If you’re looking for inspiration on how to redecorate or are a sucker for good interior design, you’re going to love this subreddit. Hell, you’ll probably enjoy it even if you’re just bored and randomly scrolling through the Internet.
Continue reading People On This Group Are Sharing The Most Beautiful Rooms They Can Find, And Here Are 50 Of The Best Ones (New Pics)
If you are sick of lockdown in your house and being forcefully turned into a couch potato, this British pilot, currently based in Hong Kong, will take you on a trip around the world. And although following his father’s footsteps, Lee Mumford indeed knows how to fly a plane and he also can show you the jewels of the planet in an easier, corona-free, and much cheaper way. While working as an airline pilot, he has visited over 40 countries and has seen some of the most magical and picturesque places on Earth. It would be a shame not to share them with others, so he combined his love of flying and photography to provide us with breathtaking photos that range from beautiful landscapes to vivid cityscapes.
Continue reading Besides Being A Pilot, This Man Also Takes Stunning Photos Of Places He Visits Around The World (105 Pics)
Everyone loves a nicely designed building – looking at one feels like looking at a nice piece of art. And with more and more generic buildings popping up everywhere, spotting a nice piece of architecture is becoming increasingly rare. Lucky for us, there still are beautiful buildings being built – take embassies for example. These uniquely designed buildings that house diplomats usually stand out from the rest and look like giant pieces of art you can enter – check them out in the gallery below!
Continue reading 30 Beautifully Designed Embassies From All Over The World
The World Nature Photography Awards have announced their 2020 winners, and the competition has proven itself to be a wonderful celebration of Mother Earth.
“2020 was a challenging year for many but nothing could be more uplifting than marveling at the beauty of the natural world around us,” the organizers wrote. “And that’s something that our 2020 winners have done with gusto.”
Participants competed in 13 categories. Their images and captions revealed that the pandemic has diminished neither their passion nor their patience for capturing our planet. But at the end of the day, the title of World Nature Photographer of the Year went to Thomas Vijayan for his shot ‘The world is going upside down.’
Continue reading 30 Amazing Winners Of The 2020 World Nature Photography Awards
Every year the Scuba Diving magazine hosts a photography contest where talented photographers from all over the world submit their best underwater pics. This year the contest celebrates its 16 year anniversary and has received 2,636 submissions, the highest number in its history.
Out of all the submissions, the jury has selected 13 winning images and 15 honorable mentions in four different categories: Behavior, Macro, Wide-Angle, and Compact Camera. The Grand Prize, a trip aboard the Roatan Aggressor, went to photographer Evans Baudin for his breathtaking (and a little terrifying) photo of a 12-plus-meter long whale shark with a mouthful of remoras taken in Baja California, Mexico. See his photo and the runner-ups in the gallery below!
More info: Scuba Diving
Image source: Evans Baudin
“In June 2020, with a special permit, I went on an expedition to document marine life and the effects of reduced marine traffic due to COVID-19. After two hours in the water with a school of silky sharks near the surface, our boat captain yelled, “Whale shark, right behind you!”—a 12-plus-meter female. The surprise was twofold when I discovered about 50 remoras peacefully enjoying a free ride in her mouth!”
Image source: Martin Strmiska
“In early spring, while the mountain peaks around the village of Tragoess are still covered in snow, the meadow lining Grüner See (Green Lake) blooms. Only in later months, when night temperatures don’t fall below freezing, does the snow melt and travel down the creeks to fill up the lake with crystal-clear water. The meadow, with freshly bloomed flowers and rich green grass, gets flooded and for the next two months creates an amazing underwater park.”
Image source: Marc Henauer
“This image was taken in Greece, on Amorgos Island. There are many caves like this along the coast. The darkness contrasts with the typical blue of the Aegean Sea. Greece is also a paradise for freediving. The settings offer total freedom to the imagination and to the creation of poetic images.”
Image source: Chris Gug
“After what seemed like an eternity, the flamingos resumed feeding in the sandy mud where I had been lying motionless since sunrise. As they waded past, they kicked up quite a bit of silt, which landed on my camera’s dome port. This one, being either very inventive or very brave, saw that silt had fallen into my port’s flare petal and began slurping it up, giving me a very brief opportunity to capture those unique filter-feeding serrations in its beak, and that beautiful beady yellow eye.”
Image source: Enrico Somogyi
“While diving in Anilao, the macro capital of the Philippines, my spotter showed me a seemingly empty beer bottle in the sand. But there was something living inside. I started shooting the lemon goby that was living there. After a while, I noticed a shadow in the background, and a few seconds later, I saw the juvenile lionfish coming out. I pushed the shutter right when the goby started to yawn and the lionfish looked in the camera.”
Image source: Tobias Friedrich
“As a SeaLife camera brand ambassador I always have a DC2000 with me, in addition to my DSLR setup, to take a few side shots. I find it very interesting to see what I can shoot with a very small camera like the SeaLife and how close I can get to the quality of the images I shoot with my DSLR. This juvenile wonderpus was sitting on a palm leaf, a very nice subject to be tested. The dive was done near Anilao, Philippines, with Crystal Blue Resort and the support of photographer Mike Bartick.”
Image source: Marcelo Johan Ogata
“Have you ever had the feeling that a fish could be laughing at you? The funniest thing about this dive was that it took me ages to realize there was a porcupinefish inside the barrel sponge! I had my eyes glued on the sponge, looking for hairy squat lobsters, and only after a while did I see this camouflaged guy moving away from my camera with a smile on his face!”
Image source: Massimo Georgette
“In this Cuban archipelago, among the mangroves, lives a small colony of American crocodiles. To make a series of photos I had to go in the water with them for three days, studying the currents, the light and the clarity of the water. Then I waited until the crocodile was in the right position against the backlight. The idea was to have the best contrast between the reflection of the sun and the color of the water.”
Image source: Thomas Van Puymbroeck
“This shot was taken in very shallow water. While on honeymoon, we couldn’t resist the call of the water, so my wife and I went snorkeling every morning. One day, a lot of silt caught my attention. In the silt, this beautiful stingray appeared. I only had a very short window to shoot, because the silt was spreading everywhere. The stingray was feeding on tiny critters in the sand. After a few seconds, the ray disappeared and we continued to enjoy the beautiful Red Sea and our honeymoon.”
Image source: Martin Strmiska
“On the surface at the cenote’s entrance, I had no idea what sort of space lay beneath the small pool. Only when I descended and positioned myself outside the area lit up by sun was the dark space revealed. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I perceived the huge dimensions of the space. My buddy, hanging above that cloud and lit by sun rays, appeared so small that I spent the whole dive shooting from distance, trying to capture the tiny diver in that huge space.”
Image source: Robert Stansfield
“In November 2019 I signed up for 14 days diving on Banco Chinchorro with my good friend Heiko of Amigos del Mar, Mahahual. As a joke, Heiko set me a goal of seeing how many different species I could capture during my time there, so I opted for a 105mm to give me a bit more reach even though diving there lends itself much more to a wide-angle lens. On my second dive, I was setting myself up for a low-angle photo of a group of garden eels when I felt something nuzzle under my arm. Looking down, I saw this very confident 7-foot nurse shark looking back at me. I slowly moved up and back, repositioned the strobes and took a series of photos with the denticles slightly backlit. The nurse sharks around Banco Chinchorro are very bold and a joy to watch.”
Image source: Andrey Shpatak
“Sepiola birostrata is one of two species of cuttlefish resident in the northern Sea of Japan. During the day, it hides on the sandy bottom and can be found only by chance. But at night it goes hunting. Despite their small size [around an inch], these cuttlefish are predators, catching shrimps and crabs. There are usually a lot of them in July, above the sandy bottom, at depths from 15 to 40 feet. I managed to meet this beauty during a night dive. Its color was simply gorgeous.”
Image source: Martina Andres
“As a diver, you will never forget your first big shark. I felt eternally grateful to encounter this beautiful oceanic whitetip shark in the Red Sea. As we neared the very last minutes of our dive, she and her “entourage” slowly circled our group, peacefully looking at every single one of us, before they took off into the blue again.”
Image source: Marc Henauer
“The Olympia shipwreck can be seen in the 1988 Luc Besson movie The Big Blue. It ran aground near shore on Amorgos Island in Greece. The secret of this image lies in the synchronization. To succeed, it took a ray of sunlight to illuminate the underwater landscape, then a wave arrived with the right angle on the dome to have a good view above and below, and finally, the freediver had to hold position facing the wreck. It took a lot of rehearsal.”
Image source: Raffaele Livornese
“I took this picture last October in Baja California. It was my first time there, so it took a few days to get more confidence with the sea and the animals that live there. I was very lucky because at that time a lot of sardines were schooling there, so the sea lions were constantly playing and hunting them. To take this picture I was hovering at a shallow depth for a long time, looking for the right moment to push the button. When it arrived, I saw the two sea lions swimming first away, then toward each other. The sardines moved in the same way to escape the hunt, so they drew two lines like parallel waves, and I got it.”
Image source: Yury Ivanov
“These nudibranchs are one of my favorite models for underwater photo sessions. I call them “the vivid colors of the sea” or “snow queens.” Here, Phyllodesmium iriomotense can be seen feeding on one of its favorite dishes: spindly gorgonian coral. This photo was taken at a depth of 32 meters (105 feet). The time allotted for photography is very limited at that depth, so I did four dives in order to get this photo.”
Image source: Enrico Somogyi
Image source: Lureen Ferretti
Image source: Sean Steiniger
“A humpback whale calf sails through the emerald-blue waters of Tonga, closely accompanied by its colossal mother and escort. As the leviathans circle directly beneath me, the calf ascends toward the surface for fresh air. I tuck back my freediving fins and snap the shot. A split second later, momma surfaces to usher her baby away from the bubble-blowing stranger.”
Image source: Dennis Whitestone
“I captured this flying fish image, “Squadron,” on May 31, 2020, diving around a patch of sargassum just a few feet below the surface while on a black-water dive with Walker’s Dive Charters in Palm Beach, Florida. As I was entering the water, my good friend Lazaro Ruda informed me that there was a school of flying fish on the surface. Within a few minutes I was able to capture the photo.”
Image source: Jules Casey
“Captured during a daytime dive at Blairgowrie Pier in Port Phillip Bay, Australia, this shorthead seahorse was feeding near the surface and freely swimming from one floating piece of weed to the next. I’m not sure if the seahorse mistakenly grabbed hold of the pipefish with its tail, confusing it for a piece of weed, or if this was deliberate. The pipefish immediately struggled to break free from the seahorse’s grip. This interaction lasted only about 10 seconds, which was just enough time to set up the shot.”
Image source: Renata Romeo
“In this Cuban archipelago, among the mangroves, lives a small colony of American crocodiles. To make a series of photos I had to go in the water with them for three days, studying the currents, the light and the clarity of the water. Then I waited until the crocodile was in the right position against the backlight. The idea was to have the best contrast between the reflection of the sun and the color of the water.”
Image source: Enrico Somogyi
“I tried a slow shutter technique with a flash with snoot and colored flashlights.”
Image source: Jerry Arriaga
“We were diving in the brilliant muck of Ambon Bay. I was swimming under the fishing boats at Laha, one of my favorite dive sites in the area. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the lizardfish suddenly dart off its rock perch. It was really fast, like a torpedo! I quickly swam closer to find the lizardfish with a damselfish in its mouth. I managed to capture this image just before the lizardfish swam off with its tasty meal.”
Image source: Jeffrey Haines
“You never know what you are going to find when you go on a black-water dive. One night it may be tiny larval fish, another a mako or silky shark, but mostly you are searching through the plankton for tiny creatures as you float along with the current over deep water. Persistence and concentration are the keys to success in finding your subject as you drift along. About 45 minutes into my 90-minute dive, I started to spot small clumps of sargassum floating by, always an exciting sight on a black-water dive. I found this seahorse in the third clump I investigated.”
Image source: Franco Tulli
“Pseudanthias are mainly composed of females and non-territorial males, but at certain times of the year it is possible to see other males fight for territory and defense of their harems”203 shares
One day, this guy just kind of figured – “I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?” – and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that’s trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that’s too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!
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After a whole year of waiting, the winners of the Agora #Aerial2020 aerial photography competition are finally here. This year, the organizers received over 9,000 submissions and the grand prize of $1,000 went to a Dutch photographer going under the nickname @by_ewold for his breathtaking photo of windmills in the village of Zaanse Schans, titled “A magic morning in The Netherlands”.
“When you see the world from above, you realize how important the point of view can be,” said Octavi Royo, the CEO and co-founder of Agora. And we couldn’t agree more. Check out the amazing winning photo and the runner-ups in the gallery below!
More info: agoraimages.com
Location: Zaanse Schans, Zaanstad, Netherlands
“I was waiting for a long time to capture this typical Dutch scene with low fog. And finally, on the 10th of May, the weather forecast looked perfect: no wind and low night temperatures are the ideal ingredients for low fog. My alarm went off at 4:00 am to drive to the Zaanse Schans; when I got there the fog was everywhere except around the windmills. I decided to check first some other spots, after 1 hour I came back and wow! The wind had turned and blown the fog in the direction of the windmills. I had only 50% battery left on my drone and took off to find a unique angle to capture this place. When I looked on my phone to see the drone view it was like a dream!”
@by_ewold (Netherlands)
Location: Dameisha beach, China
“This is a public beach next to a five stars hotel. The hotel had its own private beach right next to it, which was empty. I was initially interested in capturing that contrast. The crowd density was so high, I had to gain quite a lot of altitude to make it fit in the frame. At that point, those indistinguishable people started to create a pattern that I found even more powerful and fascinating.”
@will_tm (France)
Location: Zhangjiajie National Park, China
“This is a cable car ride inside Zhangjiajie National Park. Within the park, there are altogether more than 8,000 cliff mountains, towering into the sky. During our ride, it was a misty/cloudy morning which is why this scenery looks even more mysterious. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we raise above the clouds and this view appeared. I wanted to capture this the best way possible, putting my GoPro through the small window because shooting through the scratched glass wouldn’t turn out good at all. 1 minute later, the view disappeared again. Turned out we got lucky! I absolutely love the result and the feeling it transmits, cause when I look at this photo I get this mysterious feeling and “wow-effect” back immediately.”
@sjoerdbracke (Netherlands)
Location: Mont Saint Michel, France
“One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen: it was a cold sunrise, but certainly worth it. On top of the rock, you can see a church overlooking the village of 70 residents. The strongest tides in Europe rule here, with the water going back kilometers.”
@arnold_maisner_photo (Germany)
Location: Bali, Indonesia
“I had to wake up at 5.30 am to take this shot. The early morning light bathing the rice terraces with the 2 volcanoes in the background made my day.”
@carlesalonsophotography (Spain)
Location: Tianmen Mountain, China
@rakia10 (Spain)
Location: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA
“I wanted to show that our planet has landscapes that look like they are out of this world. We don’t need to go to Mars to find these kinds of landscapes. Like in most of my photos, I want to make people realize we can find beauty on this planet. We need to take care of nature, lots of times you see that when a location gets popular, tourists overcrowd the place and basically ruin it. If you decide to visit these kinds of places just leave nothing but footprints!”
@tomdewaart (Netherlands)
Location: Tatacoa desert, Colombia
“On this ancient rock formation, you can see how the drought slowly scraped out these patterns and structures. Imagine the time that has been needed to create this. Layer by layer… that’s just mind-boggling. You’d expect that this is a huge mountain range, but look at the green trees for scale reference…”
@johandroneadventures (Belgium)
Location: Sandy Cape Light, Australia
“Cruising the Fraser Island highway at the sandy cape: an ever-evolving landscape where Giant dunes meet crystal clear water.”
@lukeylove (Australia)
Location: Basque Country, Spain
“A tiny island joined to the mainland by a bridge clung to rocks and stacks; one of the best places I’ve ever visited! That day was super windy, I flew my drone about 3 km away to get this shot and I was so worried that I would never see it again! Fortunately, it came back and it was definitely worth it.”
@sixthlens (Italy)
Location: New Mexico, USA
“This has to be one of the highlights of my US trip. Shooting this rock with the drone was pretty epic, I had to fly it directly into the wind for 3km to capture this.”
@joelfriend (UK)
Location: Perth, Australia
@blakehobson (Canada)
Location: Allgäu, Germany
“It was such a cold day. There was fresh snow and I wanted to take my dream shot. A lot of people around the world have never experienced snow so I wanted to show them the beauty of winter through my photo.”
@imkaphotos (Germany)
Location: Denmark
“See the sailboat for scale!”
@henrydo (USA)
Location: Vladivostok, Russia
@panvelvet (Russia)
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
“Nearby this market was a parking garage. We climbed almost to the top and were amazed by its beauty from above. The lesson to learn from this photo: if you’re in a place to do some photography, don’t just stay at the location itself. Do some research beforehand and look around the area to find unique points of view.”
@michelle.wandering (Netherlands)
Location: Whampoa, Hong Kong
“This is one of the weirdest sceneries I’ve ever imagined. Yes, it is a shopping center, but from above it looks like a boat in the middle of countless identical residential blocks.”
@poletaev.photo (Russia)
Location: Iceland
“When you’re exploring new terrains for the first time, you’re not really sure what’s around the corner—particularly the weather. This was a calm before the storm moment when the snow had settled and left miles around blanket white. Driving the sub-arctic, North of Iceland in winter is no mean feat with snow blizzards, whiteouts, and weather fronts that appeared from nowhere – have never seen the weather change so instantly… incredible, but keeps you on your toes.”
@joncleave (UK)
Location: Budapest, Hungary
@jprphotos (UK)
Location: Lago Di Braies, Italy
“The Dolomites area is full of picturesque landscapes, and no trip would be complete without a visit to Lago di Braies. I arrived in hope of a sunset but that did not happen; instead, I was greeted with some moody conditions with loads of low clouds. I enjoy shooting in challenging conditions and I was still determined to get some shots of this beautiful place.”
@jamesxtheo (UK)
Location: Singapour
@jordisark (Spain)
Location: Austria
“This region has so much history and a lot of old castles! This castle was built around 1100 a.d, and I find it really impressive that there is still so much left off these old buildings.”
@hardingmicha (Austria)
Location: Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA
@jassensf (USA)
Location: Cappadocia, Turkey
@sance (Spain)
Location: Australia
“The east coast of Australia offers excellent opportunities for whale watching. As I was flying my drone, I spotted this whale calf and mother surfacing.”
@simonpastor (France)
Location: Central Hong Kong
“A city without clouds is like a musical without music. I captured this shot during the sea of clouds season which only happens once a year. One has to wake up super early and keep monitoring the latest weather forecasts for a chance to capture such low clouds floating through the city. Hong Kong is like a magical dream: I want to show the world that this city is not just a cold concrete forest, but a city with a warm, beautiful soul.”
@jsrpixel (China)
Location: Barcelona, Spain
“It took me a whole year to get this shot right. I waited patiently for the sun to set in this exact position, so the lights create a path straight to the Sagrada Familia.”
@alvarovaliente_ (Spain)
Location: Mojave Desert, Death Valley, USA
“I wanted to convey the beauty and scale of this unique location. It was important to photograph early as the temperatures here can reach to 134 °F (56.7 °C) during the day!”
@cannonmatt (UK)
Location: Barcelona, Spain
“As a photographer, I love shooting city landscapes. I have always dreamed about seeing the famous architecture of Barcelona and its symmetrical neighborhoods. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of aerial photos of the city, so I thought I had an idea of what was awaiting me, but when I flew my drone to see it for myself it just caught my breath. Barcelona is truly an amazing place that is unlike anywhere else.”
@mikhail_derevyanov (Russia)
Location: Mount Bromo, Indonesia
“We hiked on the rim of Java’s Mount Bromo before sunrise, in almost pitch darkness, surrounded by rumbling sounds coming from the volcano. As the sun rose, we observed a cloud of smoke coming from a crater and felt suddenly so small in the front of nature. I did this hike with my 3-year-old daughter on my shoulders!”
@ghislainfave (France)0 shares
One day, this guy just kind of figured – “I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?” – and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that’s trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that’s too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!
For More Information About This Blog Post, Click Here!
By now, you’ve probably already heard that Tokyo will be hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics. To celebrate this upcoming event, a handful of Japanese artists decided to team up and reimagine some of the participating countries as badass warriors.
The artists took inspiration from each countries’ flags and history while giving all of them a unique twist. From Japan itself to South Africa, check out the countries reimagined as anime warriors in the gallery below!
More info: world-flags.org | Twitter
Image source: world flags
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Continue reading 30 Country Flags Reimagined As Anime Characters For 2020 Tokyo Olympics
They say timing is everything in photography. Despite us being able to control many of the conditions for the ideal shot, the factors we can’t control are often the ones that give the shot its unique look, thus leading to the term “perfect timing”.
However, “perfect timing” also often entails “perfect planning” especially in professional photography. Sure, there is the occasional accidental perfectly timed shot, but many of the world’s best pictures are taken because a lot of care and planning went into it.
For example, take Joshua Cripps’ recent “Ring Of Fire” eclipse shot in the Dubai Desert which has been going viral ever since its posting some weeks ago. It is an absolutely spectacular photograph that required a precise time in a particular location under specific climate conditions, all according to Josh’s unique vision.
Bored Panda reached out to Joshua Cripps, the photographer behind the famous Ring of Fire eclipse photo, for an interview to explain how he pulled it off. Joshua Cripps is a former engineer who 12 years ago fell in love with photography and has been doing nature photoshoots ever since.
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
A photograph of the solar eclipse in the Dubai Desert has recently been going viral. The man behind the photograph, Joshua Cripps, was going to a photography conference when he got a tip from a friend about an upcoming solar eclipse, which Cripps just couldn’t miss:
“To be honest, it happened almost by chance,” explained Cripps. “I was already planning a trip on board the Nomad Cruise—a conference at sea for digital nomads—which started in Athens and ended in Dubai in early December 2019.”
Cripps continued: “A friend of mine runs the PhotoPills app that helps photographers plan shots and so he always knows when and where the next eclipses, meteor showers, Milky Way, and all that stuff will be, so he told me, ‘You know, there’s going to be an annular eclipse right near Dubai the day after Christmas.’ It was then I decided to stick around in the United Arab Emirates to photograph the eclipse.”
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
This is when the planning started. And, oh boy, was there a lot of it. Everything from the timing and positioning to the overall composition and organization of the models had to be meticulously planned to a T:
“The distance and elevation were driven by two separate things,” elaborated Cripps. “The 6.15 degree angle was dictated simply by the sun and moon position at the time of eclipse. From where I was standing when the eclipse was at maximum totality, it would be 6.15 degrees into the sky—the information I got from the PhotoPills app.”
“For the shooting distance, that was dictated entirely by my vision of the shot,” he continued. “I knew I wanted the eclipse to encircle the man and the camel. A man and a camel standing next to each other are a little less than 3 meters across. So I needed the sun to appear to be about 3 meters wide in the photo.”
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Before you go asking the question of what kind of mathematical wizardry Cripps employed, he explained a basic mental-math method: “There’s a calculation for this called the rule of 100: take the size you want the sun to appear and multiply it by 100, and that gives you the shooting distance. So, to get a 3-meter sun, I needed to stand 300 meters (roughly 1,000 feet) away from the camel.”
Besides that, Cripps had to decide on the subject of the photograph. It had to be something representative of the sands, things like Arabian horses or oryxes. He eventually settled on a farmer with his camel.
Also, it didn’t help that Joshua had a very specific vision for the shot. The composition he sought for was to be a camel and a man standing on a sand dune encircled by the eclipse. The man and camel had to turn out as silhouettes, all the while still reflecting a little bit of flare around the outlines.
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
We asked Cripps why this specific location of all places? He said this: “The idea to head out into the desert specifically was driven by the eclipse itself. Even though the path of totality went through several countries, there were several reasons why it was shot in the Dubai Desert.”
He continued: “First, the eclipse would happen just after sunrise, so the sun’s angle during the eclipse would be low in the sky. Meaning it would be easier to put something into the frame with the eclipse. Shooting it somewhere like Indonesia would mean the sun would be about 66° up into the sky during the eclipse. Very tough to put something in the frame when you’re shooting up at such a steep angle!”
“Second, dry weather. Shooting in the desert meant a better chance for clear skies than shooting somewhere tropical like the Philippines.”
“Last, interesting subjects. After doing a bit of research, I came up with a list of things I thought would make for a striking subject—something that is both representative of the region as well as something that would look aesthetic in the photo. That list included mosques, Bedouins, sand dunes, and animals.”
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Pulling this off was a challenging feat, for a lack of better words. The most challenging, however, was the planning itself: “The planning part was by far the most challenging—specifically for a photo like this, the trick was measuring the distance and angle between me and the camel. My measurement of the height of the dune where I put the camel had about a 10% uncertainty, and in fact the dune was taller than I calculated.”
He continued: “This meant the moment of totality wasn’t visible behind the camel from my location. Normally, you can easily fix this by backing up a little bit but in this case, it wasn’t possible because of a geometry issue with another dune behind the camel. So, yeah, I’d say the planning is the hardest. Either that or the anticipation of waiting to see if I made the plan correctly or if I screwed everything up.”
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Lastly, there’s the technical aspect. After all, using a phone camera would certainly render different results, especially if the eye of the beholder is also the eye of the photographer. Here are the specs of Cripp’s shot as stated by Nikon USA:
“Nikon Z 7 in DX crop mode, with the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens attached using the Mount Adapter FTZ. Focal length at 500mm (750mm equivalent in DX mode), f/8, 1/100 second, ISO 200, manual exposure, Matrix metering. A 10-stop ND (neutral density) filter was on the lens. Final image was cropped square on the computer.”
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Finally, we asked Cripps if he could share some of his plans for future shots. He had this to say: “I love shooting the full moon, and I try to do that every month using the same process: figure out something cool to put the moon behind and create a plan to pull it off. So I’ll be shooting that all year. There’s another annular solar eclipse in June which I’m thinking about, although the timing isn’t great for me for other reasons. And lastly, there’s a total solar eclipse in South America in December which I’m planning to shoot. But the idea I have for that one, well, that’s my little secret.” Definitely something to look forward to!
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
Image credits: Joshua Cripps
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Mister Global is an annual male beauty pageant held in Thailand since 2014. This year’s competition attracted 38 contestants from all over the world and on the 26th of September, the winner has finally been announced.
The theme of this year’s competition was called “Inspiring Gentleman” and in an interview with Bored Panda, Mister Global spokesperson Kitti Kamjunsa explained the meaning behind the title of the theme. “The aim of Mister Global is to promote environmental awareness, and we have been promoting this cause ever since we started in 2014. This year, we added a new motto “Inspiring Gentleman” because we believe that the contestants and titleholders should motivate and inspire people,” said Kitti. Also, a successful fundraiser to support an elephant care organization in Thailand was held during this year’s pageant.
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Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
According to the spokesperson, Mister Global is a part of the Top 5 Grand Slam Male Pageants. “We have good quality contestants and great support from our national directors from around the world. We have also garnered much support from our many fans that follow us on our website and official page,” said Kitti. “Most importantly, we are true on our advocacy on Environmental Awareness and charity cause.”
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
“For us, we are really surprised that it went viral around the world and we welcome many positive comments. However, this segment is nothing new in any pageant system as it has always been a part of it. The winning costume is not about the size or design but the story and culture behind it,” commented Kitti on the National outfits idea.
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
The winner of this year’s competition was Jong Woo Kim – a 23-year-old police administration student and model from Korea. Aside from the title of Mister Global 2019, Kim will also become a Global Goodwill Ambassador, participating in various charitable and environmental projects.
Check out the winner and the runner-ups in the gallery below!
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
Image source: Missosology
