck…
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Jan 27, 2014

Picture of the Day: Skogafoss, Iceland

SKÓGAFOSS, ICELAND Photograph by STIAN KLO Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | 500px Skógafoss is one of the most famous (and visited) waterfalls in Iceland. Photographer Stian Klo (featured previously) says he had seen thousands of pictures from this iconic location and really wanted to try to get a ‘fresh’ angle of…
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Jan 26, 2014

Picture of the Day: Lake Superior’s Fortress of Solitude

LAKE SUPERIOR’S FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE Photograph via Dirtyflowerz on reddit In this amazing capture we see the frozen shores of Lake Superior awash with giant chunks of ice that look eerily similar to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Unfortunately there is not much information available about the exact location this picture was taken…
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Jan 24, 2014

Picture of the Day: This Lake is Pure Lava

THIS LAKE IS PURE LAVA Photograph by Cai Tjeenk Willink In this amazing photo we see the lava lake at Mount Nyiragongo, an active stratovolcano inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The volcano has erupted at least 34 times since 1882, creating various-sized lava lakes that have…
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Jan 22, 2014

Picture of the Day: A Fox Says What?

A FOX SAYS WHAT? Photograph by Gabriel Ciora-Márkus In this fantastic capture by Gabriel Ciora-Márkus, we get a candid close up of a fox in the mountains of Transylvania, Romania. I’m not 100% sure (maybe a Fox enthusiast can confirm?), but I believe this is a red fox (Vulpes vulpes). The red…
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Jan 21, 2014

Picture of the Day: Looking Up to Giant Sequoias

LOOKING UP TO GIANT SEQUOIAS Photograph by xeno_sapien on reddit In this breathtaking photograph by xeno_sapien on reddit, we look skyward, surrounded by giant sequoia trees. The photograph was taken at Sequoia National Park which is located in the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. Established on…
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Jan 19, 2014

Picture of the Day: Split Apple Rock

SPLIT APPLE ROCK Photograph by Rosino on Flickr Split Apple Rock is a geological rock formation in The Tasman Bay off the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The rock, made of granite, looks like an apple split in half. The popular tourist attraction is located in the Tasman…
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Jan 17, 2014

Picture of the Day: This Contact Lens Could Save Your Life

THIS CONTACT LENS COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE Photograph by Google Google is well known their ambitious and audacious side projects and their latest idea is no different. Announced yesterday on their official Google blog, project co-founders Brian Otis and Babak Parviz unveiled an intriguing image of a contact lens with a tiny…
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Jan 14, 2014

Picture of the Day: The Standoff

THE STANDOFF Photograph by ALESSANDRO CANCIAN Website | Facebook | Twitter | 500px In this fantastic close up by Alessandro Cancian, we see a chipmunk and bird facing off, both clearly interested in the food that is atop this post. In the photo description page on 500px, Cancian says he used a…
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Jan 13, 2014

Picture of the Day: Little Lake of Reflection

LITTLE LAKE OF REFLECTION Photograph by Gitta Sladič Lake Jasna is a picturesque alpine lake that covers a modest surface area of 2.2 ha (5.4 acres). What it lacks in size it makes up for in breathtaking surroundings. Located in northwestern Slovenia, Lake Jasna is 2 km from the small town of…
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Jan 12, 2014

Picture of the Day: Freediving with Tunas

FREEDIVING WITH TUNAS Photograph by KURT ARRIGO Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | 500px In this breathtaking underwater photograph by Kurt Arrigo, we see a woman freediving (i.e., no breathing aid) with a school of tuna fish. This is not a composite or digitally manipulated as many may be quick…
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Jan 10, 2014

Picture of the Day: The ‘Wind Chilled’ City

THE ‘WIND CHILLED’ CITY Photograph by Hank Cain In this aerial photograph by pilot Hank Cain, we see the beautiful Chicago skyline below on a chilly morning on January 7, 2014. The photo was taken with Hank’s iPhone and the image has quickly spread online in the last few days. If you…
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Jan 9, 2014

Picture of the Day: Frigid Falls

FRIGID FALLS Photograph by Shaheen Karolia In this beautiful capture we see the famous Niagara Falls on a frosty winter day. The photograph, by Shaheen Karolia, was taken on January 2nd, 2014. According to FriendlyForecast, the weather that day was between -10 and -15 degrees Celsius (14 – 5 degrees Fahrenheit). The…
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Jan 8, 2014

Picture of the Day: San Francisco Fogginess

SAN FRANCISCO FOGGINESS Photograph by Michael Bennett In this beautiful sunrise capture, we see the Golden Gate Bridge enshrouded in fog. Interestingly, fog is so prevalent in San Francisco the weather phenomenon even has its own Wikipedia entry! The article explains in detail how the combination of Pacific Ocean moisture, prevailing winds…
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Jan 7, 2014

Picture of the Day: The Blue Poison Dart Frog

THE BLUE POISON DART FROG Photograph by Quartl on Wikimedia Commons “This thing just looks poisonous” – me The blue poison dart frog or blue poison arrow frog, Dendrobates “azureus”, is a poison dart frog found in the forests surrounded by the Sipaliwini savannah, which is located in southern Suriname and…
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Jan 6, 2014

Picture of the Day: The Frost Forest

THE FROST FOREST Photograph by exploreroftheworld on reddit In this random capture by reddit user exploreroftheworld, we see frost on a window that looks like a miniature forest of evergreen trees. The image was taken from the user’s apartment in Montreal, Canada, with his iPhone. This frosty winter has certainly created its…
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Jan 5, 2014

Picture of the Day: The Sky Shadow

THE SKY SHADOW Photograph by runrgrl on reddit In this beautiful sunrise capture we see Washington’s Mount Rainier casting an upward shadow towards the sky. The photo was posted by redditor runrgrl, who says the image was taken from Fox Island, near Gig Harbor. The body of water in the foreground is…
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Jan 3, 2014

Picture of the Day: Art Imitating Life

ART IMITATING LIFE Photograph by DANIEL KRONE Website | Twitter | Vimeo | Blog In this perfectly timed (and framed) photograph by Daniel Krone, we see a painting of the popular New Orleans street performer Uncle Louie in a store front while the actual Uncle Louie is spotted in the distance crossing…
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Jan 2, 2014

Picture of the Day: A Natural Viewfinder

A NATURAL VIEWFINDER Photograph by John Fowler | lumenetic.com At the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah you will find this impressive alcove at the end of the Jacob Hamblin Arch in Coyote Gulch. While you can experience Coyote Gulch as a day-hike, many choose to spend 2-4 nights backpacking…

Focus, focus, focus

A search for the obvious. Do other landscape images look shaper than your digital images?

Many shooters believe that their images will be sharp because they use a VR vibration reduction lenses. WHOA, its a start but study all Gavin Hardcastle images. He is a professional landscape photographer from Vancouver Island, BC Canada. He teaches photography workshops all over the world and writes extensively about his experiences on location.  suggestions for a Super sharp image.

Vibration Reduction (VR) systems compensate for image blur caused by small, involuntary movements (from unsteady hands, shooting from a moving vehicle, etcs) Known as camera shake. VR can be found in many Nikon products, such as interchangeable lenses for SLR cameras, digital cameras and binoculars. In this article, the principles of VR will be explained by using an interchangeable SLR lens as an example.
Fig. 1 shows how the light from subject (A) reaches focal plane (A’) through the lens. Without camera shake, light from A converges at A’. However, if the camera’s lens moves up or down (ie. camera shake — see arrow) the light from A will converge on A”. This gap results in image blur. The VR System works by adjusting the lens to compensate for camera shake and to make sure light from A converges on A’. Each VR Unit contains a VR lens elements and driving motors to make this happen.

Fig. 1: For the sake of simplicity, this diagram shows only one lens element. In actuality, an interchangeable VR lens has many lens elements.

To compensate for image blur caused by camera shake, the angular velocity (amount of camera shake) should be detected accurately. Two angular velocity sensors are used in the VR System. One detects "pitching" (vertical movement), while the other detects "yawing" (horizontal movement). Diagonal movements are detected by combining the results of both sensors. These sensors detect camera movement as angular velocity every 1/1000 second. Angular velocity data is sent to a microcomputer built right into lens, which then calculates the amount of compensation needed. After this data is transmitted to the VR unit, the adjustments are made instantaneously.

How to Get Super Sharp Landscape Photography Images

 

The most common question I get asked by my workshop students is ‘how do you get such sharp images?’. It’s actually really simple. Basically, avoid movement of any kind while the shutter is open, focus well and choose the right aperture for your creative vision. Mostly it’s just plain old common sense with a couple of technical elements thrown in, so if you want to learn how to get super sharp landscape photography images, here’s my list of top tips.

Top tips for sharper landscape photography

1 – Use a good tripod with a sturdy ball head and make sure everything is TIGHT

Seems obvious, but time and time again I see students using decent tripods and they often don’t have everything clamped down tightly. For example, the attachment that is screwed to the underside of your camera should be as tight as you can get it, eventually it’ll work its way loose. Make sure that ball head is completely locked down once you’ve composed your shot.

2 – While taking the shot, don’t place your hands on your tripod

The vibrations of your hands will blur the shot. When that shutter opens, your hands should be nowhere near the camera.

3 – Use the 2 second timer or a remote shutter release

This insures that the shutter won’t open until you are completely hands free.

4 – Cheap lenses will defocus while you rotate your circular polarizer

This is another one that seems obvious but I’ve seen it happen a lot. Let’s say you’ve achieved perfect focus on your landscape composition and now you’d like to rotate the polarizer which is attached to your perfectly focused lens. Guess what, as you rotate that filter, the lens is now losing its focus because of the movement and pressure you’re exerting on the filter. This rarely happens with high end lenses but I’ve seen it happen a lot with cheaper kit lenses that are poorly engineered. When this happens simply remember to refocus before hitting the shutter.

5 – Enable the mirror lock-up if you have a DLSR

Using mirror lock-up ensures that the mechanical shock induced by the cameras mirror mechanism has dissipated by the time the shutter opens.

6 – Remove your camera strap

In windy situations it will act like a sail and induce vibration.

7 – Add some weight to your tripod’s central column

If the conditions are windy, it will also help reduce vibration.

8 – Place a small but heavy bean bag on your camera and lens

Do this just before taking the shot to further eliminate movement from shutter shock.

9 – Choose a Mid-range to Narrow Aperture

This one should be an article in itself but for now it’s important to understand that if you want corner to corner focus in your landscape images you’ll need to select an aperture that gives you a wide depth of field. Using f/2.8 is pointless, so pick an aperture like f/11 or f/16 depending on how close you are to your foreground subjects. Be aware however that the narrower the aperture (larger number like f/22) the less sharp your image will be due to light diffraction so experiment with your lenses to discover their sweet spot for wide depth of field.
Side Note: Shallow depth of field in landscapes can be beautiful when done well, in which case you’ll need a wide aperture like f/2.8 and ideally a lens that delivers beautiful bokeh – most super wide angle lenses don’t do bokeh well.

10 – Focus In the Distance

Don’t focus on the object closest to you. Pick an object in the middle distance that has a clear contrasting line and focus on that. You could focus to infinity but beware that most of the wide angle lenses I’ve used actually focus beyond infinity so I often have to focus to infinity and then carefully rotate the focus wheel back so that it’s just slightly before the ‘infinity’ mark.

11 – Put Your Glasses On

If you need glasses in order to see clearly and focus on things, it should go without saying that you might need to put on your stylish and expensive bifocals in order to achieve clear focus in your photography. Besides, everyone knows that glasses make you look cool and more intelligent, so why not put them on?

12 – Use Live View or EVF magnification

If you have a DLSR with an optical viewfinder I highly recommend that you use your cameras ‘Live View’ mode and then magnify it to your point of interest and use your manual focus ring to achieve sharp focus  If your camera has an EVF (Electronic View Finder)  you can do the same thing while looking in the EVF. I actually prefer this because you don’t get distracted by glare on the LCD or external light sources. Either way, remember to disable auto focus if you decide to focus manually with Live View.

I use every single one of these techniques in my Vancouver Island photo workshops and I teach them to all of my students. If you follow these tips every time you shoot landscapes, you’ll be sure to get much sharper images. If you’ve got some of your own tricks and tips for getting super sharp landscape images please leave a comment below and share your knowledge to me terry@terrydeglau.com.

Now, when you are making sharp images, try to make some urban dance images.

15 Beautiful Urban Dance Images

          

I love it when a photographer works on shooting a project over time with a similar theme. One photographer I’ve followed lately who does that is Dimitry Roulland who has been working on a great series of photos of dancers and gymnasts in urban settings.

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

*** by Dimitry Roulland on 500px

high tide / low tide

I wanted a simple statement to start this week's blog in keeping with what these photographs show you. "Lord willing and the creek don't rise." Simple enough but I buzzed a hornet's nest when I asked the Wiktionary for an explanation. Did you know this origin?

The idea, espoused below, If you read the history attached to the citation, you'll see that Benjamin Hawkins was devoted to the Creek. He married his common-law Creek wife on his death bed. The Creek were at peace doing most of Hawkins' tenure as Superintendent of the Tribes of the Ohio River. Although there was an uprising by the Red Sticks, part of the Creek nation, Hawkins would not have referred to them generically as Creek because he was trying to protect the Creek nation from being penalized for the actions of the Red Sticks.
Despite what M-W says, the remark was first said by Benjamin Hawkins, q.v., and the phrase should be correctly written as 'God willing and the Creek don't rise'. Hawkins, college-educated and a well-written man would never have made a grammatical error[*], so the capitalization of Creek is the only way the phrase could make sense. He wrote it in response to a request from the President, Martin Van Buren, to return to our Nation's Capital and the reference is not to a creek, but The Creek Indian Nation. If the Creek "rose", Hawkins would have to be present to quell the rebellion. I believe that the phrase is somewhere in his preserved writings.

I only was making comment to:---- I can't cross over if the creek waters swell to an unwalkable depth.

If this 'go to' does not open, copy either address and place in your Google find bar.

  Click on each picture. It will go from Low to High tide.

Sea Change: High and Low Tide from the Same Location

33 Unbelievable Places to add to your Bucket List

For your bucket list: 33 Unbelievable Places To Visit Before You Die – Earth Is So Amazing

This got me wondering: Where did the term bucket list come from? Surely it didn’t originate with the Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman film from 2007 in which, to quote the Internet Movie Database, “Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.”

I turned to the newly released fifth edition of the American Heritage Dictionary, but, sadly, it’s not included. Executive editor Steve Kleinedler told me that, although he’s been keeping an eye on the term, it needs a few more years in usage before it proves itself worthy of addition to the big book.

WOW, there is no evidence of such an expression before the movie, and 6 short years later, we all have the expression in our vocabulary.

There's no known evidence bucket list was used as a "list of things to do before you die" before the movie.

The OED has bucket list from 29 June 2006, about the film "The Bucket List".

·        There's no evidence in Nexis of bucket list before 2006.

·        There's nothing in Usenet and Google Groups for "my bucket list" before the OED.

·        There's nothing relevant in Usenet (via Google Groups) for "bucket list" much before the OED. (Lots of unrelated programming bucket lists.)

I think it came from the movie, by scriptwriter Justin Zackham. The most likely origin is it comes from the phrase "to kick the bucket", meaning to die.

 

A quick search through Google Books suggests that though the phrase was popularized by the 2007 film, it was indeed used occasionally before Jack and Morgan hit the road. Its first application seems to have been in computer programming: e.g., “Guava compiler knows statically that there are no references from buckets inside of one bucket list to objects inside another.”

In 1993, the phrase showed up in a different context: a National Labor Relations Board report indicating agenda items that must be postponed (getting warmer): “The conferees were told that if comments or questions came up concerning bargainable issues or items that required more information, these matters should be placed in a ‘bucket list’ to indicate that they could not be considered at the conference.”

In 2004, the term was used—perhaps for the first time?—in the context of things to do before one kicks the bucket (a phrase in use since at least 1785) in the book Unfair & Unbalanced: The Lunatic Magniloquence of Henry E. Panky, by Patrick M. Carlisle. That work includes the sentences, “So, anyway, a Great Man, in his querulous twilight years, who doesn’t want to go gently into that blacky black night. He wants to cut loose, dance on the razor’s edge, pry the lid off his bucket list!”

 

 

  By Steven Bancarz •March 24, 2014 Other

Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia

Source: earthporm.comDuring the rainy season, the world’s largest salt flat becomes the world’s largest mirror. The Salar was born when several prehistoric lakes joined into one. The salt flat is so reflective, it’s used to calibrate satellites.

Tianzi Mountains, China

Source: michaelyamashita.comThese unqiuely tall and thin mountains are so alien that they were used in James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Formed underwater 380 million years ago, the ground rose as a result of volcanic activity. Some of the pillars have reached over 4,000 feet above sea level.

Source: michaelyamashita.com

Source: michaelyamashita.com

Sentinels of the Arctic, Finland

Source: niccolobonfadini.comniccolobonfadini.comThese sentinels are actually giant trees covered in snow and ice. This strange sight occurs in winter, when temperatures range from -40 to -15 degrees centigrade. Source: apod.nasa.gov

Reed Flute Caves, China

Source: rootfun.net

Source: natureflip.comThis 240-meter-long cave system has been one of Guilin, China’s most popular attractions for over 1200 years. The beautiful stalactites, stalagmites and pillars were all created through water erosion. In the present day, they are highlighted by multi colored lights which create a truly surreal environment.
Source: amusingplanet.com

Skaftafell Ice Cave, Iceland

Source: all-that-is-interesting.comIce caves are temporary structures that form at the edge of glaciers when flowing water melts a hole into glaciers. The tightly packed ice has very few air bubbles and absorbs all light except for blue, giving the ice it’s unique color.
Source: amusingplanet.com

Antelope Canyon, Arizona, United States

Source: all-that-is-interesting.comThis canyon was formed by millions of years of flowing water that carved out a deep, yet narrow crevice. Since significantly less light makes it down to the deeper depths, the walls often appear to be different colors.
Source: wikipedia.org

Bigar Waterfall, Romania

Source: 500px.orgThe locals call this waterfall “the miracle from the Minis gorge.” The moss formation which the falls travel over is 8 meters tall, creating one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world.

Sea of Stars, Vaadhoo Island, Maldives

Source: independent.co.uk

Source: jeffwongdesign.comIt may look normal during daylight, but at night, this beach comes to life. The sparkle in the water comes from marine microbes called phytoplankton. The galaxy they paint across the shore is nothing short of breathtaking.
Source: independent.co.uk

Grand Prismatic Hot Spring, Wyoming

Source: mostbeautifulplacesintheworld.orgGrand Prismatic Hot Spring is the largest hot spring in the United States. The vivid colors in the spring are the result of pigmented microbes, which grow around the edges of the mineral-rich water.
Source: wikipedia.org

Deadvlei, Namibia

Source: nationalgeographic.com

Source: nationalgeographic.comNo, the above images are not surrealist paintings. They’re photographs of “dead valley,” where trees stand against a background of the highest sand dunes in the world. Once a thriving forest, the approaching desert has killed all life.
Source: wikipedia.org

Turquoise Ice, Lake Baikal, Russia

Source: reddit.comLake Baikal is the largest and oldest freshwater lake in the world. In the winter, the lake freezes, but the water is so clear that you can see 130 feet below the ice. In March, frost and sun cause cracks in the ice crust, which results in the turquoise ice shards we see at the surface.
Source: mymodernmet.com

Socotra, Yemen

Source: images.boomsbeat.com

Source: nationalgeographic.com

Source: nationalgeographic.comOne third of the plant life on Socotra Island is found nowhere else on planet Earth. One of the most bizarre forms of life is the dragon blood tree, which resembles an umbrella.
Source: abduzeedo.com

Zhangye Danxia Landform, Gansu, China

Source: laboiteverte.frThese colourful rock formations are the result of red sandstone and mineral deposits laid down over 24 million years. Wind and rain then carved amazing shapes into the rock, forming natural pillars, towers, ravines, valleys and waterfalls.
Source: telegraph.co.uk

Tunnel of Love, Klevan, Ukraine

Source: 500px.orgThis tunnel was shaped over many years, as trains traveled the line three times time a day, molding the surrounding trees. Now abandoned, the track is a romantic spot for an afternoon stroll.
Source: inhabitat.com

Glowworm Caves, Waitomo, New Zealand

Source: sites.psu.eduThousands of tiny glowworms hang to the ceiling of this grotto and radiate a luminescent light, creating a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie.
Source: waitomo.com

Yuanyang County, China

Source: wikimedia.org

Source: dailymail.co.ukThe farming techniques in Yuanyang County have created a landscape which is truly amazing from the air. These rice fields are located on the slopes of Ailao Mountain, where the terraced levels help create flat surfaces along an uneven landscape.
Source: travelchinaguide.com

Lake Hillier, Australia

Source: wallpaperdownloader.com

Source: letithappenblog.files.wordpress.comThe pink color of this lake is thought to be the result of a dye created by algae and bacteria in the water. Despite the odd hue, the lake doesn’t seem to have any adverse effects on humans or local wildlife.
Source: wikipedia.org

Pamukkale Hot Springs, Turkey

Source: wondrouspics.com

Source: reversehomesickness.comOver millions of years, the hotsprings in Pamukkale have transformed the landscape. Although it may look like these terraces are made of ice and snow, Turkey has bikini weather all year round. The ground is just coated in white limestone.
Source: wikipedia.org

Caño Cristales River, Colombia

Source: wikimedia.org

Source: imgur.comDue to it’s extensive habitat of fauna and flora, this flowing river appears in yellow, green, blue, black and red as you travel along it. The rocks here are around 1.2 billion years old, and those who visit call it the most beautiful river in the world.
Source: wikipedia.org

Patagonia Marble Caves, Chile

Source: whenonearth.netFormed by thousands of years of waves crashing against calcium carbonate, these caves have smooth, swirling walls, which reflect the lake’s azure waters.
Source: atlasobscura.com

Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

Source: earthporm.com

Source: profissaoviajante.comAround 50 to 60 million years ago, intense volcanic activity in the area formed a lava plateau. Over time, the lava cooled and fractures created columns that are so perfect, they almost look artificial.
Source: wikipedia.org

Fly Geyser, Nevada

Source: ppcdn.500px.orgFly Geyser was accidentally created when a well was drilled and left uncapped. Minerals and algae started to rise from the geyser and accumulated to form an alien-like mound.
Source: allaroundnevada.com

Underwater Waterfall, Mauritius Island

Source: whenonearth.netStrong ocean currents continually drive sand from the shores of Mauritius into the abyss below, creating this one-of-a-kind underwater waterfall.
Source: gearthblog.com

Mount Roraima, South America

Source: whenonearth.net

Source: aqu52.files.wordpress.comThis tabletop mountain is one of the oldest mountains on Earth, dating back two billion years when the land was lifted high above the ground by tectonic activity. The sides of the mountain are sheer vertical cliffs, with several waterfalls, making it nearly impossible to climb.
Source: wikipedia.org

Aogashima, Japan

Source: earthporm.comAogashima is a volcanic island located 200 miles off the coast of Tokyo. Even more amazing than the view is the geography – there’s a smaller volcano within the volcano island.
Source: earthporm.com

Fingal’s cave, Scotland

Source: potd.pdnonline.com

Source: blogspot.comLike the Giant’s Causeway, this cave was formed by lava cooling and fracturing over millions of years. The jagged formations on the outside are entirely nature’s doing.
Source: wikipedia.org

Underwater River, Cenote Angelita, Mexico

Source: anatoly.pro

Source: anatoly.proUnderneath the water of Cenote Angelita is another flowing body of water. The river is full of hydrogen sulfate, which is much heavier than normal salt water. When it sinks to the bottom, it forms a flow of its own.
Source: huffingtonpost.com

Naica Mine, Mexico

Source: boredpanda.com

Source: boredpanda.comThis silver mine is coated in crystals as big as 50 feet long and 4 feet wide. They Were formed by hydrothermal fluids rising from the magma chambers below. This is a must see on any cave lover’s bucket list.
Source: wikipedia.org

Hidden Beach, Mexico

Source: ppcdn.500px.orgThis magnificent hidden beach was created by a military explosion test in early 1900s. The surrounding islands were deemed a nature park, with the hidden beach only accessible by swimming through a fifty foot tunnel.
Source: huffingtonpost.com

Lake Natron, Tanzania

Source: amazingstuff.co.uk/This lake has a uniquely high salt content. Salt-loving microorganisms thrive and produce red pigment, colorizing the water. For other animals, the salt is deadly and many calcify (effectively turning into stone) after taking a dip in the water.
Source: abduzeedo.com

The Eye of Africa, Mauritania

Source: abduzeedo.comFound in the middle of the Sahara Desert is a deeply eroded bowl, over 24 miles in diameter. The natural formation is so impressive that for a long time, scientists believed it was the site of an asteroid impact.
Source: abduzeedo.com

Highlands, Iceland

Source: earthporm.com

Source: parrikar.comThe isolated highlands of Iceland have some of the most superb natural sights in the Northern Hemisphere. The mindblowing glaciers, craters, lakes and geysers are breathtaking by day, but when night falls, the area becomes one of the best places to witness the aurora borealis.
Source: earthporm.com

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Source: therichestimages.comPlitvice National Park is the largest of it’s kind in Croatia and the oldest in Southeast Europe. Over thousands of years, water flowing over limestone and chalk created natural dams and eventually, beautiful lakes, caves and waterfalls.