Blogs & Ecology

Lady of the Lamp, by Joe Rush (Mutoid Waste Co.)

A monster of a street art show, cheekily dubbed MuTATE Britain, ran amok through December in London, leaving thousands of gobsmacked visitors in its aftermath. Billed as an “interactive multimedia pile-up”, this free, non-corporate extravaganza didn’t disappoint. In a city where more conventional art exhibitions are as commonplace as rats in biology labs, the work featured here leapt out like some orgiastic post-apocalyptic cybernetic experiment.

All images John Bradley via English Russia

Few people venture into the heart of the Kara-kum desert, but those who do are drawn by an eerie bright light that illuminates the night sky for miles around. From afar a glowing red light seems to float on the horizon, enticing onlookers ever closer to peer into what seems like Dante’s Inferno. Only when they arrive at the edge of the pit do they realize the bright lights are the dancing flames of a deep burning crater, known to locals as ‘The Doorway to Hell’.

Image : A World at War

With a range of up to five miles at a flying height of 10,000 ft, this 40,000 pound chemical laser, which is fitted to an adapted Boeing 747, can take accurate aim at speeds of up to 300mph. This modified military jumbo jet is equipped with the latest in airborne laser weapons technology, for identifying, tracking and shooting down missile threats.

All images via Triton Logging

It may seem like a pipe dream for someone to come up with a viable solution to stop the endless logging in many parts of the world. Logging that is driven by people’s materialistic needs, usually the very same people who bemoan the loss of our rainforests and the effects of global warming. Yet one company, Triton, who have been in business for a number of years, discovered a perfectly adequate resolution quite a while ago, but only a handful of people know about it, or put the method into practice.

All images: © Vladimir Nefedov, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009

Since the iconic images of a moving galloping race horse were revealed in 1887 by English photographer Eadweard Muybridge, high-speed photography has come on in leaps and bounds. Multiple cameras are no longer needed to capture motion, just one, usually hideously expensive, camera is required (and some fancy equipment).

The Needle

All images via English Russia (original unknown)

Image by Landfeldt

It’s Audrey II, from the Little Shop of Horrors, down under! This smiley creature was snapped in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A member of the giant clam family Tridacna gigas, the bivalve mollusc can reach up to 1.2 meters across and 200 kgs (440 lbs) and if left to flourish can live up to 100 years. This great shot captures an unusual, almost human-like grin – most clams have undulating lips so these straight lips are extraordinary.

All images by Aly Lenon and friends – thanks guys!

Anyone who lives in a country prone to heavy snowfalls will understand the strange pull of the powdery white stuff, as if it comes with a magnetic force able to draw even the most unplayful into interacting with it. And it’s almost completely impossible to pass an untainted area of pristine snowfall without leaving a mark, whether it’s foot prints or snow angels. Others like to, er, stick their face in it…

Photographer unkown via DRB

Not happy with being full to bursting with yuletide chocolates people will be putting their minds to the next holiday season, so it’s no wonder the Easter Bunny is trying to steal some trade secrets. Only Father Christmas seems to have caught him in the act and sent his furry behind flying (or should that be flurry?)… into a tree.

If you were in Madrid, Spain just before Christmas you may have noticed some very odd looking street lamps. As part of the Luz Interruptus (Red) Project, 26 street lights on Calle del Pez were subjected to guerrilla street art tactics.

Spanish designers LuzInterruptus set up a temporary lighting installation using domestic square, frilly lampshades, which they taped to the existing lights, producing a more intimate feel on the public street.

All images by Free Spirit Spheres

If hobbits lived in the sky, this is probably where they would live – in wooden forest cocoons! Ideal for meditation, relaxation or a quick forest getaway, Free Spirit Spheres in Vancouver Island, Canada has capitalized on our need to burrow – among the tree tops. The wooden or fibreglass spheres are suspended between the trees and can be rented for the night or bought for home use. They not only look amazing but are also fairly luxurious inside.

Images by Jeremy Olden

It looks as if Jack Frost is getting brave. This icicle hanging from a house in Lake Stevens, Washington bares an uncanny resemblance to a face, could it be the infamous ice sprite’s calling card?

The eyes, nose and lips are clearly defined in this frozen spectacle, but who says if Master Frost was to appear to us that he would be in human form? After all, he is meant to be an elf or pixie of some sort.

Human nature’s versatility is evident in their ability to survive in some of the most hospitable and remote places on Earth. What’s more is that humans don’t just survive but often flourish in these settlements, so it’s no wonder that vast, sprawling cities and bustling trading villages can be found in the world’s highest peaks and valleys.

We present seven of the highest cities on the planet, some of which have become capitals of their country, some long abandoned and left to the elements.

Image: © Anup Shah, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009

A very contented looking warthog, with a few grooming maids in attendance, stares into the lens of the camera; giving photographer Anup Shah the perfect picture pose, which won him a finalist place in the Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) 2008.

*Update: we originally had 6, but now have 5! *

Image via travelpod

Have you ever swam out in the sea and not been able to see the bottom? All you can feel is the freezing cold water beneath your feet, all you see is dark blue water extending to infinity.