Environmental Graffiti

Fishy Island (2009)
Image via 10Steps

While most people try to hide when they use Photoshop to brush up their pictures, here’s a young digital artist who quite obviously distorts images but does it so cleverly that we almost start believing in the amazing illusions he creates. Meet Erik Johansson, 24-year old computer engineering student from Sweden who’s believably warping reality…

Unlike digital artists who find random pictures they can build upon, Johansson’s work is his own, 100 per cent. He comes up with an idea for a new image, sets out to take the pictures and then gets to work at them with imaging software. In many of his stunning images, he is even the model whose face gets distorted, who strolls through a summer landscape or is a mere marionette hanging by threads.

Go Your Own Road (2008):

Image via villageofjoy

Johannson got his first digital camera at age 15 and even though he started manipulating the images he took early on, initially he did it solely for fun. Only when he bought his first SLR camera in 2007 did he start taking photo retouching and manipulations more seriously.

Ironing out some kinks in the character – Stryktalig (2008)

Given the skill level involved, he estimates that each of his photographs takes between 10 and 20 hours from concept to final image. Asked in an interview with abduzeedo.com about his workflow, he admits: “I always have a sketch of the final idea. But it always ends up different, in a good way mostly. When I have come up with an idea I try to find good spots to use for the photos and then it’s time for the photoshopping.”

Self-portrait?
Image via mymodernmet

The young photographer draws inspiration from artists like M.C. Escher, Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte and others but also from photos and drawings he sees on the Net. He shares some advice on keeping the good ideas coming: “I think the most important thing is to make a note of every idea, otherwise it might be gone in a few seconds.”

In an interview with Don’t Panic magazine, Johannson explains the motifs behind his work:

“My goal is to make pictures as realistic as possible, but at the same time impossible. Many photographers try to look weird, so I try to make my shots as plausible as possible. I would say I try to use humour a lot and I rarely have a didactic message. Sometimes I want to tell something, but mostly I want people to interpret.”

We think what makes viewers connect so easily with Johannson’s work – apart from admiration for his incredible technical skill and attention to detail – is the fact that he pictures everyday scenes we all can connect with. Who hasn’t wished to simply iron out a kink in one’s character? Or to punch one’s own face after making a mistake? Or moving the road ahead for one’s own purposes?

Face vs. Fist (2008)

Image via villageofjoy

But there’s also an environmental message, especially in Johansson’s earlier works. In a fully concretised city, what would happen with the last tree? Would it be carted off into a museum? And in view of increasing environmental problems, will inside be the new outside?

The Room (2008)

Image via 10steps

The last tree – Sista Trädet, Sista Hösten (2007)

Image via mymodernmet

Impressed by this promising artist’s depth and talent, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more. Now that might be an image to Johansson’s liking.

More stunning photographs on Erik Johansson’s website or get updates on Twitter.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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Image: jessegimbel

In 1962, firemen in the Pennsylvanian mining town of Centralia successfully extinguished a minor blaze at a landfill dump – but little did they know a layer of coal just below the surface had ignited, creating a hidden and deadly inferno that raged undetected beneath the town for almost twenty years.

Image: mattcoz

The flames above the surface were eventually extinguished, but the inferno below continued to rage for several years, fanned by the flow of oxygen through disused mine shafts.

Locating a waste incineration site in an abandoned coal mine is never a good idea – especially if you also fail to install the fire-resistant clay barrier that prevents underlying layers of flammable anthracite coal from setting alight. Five volunteer firemen in Centralia overlooked this when they set fire to a landfill site in a mine pit, before dumping more hot coal and ash on top.

Image: jessegimbel

The subterranean fire gradually spread, enveloping the surrounding coal fields, and locals were only alerted in 1979 when a gas-station owner discovered the fuel in his underground tanks was an incredible 77.8° C (172° F). Shortly afterwards a 12 year old boy almost died when the extreme heat forced open a 46m (150 ft) subsidence crack beneath him.

Image: sim

Today Centralia is a ghost town – its population evacuated in 1984 and its memory long since erased from the map. The state claimed eminent domain over the town’s buildings in 1992, demolishing the majority of them, and those that remain sit silently among the desolate open spaces and smouldering vents that now dominate the area.

Image: Joyey Jojo

And the fire still burns, engulfing an area of over 1.6km² (400 acres), with scientists estimating the presence of enough coal to feed its flames for the next 250 years. The large amount of carbon monoxide in the air and ground riven by extreme heat ensures residents won’t return to Centralia for some time.

Image: Lyndi & Jason

The lonely cemetery that sits atop the hilltop, gently smouldering, marks not only the final resting place of those who long ago brought mining to the area, but also the demise of a town that is destined to remain silent for many decades to come. There will, however, always remain hope that Centralia might some day return to its former glory – that it might rise from the ashes.

Image: mattzcoz

Sources: 1, 2

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Photo: Molas

The zany chaps from Britain’s Dangerous Sports Club made the first modern bungee jump from Bristol’s 245-foot (75 m) Clifton Suspension in 1979. Yet since bungee jumping became commercial at the hands of elastic-thinking New Zealand entrepreneur A J Hackett, the heights from which the man on the street can now leap with nothing but a giant rubber band attached to his ankles have just got bigger. And bigger. And bigger. Here are the highest jumps from fixed objects to date. Steel yourself for some vertiginous views.

5. Europabrücke Bridge, Austria – 630 feet (192 m)

Photo: basheem

Standing 630 feet (192 m) high, and supporting the Brenner Autobahn that links Austria and Italy across the Alps, the Europabrücke Bridge was Europe’s highest from 1963 until it was topped out by France’s Millau Viaduct in 2004. Make no mistake, though: just standing on the edge of this structure, let alone thinking about jumping from it, would be enough to make many feel sick with giddiness.

Photo via Sillpark

Once you’ve had those ties wrapped securely round your ankles, it’s a quick look at the alpine panorama around you and then a leap off the launch platform, your face turning to stretched rubber as the floor of the Wipp valley rushes towards you, before the bungee finally kicks in, leaving you bouncing like a rag doll on a piece of string – albeit a very grateful one.

4. Bloukrans Bridge, South Africa – 708 feet (216 m)

Photo: Axel Hecht

The world’s highest single span arch bridge, the Bloukrans Bridge towers 708 feet (216 m) above the river of the same name. Primarily a road bridge, the Bloukrans also hosts a beast of a bungee jump – the highest commercially operated on earth for years after it was opened in 1997. With its pendulum system, apparently you get “the smoothest, most comfortable bungy jump possible”. Nice to know.

Photo: Face Adrenalin

Once you’ve been led across a custom designed catwalk that hangs beneath the N2 national route road surface, taking you to the top of the arch, it’s time to get your final instructions – and maybe mutter some final prayers. Then it’s a quick countdown amidst stunning surrounds, and away you go, plummeting through the air, with the water of Bloukrans River looming large in a matter of seconds.

3. Verzasca Dam, Switzerland – 720 feet (220 m)

Photo: Sint Smeding

Just looking at this picture is enough to give you vertigo. That dam face just keeps going down, down, down – hopefully not to damnation if you’re freefalling down its face. The Verzasca hydroelectric dam, completed in 1965, soars 720 feet (220 m) above Lago di Vogorno, the reservoir it forms. Oh, and its apex is also the site of a heart-stopping commercial bungee jump.

Photo via Adventure Blog

Featured in the opening sequence of the Bond movie Goldeneye, the Verzasca dam offers a pure freefall swinging bungee from a single cord, similar to the one that swings you down from the Bloukrans Bridge. Apparently this jump is made without guide ropes, but jump masters are there to ensure you’re safe as you hurtle towards the base of this colossal concrete structure.

2. Macau Tower, China – 760 feet (233 m)

Photo: wZa HK

Measuring 1,109 feet (338 m) from tip to toe, the Macau Tower dwarfs the former Portuguese colony of Macau, where it was completed in 2001. In 2006, bungee jumping guru A J Hackett launched what the Guinness Book of Records recognised as the highest commercial bungee jump in the world, performing the leap himself from the same spot as his ’skyjump’, which was opened the year before.

Photo: kutugi

Although at 760 feet (233 m) just a fraction taller than its Swiss rival to the crown, and perhaps not as scenic as some of the other jumps here, the drop from the Macau Tower definitely isn’t to be sneered at. What’s more, when you’ve thrown yourself into the abyss, plunging straight for the city floor, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about such trifling concerns. More important things to think about.

1. Royal Gorge Bridge, Colorado, USA – 1,053 feet (321 m)

Photo: miscelena

Fortunate to be numero uno this one, with the bungee jump only available in the Go Fast Games of 2005 and 2007 – but the best things come to those who wait. An attraction since 1929, the Royal Gorge Bridge hangs 1,053 feet (321 m) aloft and is billed as the highest suspension bridge in the world. Add rickety wooden planks with cracks you can see straight down between and dizzying wouldn’t be the word.

Photo: Larry Gottlieb

With the Arkansaw River running along the base of the gorge, this rare bungee jump is a beauty, and edging along its platform it takes some beating for fear factor too. Says jumper Larry Gottlieb: “Those last few inches feel like a mile. Then… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… jump! …At first, there was a feeling of falling, but very quickly I reached terminal velocity of about 110 mph. After that, it felt like floating – just wonderful.” Nuff said.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

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Image: Andrew Stawarz

A star trail is a star’s movement photographed over time. It is not visible to the human eye so getting a picture right requires expertise, skill and patience. The following stunning pictures of star trails reveal the hidden paintings created by the movement of the stars, night after night.

When taking pictures of stars, the regular point-and-shoot method (i.e. a short exposure time) will result in a static picture of stars as points of light – the ones we see with the naked eye. The longer the exposure of the picture, the longer the star trail will be. This is because stars appear to move after 15 seconds, though actually it’s the Earth’s rotation that makes them seem to move. A good camera lens is also important as the longer the focal length, the more movement one will catch.

Amazing star trails captured in Hokkaido, Japan:

Image: Daita Saru

Freelance photographer Dan Heller offers a good explanation of why star trails are special phenomena:

“What most people don’t understand about light is that the human eye doesn’t discern between the chemical compounds that make up light. Humans view a very narrow spectrum. Cameras, on the other hand, can pick up light wavelengths that is composed of chemical compounds like helium, hydrogen, and so on. These chemicals change the “color” of light that that we can’t easily see, but cameras can. … Stars in the sky are different—they are made up of gasses that are comprised of these chemical compounds that emit colors that we can’t see, but cameras can. So, the “hues” you may see in photos of stars may appear vivid, but that does not mean it’s been artificially altered.”

There are two options for taking pictures of star trails: Either taking one long-exposure photograph or taking dozens of pictures and merging them into one. Regardless of what method one chooses, a lot of patience and some photographic experience is required. The better the camera, the better the long exposure facility should be. Even though taking individual shots sounds like a lot of work, it is made a bit easier with software or plug-ins that automate the process.

Here’s a great example of multiple short-exposure shots. Only nine photographs of 30 seconds each were taken to capture these short star trails. Notice how well the car lights on the road got captured.

Road to Nowhere?

Image: Aitor Escauriaza

Star trails appear concentric because rather than being a reflection of their own movement, they are a reflection of the Earth’s daily rotation around its axis.

Perfect circles in Big Bear, CA:

Image: Bill S.

Star trails photographed at the mission in San Miguel, CA:

Image: Kevin Cole

The next shot was taken from the Matsell Natural Bridge Area in Linn County, IA. What looks like the early morning sun rising are actually the city lights from Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

Amazing star trails over a snowy landscape close to Stone City, IA:

Image: Robert Wolterman

Star trails over the Walpurgis Church close to Forchheim in southern Germany:

Image: Udo Kügel

The stunning image of star trails below is actually the result of 102 individual long-exposure photographs merged into one. Wow! Taken in Thurston, England, on a frosty night.

Like a celestial whirlpool:

Image: Andrew Stawarz

The photograph below is the result of a 52-minute exposure coupled with the scenic beauty of Jalama Beach in Santa Barbara County, CA. Don’t miss the face in the rock on the left!

Suck me into the vortex:

Image: Andrew Livingston

The terrific image below is the result of 57 photographs, taken within 1 hour and 15 minutes at Cascade Lock, OR, and then merged into one.

A true beauty – don’t miss the two shooting stars:

Image: Lee

Star trails over the Gemini Observatory at Oxford University:

Image: Gemini Science UK

Star trails over Duchesne, UT:

Image: Brian

One night at the Gemini South Observatory, Chile:

Image: Elke Schulz

Most likely two different pictures merged with Photoshop but still pretty:

Image: Bennthewolfe

There are tons of tutorials and helpful websites out there on the Net, so if you’re inspired, get your gear, a scenic spot and a hot thermos. Who knows, your picture might be featured next.

Sources: 1, 2

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Anita Scharf

Diadromous is not a word one hears every day, but this word is in fact the key to one of nature’s most startling migrations – that of the Pacific salmon. From the warm climes of the northern Sunshine State (California, that is) and the cool coniferous forests of British Columbia, to the chilling waters of the Bering Strait, these fish yearly perform migrations that cover thousands of miles.

Jeff Hsu – Sockeye salmon

The key to these wanderings is the ability of salmon species to function both in freshwater and seawater: diadromy. Ordinarily, animals are quite heavily specialised towards living in either one of these habitats. The physiological requirements are quite different for both, with vastly different demands made on the animal’s body. Freshwater animals are constantly trying to keep salt in their body and water out, while for seawater animals, the opposite is the case. So how do the salmon do it?

Pacific Northwest National Lab – Chinook salmon

Usually as they travel through estuaries (which act as a kind of half-way house between the two habitats), Pacific salmon begin to make changes to the way in which their bodies function – especially in how much water they intake and release as urine. But it’s not all behavioural: special gill chloride cells help to correctly regulate the balance between salt and water in their bodies. Many species (such as the sockeye salmon) lose their distinctive red colour as they head out to sea.

bgblogging

The crux of these alterations is that though the Pacific salmon are marine animals, they return to the very river system they were born in to spawn, and are able to tolerate the freshwater conditions. The overall journey may span thousands of miles. Out of the five migratory species of Pacific salmon, it is the sockeye which travels the farthest, migrating from the west coast of North America as far as northern Russia and southern Japan!

Jake Khuon

After spending up to five years feasting in the bountiful water of the Pacific, the adult salmon return to the coast. The method by which they discern their own birthing-places is still something of a mystery, though their accuracy in re-locating these sites is impressive.

It is thought that they rely on their vision for much of the trip, though experiments with (temporarily!) chemically-blinded salmon have shown that they utilise their sense of smell to pinpoint the exact river system. Many salmon will die on this journey, and those that make it often arrive battered and bruised. They must travel against the flow of water for the entire journey, and this includes travelling up waterfalls – something which has been the subject of many a stirring picture.

Tom Jowitt. All rights reserved, used with permission.

After spawning, their purpose fulfilled, they die where they were born. The ability to live in two differing conditions is energetically very expensive, as is the ability to locate a specific spot across many thousands of miles. So what’s the advantage? How could such a complex and dangerous system have come about?

From what we know about evolution, it may be supposed that because a salmon is born at a particular spot, that spot will also be an ideal one for it to spawn its own young and be assured that they will survive (not that I reckon a salmon can be ‘assured’). Though the trip is risky, it might perhaps be more risky at a population level if individuals began selecting other, potentially less stable areas in which to spawn.

Robert Kramer – Alaska, the final destination for many Pacific salmon.

There are a few grey areas with evolution: either a system works and the young survive to pass on the trait, or it doesn’t and the trait hits the wall. Clearly the great salmon migration, though perhaps not the most efficient system, does the trick admirably.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

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“Samuel Dixon Crossing on a 7/8 Inch Wire, 1890″ Image courtesy of Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

Daredevils, lunatics, call them what you will; there’s one thing that unites those folks who attempted the tightrope-walking or barrel-riding stunts that got them dicing with the Grim Reaper: an irrepressible urge to stand out from the crowd. Niagara Falls was their stage, and they intended to fill the show with rapturous applause, even if it meant bringing the curtain down for the final time. These were no pseudo-mystical David Blaine types either; they were regular guys and gals with old school style, their feats now frozen in hues of black and white. Let’s turn our gaze on five of the most legendary daredevils who braved the dangers of these famous American falls.

1. Henry Bellini – Tightrope Walker

Image courtesy of Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

Of English or perhaps Australian origins, Henry Bellini first came to Niagara in 1873, and began serving up regular tightrope performances using a 1,500-foot rope, apparently the longest ever used to cross the Niagara River gorge. Bellini used a 48 pound, 22-foot long balance pole, and to add to the death-defying nature of his exploits, combined his balancing act with a hair-raising leap into the churning waters of the river, many metres below.

Bombs away: Henry Bellini dropping to the water

Image courtesy of Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

After jumping, Bellini was picked up by a waiting boat. He was clearly confident both in his own abilities and those of his rescue team because he made three such leaps in one year alone. The winter of 1886, however, saw his poise freeze over when he leapt from the upper Suspension Bridge and was dragged unconscious from the water, his ribs broken. He died two years later after jumping from a bridge in London.

2. Stephen Peer – Tightrope Walker

Image: Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

Stephen Peer could have been the local boy done good. Born in 1840 in the nearby Stamford Township, he was inspired by the feats of Frenchman Charles Blondin, the earliest of Niagara’s tightrope walkers, and was determined to follow in his steady footsteps across the gorge – while bringing such exploits back home. In 1873, he became Henry Bellini’s assistant, but their ties were severed when he used Bellini’s equipment for his own public stunt without his master’s permission…

Dizzying perspective: Stephen Peer on a tightrope above the lower Niagara River

Image courtesy of Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

Bellini was not amused and tried to cut the tightrope down while Peer was still walking on it, but was run out of town. By 1887, Peer was performing under his own billing. He successfully completed a return tightrope crossing on a 5/8 inch-diameter wire cable stretched between the Pen Central and present Whirlpool Bridges. However, three days later he fell to his death from the same spot, away from the public gaze. Rumour has it he had been drinking that night with friends.

3. Samuel Dixon – Tightrope Walker

Image courtesy of Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

A photographer from Toronto, Samual Dixon crossed the Niagara River gorge in 1890, reportedly using the cable owned by Stephen Peer and a sixteen-foot long balancing pole made of three pieces of gas pipe stuck together. He achieved the feat over the most ferocious part of the famous Whirlpool Rapids, crossing from the Canadian to the American side and back again. He also added to the tension by lying on the rope with the pole resting on his chest, balancing on one leg, and hanging by one hand from the cable.

Vertigo: Samuel Dixon crossing Niagara on a cable beside the Suspension Bridge

Image courtesy of Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

In 1891, Dixon walked between the Cantilever Railway Bridge and Railway Suspension Bridge, bolstering his standing as one of the last in a legacy of great tightrope walkers to have braved the Niagara Falls.

4. Annie Taylor – Barrel Rider

Image: GG Bain News Service

If the men mentioned were some of the cream of Niagara’s tightrope walkers, Annie Taylor stands as the queen of its barrel riders. In 1901, Taylor stunned the world when she became the first person to conquer Niagara Falls in a barrel and live to tell the tale. A 63-year old widowed schoolteacher from Michigan who claimed to be in her 40s, she arrived at Niagara in search of cold, hard cash, and so promptly got a barrel built from Kentucky oak and iron hoops, with mattress padding inside.

Rescue team: The opening of Annie Taylor’s barrel

Image courtesy of Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

Taylor was towed out into the main stream of the Niagara River, the lid was screwed onto her vessel, and a bicycle pump was used to compress the air inside. Then she was cast loose and sent careering over the Horseshoe Falls. The barrel plumetted into the waters below with a bonecrunching jolt, but Taylor survived relatively unscathed. When the rescuers finally reached the barrel, she was hauled out with just a small cut on her forehead.

Survivor: Annie Taylor being assisted ashore

Image: M. H. Zahner courtesy Francis J. Petrie Collection

Unfortunately for Taylor, fame but not fortune was to follow as she spent the final twenty years of her life eking out a living on the speaking curcuit and later posing for photographs. Her manager made off with her barrel and she died penniless in 1921. Soon after her stunt, Taylor had famously declared, “I would caution anyone against attempting the feat”, but her words were not to be heeded, as at least 14 more people have done so, several at the cost of their lives.

5. Bobby Leach – Barrel Rider

Image: Robert Leach – Library and Archives Canada

The second person and first man to go over the Falls in a barrel was Bobby Leach. A circus stuntman born in England, Leach came to Niagara with the triple goals of a parachute jump from the upper Suspension Bridge into the river, a barrel trip through the Whirlpool rapids, and another barrel ride over the Falls. After completing the first challenge in 1908, he tried out his barrel in 1910 but got stuck in a current and had to be rescued by the famous Niagara riverman ‘Red Hill Senior’.

Proud: Bobby Leach with his barrel

Image courtesy of Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library

In 1911, Leach plunged over the Falls in his metal barrel successfully but not unharmed. When he was retrieved from the water, he spent six months in hospital recovering from the injuries he had sustained, including two broken kneecaps and a broken jaw. Unlike his predecessor Taylor, Leach gained some success off the back of his exploits. However, in 1926 he died as a result of gangrene brought on by an injury caused when he slipped on orange peel on a visit to New Zealand.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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Image: chadh

Probably nothing tells the story of a city as vividly as its skyline. Seen over the course of the decades, it is often more the absences or the gaps that tell of significant and often traumatic events than new and daring constructions that seem to fight for viewers’ attention. This is surely true for Lower Manhattan, as the following stunning pictures from 1911 to 2008 show.

Below is an image of Lower Manhattan in 1911. The pointy tower in the middle is the Singer Building, built in 1906 and more than 40 stories tall. It was demolished in 1968 to make way for the U.S. Steel Building located at One Liberty Plaza. Right below, the long building is the Municipal Ferry Terminal, also called Battery Maritime Building. It was built in 1909 and used until 1939 for the Brooklyn ferry. Today, it’s where people can catch a ferry to Governor’s Island, long closed to the public.

The similar long structure on the left is the Whitehall or Staten Island Ferry Terminal. It was built in 1907 and used until 1991 when it burned down. It was only replaced by a new terminal in 2005.

The two buildings on the very left are the Whitehall Building, 20 stories high and built in 1904, and the Whitehall Building Annex, 31 stories high and built in 1911.

It’s no wonder there was a building boom even then in New York, considering the city already had a population of almost 4.8 million in 1910 due to a steady stream of immigrants from Europe.

The New York City skyline in 1911, already quite tall and impressive:

Image: Library of Congress via army.arch

Despite World War I, the building boom in the city continued. Below is a view of Lower Manhattan as seen from the East River with the Brooklyn Bridge and the new Municipal Building on the right – constructed in 1914 and 41 stories high. The tall building to the left is the new Woolworth Building, constructed in 1913 and at 57 stories, the tallest building in Lower Manhattan at the time – and therefore visible from any angle. Left of it, close to the Brooklyn Bridge, is the Singer Building.

The USS Arizona in front of the Manhattan skyline in 1916:

Image: U.S. Naval Historical Center

By 1930, the city’s population had shot up to more than 6.9 million, helped by the Great Migration of African Americans from the South in the 1920s. Even the Great Depression could not dampen builders’ spirits, who erected some of the city’s grandest Art Deco buildings in the ‘30s.

Two world-famous ones are the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, both located in midtown Manhattan and therefore not pictured in any of the photographs below that focus on New York’s “original” skyline. The Chrysler Building, 77 stories high and completed in 1930, was the world’s tallest building for 11 months. Just to be surpassed by the Empire State Building, 102-stories tall and completed in 1931.

Here’s a stunning aerial shot of Lower Manhattan, circa 1931, that shows how much taller and built up it is than just 15 years previous:

Image: U.S. National Archives

Below is the skyline in detail, in 1932: On the left is the Woolworth Building and on its right, the darkish tower is the Singer Building. Further on the left, the flat-topped skyscraper is the Bank of New York Building at One Wall Street, then known as the Irving Trust Company Building. The 50-story building was completed in 1931.

The tallest tower in the middle with what looks like a black roof – but which is actually copper – is the 40 Wall Street building, then known as the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building and today the Trump Building. The 70-story skyscraper was completed in just 11 months in 1930.

The tallest building with a flat roof on the right is the City Bank-Farmers Trust Company Building, a 59-story Art Deco building at 20 Exchange Place, completed in 1931. Adjacent on the left stands the American International Building, 66-stories tall and completed in 1932.

The USS Colorado in front of the New York skyline, circa 1932:

Image: U.S. Navy

After the 1930s, as space in Lower Manhatten kept filling up, the city and with it the new skyscrapers moved north, and midtown – then nearly the edge of Manhattan – became the new architectural center as one project tried to surpass the other in height.

In 1940, New York’s population was at almost 7.5 million and the period after World War II saw an influx of returning war veterans and immigrants from Europe. This led to the development of the eastern suburbs (then considered the absolute boondocks), especially Queens, where huge housing tracts were built. In 1939, the first World’s Fair was held here.

Not too many changes – the skyline of Lower Manhattan in December 1941:

Image: Jack Delano

From the ‘50s onwards, the city’s growth rate started slowing down a bit. In 1950, New York’s population was at almost 7.9 million. When looking at Lower Manhattan’s skyline below, there are again not too many changes. Notice how the Singer Building, formerly the tallest, is dwarfed and almost gets lost next to all the other buildings. On the very right, don’t miss the first skyscraper in Queens.

The USS Saratoga in front of the New York skyline, dated between 1956 and 1959:

Image: U.S. Navy

The ‘60s and ‘70s saw an increase in activism and the common man taking matters into his own hands. In 1964, New York hosted the second World’s Fair, this time grander and bigger than the first one, which had been overshadowed by the war.

By the ‘70s, New York had also gained a reputation as a crime-ridden city. 1977 will be remembered by New Yorkers for two catastrophes: the blackout and the Son of Sam serial murder slayings. In 1970, New York’s population was at almost 7.9 million, the same as 20 years back. Over the next decade, the population actually decreased; it was a little more than 7 million in 1980.

Below is a great shot of the New York skyline in 1978. Now we can see a change, namely the World Trade Center towers, constructed in 1972 and 1973, soaring over all the other buildings. They stayed New York’s tallest buildings until 2001. The Municipal Building is the tall white tower on the right; on the left, the American International Building.

Lower Manhattan in 1978:

Image: Jack Duval

In the 1980s, Wall Street saw a rebirth; in the 1990s, the dot com boom hyped up the situation in New York as well, so that a migration of Americans to the city could be observed as well as a wave of new immigrants from Asia and Latin America. In 2000, the city’s population had just crossed the 8 million mark.

Skyline taken in 2000 from the Staten Island ferry:

Image: chadh

Just as New Yorkers were gearing up for the last quarter of 2001, three catastrophes struck: the attacks of September 11, 2001; the anthrax attacks that started exactly one week later; and the crash of an American Airlines flight in a Queens suburb on November 12, 2001. The stroke of bad luck continued when on August 14, 2003, a blackout hit the whole North East region and affected New York City majorly. The early years of the new millennium were surely not easy for the citizens of New York.

The Twin Tower memorial on September 11, 2004:

Image: Derek Jensen

Old and new – Manhattan skyline now, photographed on September 6, 2008:

Image: con4tini

For those truly inspired by the article and the New York skyline who live in or around the City, here’s an insider tip: Go to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens (Subway No. 7 goes there) and visit a huge, walk-around scale model of the whole city with all five boroughs at the Queens Museum of Art. The model is a remnant from the World’s Fair in 1964 but has been updated frequently since. It is the best depiction of the city’s grid and portrays its vastness like no other image could.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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Image: Gary Koelling

Carrots do it, parsnips do it, squash – oh lala, yams – positively do it, tomatoes too and eggplants sometimes. What, you ask? Provide healthy nutrition of course. What about cucumbers and sweet potatoes? Absolutely. Nutrition for the body and mind as we witness the vegetables’ naughtier side, growing themselves into, er, dubious shapes. Nature rules; we seriously couldn’t make this stuff up! Or maybe, once we stopped laughing.

Who would’ve thought potatoes, the whole family of them, could be so suggestive?

1. Yam, yam, yam:

Image: BitterScripts

2. This potato shape could be, er, anything…

Image: Martin Olsson

3. Absolutely no comment on this sweet potato:

Image: Daemona Mea

Parsnips and carrots do seem to be the naughtiest of the vegetable world, enjoying their habit of surprising stunned gardeners with their funny growth.

4. With a little help from my friends:

Image: Cyron

5. Like an anatomically correct panty hose mannequin – almost:

Image: Gary Koelling

6. Yes, this parsnip was really caught with its pants down in a flower bed:

Image: Dave & Leslie

The amount of vegetables out there that let the mind wonder in a certain direction is something to ponder over.

7. Confused squash or half-hearted bifurcation?

Image: Dan Means

8. Anything you can do I can do better:

Image: Lana_aka_BADGRL

9. Keep your, er, nose to the grindstone:

Image: Jason Ruck

10. Size doesn’t matter, does it?

Image: Nicu Buculei

Makes you look at vegetables in a whole new light, doesn’t it? But as funny or naughty as these vegetables may be, they do all have the same fate: they end up in a salad sooner or later. Luckily, their finders clicked a picture before preparing them to be eaten, to share their astonishing discoveries with the world. Well done; this collection sure made our day!

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Image: Fask7

Sometimes we humans think we’ve got it all sown up when it comes to inventing ingenious means for surviving in environments we weren’t meant to last two minutes in. The astronaut is a case in point; so too the archetypal deep sea diver. Yet while the image of a man in a cumbersome metallic suit with a cross between an armoured helmet and a goldfish bowl on his head might strike you as inspired, it starts to look a little foolish when compared with the grace of a kitted up diving bell spider.

Diving bell descending…

Image via Keiths One Planet

Otherwise known as the water spider, the diving bell spider is one of a kind. Found in the ponds of Northern and Central Europe as well as parts of Northern Asia, this air-breathing arachnid is the only spider that spends her entire life underwater. The spider is distinguished by the fact that she spins a ‘diving bell’ of air trapped inside a cocoon of silk, a wonder of nature’s design she uses for consuming prey, mating, raising offspring and more.

Image via Muriel Martin

After weaving her web sack underwater and attaching it securely to some aquatic plants, this singular spider sets about stocking it with air. She swims to the water’s surface where she catches air bubbles in between the fine hairs of her legs and abdomen, before submerging once more to take her diaphanous load back to this original spider scuba tank. There, she detaches the air bubbles, and then repeats the process again and again until the sack is full of air.

Cosy inside…

Image: Fask7

The diving bell has a few other special features as well. For one, the silk skin lets oxygen diffuse in from the water and carbon dioxide diffuse out, meaning the spider does not have to renew her air supply so often. The silk threads that anchor the cocoon also serve as underwater traps, alerting the spider when some unsuspecting prey touches them, so she can come darting out to deliver a paralysing bite with her potent, venomous fangs.

Unfortunate victim…

Image: Fask7

So much for the spider, but how do humans measure up beside her? In our defence, we are less clumsy underwater as scuba divers than when holed up in hulking great atmospheric diving suits or traditional diving bells, but we can’t spend the winter underwater with the aid of such contraptions and neither can we use them as nests in which to safely rear our young. Human answers to this personal spider’s submarine will just have to try a little harder.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

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The solar eclipse with diamond ring effect as seen from Bangladesh
Image: Lutfar Rahman Nirjhar

Though solar eclipses can happen two to five times a year, total solar eclipses with the Sun fully covered by the Moon are rare. The total solar eclipse of 22nd July 2009 was a once-in-a-century event because it lasted so long – 6 minutes and 39 seconds; an event not to be surpassed until at least June 2132. If you missed it, here are some incredible pictures from this rare occurrence.

A solar eclipse almost literally takes place when the stars align, that is to say when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, covering the Sun fully or partially. In addition, it occurs only during a new moon when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction, meaning they appear closer from Earth than they really are.

The total solar eclipse on July 22nd as seen from Kurigram, Bangladesh:

Image: Lutfar Rahman Nirjhar

Wednesday’s total solar eclipse was only visible from a narrow corridor of countries around the world, namely the northern parts of the Maldives, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Myanmar, eastern Nepal, central China and Bhutan, as well as the Pacific Ocean.

In other parts of the world, at least a partial solar eclipse was visible; still very stunning as the following pictures show.

Different phases of the solar eclipse on 22nd July as seen from Bangalore, India:

Image: Nikhil Verma

Is anyone else thinking of Pacman? The solar eclipse from Quezon City, Philippines:

Image: Rigurat

Not the moon, the solar eclipse as seen from Beijing, China:

Image: Tina & Mlogic

Colour me red – the solar eclipse in Daegu, South Korea:

Image: Nuvan

Clouds can play spoilsport to solar eclipse watching, here in Kolkata, India:

Image: Ritwikbmca

Let’s see how the July 22 solar eclipse compares to other recent ones.

The solar eclipse on August 11, 1999 was an annular solar eclipse, meaning the apparent size of the moon was smaller than that of the Sun, making a red ring (or annulus) appear around the moon.

The annular solar eclipse in 1999:

Image: NOAA

And as seen from France:

Image: Luc Viatour

Here’s an animation of the annular solar eclipse on October 3, 2005:

Image: Locutos Borg

The total solar eclipse on March 29, 2006 as seen from Libya:

Image: Dmeekins13

And shining like a diamond ring, seen from Side, Turkey:

Image: Beccus

Because solar eclipses have been observed throughout the ages, different cultures have tracked them and attached religious significance or auspiciousness to them. In India, for example, it is customary to take a bath in one of the holy rivers to wash away one’s sins during a solar eclipse.

Crowds gathered in Varanasi, India, to watch the spectacle:

Image: Bluerasberry

Probably since the 1999 eclipse, which was visible from a densely-populated area of the Earth, solar eclipse watching or hunting has become extremely popular, with people throwing parties or even travelling many hundreds of miles to view the event. Though the spectacle may only last minutes, we can definitely understand the hype around this stellar event, whose aftereffects on viewers can last months or even years.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

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