Kickin’ Ash: 10 Amazing Active Volcanoes
May 18, 2010 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series, Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Volcanoes are in the news and not in a good way, but Iceland’s tongue-twistingly named, travel-disrupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano is just doing what volcanoes do: erupt. It’s not alone, either. Around the world at any given moment, dozens of volcanoes are smoking, shaking and stirring up their neighborhoods. Here are 10 of the most active.
Kilauea, Hawaii, USA
(images via: Plan59, SlowTrav and WillGoTo)
Kilauea Volcano on the island of Hawaii (the Big Island) is widely considered to be the most active volcano on Earth. Over the course of its most recent eruption which began in January of 1983, the volcano has expelled enough lava to pave a road around the planet three times over.
(image via: NaturalPhotos)
If not for its brilliant orange lava fountains and slow-flowing rivers of molten rock, Kilauea wouldn’t be much to look at: though the summit is 4,091 feet (1,247m) above sea level, the gently sloping shield volcano is dwarfed by neighboring 13,677 ft (4,169m) high Mauna Loa… for the present, at least.
(image via: Kilauea Adventure)
Kilauea’s name means “spewing” in the Hawaiian language; an indication that the volcano has been erupting long before England’s Captain Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands in the late 18th century. One relic of those days are the “1790 Footprints” preserved in hardened lava from an explosive eruption of Kilauea. The footprints are said to have been left by up to 80 warriors from a dissident Hawaiian faction who died in a pyroclastic flow from Kilauea.
Etna, Italy
(images via: TripAdvisor, Discovery and Wikimedia)
Mount Etna, on the Italian island of Sicily, has been erupting more or less continuously for the past 2,000 years though its overall history stretches back approximately 300,000 years. Though somewhat less famous (or infamous) than neighboring Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna greatly outclasses the latter peak as it rises 2.5 times its height. In addition, most of Etna’s more spectacular eruptions and associated geological events occurred in prehistory. The volcano erupted in every year from 200 through 2008 and its recent eruption occurred in April of 2010.
(images via: Wohba)
Volcanoes occasionally belch giant smoke rings into the sky, a rare and curious phenomenon that can last up to 15 minutes and range in size up to 600 feet across! Mount Etna has blown volcanic smoke rings on a number of occasions; some of those that occurred during the 2000 eruption have been documented photographically.
Nyamuragira, Democratic Republic of Congo
(images via: VolcanoDiscovery, PHSchool, WorldPOI and FreeRepublic)
Mount Nyamuragira is an active volcano located in the Virunga Mountains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although it has erupted more than 30 times since explorers of European origin began documenting the mountain in the 1880s, recent eruptions have caused ever greater concern as the surrounding area has become heavily populated. As well, the Virunga range is one of the last remaining sanctuaries for threatened great apes including majestic Mountain Gorillas.
(image via: My Joy Online)
Mount Nyamuragira brought in the new year with an eruption: On January 2, 2010, lava began to flow from the main crater eventually reaching a distance of 1,640 feet (500m) downslope to the south and southwest. Mount Nyamuragira often exudes a particularly thin and fast-moving type of lava that makes any necessary evacuations hurried and often disorganized affairs.
Sakurajima, Japan
(images via: Tags-Search, Geology-SDSU and The Land of Fire, Satsuma)
The Sakurajima volcano is located on what was formerly an island in southern Japan’s Kagoshima Bay. The island is now connected to the mainland via a low-lying peninsula created by lava flows during the mountain’s immense eruption of 1914. Sakurajima stands 3,665 feet (1,117m) above sea level and has been erupting more or less continuously since 1955.
(image via: Pink Tentacle)
Sakurajima is a successor volcano that exudes and erupts magma from the huge subterranean chamber beneath the Aira Caldera. This 12 mile (20 km) wide caldera was created approximately 22,000 years ago in a massive eruption that sent ash and tephra hundreds of miles in every direction. Should Sakurajima follow the same path to destruction, millions of people will find themselves at extreme risk.
Erebus, Antarctica
(images via: James Caird Society and Rutgers)
The world’s most southerly active volcano, Mount Erebus has been erupting since 1972 though the eruptions have varied greatly in intensity. The 12,448 ft (3,794m) snow-covered stratovolcano is covered with snow but harbors in its crater a red hot, long-lasting lava lake that can be seen from space.
(image via: Neatorama)
Mount Erebus regularly subjects its frigid environs to a blast of geothermal activity, resulting in ethereal ice caves and horn-like fumaroles carved out of its icy coat by scalding steam. Though considered to be in a state of eruption, Mount Erebus behaves rather calmly (as volcanoes go) and has been extensively studied by volcanologists based at nearby McMurdo Station (USA) and Scott Base (NZ).
Chaitén, Chile
(images via: UPI, Xinhuanet and FEWW)
The Chaitén volcano in southern Chile began erupting on May 2 of 2008, an event that caught scientists by surprise as the mountain’s last eruption was estimated to have occurred about 9,500 years ago. Though the mountain is still in an eruptive state, the initial stages were marked by the expulsion of voluminous ash clouds shot through by incandescent bolts of lightning.
(image via: Brisbane Times)
Within 24 hours of the eruption’s inception, a huge plume of ash had risen tens of thousands of feet into the sky, there to be blown to the southeast by upper level winds. The ash plume was photographed from orbiting satellites and can be seen above, stretching completely across the width of Argentina and far into the South Atlantic Ocean.
Anak Krakatau, Indonesia
(images via: Kaskus, Jorge Santos and Joe Meintjes Travel)
Anak Krakatau (“child of Krakatoa”) may not be especially large but note the name – it carries within it the seeds of future disaster. Though the famed 1883 explosive eruption of its parent peak (Krakatoa, east of Java) caused the deaths of roughly 36,000 people, a similar event today would be unfathomably worse due to exceptional population growth over the past century.
(image via: Mornby)
As Anak Krakatau grows larger – it’s been adding approximately 5 inches (13cm) per week to its height since 1955 – it also grows more dangerous. The volcano’s current eruptive phase began in April of 2008 and is ongoing.
(image via: Dennis Dimick)
Anak Krakatau first poked its summit above the surface of the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra in August of 1930 and by 2005 had reached a height of 985 feet (300m)… when Krakatoa exploded with the force of a 200 megaton atomic bomb in 1883 it was 2,667 ft (813m) high.
Tungurahua, Ecuador
(images via: ScienceBlogs and Essential Amazon Adventure)
Tungurahua is one of the world’s tallest volcanoes, soaring 16,480 ft (5,023 m) into the thin Andean air above the South American nation of Ecuador. Those figures will likely need to be revised… Tungurahua has been actively erupting since 1999 with major eruptions occurring in 2006 and 2008.
(image via: NASA)
As with most high volcanoes in the Andes, Tungurahua’s upper slopes are snow-covered and the summit is capped by a small glacier… well, they were until 1999 when the volcano’s eruption quickly melted them away. The greatest danger from such volcanoes is not so much the ash, lava and superheated pyroclastic flows, but flooding and mudslides sweeping into populated areas on the volcano’s lower slopes. The evacuation of 25,000 people from the hot springs resort town of Banos was mainly to safeguard them from that possibility.
Yasur, Vanuatu
(images via: RedBubble, VivaProject and TravelPod)
Mount Yasur, on Tanna Island in the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, not only has been erupting for many centuries, but perks up several times per hour! Though just 1,184 feet (361m) in height, Mount Yasur is crowned by an almost perfectly circular summit crater over 1,300 feet (400m) wide.
(image via: Volcano Discovery)
Much like Hawaii’s Kilauea, Mount Yasur erupts in a very predictable manner and at a steady level of activity, allowing tourists to approach to very close distances. An example of this was seen during the broadcast of “Survivor: Vanuatu – Islands of Fire”, when players who won a reward challenge enjoyed a picnic of hotdogs and beer while Mount Yasur’s lava fountains provided a unique sound and light show.
Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
(images via: Stromboli Online)
Last but not least, the noisy newsmaker itself – Eyjafjallajökull. The volcano’s current eruptive phase may have only just begun: its previous eruption which began in December of 1821 lasted well into 1823. Volcanologists have determined that Eyjafjallajökull also erupted in the year 1612, and before that in 920.
(images via: Stromboli Online and The Great Beyond)
Ominously, each of the three previous eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were followed by the eruption of Katla, a much larger subglacial volcano just 15 miles (25km) away. In a BBC interview broadcast on April 20, Icelandic President Ólafur Grímsson described the current chaos caused by Eyjafjallajökull as “a small rehearsal”, and warned that “the time for Katla to erupt is coming close… we [Iceland] have prepared… it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption.” C’mon Ólafur, don’t sugarcoat it, give it to us straight, OK?
Just to show that Ólafur isn’t kidding, here’s a video showing what active Icelandic volcanoes like Eyjafjallajökull are all about:
Volcano Eyjafjallajoekull at Iceland, via Marcszeglat
(images via: PC WIN and Daily Mail UK)
Some wonder as to the reasons for the increasing appearances of volcanic eruptions in the news media (global warming? The End Times?), but in actuality it’s WE who are appearing more – in closer proximity to active volcanoes than ever before. Population pressure will do that and there’s nothing like an infusion of volcanic ash and minerals to boost the fertility of soil and attract opportunistic farmers. One might say, don’t blame science fiction, instead blame human friction.
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The 10 Most Amazing Deserts, a treat for eyes, to adventure unwise!
October 30, 2009 by admin · View Comments
Sun, sand and heat are the basic recipe for any amazing desert but like any creative cook, Mother Nature reaches for the spice to make things extra nice. These 10 desert delights are most definitely a treat for the eyes, though being stranded in any one of them might not be to your taste.
Kebira Crater Field, Egypt and Libya
(images via: RST, Meta-Religion and Robert Kenneth Johnson)
Archaeologists over the centuries have wondered where the ancient Egyptians came by the beautiful yellow-green glass found in their most exquisite royal jewelry. The answer, it seems, is outer space… by way of a huge meteorite that blasted the Sahara sands into glass many thousands of years before the pyramids were a glimmer in Pharaoh’s eye. Out in the trackless wastes where the borders of Egypt and Libya meet lies an eroded crater and around it; pebbles, nuggets and boulders of translucent glass created when the interplanetary visitor slammed into the sands, instantly vitrifying them.
(images via: JAXA)
It’s estimated the Kebira Crater Field – more than one crater has been discovered – is about 28.5 million years old, with the largest intruder measuring about 3/4 mile (1.2 km) across. The energy released must have been in the order of 100,000 megatons.
Fraser Island, Australia
(images via: Travelblog and Rieckborn)
“If you were marooned on a desert island…” now what’s up with that? All those Crusoe types didn’t have much of a “desert” to contend with (beyond the beach, anyway), just the opposite in fact: lush tropical vegetation, forests of palm trees and so on. Where are the real desert islands? One candidate is Fraser Island, just off the eastern coast of Australia near the city of Brisbane. At 76.5 miles (123 km) long, Fraser Island is the world’s largest “sand island”. It does boast rainforests but they grow in sand, not soil. The surrounding seas are said to be rife with hungry sharks and deadly jellyfish, so you’d might as well stay on shore… listening to your selection of Desert Island Discs.
(image via: Elvis Payne)
What an actual Desert Island might look like – taken in or around Dubai by Elvis Payne, this timeless scene of a lone palm on a blindingly white sand beach gives one pause… and gives one minimal shelter from the searing Persian Gulf sun.
Monument Valley, Utah, USA
(images via: Wikipedia, Vegas-Dreaming, Norman Koren and Azgenweb)
Any Hollywood Western worth its oats was filmed at least partially in Monument Valley. Situated on Utah’s southern border with Arizona near the Four Corners, the area is resplendent in contrasting shades rust red and blue-gray derived from different layers of rocks eroded over millions of years. Even in black & white, the valley is magnificent – some of the more spectacular buttes have been named, The Mittens, the Totem Pole, the Eye of the Sun and the Ear of the Wind arch.
(image via: Flickr: Nature’s Best)
Monument Valley is located on the Navajo Nation Reservation and the Navajo name for the valley is Tsé Bii’ Ndzisgaii (Valley of the Rocks). Though extensively eroded by wind and water, the iconic buttes and mesas in the valley look much the same today as they did when the ancestors of the Navajo first set eyes on them many millennia ago.
Atacama Desert, Chile
(images via: Go Chile, Travel By GPS and Grassroots Adventures)
Sheltered from the rains by the Andes and influenced by coastal inversions created through interaction with the chill Humboldt Current, Chile’s Atacama Desert is widely recognized as being the driest desert in the world – 50 times drier than California’s Death Valley! The regions extreme aridity has allowed mummies left by the ancient Incas (including “Miss Chile” above) to exhibit a remarkable degree of preservation.
(image via: A Byte of News)
The Atacama may be both isolated and hostile to humanity, but that doesn’t mean it remains untouched by the hand of Man… literally. This monumental sculpture of a human hand rising out of the desert sands was created by Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrazabal and stands 11 feet tall. “Mano de Desierto”, or Desert’s Hand, is located about 46.5 miles (75 km) south of the city of Antofagasta, Chile.
Namib Desert, Angola and Namibia
(images via: Wikipedia and Trees Never Meet)
Hundreds of miles south of the Sahara lies one of Africa’s oldest and most beautiful deserts, the Namib. Like the Atacama, the Namib Desert’s exceptional dryness results from an offshore cold current that induces the constant descent of dry air. Currently the Namib receives a mere 1/2 inch of rain annually and it’s been this way for the better part of the last 55 million years. The Namib is in many ways a “living desert”, constantly changing its appearance due to huge roving dune fields driven by howling desert winds.
(images via: Namibia Safari and Grandpoohbah)
Where it meets the South Atlantic ocean, the Namib is often obscured by thick, impenetrable fogs that bring some moisture to the hardy plants and animals that live there. The fogs have also been the bane of seafarers for centuries, leading to innumerable shipwrecks and the forbidding name, Skeleton Coast.
Tabernas Desert, Spain
(images via: Rezoom and Getty Images)
A desert, in Europe? It’s not only more likely than you think, it’s actually there, in Spain. The Tabernas Desert in the Spanish province of Almeria is cut off from humid winds off the Mediterranean Sea by several long mountain ranges and receives a searing 3000 hours of sunlight annually. The area receives about an inch of rain every year, most of which arrives in the form of sudden downpours that have caused picturesque erosion and rugged badlands.
(image via: Cuellar)
The Tabernas Desert has often been used for location shooting of so-called Spaghetti Westerns including The Magnificent Seven and Sergio Leone’s 1966 masterpiece, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
(image via: Trekearth)
Far north of Almeria in the province of Navarre, Las Bardenas Reales is another Spanish desert so distinctive that it’s been selected to be a UNESCO World heritage site.
Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia
(images via: Virtual Tourist, Duneguide and Stylefrizz)
The Rub’ al Khali, or Empty Quarter, is one of the most forbidding deserts on earth. Daytime temperatures approaching 131°F (55°C ) and sand dunes towering 1,100 feet (330 meters) high make the Empty Quarter no fit place for man or beast.
(image via: Platform Zero)
The Rub’ al Khali was not always such an extreme environment and in ancient times a series of desert oasis’ allowed trading caravans to traverse its wide open plains. Rumors of “lost cities” have echoed through time and several have been found using high-tech imaging equipment aboardthe Space Shuttle and NASA’s Landsat satellites. One such city is Ubar, the “City of a Thousand Pillars”, estimated to have thrived from 3,000 BC until the first century AD.
Khongoryn Els (”Singing Sands”), Mongolia
(images via: Duneguide and Boston.com)
The Singing Sands of Khongoryn Els are located in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park in southern Mongolia. The dunes really do “sing” – the movement of trillions of tiny sand grains against one another under pressure of the wind results in sounds variously described as roaring, booming, barking and even squeaking. The sound is only audible under certain conditions with the size & roundness of the grains, the humidity of the sand, and the sand’s silica content being the most relevant.
(image via: 123People)
Khongoryn Els isn’t easy to get to – which is part of their attraction – and the area is home to rare wildlife such as the Gobi Camel and the snow leopard.
Death Valley, California, USA
(images via: UND, Destination360 and Marc Adamus)
No post on amazing deserts would be compete without mentioning Death Valley. Aptly named for its lack of water and sweltering heat – the temperature at Furnace creek reached 134°F (56.7°C) in 1913 – Death Valley is the lowest point in North America and the second-lowest in the world.
(image via: George Bell)
The depth of the valley produces a convection oven effect on hot days with superheated air becoming trapped within the valley and circulating into any shaded areas.
(images via: Mystic Bren and Gconnect)
By all accounts the most mysterious part of Death Valley is The Racetrack, a flat dry lakebed that features dozens of “sailing stones” of various sizes at the ends of tracks sometimes hundreds of feet long. The tracks are sometimes straight, occasionally sinuous and in some cases reverse themselves. These aren’t mere pebbles either: one sailing stone, dubbed “Karen” by researchers, weighs over 700 pounds!
Antarctica’s Dry Valleys
(images via: Ross Sea and GDargaud)
Deserts, technically, don’t have to be hot; just dry. A series of valleys near Antarctica’s Ross Sea have been virtually ice-free for 2, 3, perhaps 12 million years! On “warm” summer days, glacial rivers flow into ice-covered lakes, freeze solid at night, then flow again the next day. Mostly though, ice and snow sublimates directly into the exceedingly dry air blowing out of central Antarctica; to the point where glaciers dry out before reaching the sea. These so-called “katabatic” winds have sculpted rocks in the Dry Valleys into bizarre shapes somewhat resembling the arches and hoodoos of much hotter deserts. The Dry Valleys are so unlike more typical earthly environments that researchers consider them suitable analogs for studies of Mars.
(image via: Virginia Butler)
The extreme dryness of the air and the lack of rain or snowfall in the Dry Valleys acts to preserve any organic matter for startlingly long periods of time. Freeze-dried by the katabatic winds and then slowly sandblasted away, the corpse of the seal above will someday be worn completely away though that could take thousands of years!
Our planet is blessed (or cursed, depending on one’s point of view) with an abundance of deserts, each offering unique environments and scenic vistas that are in many cases, out of this world. The 10 amazing deserts described above are, to mix metaphors, just the tip of the iceberg and you can expect a future showcase to disclose more of the hot, the dry and the sandy!
Steve
Stunning photos from around the earth, real patience needed for their birth.
October 22, 2009 by admin · View Comments
Outdoor photographers rely on a great eye to relay the picture they see in their heart and want to share. They travel the globe to capture images of gorgeous wildlife and lovely landscapes, using time-tested techniques and tremendous talent to touch our emotions with their recorded moment of time. Here are 14 of the best and the brightest contemporary outdoor photographers and 37 of their breathtakingly creative images.
Pam Wood
(image credits: Photography by Pame)
Pam Wood is a freelance photographer who offers a vast selection of photos from around the globe. She has a quest for capturing the world at its best with her camera, her quest is to capture the magic of moment in time. Wood hopes her pictures make people laugh or smile, while encouraging us to do what we can to preserve our planet for future generation to enjoy. “This is an incredible planet we all live on. Let’s celebrate life!” Her photo of a tiger underwater was one of the finalists in the Natural World category of Smithsonian magazine’s 6th Annual Photo Contest.
Galen Rowell
(image credits: Mountain Light)
Galen Rowell was an internationally beloved freelance photographer and global adventurer. His life was tragically cut short when a private plane with his wife and two friends crashed near his home. He offered worldwide wisdom on the environmental impact being wrought upon people and their lands. Some of his works include wild horses in Patagonia, Argentina, and a rare 360-degree rainbow over Na Pali Coast, Kauai Island in Hawaii. He captured another rainbow, many in fact, this one over Hidden Peak, Karakoram Himalaya, Pakistan. The next to lower right is called, Stormy Sunset over Evolution Lake. In the bottom right, Star streaks over South Gasherbrum Glacier in Pakistan.
Curious Expeditions – Michelle Enemark and Dylan Thuras
(image credits:Curious Expeditions)
Aptly named Curious Expeditions, these photographers, Michelle Enemark and Dylan Thuras, travel the world snapping shots of bizarre yet beautiful places. The top photo is of beautiful Rose Valley, Göreme. Göreme, an area with fairy chimneys, is in Cappadocia, Turkey. The deep valleys and soaring rock formations are volcanic rock that has slowly eroded away to create strange “Fairy Chimneys”. The locals had believed them extraordinarily magical places that only fairies could have created. Ancient people hollowed out the fairy chimneys to carve out homes, chapels, and tombs from the soft inner rock. They also tunneled to create underground cities, some going down eight stories. The bottom picture is a fairy chimney hotel which is also located in Göreme.
Patrick Smith
(image credits:Patrick Smith)
Sometimes nature can take your breath away with her beauty. Patrick Smith has enormous talent taking photographs. The top picture is called Big Sur, Portal of the Sun. It was the winner in the 2009 Nature’s Best Ocean Views competition. Smith says, This sea arch opening in a cliff face at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur allows large waves to come through at high tide before a big storm. The waves often fill the entire portal to the top, and the portal becomes a giant water shotgun! The Tufoni formations in the rock are incredible and should be seen in person.” The bottom photo is of Trinidad Beach which is north of Eureka, California. At high tide, the amazing cloud layers and intense colors are spectacular.
James Neeley
(image credits:James Neeley)
James Neeley takes stunning photos, making it easy to see why landscapes are usually devoted to nature without mankind polluting the frame. At Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, buffalo still roam and graze on Antelope Flats as seen at Moulton Barn shortly before a storm broke loose. The top right photo is of Lower Antelope Canyon, also called The Corkscrew. It is a hot destination for photographers like James Neeley who titled this picture Nature’s Abstraction. On the bottom left, the lake has a majestic backdrop of the Teton Range in the morning light. There is no mistaking Monument Valley landscape for any other spot in the world. It once stood synonymous for the Wild West. The iconic sandstone buttes have been a famous landscape in media genres since the 1930s.
Stuck in CustomsTrey Ratcliff
(image credit:Stuck in Customs)
Trey Ratcliff is the creative photographer behind Stuck in Customs. He captured this stunning shot in the final hours of daylight, the rugged peaks near the southern tip of Argentina and the edge of Chile, just a glacier away from Antarctica. He stayed there watching icebergs float by until the last morsels of dusk remained. To capture this moment in time, Ratcliff stated, ‘I started on one edge of these rugged peaks and moved around to this side, to get the view from the glacial lake. The spiked mountains there are Cerro Torre, and I was very lucky to see them without cloud cover. I understand they are covered up 90% of the time, so to have crystal clear air was fortunate. The glacier there, which presents on the right but really goes back behind many more mountains, is called “glacier grande”.’
Mario Bertocchi
(image credits:Mario Bertocchi)
Photographer Mario Bertocchi possesses an uncanny knack for capturing captivating moments of time and stunning landscapes. Promise of a new day is the title of the top photo. After a morning storm, a rainbow shimmers over the Teton Mountains. There are no foothills along the Tetons, making the view dramatic as they rise sharply from the surrounding terrain to about 7,000 feet. In the bottom landscape, the rugged coast and steep terraces of Cinque Terre National Park overlook the sea. Cinque Terra is located on the Italian Riviera and is made up of five villages. This view is of Riomaggiore.
ZooBorns
(image credits:ZooBorns)
As their name implies, ZooBorns specializes in baby animals born in zoos. Many of their photos are taken outside, but taking pictures of newborn animals sometimes takes them indoors as well. They share their photographs online and hope you see something that brightens your day. Part of their mission is to help people learn about the need to protect these adorable animals in the wild and the ways in which accredited zoos and aquariums contribute to this cause.
National Geographic Photographers
(image credits:National Geographic, National Geographic Travel)
National Geographic consistently brings us amazing images, both of nature and of wildlife. The top left picture is a Banded Toad Fish, snapped by Takako Uno before publishing in National Geographic. That sea creature can be found in Western Australia. On the top right, Carlo Delli captured the shot of a Speckled Emperor Moth. It seems to have pupils staring at us. This stunning camouflage on an African moth frightens away predators by the “eyes” on its wings. On the bottom, beautiful and serene, the Belize sunrise is also romantic. Mark Lewis captured this photo for National Geographic Travel.
Per-Andre Hoffmann
(image credits:Per-Andre Hoffmann)
Professional photographer Per-Andre Hoffmann has been called a “magician of light”. Although he travels around the globe to find the perfect moment and capture it, these images were taken near where he is based, Makati City, Philippines. The top left photo of the starfish was captured at Palawan, Philippines, which was once named as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia by National Geographic Traveler. The top right picture is of the Mayon volcano that erupted in 2007. The bottom photograph is of the famous Manila Bay sunset.
Jason Bradley
(image credits: Bradley Photographic)
Jason Bradley had wanted to be a marine scientist. As an aspiring researcher, photography was a vital tool. Becoming a photographer was an afterthought for Bradley. He adores nature and most of his freelance photos are marine related. He is an expert at capturing underwater shots and has many galleries showcasing his works.
BONUS SHOTS Pam Wood
(image credits: Photography by Pame)
Pam Wood is an unbelievably talented photographer. Although she also snaps landscapes, her animal shots are extraordinary. From Rainbow Flamingos to the bottom lion cub that she titled, Yummy, she showcases her skills. Expect to see more and more great pictures emerge from Pam Wood.
BONUS Patrick Smith
(image credit:Patrick Smith)
Patrick Smith calls this photo Maelstrom. He risked his life to snap this shot in Kauai, Hawaii. He states, “I had this near-death experience on my last trip to Kauai! This lava-ledge is 20 feet above the sea, and I suppose the incoming wave is twice that height. This is not the Sprouting Horn near Poipu and it is not Queen’s bath! It is called the Mokolea Lava Pools.”
Angie
3D Landscape Photography: 23 Stunning Still Life Photos
October 7, 2009 by admin · View Comments
Landscape photographs are not simple snapshots, but strive to capture the untamed, pure natural scenery. The beautiful scenery is the subject whether that is wilderness, sea or something in-between. Strong landforms are often captured, using ambient light and varying weather elements although urban landscape imagery is also photographed. 3D style landscapes bend reality to give a dimensional feel to viewers. Landscapes often spark an emotional response and can inspire environmental protection instincts. Here are 23 stunning still life photos and stirring landscapes.
Big Sur Portal of the Sun
(image credit:Patrick Smith)
This photograph taken by Patrick Smith, Big Sur, Portal of the Sun, is the winner in the 2009 Nature’s Best Ocean Views competition. Smith says, “This sea arch opening in a cliff face at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur allows large waves to come through at high tide before a big storm. The waves often fill the entire portal to the top, and the portal becomes a giant water shotgun! The Tufoni formations in the rock are incredible and should be seen in person.”
Trinidad Surf
(image credit:Patrick Smith, Patrick Smith)
Sometimes nature can take your breath away with her beauty such as at this beach. Trinidad Beach is north of Eureka, California. At high tide, the amazing cloud layers and intense colors are spectacular. The second photo was taken ten minutes after the first. The view is breathtaking and nearly celestial.
Lovely Landscapes
(image credits:James Neeley,Al HikesAZ,Tom Freda)
At Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, buffalo still roam and graze on Antelope Flats as seen at Moulton Barn shortly before a storm broke loose. Another vivid yet totally different landscape is the view of the tufa from under Ribbon Falls in the Grand Canyon. It can be found on the North Rim along the trail. The North Kaibab trail is part of the Arizona Trail that traverses the 800 miles from the border with Mexico to the border with Utah. The bottom photo is an awesome autumn view of High Park, Toronto.
Lakes
(image credits:Stuck In Customs,Savage Land Picutures,James Neeley,Desktop Wallpapers)
The top left photo was shot in the final hours of daylight, rugged peaks near the southern tip of Argentina and the edge of Chile, just a glacier away from Antarctica. In the upper right, this landscape image of Iceland was created from scratch as were the mutli-layered textures. In the lower left, the lake is as real as Teton Range in the morning light. Another stunning lake landscape in the lower right makes it easy to see why landscapes are usually devoted to nature without mankind polluting the frame.
Coastline
(image credits:Our World,Our World)
New Zealand is a land of natural beauty. In the top photo, the dazzling coastline of Anaura Bay, Gisborne offers a wonderful seascape and a spot to enjoy the sun and surf. Some people do not consider a seascape to be a landscape, but there is no absolute definition of what makes up a landscape photograph. In either case, nature is showing off her good side to the camera. In the bottom picture, off the coast of Victoria, Australia, a stunning sight of “Twelve Apostles” awaits. The 20-million-year-old rocky remnants of limestone arches rise up from the ocean in an inspiring panoramic view.
Surreal
(image credits:Mario Bertocchi)
Promise of a new day is the title of the top photo. After a morning storm, a rainbow shimmers over the Teton Mountains. There are no foothills along the Tetons, making the view dramatic as they rise sharply from the surrounding terrain to about 7,000 feet. In the bottom landscape, the rugged coast and steep terraces of Cinque Terre National Park overlook the sea. Cinque Terra is located on the Italian Riviera and is made up of five villages. This view is of Riomaggiore.
Defined Landforms
(image credits:James Neeley,Garry)
Antelope Canyon is located near Page, Arizona, and is on Navajo land. The photo on the left is of Lower Antelope Canyon, also called The Corkscrew. It is a hot destination for photographers like James Neeley who titled this picture Nature’s Abstraction. On the right, a lone tree on the horizon makes a good subject for landscape imagery in Brisbane, Australia. With a humid subtropical climate and location on a floodplain, Brisbane offers sightseers everything from urban to rural settings.
Beauty Everywhere
(image credits:Ecstaticist,DanielKHC,James Neeley)
The top left shot was snapped from Mt. Tolmie in Vancouver, Canada. The top part of the picture is real, but the bottom half was tweaked to give a pseudo-3D watery reflection sensation to viewers. In the upper right, Singapore glows in a night shot landscape, or nightscape, over the Pandan Reservior. It is a Photoshop blend of five exposures. There is no mistaking Monument Valley landscape for any other spot in the world. It once stood synonymous for the Wild West. The iconic sandstone buttes have been a famous landscape in media genres since the 1930s.
Rainbow of Color
(image credit:DC Dead,panoramio,SparkyLeigh,Patrick Smith)
In the Netherlands, a village called Kinderdijk has a system of 19 windmills that were built around 1740. The Millhouettes are the largest group of old mills in Holland and create an enchanting view at sunset. In the upper right, a waterfall cascades while an iridescent arch of hope touches Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. The bottom left photo is stunning as a rainbow stretches with prismatic promise over the spectacular lava Waimea Canyon in Kauai, Hawaii. On the bottom right, sunrise kisses the black cobblestone beach near Hana, Hawaii. This volcanic coast of East Maui offers a spectacular view.
Angie
