Beautiful Light Bulb Explosions

Exploding light-bulbs helped save this young photographer's life. And not just any type of photography, but those taken with a high-speed camera. 

John Smith loves to fill light bulbs with different items and then shoot at them with a pellet gun. He uses anything from ball bearings, chalk dust, daisies, candies, marbles - you name it. 

"I was going through a deep depression and was feeling like nothing was going right, nothing was good in my life, and I lost control,” John says. “Photography saved me because it allowed me to see the world in a different way. It reminded me to live in the moment.”

Smith is known as WideEyedIlluminations on Flickr.  Feel free to check out some of his work.

I Quote That - Stolen Shots

Can Anyone Guess Where These Photos Are Taken?

Landscapes: Volume Two

If you have never taken the chance to explore the Southwestern United States, you can now catch a glimpse of it in this absolutely stunning video footage by photographer Dustin Farrell.  He is producing a three-part Landscapes series of unbelievable scenes in captivating time-lapse video.

Using a Canon 5D2 DSLR camera and processed with Adobe software, it is an amazing video to watch.  If you do not have a high-definition 1080p monitor, then "bug a friend" who does, so says the photographer, "it is a much better viewing experience."

I will say this, even if you do not have a high-definition monitor, this video is breath-taking, captivating, and awe-inspiring.  And the background music makes it even that much better.

Flying Over Planet Earth

This is a pretty amazing video. The International Space Station took these shots as it orbited our earth at night; going from North America to South America, and ending up over Antarctica.

The YouTube description reads:

A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night. This movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, El Salvador, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Lake Titicaca, and the Amazon. Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line), a satellite (55sec) and the stars of our galaxy.

An Owl As You've Never Seen It Before

The video you're about to see is absolutely stunning.  It was taken using a Photron Full HD High Speed Camera SA2, and the images will blow you away.  The shots are of an Owl flying towards a camera at an amazing slow speed, and it looks as if it's coming at you.

Ryan collects piggies, for piggy rights, and I collect owls, because I think they're a fascinating bird.  I've collected owls since I was a child, but Ryan on the other hand, started collecting piggies when he read my post, Concealed Cruelty.  In it was a video of piggy abuse that forever changed his life, and ever since then, he's been piggy rights this, and piggy rights that;  I don't even cook with pork any longer.

Fortunately for me, the only thing close to Owl abuse that I have ever seen was in "The Legend of the Guardians" when the evil Pure Ones kidnap some young owls and make them their slaves.  Just horrible!

Check out the awesome video below:

Let Me Out Of My Skin

You all know how much I love art and photography.  I was in art for 4 years in high school and wanted to pursue it in college, but my goals in life turned out a little different.  But there's no question, I can still admire, write about, and enjoy the beauty of it all.  

Using integrated photography and CGI, Taylor James has created a series of striking images resembling a science fiction movie. In the first set, a brunette sheds her old body similar to that of a snake.  An internal struggle takes place in the second series, while the third features women hatching from their shells.

Absolutely stunning!  The Taylor James Studio was founded in 1999 by Glen Taylor, and works at the forefront of digital production.  It blends innovative storytelling with technical expertise. 

Check out the second and third series to this amazing collection after the jump..

Water Captured At A Stunning7000 Frames Per Second

You all know how much I love anything to do with Art, or the Art of Photography, and the following video is no exception.

It's another one of  those slow-motion capture videos, that I absolutely love.  Kudos to Romain Glé and Thomas Séon who put this music video together.  There's nothing like water being captured at 7000 FPS (frames per second).  Simply stunning to say the least.

Land of the Lost: Inside the Heart of the Navy's Graveyard

I took Art as one of my subjects the 4 years I was in High School, and it was by far, one of my most favorite classes. So in no surprise to you, nothing fascinates me more than Art and Photography.  Better yet, if I could go back in time to capture images of history, I would.

Imagine waking into a building where it seemed like all the people disappeared, yet everything else in the building remained as it was. It sounds like a scary movie, doesn't it?  In my third issue of Land of the Lost, photographer, Scott Haefner takes us for an incredible adventure unlike any other - a warship graveyard.  At least until the government does away with it in 2017.  He and a group of fellow photographers managed to sneak onto these ships, and take photos that would capture anyone's imagination.  Over a 2 year period, they would spent "several days at a time, photographing, documenting, and even sleeping aboard them - often in the luxury of the Captain's quarters."














On his website, Scott describes in detail, their planning, the history, and the ships' environmental implications.  He also discusses their scouting mission, boarding the ships, and their final trip.

From his website:

For decades, dozens of forgotten Navy and merchant ships have been corroding in Suisun Bay, 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. These historic vessels—the Mothball Fleet—served their country in four wars: WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Desert Storm. After a decade of impasse, the ghost fleet is slowly dwindling as the ships are towed out one-by-one for scrapping. About 15 retired ships are already gone; by 2017, the entire fleet will be just a memory.

Scott's website is truly amazing to view and read.  If you're a history buff, in the military, or a veteran, you'd definitely get a rise out of it.  Check it out here.

So Retro, It's Cool

In February, I showed you a light bulb shattered into a million pieces, in the slowest motion photography you've ever seen.  Last month, I featured Jello jiggling in a way you never thought possible, and on May 18, we witnessed a 6 foot water balloon burst into a tidal wave of laughter and amazement.  

In what I think is pure genius, you'll see some retro products in three separate television commercials, courtesy of French company, Citroën, the first mass-producing auto company outside of the United States.  Director, Jonathan Gurvit has taken the concept of slow-motion photography to a whole new level, by introducing us to Citroën, and their Anti-Retro campaign.

In the videos below, you'll notice some "Retro" products from the past, like Telephones, Blenders and TV Sets.  Each of the commercials uses slow-motion digital photography to capture the ultimate destruction of these products, in very creative, and unimaginable ways.

Enjoy!

It's Purely Animal - Issue No. 16 - Watch Dunder Grow

Dunder is a German Shepard who turned 1 year old this month.  His owner took pictures of him over a span of 44 weeks, sitting and playing in the same location.  He then produced this 40-second video of his progression from a puppy to an adult.  Enjoy!

Art In The Most Fascinating Form

I found these photos by photographer Henry VIII quite fascinating.

Am I being biased when it comes to older folks re-enacting scenes from world history?  If you remember, I had written a post back in April titled "Art In The Most Despicable Form," and I wasn't kind to the photographer.  In fact, I was rather upset and angry at the photographer for using children as props for his "iconic moments in history" photos.  What do you think? Is it any different if it were old people re-enacting the scenes?

How many  iconic moments in history do you recognize without looking at the answers.

Answers here...

A Huge Water Bomb!

We've all seen water balloons burst - we've either played with them as children, or as adults. But have you seen one burst in slow-motion? 

As with my previous two posts, The following video uses high-definition cameras to capture the destruction of a water balloon.  This time, the artists are The Slow Mo Guys - this is my first time hearing about them.  Regardless to say, they don't burst a regular water balloon, they burst one a thousand times the size - 6 foot, to be exact.  

I actually enjoyed watching this, it was quite entertaining.

Jell-O in High Definitiion Slow-motion Video

You may recall my post, "Wormhole in The Fabric of Time," where professional photographer, Tom Guilmette took his Phantom High Speed Digital Cinema camera, and created a masterpiece.  He was able to capture remarkable images we probably would never see if it were not for his camera.

The video below features another great collection of images taken with a similar high-definition camera, and the visuals are splendid. I'm not sure who the artist is, but credit is definitely deserved.  If any of my readers know, please inform me by leaving me a comment.

Update:
Modernist Cuisine is responsible for this video. The Art and Science of Cooking is how it's website describes it.  They have a book about the revolutionary new way of cooking. You can read more about it, by visiting, modernistcuisine.com.

Art In The Most Despicable Form

The Twins

I seriously wonder about certain people sometimes. What would compel an artist to exploit recent horrid events in order to create art?  This just baffles me, but Canadian photographer Jonathan Hobin did just that.  The worst part being - the use of children dressed up in garb, like the late Princess Diana in the car crash that killed her, the prisoners in Abu Ghraib, the 9/11 towers tragedy, the Jonestown massacre, and many more as you'll find here.   

Hobin makes the following statement in his portfolio:

The quizzical disposition of youth and the pervasive nature of the media are symbolically represented in my images through tableau-vivant re-enactments of the very current events that adults might wish to keep out of their child’s world. Just as children make a game of pretending to be adults as a way to prepare and ultimately take on these roles in later life, so too do they explore things that they hear or see, whether or not they completely understand the magnitude of the event or the implications of their play.

A Boo Grave

Diana's Dead

Around The World in 2000 Pictures

Alex Profit has done it again, taken us on a whirlwind tour of the world in 2000 pictures.  He has put together a video of these photos and introduced us to New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Barcelona, Berlin, London and even Paris.  So if you're not able to tour the world, here's your chance.

Take A Trip to Disneyland Paris

Regardless of what Wikipedia and Disney have to say on how it was made, the video is superb.  The Disneyland Paris promo looks like a  clay-mation or "Rudolph" type movie, and the music that accompanies it has that old 1920's feel to it.

Pack your bags and get ready to enjoy a whirlwind trip via our new tilt-shift video, "A Magical Day at Disneyland Paris," and see just about everything The Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland Park has to offer. Read more at the Disney Parks Blog: Here

According to Wikipedia, "Tilt-shift photography" refers to the use of camera movements on small- and medium-format cameras, and sometimes specifically refers to the use of tilt for selective focus, often for simulating a miniature scene.  In simpler terms, Disney's blog states, "Tilt-shift videos like these use different photo angles, focus settings and color saturation adjustments to make the subject of a photo appear miniature. It took more than seven months and 4,000 photographs to produce this 2:38-minute clip."

I found the video fascinating, to say the least. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Tearing It All Apart

Growing up I found myself tearing things apart; not for aesthetic purposes, but for the mere joy of finding out how they were made.  Of course, once I took the items apart I could never figure out how to put them back together.  I can't recall how many toys, clocks, watches, and miscellaneous things my dad would tell me not to play with, that I destroyed.

Today, the thought of taking apart my cell phone or my iPad would be unthinkable.  I can't imagine what mess I would be in.

In the images below you will be able to see several outdated gadgets, with all the pieces that were used to make them laid out on a table.  At the bottom of the last image, you can click on the 'Read More' link and look at them in a different perspective.  This is photography and technology at its best, check them out.