THE ANCIENT BANYAN TREE Photograph by JAMES BRANDON | Prints available Taken on Hawaii’s Big Island, this beautiful photograph of an ancient Banyan tree was sent to the Sifter by professional photographer James Brandon, who recalls: “This massive banyan tree is located at Rainbow Falls on the Big Island of Hawaii. I…
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the…
FOREST ON SHIPWRECK ISLAND Photograph by Bruce Hood | brucehoodphotography.com In this reflective beauty by Bruce Hood, we see the shipwrecked SS Ayrfield in Homebush Bay, Sydney, Australia. The photograph was taken from Wentworth point, and what I find truly remarkable are all of the trees growing on the abandoned ship! Nature…
Clement Valla is an artist, programmer and designer living and working in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BA from Columbia and his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design where he is currently an associate professor of Graphic Design. In his ongoing series entitled, Postcards from Google Earth, Valla discovers and collects…
Located 135 meters (443 ft) underground is the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine in southern Poland. Entered into the UNESCO First World Heritage List in 1978, it was also proclaimed a Historical Monument by the President of the Republic of Poland in 1994. The mine is located in the town of Wieliczka and is within…
Château de Chenonceau Loire Valley, France Photograph by Ra-smit on Wikimedia Commons The Château de Chenonceau is a French château near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Loire Valley of France. The château was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher and was designed by the…
Photograph by Modagaja on Panoramio Located in the mouth of Banderas Bay are the beautiful Las Marietas Islands, about 22 nautical miles west of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Formed by volcanic activity over thousands of years, the islands are a nationally protected bird sanctuary, also providing shelter for countless marine species. After years of scientific…
The Allure of the Seas is the largest passenger ship ever constructed and the statistics are simply mind-boggling: – 225,282 GRT (gross register tonnage) – 1,187 feet (362 meters) long – 215 feet (66 meters) wide – 213 feet (65 meters) high from the water line – 30 feet (9.1 meters) draft – 22 knots…
The winners of the Seventh Annual Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year Contest were just announced, and the top 12 finalists are just as remarkable as years past. With over 3990 voters, Pierre Dalous (User: Kookburra 81) took home top honours with his photograph of European Bee-eaters. Round 1 of voting began in mid-January…
GLACIAL WATERFALLS Photograph by KEENPRESS Photography | keenpress.com In this jaw-dropping photograph we see glacial waterfalls cascading into the sea. The photo was taken on or near Spitsbergen, the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Svalbard represents the northernmost part of Norway, located about midway between…