Environmental Graffiti

*Update: we originally had 6, but now have 5! *

Image via travelpod

Have you ever swam out in the sea and not been able to see the bottom? All you can feel is the freezing cold water beneath your feet, all you see is dark blue water extending to infinity.

Imagine for one second descending into the blue, deeper and deeper with every kick and breath. The adrenaline kicks in and as the pressure builds, water compresses your chest – you’re scared, but there is something strangely inviting about the descent that makes it feel like you’re travelling to the center of the Earth. Looking ahead and all around you can see only a wall that drops for meters into the blackness below, and it is inviting, alluring. Welcome to the world of blue holes.

Effectively limestone sinkholes, or submarine caves, blue holes are given their name because of the contrasting deep blue of the hole and the lighter blue of the shallows around them. There are a number of blue holes across the globe but only a few are frequented by divers, each with its own unique biodiversity. Here we present five of the best in the world:

Great Blue Hole, Belize

Image via Neatorama

First discovered by Jacques Cousteau, one of the world’s most famous divers and marine conservationists, the Great Blue Hole in Belize is the best of the bunch, and every diver’s dream. Measuring 305m (1,000 ft) across and 123 m (400 ft) deep, the Blue Hole is almost perfectly circular and can be found in Lighthouse Reef Atoll, about 60 miles from Belize City.

Image Via Gadling

The Great Blue Hole in Belize is a Mecca for those wanting to dive among its giant stalactites and stalagmites that were formed during the last Ice Age. Starting at around 30-33 meters, the limestone formations become more intricate with depth, but few get to see what they look like as most divers are only qualified to go to a depth of around 30 meters, although, when it comes to diving in blue holes, many flout the rules.

Image via Neatorama

The Blue Hole, Dahab

Until only about 25 years ago, Dahab was a tiny Bedouin fishing village on the Sinai coast, about 50 miles from Sharm el-Sheikh to the south. Now it’s known worldwide for having great windsurfing conditions and some of the best shore diving anywhere.

Image via Let’s go Digital

Only a short drive north of the main centre of Dahab is the notorious Blue Hole, known among diving circles as the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Dive Site’. It can be accessed from the shore and is around 130m deep, but with a tunnel at 52 m many divers are tempted to go beyond the recreational diving limit of 40 m to experience everything the Egyptian blue hole has to offer, including nitrogen narcosis for the unfortunate few. Because the entrance is hidden and difficult to spot, divers looking for a way in often go too low, increasing the risk of ‘the bends’ or nitrogen narcosis, some are never seen again.

Dean’s Blue Hole, Bahamas

One of the deepest blue holes at 663ft deep, Dean’s is quite different from the previous two in that it widens to a 100 m cavern at about 20 m down. It is named after the family who own the land nearby and is another popular dive spot.

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4

The Vertical Blue 2008 free-diving competition was held here in April, when 25 national records and 5 world records were broken, and just the year before free-diver William Trubridge from New Zealand shattered the free-diving world record reaching lung-squishing depth of 84m, without the use of fins.

Image via prlog.com

The Blue Hole, Gozo

Not clearly as visible from the surface, the mouth to Malta’s Blue Hole starts at 7 m deep, and is the most popular dive site on the islands.

Image via Malta Scuba

Located within the blue hole is a cave at 15 m below where shoals of tuna, groupers and barracuda are often found hovering by the large boulders and rocks. Divers can swim through a short tunnel, or chimney, to get to a different area within the hole which has great coral gardens and reefs teeming with marine life, which is quite amazing considering how fished out many parts of the Mediterranean are.

Images via: 1, 2, 3, 4,

The Blue Cave, Korcula

Just off the coast of Korcula, one of Croatia’s biggest islands you’ll find Modra Spilja (the Blue Cave). Accessible only by boat, the blue hole is entered at 9 m below the surface of the waves and reaches a depth of 35 m, a baby compared to some other blue holes. But this means it is more easily lit up buy the sun’s rays, making visibility easier and the dive all the more pleasant. Marine life, sponges and corals line the walls, along with giant red and yellow gorgonias, or sea fans, making it one of Croatia’s top dive spots.

Images Via: 1, 2, 3,

Where’s your favourite blue hole?

Source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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The top two images are of Ameyoko and the bottom two represent the Ginza 4-chome Intersection both before and after the apocalypse. Images by: Megadem & Hisaharu Motoda

Picture this bustling street market, empty of human life, absent of familiar sounds, smells, lights. Crumbling, overgrown, silent.

If you can wrap your head around that image, then you’ve got an idea of what Japanese artist Hisaharu Motoda conveys in his series of Neo-Ruins lithographs: exceptionally detailed, vivid representations of a futuristic, post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where humans are nowhere to be found and nature fights back in a bid to take over our concrete jungles. Compare Motoda’s rendering of Ameyoko street market in Tokyo’s Ueno district to the photograph above:

All lithographs created by Hisaharu Motoda via Pink Tentacle

Motoda states:

“There is a Japanese saying ‘anything is impermanent’. Perhaps, I want to send a message ‘Anything is impermanent’ through my work. And, I feel beauty on such fragile things, and would like to express it in my work.”

The images certainly are beautiful, and invoke a sense of human vulnerability, reminding us of the power and resilience of the natural world.

Ginza 4-Chome crossing

Ginza Chuo Dori

Shibuya Center Town

Kabukicho

If you liked these images, check out these incredible visions of post-apocalyptic Tokyo by Tokyo Fantasy and London after a massive flood.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

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Image via The Cellar Image of the Day

After a whopping 229,764 corks (that’s a lot of wine!) and 27 days of hard work, artist Saimir Strati achieved his goal on September 4, 2008 when he earned the record for the World’s Largest Cork Mosaic.

Visitors of the Sheraton Tirana Hotel and Towers were treated to a special performance of live art, as Strati worked 14 hour days in the hot Albanian summer sun to glue corks of different sizes and colours onto a large banner in the hotel gardens. The end product, a magnificent Mediterranean scene called Romeo with a crown of grapes playing the guitar while dancing with the sea and the sun, measures a commanding two stories high and almost 13 m in length (over 40 feet).

Image via designboom

Watch this video of Strati in meticulous action from the mounting of the first few corks to the unveiling:

Strati is no stranger to the World Record Arena. In 2006, he re-created Leonardo Da Vinci’s self-portrait with 400 kg (over 800 lb) of nails to make the World’s Largest Nail Mosaic. He followed this with the World’s Largest Toothpick Mosaic in 2007, using 1.5 million toothpicks to create a 4×2 m (approximately 13×6.5 foot) three-dimensional image of a horse, entitled Reinless Spirit.

Using the same techniques as mosaic masters of old, Strati breathes new life into the ancient art with his use of familiar modern materials. Past projects have also included eggshell, coffee bean and compact disc mosaics.

We know we’ll be looking forward to his next World Record attempt!

Sources: 1, 2, 3

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image: twentyeight

All photovoltaic panels function on one basic principle of nature, the photoelectric effect, according to which matter emits electrons whenever it absorbs energy contained in electromagnetic radiation, namely sunlight. The motion of these so-called photoelectrons is what generates electric current.

Illustration of the photoelectric effect. image: University Of Iceland

In the Chemistry department of Ohio State University something good happened. Researchers managed to create a new substance – combining titanium, molybdenum and conductive plastic, that has the ability to absorb light from the entire range of the solar spectrum. Regarding that the speed of released photoelectrons (and thus quantity of produced current) depends only on the range of radiation, the material is considered perfectly suitable for the construction of solar cells capable of achieving 100% efficiency, i.e. convert all light they can take into electricity.

Utilizing one of the university’s supercomputers, the scientists adjusted numerous molecular structures until they stumbled upon the specific one. Afterwards their colleagues in National Taiwan University manufactured a sample of the substance and experiments initiated. One basic problem faced by photovoltaic technology is that the knocked loose electrons remain free for only a tiny fraction of a second. This makes the capturing procedure, called charge separation, extremely difficult. Remarkably, a certain class of excited electrons (identified as triplet state) of the new material remained unattached 7 million times longer than electrons within common solar cells, a fact which shall greatly ameliorate charge separation.

image: inhabitat

Although yet years away from massive implementation due to production cost, it is estimated that such revolutionary materials could lead the field of renewable energy in the forthcoming future.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, “Physics” by Alonso and Finn

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All images via Full Room

Imagine being caught in the middle of a nuclear war. You’re terrified of the fall out and all you want to do is spend time with your family. You know you may never see them again, so time is precious. Then imagine that your work inform you that you can’t go home (just when you thought you had the perfect excuse not to have to work for a very long time), you can’t see your family one last time, because unbeknownst to you, you’ll be serving queen and country for just a little while longer. Only this time you don’t get to see the light of day, well not much light gets through the walls of a nuclear bunker.

Atomic Handbook

This December, on BBC Radio 4, a programme was aired that detailed the visit to an old nuclear fall out bunker, hidden in the most unlikely place, the Wiltshire countryside. Normally associated with chocolate box houses and English rose gardens, rather than the last bastion of the British Government, the sleepy shire is the now not-so-secret location of a huge underground city complex.

Underground Streets

Code named Burlington, the immense city was set to be the seat of the emergency Government during the war; should nukes be involved. Created to house the Prime Minister of the time, Harold McMillan, the entire Cabinet Office, civil servants and any support staff, the hidden city could accommodate up to 4,000 personnel, but, unfortunately, not their families. Apparently, the site was so secret that many of the workers had no idea they were allocated a desk.

Seats Still Wrapped and Waiting

Built in the 1950s in a former stone quarry, Burlington covers 240 acres and has a network of around 60 miles of roads, which were laid out New York-style, making travelling around below much easier to master than the winding above. It even has its own railway station and pub; although one pub for 4,000 Brits doesn’t seem quite right.

Prepared Hospital Beds

The bunker was equipped with enough supplies so the inhabitants could survive up to three months in total isolation. Three generators powered the whole city and the air was kept to a comfortable 20 degrees. There were hospitals, canteens, a water treatment plant and an underground lake. Burlington also boasted Britain’s second largest telephone exchange and its very own BBC studio, so the PM could address the nation, should he need to.

Radio Studio for Prime Minister’s Address to the Nation

This extraordinary city was kept in working order for 30 years, just in case, but in 1991, at the end of the Cold War, the MOD took over management of it until it was decommissioned last year. Since then all memorabilia has been removed and today the only guard protecting the entrance to this remarkable piece of British history is a solitary garden gnome.

Source 1, 2, 3

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Image via Cellar

Poking its red head up through the shifting sands of Denmark’s weathered coast is the most useless lighthouse in the world. The Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse sits 60 meters above sea level on top of Lønstrup Klint on the edge of the North Sea, and is just about visible to those on land by day, never mind passing ships in the night.

The tip of the lighthouse is just visible above the dunes

Image from Oslo Geological Congress

Built towards the end of the 19th century over a period of 11 years, the lighthouse was first put into use on December 27, 1900. No one considered it would be almost completely engulfed by surrounding sands less than 70 years later. The lighthouse had its own gasworks for illumination and operation of the foghorn, and three employees worked hard around the clock to keep it in operation.

Image taken from an old picture of the lighthouse via Flickr

Then, unpredictably, as if the land was willing the ships ever closer to the shore, the sands gathered and started to envelope the lighthouse and its outbuildings, until they were no longer accessible. From certain points on the sea the lighthouse was totally invisible, so the decision was taken to decommission it from use, and on August 1, 1968 the doors of the lighthouse closed for good.

Image of lighthouse 15 years ago taken from a tourism brochure

Since then, because of the ever-changing scenery, the lighthouse has become a popular visitor attraction on the Jutland coast. The sands advance and retreat so quickly that within a matter of months the lighthouse can be covered to half way up the chimney and then at other times the small coffee shop and old museum, that were in use up until 2002, poke their heads through the dunes, as if gasping for breath, before being covered once more. Photographers, especially, find the Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse a treat to visit as they’re offered different views of the natural phenomenon every time.

Image by Anders Hollenbo

When the lighthouse was opened to the public, visitors were allowed to climb to the top of the 23 meter tower to admire the views. Now, the same views can be enjoyed from the top of the sand dunes that sit level with the old viewing gallery.

Image via Lighthouse-Duo

To mark the 100th anniversary of the tower, the locals organized a procession from nearby Mårup Church, 1500 meters away. Portable lighting meant Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse was once again in action, but only until New Year’s Eve. Even then, tons of sand was constantly being cleared from the lighthouse to allow access to the lighting equipment.

It’s predicted that the lighthouse will fall into the sea in 15 to 20 years time, until then, it patiently sits and waits.

Image by Alex J White

For those keen on tracking the shifting sands, the lighthouse can be found on Google Earth at: latitude 57 deg 26.96 min N and longitude 9 deg 46.51 min E. Unfortunately, we couldn’t access GE at the time of publishing but will share the image here, soon.

Source 1, 2, 3

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Image: Steve Mann

You glance at the person opposite and notice something unusual about one of their eyes. Not unusual really. It’s just an artificial eye. But what if behind the synthetic iris there was a camera, and a camera filming you? Would that be unusual? With CCTV, miniature cameras, and lordy-knows-what spy technology out there, a bionic eye like this is not only well within the scope of possibility; we’re within, well, the blink of an eye of seeing – and being seen by – one.

During two recent weeks, as many cases have come into the media spotlight of individuals set to trade in their regular fake eyes for distinctly more high-tech models, containing built-in wireless cameras capable of being hooked up to the Web.

Tanya Vlach with prosthetic eye

Image: Jonathan James

It was San Franciscan multi-disciplinary artist and producer Tanya Vlach who first turned the gaze of cyberspace to this particular cyborg place, through her blog, One-Eyed. Having lost one of her real eyes in a car accident three years ago, Vlach posted a “call for engineers” to help her soup up her existing artificial eye, so that it could function as a multi-spec digital video camera.

The imagined eye-camera’s features would include Bluetooth, a remote trigger, and even blink-responsive sensors for functions such as focusing and zoom. Vlach anticipates this mini camera implant – less than 1cm sq – enabling her to live what she calls “an experiment in wearable technology, cybernetics, and perception”.

Rob Spence with fake eye and camera module

Image: Steve Mann

But the Web has eyes. News quickly came to light of a man in a near identical position, Canadian documentary filmmaker Rob Spence. One of Spence’s eyes was badly damaged when, aged 11, a gun backfired on him as he was shooting a cowpat. Spence launched his own blog, Eye-Borg, which revealed he’d not only envisaged the same kind of eye-cam as Vlach, but has already homed in on a prototype.

Whereas Vlach’s plan is still on the drawing board, Spence is, as he says, “actually in the lab putting an eye together”, with the camera module soon to be joined by a battery and wireless transmitters. Spence is working with award winning electrical engineering professor, and famed “world’s first cyborg”, Steve Mann, a pioneer of wearable computer and recording devices like web cams.

Cyborg guru Steve Mann

Image: Glogger

It seems Spence monitored the interest Vlach’s project generated, which prompted him to expose his own. Yet it also looked like Vlach could benefit from some cross-border contact with a Canadian counterpart who’s clearly closer to the bionic bull’s-eye. Sure enough, Vlach has been in dialogue with Spence, as well as Steve Mann, and they may well team up at some stage.

The ways in which the lives these two would-be cyborgs mirror each other is pretty striking. There’s a mere one-year age gap between them: Vlach is 35, Spence, 36. Both take inspiration from science fiction. And then there’s the filmmaking connection. Vlach is eager to create true point-of-view eye-cam video art to represent the experience of her identity’s transformation. Meanwhile, Spence has begun making a new documentary on his own eye makeover, and its implications in today’s growing surveillance society.

Bionic man Rob Spence

Image: Steve Mann

Titled Eye 4 An Eye, Spence’s film will use footage shot through his eye-cam to position himself as a kind of ‘Little Brother’, exploring issues surrounding how cameras in public places invade privacy. Spence’s film is strongly influenced by his collaborator Steve Mann’s ideas on ’sousveillance’, and the practice of people watching the watchers with wearable cameras. As Spence puts it: “If Steve Mann is Obi Wan Kenobi then I am Luke Skywalker”.

Bionic woman Tanya Vlach

Image: Jonathan James

Vlach, too, takes some of her cues from Mann. But whereas this Princess Leia’s vision of an ‘augmented reality’ comes from a more personal angle, Spence has a wide-screen focus, and he appears to be taking the hero’s role against the evil empire.

Whether you see eye-cams adding to the problem of unwelcome recording of our lives is another story. Needless to say it’s something both Vlach and Spence are keenly aware of.

Watching the watchers

Image: Redvers

What’s certain is that such close fitting biological add-ons are further signs that cyborg culture has arrived. And with technology evolving so rapidly, who knows how much more like machines we will become? People’s eyes have been opened.

*With special thanks to Tanya and Rob for use of their images.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

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Image: Emmet Byrne

Remember picking up random objects from the side of the road as a kid and being scolded for it, forced to let the treasure go? Here’s a chance to get creative with everyday objects (read: trash). The following examples show that beauty is in everything, even trash, and that amazing things can be designed out of it if we put our minds to it.

The igloo above seems to be made mainly out of newspapers, paper cups and plastic sheets, creating a surprisingly homogenous white-to-pastel colour scheme. This project was contributed by artist David Hamlow and others at the Art Shanty Projects 2006. This annual, 5-week public art installation uses a frozen lake as an open-air gallery.

Image: Rovingmagpie

The dodo is dead – long live roadrunner! This gigantic roadrunner is made entirely out of trash – its white belly is mainly composed of old sneakers and the rest of old shoes but there are also old electronics, appliances and antennas. A mesh covering holds the tail feathers together. The roadrunner can be found hunting on a hill above the city of Las Cruces in New Mexico. This trash sculpture is not only beautiful but also a design and engineering marvel – it is perfectly balanced so that it can withstand even strong winds on its skinny legs.

Image: Cyndy Sims Parr

This trash fish was made out of waste found in the river running through Gwynns Falls Park in Baltimore, MD. Note that apart from plastic bags and car parts, most of the objects found like plastic bottles are actually recyclable. This project was part of the annual Art on Gwynns Falls Trails exhibition and exemplifies that raising awareness about river pollution can be done in a constructive and creative manner.

Image: Stuart Lawrence

This rubbish robot seems to be straight out of Terminator. He could once be found at the Eden Project in Cornwall, England in 2005, but who knows, he might be back!

Image: Jessie Mia Hull

Leaving the artsy for the more practical and playful, this playground in South Africa shows how old barrels and tires can be put to good use. Don’t miss that creative baby swing on the right!

Image: Ben Fulton

This colourful playground rests on a deep layer of recycled car tires dyed blue, providing cushy protection for anyone sliding too fast. No scraped knees for the lucky students of Marlin School in Bloomington, IN.

Image: Robinzeggs

Who is afraid of the big bad tire monster? It looks half buried but its blood red tongue seems ready to lash out. All equipment at this playground in Tuckahoe State Park in Maryland is made out of recycled tires – there’s even a tire jungle gym in the background.

Image: me55enger

Now from playgrounds to do-it-yourself trash art. These five stickmen seem to enjoy the view of the Australian coast. Or maybe they are doing a rain dance? Their simplicity and grace do complement the amazing landscape. Don’t miss the stones at their feet to stop them from being blown away.

Image: Retinal Fetish

An impromptu beach sculpture at Bay View Beach in Milwaukee, WI. Lost and found man-made objects come together in harmony with natural objects like twigs and stone. Being creative seems easy in front of these amazing views.

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4

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The diversity and beauty that exists on this planet is absolutely amazing. Take the nudibranch, a shell-less mollusk, or sea slug. The nudibranch has evolved many colour and shape variations in order to camouflage itself or warn potential predators that it is poisonous or otherwise unpleasant to eat. Depending on the species, size also ranges from the very teeny tiny of 20 mm (3/4 of an inch) up to 600 mm (about two feet).

And although nudibranchs can be found in reef habitats around the world, they can be difficult to locate, so we’ve gathered 20 exceptional photos for you to feast your eyes on. Take a look and we think you’ll agree that the unassuming ‘nudi’ (as they are so fondly referred to in online forums) are without a doubt some of the most colourful and charming critters in the world. But the wonders of the nudi don’t stop here; we encourage you to check out the websites of the photographers we’ve featured as they’ve got oodles of stunning nudibranch pictures for you to admire!

1. Ceratosoma amoena

Image: doug.deep

2. Pteraeolidia ianthina

Image: doug.deep

3. Nembrotha rosannulata (’Donut’ Nembrotha)

Image: richard ling

4. Noumea sulphurea

Image: doug.deep

5. Neodoris chrysoderma

Image: doug.deep

6. Phyllidiopsis fissurata

Image: richard ling

7. Chromodoris woodwardae

Image: doug.deep

8. Notodoris minor

Image: Boogies with fish

9. Chromodoris kuniei

Image: Boogies with fish

10. Chromodoris tinctoria

Image: doug.deep

11. Chromodoris annae

Image: Jens Petersen via WikiMedia Commons

12. Gymnodoris impudica

Image: doug.deep

13. Phyllidiopsis shirinae

Image: Boogies with fish

14. Flabellina iodinea (Spanish shawl)

Image: Magnus Kjærgaard via WikiMedia Commons

15. Phyllodesmium poindimiei

Image: doug.deep

16. Phyllidia varicosa (’Fried Egg’ nudibranch)

Image: jon hanson

17. Jorunna funebris (’Funeral Pyre’ nudibranch)

Images: alfonsator

We’ll end off the set with a few photos of nudibranchs hanging out together … aren’t they cute?

18. Kubaryana feeding on clavelina

Image: Nick Hobgood via WikiMedia Commons

19. Hypselodoris bullockii

Image: Boogies with fish

20. Mexichromis multituberculata

Image: doug.deep

Sources: 1, 2

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Robert Koch

This very cool shot was captured in Southern California, not far from Vandenburg Air Force Base. A Minotaur rocket had launched just about an hour before the photo was taken, leaving behind a very photogenic plume of smoke. The contrail shows amazing rainbow-colored flashes picked up from the setting sun, even though it was captured at night. This usually happens when clouds are high in the upper atmosphere; they reflect sunlight while the lower clouds appear dark, resulting in a lustrous iridescent sky.

There are hundreds of similar images available on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) website, too, like this one taken on September 28, 2005, near the same air base. In it, the planet Venus is clearly visible.

Nick Hilton

Source 1, 2

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