Pictures of the Day for the Month of June 2014
SELFIE FROM THE TOP
OF RIO DE JANEIRO June 1
During a visit to the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro; Lee Thompson, founder of the Flash Pack travel company, was granted permission by the Brazilian tourist board to scale to the top of the statue for the ultimate selfie. The statue was under repair after a lightning storm and it took Thompson 25 minutes to climb to the top (through a set of narrow steps inside).
Cristo Redentor (Eng: Christ the Redeemer) is a statue of Jesus of Nazareth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is 39.6 metres (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 metres (31 ft) pedestal, and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. It weighs 635 tonnes (625 long,700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. The iconic statue is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931. [source]
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MOUNT FUJI FROM SPACE
Photograph by NASA
In this amazing capture, we see Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji from space. The photo was taken by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station on 27 May 2010 using a Kodak DCS460 Electronic Still Camera with a 800 mm lens.
Mount Fuji, located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24m (12,389 ft). An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometres (60 mi) south-west of Tokyo and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji’s exceptionally symmetrical cone is snow-capped several months a year. [source]
Jun 4, 2014
Picture of the Day: Awestruck at the Aquarium
Photograph by Royce Hutain (dopplerizer on reddit) | Facebook
Father and redditor dopplerizer captured this smile-inducing scene of his daughter at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California.
The picture, which was taken on his iPhone, was submitted to reddit on Sunday where it reached the top spot on the front page and has already been viewed over a million times (yes, reddit is gigantic). Other users quickly contributed their edits, creating movie posters, funny photoshops and of course animated gifs.
Jun 5, 2014
Picture of the Day: The World’s Tallest Lego Tower
THE WORLD’S TALLEST LEGO TOWER
Photograph by Honéczy Barnabás / MTI
Students in partnership with LEGO Store Budapest and official Danish LEGO constructors set a new world record on 25 May 2014 by building the world’s highest LEGO tower, eclipsing the previous record set last August by students in Delaware.
The tower was erected in front of Saint Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, and measured an official 34.76 meters (114 ft) by Guinness World Records adjudicator Anna Orford. The previous record set last year was 34.43 meters (112.95 ft).
The tower took four days to build and used approximately 450,000 LEGO bricks. The tower was topped by an oversized Lego representation of a Rubik’s cube, in honour of Erno Rubik, the toy’s inventor.
Jun 8, 2014
Picture of the Day: A Perfect Rainbow Over New York
A PERFECT RAINBOW OVER NEW YORK
Photograph by cbarney on reddit
Seen here is a beautiful rainbow over New York as seen from Midtown West, Manhattan. The photo was taken by reddit user cbarney from her balcony with her iPhone early last month.
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection of light in water droplets in the Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun. [source]
In a double rainbow, which you can see faintly here, a second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colours reversed, red facing toward the other one, in both rainbows. This second rainbow is caused by light reflecting twice inside water droplets. [source]
Jun 9, 2014
Picture of the Day: The World’s Oldest Pants
THE WORLD’S OLDEST PANTS
Photograph by Mayke Wagner / German Archaeological Institute
Pictured here are the oldest known pants in history at 3000 – 3300 years of age. The ancient trousers were excavated from tombs in western China along with the remains of two men. The team of scientists was led by archaeologists Ulrike Beck and Mayke Wagner of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin.
In a recently published paper, Victor Mair of the University of Pennsylvania remarks:
“This new paper definitely supports the idea that trousers were invented for horse riding by mobile pastoralists, and that trousers were brought to the Tarim Basin by horse-riding peoples.”
Previously, Europeans and Asians wore gowns, robes, tunics, togas or — as observed on the 5,300-year-old body of Ötzi the Iceman — a three-piece combination of loincloth and individual leggings. A dry climate and hot summers helped preserve human corpses, clothing and other organic material in the Tarim Basin. More than 500 tombs have been excavated in a graveyard there since the early 1970s.
Each pair of trousers was sewn together from three pieces of brown-colored wool cloth, one piece for each leg and an insert for the crotch. You can read much more about the discovery at Science News. You can also see the official press release here (in German).
Jun 10, 2014
Picture of the Day: Weddings and Wildfire
WEDDINGS AND WILDFIRE
Michael and April Wolber had picked the perfect place for their outdoor wedding, Rock Springs Ranch in Oregon. The couple had been planning for ages for their special day with friends and family. But before April could walk down the aisle a number of firetrucks pulled up with sirens blazing.
Not far away, the Two Bulls wildfire was growing and approaching. The firefighters alerted the wedding party that the ceremony had to be cancelled and all guests had to be moved to safety.
After some deliberation the firefighters changed their mind and let the ceremony continue provided they do it quickly and retreat back to their reception location Bend’s Drake Park. [source]
Deciding to make the best of an unexpected, unfortunate and dangerous situation, the couple took a series of portraits that they will never forget.
Jun 11, 2014
Picture of the Day: The Ultimate Escort
THE ULTIMATE ESCORT
Last week two fighter jets escorted the Netherlands’ first commercial Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The country’s first Dreamliner was welcomed by two F-16′s from the Royal Netherlands Air Force Demo Team. The plane is owned and operated by Arkefly, the Dutch charter arm of TUI.
The RNLAF F-16 Demo Team 2014-2015 is based at Leeuwarden Airbase. The home base of the RNLAF F-16 Demo Team shifts between Volkel and Leeuwarden Airbase every two years. The RNLAF F-16 Demo Team 2014-2015 is comprised of personnel from the 323 and 322 Squadrons. The team consists of one display pilot, four display coaches, eight technical specialists and a webmaster. Captain Jeroen “Slick” Dickens is flying his first season as the display pilot for the RNLAF F-16 Demo Team.
Jun 12, 2014
Picture of the Day: The Glass Bottom Bedroom in Bali
Photograph by Bambu Indah Hotel
This incredible glass bottom suite is called Udang House (or Shrimp House) and it is the signature suite at the Bambu Indah estate in Ubud, Bali. Situated above a fresh shrimp pond, this house has tempered glass floor panels for an underwater panorama of crustaceans in action. Authentic shrimp baskets have been converted into lamps for a total ‘fishing village experience’.
This house is situated at the source of the fresh water fountain that supplies the natural pool and features a private porch to soak in the surroundings. The shower is partly indoor and partly outdoor, providing guests an opportunity to commune with nature. The glass tiled roof of the bathroom allows entry of both the light of day and the Bali moon at night.
For more information on the eco-luxury hotel, visit their official website at: bambuindah.com
Jun 13, 2014
Picture of the Day: Howdy Hippo!
In this candid capture by Brendon Cremer we see a young hippo with a curious expression on his face. Taken at Chobe River in Botswana’s Chobe National Park, Cremer explains:
“This young hippo, part of a larger pod, was very inquisitive and interested in us. It kept on bobbing up and down in the water as if it was peering over the edge of the boat to get a better look at us and what we were up to.”
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Brendon Cremer is a photographer and wildlife guide, leading groups on photo safaris throughout Africa. You can reach him and learn more on his website and Facebook page.
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), or hippo, from the ancient Greek for “river horse”, is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa. [source]
After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third-largest type of land mammal. Hippos measure 3.3 to 5.2 m (11 to 17 ft) long with average weights for adult males ranged between 1,500 and 1,800 kg (3,300 and 4,000 lb).
Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human (hippos have been clocked at 30 kmh/19 mph over short distances). The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive and unpredictable creatures in the world and, as such, ranks among the most dangerous animals in Africa. [source]
Jun 14, 2014
Picture of the Day: The Birth of a Star
Photograph by ESA/Hubble & NASA
In this incredible image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, we are witness to the birth of a star.
This new Hubble image shows IRAS 14568-6304, a young star that is cloaked in a haze of golden gas and dust. It appears to be embedded within an intriguing swoosh of dark sky, which curves through the image and obscures the sky behind.
This dark region is known as the Circinus molecular cloud. This cloud has a mass around 250 000 times that of the Sun, and it is filled with gas, dust and young stars. Within this cloud lie two prominent and enormous regions known colloquially to astronomers as Circinus-West and Circinus-East. Each of these clumps has a mass of around 5000 times that of the Sun, making them the most prominent star-forming sites in the Circinus cloud. The clumps are associated with a number of young stellar objects, and IRAS 14568-6304, featured here under a blurry fog of gas within Circinus-West, is one of them.
IRAS 14568-6304 is special because it is driving a protostellar jet, which appears here as the “tail” below the star. This jet is the leftover gas and dust that the star took from its parent cloud in order to form. While most of this material forms the star and its accretion disc — the disc of material surrounding the star, which may one day form planets — at some point in the formation process the star began to eject some of the material at supersonic speeds through space. This phenomenon is not only beautiful, but can also provide us with valuable clues about the process of star formation. [source]
Jun 15, 2014
Picture of the Day: Trolley Goes Back to the Future
Photograph by VIKTOR VARGA
During the Christmas season, public trolleys in Budapest, Hungary are outfitted with over 30,000 twinkling LED lights. The tradition began in 2009 and has been a hit with passengers ever since. The lit up trams have become a beacon for photo ops and creative photographers have found interesting ways to capture them.
In this eight second long exposure photograph by Viktor Varga, the moving tram looks like it’s moving through space and time. Reports of Doc Brown and Mart McFly at the trolley’s helm have yet to be confirmed :)
Jun 16, 2014
Picture of the Day: My Little Sanctuary
Photograph by Karen (jumbokedama on Flickr)
In this precious capture, we see a tiny frog getting some shade from the afternoon sun between the petals of a rose. The little smile on his face is just priceless.
The photo was taken by Flickr user jumbokedama. Be sure to check out her amazing Flickr stream where you can find over 8,000 photos, many that capture the beauty of our planet.
Jun 17, 2014
Picture of the Day: Giant Crayfish Taking Over the Planet
GIANT CRAYFISH
TAKING OVER THE PLANET
Photograph by renegadepathfinder on reddit
This photo will make you do a ‘double-take’. At first glance it kind of looks like a gigantic crayfish on a metallic, Earth-like planet with stars in the background. Upon closer inspection it’s really just a small crayfish at the bottom of a metal bucket, with drops of water on the sides.
The photo was posted to reddit by user renegadepathfinder. The submission reached the top spot on reddit’s front page four days ago and the imgur-hosted file has already been viewed a staggering 3.4 million times.
Crayfish, also known as crawfish, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, or mudbugs, are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related taxonomically. Crayfish are mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running and which have shelter against predators. Crayfish feed on living and dead animals and plants. [source]
Jun 18, 2014
Picture of the Day: Constructing an Icon
Photograph by Louis-Emile Durandelle
The Centennial Exposition of 1889 was organized by the French government to commemorate the French Revolution. Bridge engineer Gustave Eiffel’s 984-foot (300-meter) tower of open-lattice wrought iron was selected in a competition to erect a memorial at the exposition.
Twice as high as the dome of St. Peter’s in Rome or the Great Pyramid of Giza, nothing like it had ever been built before. This view was made about four months short of the tower’s completion. Louis-Émile Durandelle photographed the tower from a low vantage point to emphasize its monumentality. The massive building barely visible in the far distance is dwarfed under the tower’s arches.
Incidentally, the tower’s innovative glass-cage elevators, engineered to ascend on a curve, were designed by the Otis Elevator Company of New York, the same company that designed the Getty Center’s diagonally ascending tram where this photo now resides. [source]
The Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.98 million people ascended it in 2011. The tower received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010 and stands as a global cultural icon of France.
If you enjoyed this, check out this post of rare photos of the Statue of Liberty being built in 1883.
Jun 19, 2014
Picture of the Day: Five Fingers Peak
FIVE FINGERS PEAK
Photograph by chensiyuan on Wikimedia Commons
Seen here is the famous Five Fingers Peak of Huangshizhai, located in the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China since 1992.
Wulingyuan is noted for its more than 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars and peaks across most of the site, many over 200 metres (660 ft) in height, along with many ravines and gorges with attractive streams, pools and waterfalls. It features 40 caves, many with large calcite deposits, and two natural bridges, Xianrenqiao (Bridge of the Immortals) and Tianqiashengkong (Bridge Across the Sky).
The site is situated between 29°16’0″N 110°22’0″E and 29°24’0″N 110°41’0″E in the Zhangjiajie City and lies about 270 kilometres (170 mi) to the northwest of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province. Wulingyuan forms part of the Wuling Mountain Range. The scenic area comprises several national parks, one of which is the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. [source]
This is a downsized version from the incredible original panorama on Wikimedia Commons. Click here to see the 13,206 x 6,676 pixel image (watch out, it’s 97.28 mb!).
Jun 20, 2014
Picture of the Day: Dark and Stormy
DARK AND STORMY
Photograph by Peter Essick/National Geographic
In this incredible black and white photograph by Peter Essick, we see mighty thunderclouds towering over Banner Peak (12,942 ft/3,945 m) on the right and Mount Ritter (13,149 ft/4,008 m) on the left. Both are situated in the Ansel Adams Wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada of California, USA. In the foreground is Garnett Lake. As Essick recalls in his book, THE ANSEL ADAMS WILDERNESS:
“It was raining lightly when I took this photo with a 2-stop neutral density filter on the sky. I had to keep drying the filter as the light changed quickly when the sun moved in and out of the clouds. When I made the print, I felt it was important to give the feeling of backlight in the clouds without losing the billowy texture.”
For more information on the recently released book, see the press release below.
Photographer and wilderness preservationist Ansel Adams devoted his life to producing iconic images that convey our deeply personal connection to nature. A new book from National Geographic, THE ANSEL ADAMS WILDERNESS (National Geographic Books; ISBN 978-1-4262-1329-8; April 15, 2014; hardcover; $22.95), pays tribute to Adams and the California Sierra Nevada wilderness area — immortalized in his photographs 75 years ago and named in his honor — through striking black-and-white pictures by acclaimed photographer Peter Essick.
Published in collaboration with The Wilderness Society to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act — created in 1964 to protect 9.1 million acres of federal land — the book also commemorates the 30th Yosemite National Park to the west and the John Muir Wilderness to the south and east for Adams. In addition to creating some of the world’s most compelling photos, Adams was devoted to protecting wilderness, and he served as a Wilderness Society council member and supported the organization for more than four decades.
Organized by terrain type — peaks and lakes, passes and meadows, headwaters and rivers, trees and plants — the stunning images in THE ANSEL ADAMS WILDERNESS showcase the powerful landscape of California’s High Sierra through the modern lens of digital photography.
Jun 21, 2014
Picture of the Day: Naked Fruit
NAKED FRUIT
Photograph by Holger Niehaus
Courtesy of the Van Zoetendaal Gallery
Courtesy of the Van Zoetendaal Gallery
In this “still life capture with a twist”, German photographer Holger Niehaus provides his take on the classic bowl of fruit image; stripping fruits of their skin and removing the bowl entirely.
Art Daily has a great write-up of the artist’s work which centers around manipulated versions of classic still life imagery.
Niehaus studied at the AKI Academy of Art and Design in Enschede, and since graduating in 2002 has exhibited his work in Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg and Paris. His photographs have also been published in the NRC Handelsblad newspaper, Kunstbeeld and several international art journals. He is represented by Van Zoetendaal.
Jun 22, 2014
Picture of the Day: Street Cyclops
STREET CYCLOPS
Another gem from OakOak (featured previously here and here) shows a tiny Cyclops somewhere in Paris. When the sunlight is just right, something delightful happens and the X-Men character comes to life. Be sure to check out Oakoak’s website and Facebook page for more street art awesomeness.
Jun 23, 2014
Picture of the Day: The First Image of Earth from Another Planet
THE FIRST IMAGE OF EARTH
FROM ANOTHER PLANET
Photograph by NASA/JPL/Cornell/Texas A&M
This is the first image ever taken of Earth from the surface of a planet beyond the Moon. It was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit one hour before sunrise on the 63rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission. (March 8, 2004)
The image is a mosaic of images taken by the rover’s navigation camera showing a broad view of the sky, and an image taken by the rover’s panoramic camera of Earth. The contrast in the panoramic camera image was increased two times to make Earth easier to see. The inset shows a combination of four panoramic camera images zoomed in on Earth. The arrow points to Earth. Earth was too faint to be detected in images taken with the panoramic camera’s color filters.
The image is reminiscent of the famous pale blue dot capture by Voyager 1. If you have never heard Carl Sagan’s famous ‘Pale Blue Dot’ speech, check it out here.
Jun 24, 2014
Picture of the Day: Balloon Ride in Cappadocia
Photograph by Joyce | gypsyjoyce.com
In this amazing photograph by Gypsy Joyce, we see a number of travellers ascending for balloon rides in Cappadocia, Turkey. This was Joyce’s first ever hot air balloon experience and she captured it beautifully. The area is very popular for balloon rides and costs typically range between 90 – 150 euros. She posted the photo to reddit where it reached the top spot of the front page earlier this month.
Cappadocia lies in eastern Anatolia, in the center of what is now Turkey. The relief consists of a high plateau over 1000 m in altitude that is pierced by volcanic peaks. The boundaries of historical Cappadocia are vague but results in an area approximately 400 km (250 mi) east–west and 250 km (160 mi) north–south. [source]
The area is a popular tourist destination, as it has many areas with unique geological, historic, and cultural features. The most important towns and destinations in Cappadocia are Urgup, Goreme, Ihlara Valley, Selime, Guzelyurt, Uchisar, Avanos and Zelve. Among the underground cities worth seeing are Derinkuyu, Kaymakli, Gaziemir and Ozkanak. The best historic mansions and cave houses for tourist stays are in Urgup, Goreme, Guzelyurt and Uchisar. [source]
Jun 25, 2014
Picture of the Day: Landfall
LANDFALL
Artwork and Photography by ERIK JOHANSSON
Website | Facebook | Prints available
Website | Facebook | Prints available
Artist Erik Johnansson (featured previously) has unveiled his latest artwork entitled, Landfall. While Johansson is well-known for his incredible Photoshop and retouching skills, the artist is an adept photographer and you might not realize the amount of ‘analog’ work that went into creating this piece.
On his blog, Erik explains:
“About a year ago I shot the first material to the image that would become Landfall. Although the final image contains about 230 layers it didn’t take me a year to make it. Instead I learned that liquid is very hard to work with. I wanted this image to turn out as realistic as possible and therefore I knew that I had to build a model of the scene and actually apply liquid to it. I do spend a lot time in photoshop but I always try to capture as much as I can in camera.
I photographed a landscape from a silo in July last year, I always like getting up a bit for landscape photos to see more of the ground and get a good overview of the scene. I then build a copy of the location using some cardboard boxes I had at home. I used a mixture of flour, water, coconut flakes and food coloring to make the grass turn into liquid. It turned out a bit more cyan/turquoise than green but I ran out of green food coloring and had to use blue as well. In the end color is pretty easy to change in Photoshop, light and perspective isn’t! [source]
Jun 26, 2014
Picture of the Day: A Watchtower for Goldfish
Photograph by firu86 on reddit
Here’s an interesting addition for your fish pond, a watchtower! I had no idea this was a thing, but a quick Google search for fish tower yields plenty of DIY videos and tutorials on how to build your own. This particular fish tower was submitted to the r/mildlyinteresting subreddit where it promptly proved most interesting ;)
Apparently the fish tower belong’s to reddit user firu86′s uncle. While it’s unclear how much of the outside world the fish can actually see, it’s a cool addition to any fish pond and probably even more entertaining for the house owners.
Jun 27, 2014
Picture of the Day: Hover Boats in Menorca, Spain
Photographer Unknown via tburns1469 on reddit
Menorca (or Minorca) is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. According to the Lonely Planet:
Menorca (population 92,000) is the least overrun and most tranquil of the Balearic Islands. In 1993 Unesco declared it a Biosphere Reserve, aiming to preserve environmental areas, such as the Parc Natural S’Albufera d’es Grau wetlands, and the island’s unique archaeological sites. Its 216 km coastline is fretted with relatively untouched beaches, coves and ravines. Inland, criss-crossing its fields and green, rolling hills are an estimated 70,000 km of dry stone walls. [source]
Menorca is the first place in Spain to see the sun rise. If you want to learn more, there’s a great article on the New York Times about the island.
In this lovely photo (with the saturation seemingly set to maximum), we see boats that appear to hover over the incredibly clear, turquoise water. While other photos of the area do not portray the water quite so blue and clear, nobody denies the natural beauty of Menorca.
A reverse image search on Google and TinEye did not reveal the original source of this photograph which was posted to reddit earlier this month. If you have any info, let us know in the comments!
Jun 30, 2014
Picture of the Day: This is What Triumph Looks Like
THIS IS WHAT TRIUMPH LOOKS LIKE
Photograph by BRANDON STANTON/HUMANS OF NEW YORK
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Buy the book
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Buy the book
Humans of New York (featured previously here and here), one of the Sifter’s favourite photo projects/Facebook page published an incredible story/portrait earlier today on Facebook and the photo already has over 750,000 likes in just five short hours. The photo will likely surpass the one million Likes milestone later today.
From the Facebook description:
“I had a child when I was sixteen. I got kicked out of high school because of all the absences. My family and community pretty much wrote me off. But right away I got a job at a sporting goods store. Soon I was able to get a job as a receptionist at a tax company, and they gave me enough responsibilities that I learned how to do taxes. Eventually I learned enough to become an associate.
Then I got offered a job at a smaller company, and even though it was a pay cut, they offered me responsibility over all the books– accounts payable, accounts receivable, everything. It was less money but I wanted that experience so I took the risk. And I’m so glad I did, because six months later, the controller of that company left and I was given that position. They told me they couldn’t officially call me the controller because I didn’t have a college degree.
So I finished my degree 5 months ago– just to make it official! So after having a child at sixteen, I made it all the way to controller of a company, without even having a college degree. Can you believe that? Honestly, I’ve been waiting to tell that story so long that I told it to a customer service representative on the phone last week. She was nice about it and pretended to care.”
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