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…
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 a 1/4 of the way through 2013. Below you will find…
AHE ATOLL, FRENCH POLYNESIA Photograph via Pierre Lesage This breathtaking aerial photograph by Pierre Lesage was taken from a kite soaring high above Ahe, an almost entirely-enclosed coral atoll located in the northern Tuamotu Archipelago, just 14 km to the west of Manihi, in French Polynesia. Ahe Atoll’s ring shape is broken…
Born in Munich and now living in Hong Kong, award-winning photographer Michael Wolf has focused his career on capturing life in mega cities. Many of his projects document the architecture and vernacular culture of metropolises. Wolf grew up in Canada, Europe and the United States, studying at UC Berkeley and at the Folkwang School…
ERAWAN FALLS, THAILAND Photograph by Fat Tony | Prints available In this serene capture by my friend Fat Tony, we see the stunning Erawan Falls, located in Erawan National Park, Thailand. To get the shot, Fat Tony snuck into the park before sunrise to catch the first light of the day and…
A Horizon Rainbow in Paris Photograph by Bertrand Kulik Have you ever seen a horizon rainbow before? This fascinating phenomenon was recently captured by photographer Bertrand Kulik in Paris, France. According to Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell of NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): “What is pictured above is actually just…
ORCAS IN ALASKA Photograph by Rennett Stowe In this beautiful capture by Rennett Stowe we see two Orcas surfacing as they make their way through a fjord in Alaska. In the distance a massive glacier can be seen. The killer whale (Orcinus orca), also referred to as the orca whale or orca,…
KAMCHATKA ICE CAVE, RUSSIA Photograph by Marc Szeglat @ vulkane.net In the incredible photo by Marc Szeglat (taken Sept. 12, 2012), we see a surreal-looking ice cave on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. It was formed by a stream flowing from the hot springs associated with the Mutnovsky Volcano. This stream flows…