The Space Between

winningthebattleloosingthewar:

Dinka: Legendary Cattle Keepers of Sudan by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher

Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher are world-renowned photographers dedicated to preserving and celebrating the diversity of African cultures and ceremonies.

These captures are part of one their books entitled “Dinka”, featuring an ethnic group that inhabits the Bahr el Ghazal region of the Nile basin.

“Dinka of Southern Sudan are one of the most outstanding groups of pastoralists on the African continent. Covered with ash and up to 7ft 6in tall, the Dinka were referred to as gentle giants by the early explorers. Living in perfect harmony with their cattle, they believe their animals are their essential link to God.”

(via alphacaeli)

Northern Lights over an Erupting Volcano

In April 2010, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull spewed great ash clouds into the sky and caused enormous disruptions to air travel in Europe. The eruptions are best remembered for this inconvenience, but photographer James Appleton managed to capture the event in a different way. In the weeks before the disturbances, a vulcanologist friend of his alerted him to the unfolding volcanic drama, and Appleton travelled straight to the Icelandic mountain before it was closed off. Risking his life to battle extreme cold, high winds, and seismic activity, Appleton captured a rare but gorgeous scene: the glowing lava from an Eyjafjallajökull fissure with the Northern Lights—Aurora Borealis—overhead. These are two very different light sources, so “the photograph needed parts of the scene selectively blocked for sections of the exposure to balance the contrast,” Appleton recalls. “A Mars bar wrapper came in handy for this!”

(via ironvalkyria)

life:

Photographer Margaret Bourke-White with the U.S. Bomber Command in England, 1942. See more photos here.

(Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

(via coolchicksfromhistory)

Ålesund in miniature By Patricia Hamilton

(via ironvalkyria)

joanna-molloy:

unknowneditors:

Introduced to life under the sea in high school through snorkeling, Yoji Ookata obtained his scuba license at the age of 21. At the same time, he went out and bought a brand new NIKONOS, a 35mm film camera specifically designed for underwater photography. He devoted all his spare time – aside from his day job – to perfecting his art of underwater photography. Then, at age 39, he finally made the transition. He quit his office job and became a freelance underwater photographer.

But even for a man who spent the last 50 years immersed in the underwater world of sea life, the ocean proved infinitely mysterious. While diving in the semi-tropical region of Amami Oshima, roughly 80 ft below sea level, Ookata spotted something he had never seen. And as it turned out, no one else had seen it before either.

On the seabed a geometric, circular structure measuring roughly 6.5 ft in diameter had been precisely carved from sand. It consisted of multiple ridges, symmetrically jutting out from the center, and appeared to be the work of an underwater artist, carefully working with tools. For its resemblance to crop circles, Ookata dubbed his new finding a “mystery circle,” and enlisted some colleagues at NHK to help him investigate. In a television episode that aired last week titled “The Discovery of a Century: Deep Sea Mystery Circle,” the television crew revealed their findings and the unknown artist was unmasked.

Underwater cameras showed that the artist was a small puffer fish who, using only his flapping fin, tirelessly worked day and night to carve the circular ridges. The unlikely artist – best known in Japan as a delicacy, albeit a potentially poisonous one – even takes small shells, cracks them, and lines the inner grooves of his sculpture as if decorating his piece. Further observation revealed that this “mysterious circle” was not just there to make the ocean floor look pretty. Attracted by the grooves and ridges, female puffer fish would find their way along the dark seabed to the male puffer fish where they would mate and lay eggs in the center of the circle. In fact, the scientists observed that the more ridges the circle contained, the more likely it was that the female would mate with the male. The little sea shells weren’t just in vain either. The observers believe that they serve as vital nutrients to the eggs as they hatch, and to the newborns.

[Click Image]

[Artist At Work]

What was fascinating was that the fish’s sculpture played another role. Through experiments back at their lab, the scientists showed that the grooves and ridges of the sculpture helped neutralize currents, protecting the eggs from being tossed around and potentially exposing them to predators.

It was a true story of love, craftsmanship and the desire to pass on descendants.

(via armchaircaver)

wiscohisto:

Couple in photographer’s studio, Mineral Point, Wisconsin, 1880-1910.

Zooming in on this unidentified pair shows how cozy the two of them are together.

via: Glass Plate Negative Collection, Mineral Point Historical Society 

(via smartchickscommune)

magnius159:

Machu Picchu — 16 Gigapixels

keseral:

Jan Saudek. Music. 1980.

Reblogged from myself because I still love it.

iainyork:

Tadpoles swim through a jungle of lily stalks in Cedar Lake on Vancouver Island,canada.                                                                                                                                   photograph by eiko jones.

(via waterinspired)

lexil0ve:

National Geographic 2010 Photography Contest

Photo taken by: Carsten Peter

See more photos  here

(via armchaircaver)

(via garnunkle-screwt)

Jorun Eikill Veflen

(via ironvalkyria)

woodendreams:

(by Rob Macklin)

jtotheizzoe:

This photograph is 40 years old.

Let that sink in for a moment. 

It’s called “The Blue Marble”, and it was taken by the crew of Apollo 17 as they looked back on their home on their way to the Moon, exactly 40 years and three days ago.

You’ve probably seen this photo a few times. It’s inspired many modern replicates, from this year’s “Blue Marble 2012” to the just-released view of Earth at night, the “Black Marble”. It’s understandably hard to pick a favorite. Look at how wonderful they all are:  

For me, it’s not a tough decision. Blue Marble 1972 was the first, and it is the finest in my heart. It may not have the detailed resolution, or the rich color, or the exotic shading that comes from a modern digital composite image drawn from the whole electromagnetic spectrum. But it marks a pivotal moment in mankind’s history.

Apollo 17 wasn’t the first mission to the Moon, of course. It was the last. That’s what makes this photo so special. These pioneers, these explorers, they turned their Hasselblads back toward home and snapped this shot. These interplanetary adventurers (the Moon likely used to be a dwarf planet, so they’ve earned the title) put our existence in perspective with one click. 

A human being hasn’t seen this sight with the naked eye since 1972. The International Space Station doesn’t orbit far enough from Earth to see anything but curved edges. Same with the shuttle. Perhaps Curiosity, had its eye been somehow deployed in mid-flight, could have turned back to see where it came from. But alas, no.

I’m happy with the images of Earth that our satellites send back. Not one, but two of them grace my iPhone’s wallpapers (“Aqua” and “Black” marbles, if you’re interested), that phone that has more computing power than the entire spacecraft this photo was taken from. But I want another human being to see our Earth from this vantage point.

When this image came back to Earth, people stopped for a moment, however brief, in the midst of wars Cold and hot, to realize this is our home. Our home. Maybe a military officer somewhere thought twice about dropping bombs that day. Maybe a parent showed it to their kids before bed instead of sitting silently in front of the TV. Maybe someone who was alive when the Wright brothers flew for the first time smiled at how far we’d come.

I don’t want this to be the last time we feel those things. Let’s go take another picture. 

(via imagineatoms)