Surfer's Paradise

This award-winning photo captures the moment a surfer in Tahiti, rides the perfect wave as a rainbow forms almost within touching distance. Photographer, Zak Noyle, 26, from Honolulu, Hawaii, scooped the Surfer Magazine 2011 best photo of the year competition this picture of surfer, Christian Redongo

News Article

"Time Lapse Trifecta"

Amateur photographer Tommy Eliassen had this to say about his photo capturing a meteor, the Milky Way and the Northern Lights all in one time lapse shot:

"I quickly went and took some pictures in a regular spot of mine, and thought to myself that I had got some good aurora shots and also some separate good milky way shots. But just as the clouds started to come in over the mountains I noticed this faint aurora lining up perfectly beside the milky way. Normally the lights from the aurora is much, much stronger than the lights from the stars, so getting the right exposure on both is difficult. But it was ideal conditions - almost once in a lifetime."

Pretty amazing!

News Article

The Beauty of Caves

There were a few articles published recently that caught our eye. The Earth's cave systems are beautiful beyond belief. Some are awe inspiring cavernous spaces that just catch your breath they are so amazing.

Here are 2 pics from the Lake General Carrera cave in Patagonia, Chile. It is hailed as the Earth's most beautiful cave.

Click on the article to see more impressive larger photos and to learn more about the system.

Chilean Cave Article

This Vietnamese cave system, The Hang Son Doong, was discovered in 2009 by some British spelunkers. It is so large that the end has yet to be found. It is simply breathtaking!

Click on the link to read more about it and see the larger pictures.
A MUST SEE!

Vietnamese Cave

This cave system in Tennessee is a spelunker favorite. The 350 foot "Rumble Room" has climbers going crazy over it.

"The intrepid cavers reached the cave by plunging down large waterfalls, shimmying through tight underground spaces and swimming in the world's most remote underground rivers."

Tennessee Rumble Room

Rafa Armani Ads Wow Again

Rafael Nadal off court is as good to watch as he is on court.

We'd like to thank Giorgio Armani AND Rafa's Mom who gets an honorary "Golden Ovary Award" for birthing perfection.

Wildlife Photography Award Winners

WINNER: Art In Nature - Peter Lik
Ghost, Antelope Canyon, Arizona, U.S.

The winners have been announced in the annual Wildlife Photography awards. The annual Windland Smith Rice International Awards programme is among the most highly-respected and visually compelling nature photography competitions in the world.

There are at least 16 categories including:
Zoos And Aquariums
Grand Prize
Birds
Art In Nature
People In Nature
African Wildlife
Oceans
Power Of Nature
Environmental Issues
Youth Photographer
Small World Spectacular
Conservation Photographer of the Year
Animal Antics
Wildlife
Creative Digital
Endangered Species

"Art in Nature" category winner and host of the Weather Channel Series "From the Edge with Peter Lik" had this to say about his stunning ghost picture:

"The biggest lesson I have learned in photography is that timing is everything. No matter how perfect your technique and equipment, if you aren't in the right place at the right time, you simply won't get the shot.

In the underground caves of Antelope Canyon, I knew the summer sun would pass directly overhead at midday. As my only opportunity for the shot approached, a narrow sliver of light beamed down through a keyhole onto the sandy canyon floor.

At the precise moment I clicked the shutter, my Navajo Indian guide threw a handful of dust into the light. It wasn't until weeks later, when I finally got to review the results of the shoot, that I was able to see the ghostlike human form that emerged. I wondered if the ancient spirits of the canyon were present with me that day."

Umm...YES! Yes, Peter, they were! Congratulations on the award.

WINNER: Zoos And Aquariums - Tom Warren
Western Lowland Gorilla and Mallard Duck, Bronx Zoo, New York, U.S.

This photo, capturing a gorilla making friends with a duckling, is absolutely compelling.

Follow the link to see ALL of the absolutely amazing pictures that won in numerous categories.

AMAZING PICS

Manhattanhenge

"The Manhattan solstice a.k.a. Manhattan Henge - comes twice a year. This year it falls on May 30 and July 12 - when the sun sets with half the disc sitting above and half below the horizon. Though fans can also enjoy the spectacular views on May 31 and July 11 when at sunset, you can see the entire ball of the sun on the horizon.

The times are calculated every year by the astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, who coined the term 'Manhattanhenge' in 2002, named after the British Stonehenge, which celebrates summer and winter solstice.

Mr deGrasse Tyson notes that the dates correspond with Memorial day and Baseball's All Star Break. He said: 'Future anthropologists might conclude that, via the sun, the people who called themselves Americans worshipped war and baseball.'

He explains that the reason this unique urban phenomenon occurs in Manhattan is due to a clear view to the horizon beyond the grid - as New York does across the Hudson River to New Jersey.

Combine that with the tall buildings which line the streets, creating a vertical channel to frame the sun and you get a rare and striking photographic opportunity."

Absolutely!

Icelandic Dreams

Photographer Stephane Vetter named this photo "A Starry Night Of Iceland." It's a combination of 6 exposures that captures two auroral celestial "rings", reflecting off of the lake Jökulsárlón.

The Milky Way galaxy, the Pleiades open clusters of stars and the Andromeda galaxy are all visible in the background.

This photo won a prize for landscape astro-photography at the recent 2011 Earth and Sky Photo Contest.

Wow!

"The Northern Lights are formed when particles thrown out of the sun into deep space meet with Earth's magnetic shield and create a circle around the magnetic North Pole when they interact with the upper layers of the atmosphere.

Nasa scientists recently predicted they will shine at the brighest levels seen for 50years in 2012.

The event will be caused by the Solar Maximum - a period when the sun's magnetic field on the solar equator rotates at a slightly faster pace than at the solar poles.

The solar cycle takes an average of around 11 years to go from one solar maximum to the next - varying between 9 to 14 years for any given solar cycle.

The last Solar Maximum was in 2000 and experts have predicted that the next one in 2012 will be the greatest since 1958, where the aurora stunned the people of Mexico by making an appearance on three occasions.

In 2012 scientists have stated that the Northern Lights should at least be visible as far south as Rome."

The Milky Way

Amateur astronomer Juan Carlos Casado stitched together this extraordinary shot from nine photos of the night sky.

All were taken in a national park in the Canary Islands away from light pollution, resulting in images of astounding clarity.


WOW!

Rainbow Clouds Over Everest

Oleg Bartunov, 51, who is a fellow at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in Moscow, snapped these incredible pictures at Mount Everest.

"The phenomenon is caused by light reflecting off tiny ice crystals inside the body of the cloud's water vapour.

'I only took a couple of shots as I was overwhelmed with feelings and wanted to see everything with my eyes and prolong the moment,' Mr Bartunov said."


Beautiful!

Antarctica

#28

Follow this link to see incredible pictures of Antarctica taken the last couple of years.

Some of these pics are MUST SEE...

Pics 1, 2, 11, 19, 24, 28, 37, 44, 45, 46 & 47 are our favorites!

PHOTO GALLERY HERE

"I'm FREE!"

This is a REAL photo!

From Daily Mail article

"The expression on the face of this baby turtle seems to say it all as he is released into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.

The youngster - the spitting image of Finding Nemo turtle, Crush - was given his first taste of freedom after being rescued and then raised by a team of researchers in a laboratory.

The loggerhead turtle was nurtured after the team discovered he had failed to make it out of his nest.

Photographer Eric Cheng, 35, had been following the turtle rescue programme and was able to capture the youngster's expression as it plunged into the ocean. He said: 'The baby turtle took off swimming as soon as it had its first moment of freedom in the ocean.

'With my camera ready, I followed this turtle carefully. Suddenly, the turtle turned towards me and opened its mouth, repeatedly biting at my camera's large glass dome port. I speculate that the turtle may have thought that the glass port was a jellyfish which is one of its natural prey items in the ocean.'

'It always feels good to have captured a compelling image, but it has been even more rewarding to watch children react to the photo.'


Amazing!

Star Trails Over Mount Everest

WOW! This guy, Anton Jankovoy, camped for MONTHS at the foot of Everest capturing this photo.

"The 23-year-old was so determined not to leave until he had accomplished his mission that he even began meditating to overcome the freezing temperatures.

After three years dedicated to the project, Mr Jankovoy finally caught a series of stunning star trails.

Mr Jankovov, from Zhytomyr in the Ukraine, said: 'I adore photography, especially landscapes because I can just sit there and observe the nature around me. It's so peaceful. But because star trail images need very long shutter speeds they take a lot of patience.

I visited Mount Everest and it was like a revelation to me, a different world, a different way of life, almost a different universe to what I had known in the Ukraine. It had a profound effect on me and seriously changed my life. I fell in love with Nepal, the people and the amazing scenery. When I came home I realised I couldn't go back to my old way of life and so for the last three years I've lived in Nepal for six months of the year. It has taken a lot of dedication and patience but the result has been worth it.'

You're not kidding! Way to go, Anton...and thanks for the awesome pic!

Heated Internet Debate

Is this the cutest picture ever taken?

This picture and it's quote as "cutest picture ever" has generated a TON of Internet debate as hordes of adorable animal/kid pics flood the net in retaliation.

LOL!

Let the Cute Begin!