“A post-industrial Rococo master, Kris Kuksi obsessively arranges characters and architecture in asymmetric compositions with an exquisite sense of drama. Instead of stones and shells he uses screaming plastic soldiers, miniature engine blocks, towering spires and assorted debris to form his landscapes. The political, spiritual and material conflict within these shrines is enacted under…
A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet’s surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from the magma chamber below the surface. They are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. A mid-oceanic ridge, for example the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has examples of volcanoes caused…
Valerii Danevych is a carpenter from Kiev, Ukraine. He comes from a family of cabinet-makers that have been crafting wood for generations. A highly skilled artisan, Danevych did not feel challenged anymore and began to explore how to build mechanical/moving items completely out of wood. It wasn’t until 2005 that Valerii began to research…
Tanbo art is a Japanese creation in which people plant various types and colors of rice and ‘grow’ a giant picture in rice paddy fields. It all started back in 1993 when the village of Inakadate, about 600 miles north of Tokyo, was looking to create a project that would ‘revitalize’ the local economy.…
At the end of every quarter the Sifter will highlight the top 25 ‘Pictures of the Day‘, culminating in an epic Top 100 at the end of the year (check out the ‘Top 100 POTDs for 2012‘). It’s hard to believe we’re already half way through 2013. Below you will find the second installment…
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and approximately 315 million people, the United States is the third largest country by land area and population. With fifty states (48 contiguous) and a special district, the United States is an extremely diverse country in both geography and climate. Below we celebrate the beautiful natural…
Erik Johansson is a full-time photographer and retoucher from Sweden, now based in Berlin, Germany. The wildly successful artist does both personal and commission work for big brands around the world. His latest commercial project with Adobe had Erik doing live photoshopping at a modified bus stop. The campaign went viral, with over 15.5…
Calling all photographers! This is your final chance to enter the 2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. The grand-prize winner will receive a 10-day National Geographic Expedition to the Galápagos for two aboard the National Geographic Endeavour. The contest ends Sunday, June 30, at 11:59 pm UCT. The entry fee is $15 (USD) per…
Photograph by Bela Borsodi That’s four separate images spliced into one right? It’s obviously photoshopped, and a poor one at that! I can’t fault you for thinking that. Especially if you just glanced. But a closer inspection reveals that this is indeed a meticulously crafted photograph (singular) by Austrian photographer Bela Borsodi. The…
The Cupola is an ESA-built observatory module of the International Space Station (ISS). Its seven windows are used to conduct experiments, dockings and observations of Earth. It was launched aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-130 on 8 February 2010 and attached to the Tranquility (Node 3) module. The Cupola’s 80 cm (31 in) window is…