Awwww!
As a National Geographic photographer since 1995, Stephen Alvarez has explored our world in ways most of us can only imagine. His global stories have won him numerous awards and taken him to amazing faraway places, much like our all-time favorite photographer, Steve McCurry.Over the past fifteen years, Alvarez chronicled the world's unseen landscapes and then called the series Earth from Below. His journeys took him to the world's deepest cave in Abkhazia on the border with Russia and made him curious enough to explore the treasures right underneath his feet. Alvarez recently spoke about these incredible experiences at The Annnenberg Space for Photography. For those of you who could not attend, you can watch his lecture here.
What I enjoy most about Alvarez's photos is that, just like Steve McCurry, he can transport us into another time and place. Unlike McCurry, however, Alvarez gives us a different type of connection. Whereas McCurry's photos make us appreciate our shared human experiences, Alvarez's awe-inspiring photos give us a whole new appreciation for this earth - its natural beauty and, most importantly, its hidden gems.
I was able to ask Stephen my favorite question: What advice would he give to others?"The advice I give to people just starting out is the same advice I give to veteran photographers and to myself each morning," he tells us. "Find your passion, find something you love to make pictures of, something that is meaningful to you and gets you excited every day. Exploration does it for me, but so does portraiture, so does good storytelling. Professional photography isn't a job as much as it is a life and what you shoot is going to define you.
There is a sea of photographers out there. The ones that stand out all have a passion for their subject, it shows in the pictures."
Make sure to check out Stephen Alvarez's website to see more of his incredible photos.
By Duncan Geere, Wired UK
Lake Vostok, which has been sealed off from the world for 14 million years, is about to be penetrated by a Russian drill bit.
The lake, which lies 2.5 miles below the icy surface of Antarctica, is unique in that it’s been completely isolated from the other 150 subglacial lakes on the continent for such a long time. It’s also oligotropic, meaning that it’s supersaturated with oxygen: Levels of the element are 50 times higher than those found in most typical freshwater lakes.
Since 1990, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg in Russia has been drilling through the ice to reach the lake, but fears of contamination of the ecosystem in the lake have stopped the process multiple times, most notably in 1998 when the drills were turned off for almost eight years.
Now, the team has satisfied the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, which safeguards the continent’s environment, that it’s come up with a technique to sample the lake without contaminating it. Valery Lukin told New Scientist: “Once the lake is reached, the water pressure will push the working body and the drilling fluid upwards in the borehole, and then freeze again.” The next season, the team will bore into that frozen water to recover a sample whose contents can then be analysed.
The drill bit currently sits less than 328 feet above the lake. Once it reaches 65 to 98 feet, the mechanical drill bit will be replaced with a thermal lance that’s equipped with a camera.
Time is short, however. It’s possible that the drillers won’t be able to reach the water before the end of the current Antarctic summer, and they’ll need to wait another year before the process can continue.
When the sample can be recovered, however, it’s hoped that it’ll shed light on extremophiles — lifeforms that survive in extreme environments. Life in Lake Vostok would need adaptions to the oxygen-rich environment, which could include high concentrations of protective enzymes. The conditions in Lake Vostok are very similar to the conditions on Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus, so the new data could also strengthen the case for extraterrestrial life.
Finally, anything living in the lake will have evolved in relative isolation for about 14 million years, so it could offer a snapshot of conditions on Earth long before humans evolved.
Updated 5:12 pm ET.
Image: Antarctica, with location of Lake Vostok circled in red.
NASA/GSFCSource: Wired.co.uk
See Also:
- Methane May Be Building Under Antarctic Ice
- Extreme Life Thrives Where the Livin’ Ain’t Easy
- All Life on Earth Could Have Come From Alien Zombies
- Arctic Lake Yields Planet’s Most Continuous Record of Ancient Climate
- Earth as Art: Stunning New Images From Space
Duncan Geere is a senior staff writer at Wired.co.uk. He can be found on Twitter at @DuncanGeere. Follow Wired at @WiredUK
Contributed by Liz Lewis
I think one of the main reasons it’s so hard to quit smoking is because all the benefits of quitting and all the dangers of continuing seem very far away. Well, here’s a little timeline about some of the more immediate effects of quitting smoking and how that will affect your body RIGHT NOW.* In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
* In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
* In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
* In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
* In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
* In three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
* In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
* In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
* In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
* In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.So, you have more immediate things to look forward to if you quit now besides just freaking out about not being able to smoke. Quit now!
One of these pictures was taken in a British back garden by an amateur using kit worth £10,000 - the other cost Nasa millions. But can you tell the difference?
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:23 PM on 7th January 2011Nasa has invested billions of dollars in high-tech equipment to take detailed photographs of our solar system.
But the space agency may have met its match in amateur astronomer Steve Loughran.
The 44-year-old managed to capture these stunning images of stars and constellations, including one of the Andromeda Galaxy, from his back garden in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire.
Even more incredibly, he managed to do it with equipment that cost less than £10,000.
Amateur? Astronomy fan Steve Loughran took this stunning image of Messier 31, better known as the Andromeda Galaxy, from his garden in Cambridgeshire
Nasa, on the other hand, today released the most detailed image of the Andromeda Galaxy ever taken at far infra-red wavelengths.
Their Herschel infrared space telescope, launched in May 2009 at a cost of estimated to be in the tens of millions, captured the image during the Christmas break.
But Mr Loughran's home-made photo can sit comfortably alongside the Nasa image, spectacular image by any standards.
The father-of-one is so dedicated to his hobby that he has spent thousands of hours taking photos of the skies.
He once even stayed awake for four nights in a row when the skies were particularly clear.
State of the art: Nasa today released this image, the most detailed yet taken of the Andromeda Galaxy
Mr Loughran said: 'A really good image can take as long to process as it does to photograph and once I spent 14 hours working on just one picture.
'It has become a real obsession, but the images that are produced are spectacular and still amaze me when I see them.'
Mr Loughran became interested in astronomy four years ago when he decided to use a telescope to see a lunar eclipse in February 2007.
Since then his hobby has become an obsession and on every clear night he will be outside in his garden with his telescope pointing to the stars.
The photographer at home: Mr Loughran became interested in astronomy four years ago when he decided to use a telescope to see a lunar eclipse in February 2007
The network engineer said: 'In the UK you are limited by the amount of clear sky and sometimes you can go weeks without being able to get outside.
'I always check the evening weather report and if I know it's going to be clear I'll race home and get my equipment ready.
'Sometimes I'll stay out all night. It's peaceful and relaxing and you can see meteorites flying over.'
Mr Loughran uses a specialised digital camera, which is refrigerated to boost its performance and three different sized telescopes, with lenses ranging from 60mm to 190mm in diameter.
The telescope is mounted and controlled by specialist software on his computer.
He said: 'You have to align the mount with the Pole Star and as the sky turns the mount turns.
'The first picture I ever took was rubbish, out of focus and blurry, but I'm learning and improving all the time.'
Deep space: Mr Loughran has taken a series of amazing images including this photo shows the Horsehead Flame nebula in the constellation of Orion
NGC7000: More commonly known as the North American Nebula, Mr Loughran took this picture with equipment that cost less than £10,000
Among Mr Loughran's incredible images are Orion's Sword and the Heart and Soul Nebulae, which look like hearts and are located in the constellation Cassiopeia, about 6,000 light years away from Earth.
He has also snapped the Carina Nebula, which is between an estimated 6,500 and 10,000 light years from Earth and four times larger and brighter than the Orion nebula.
He added: 'It still amazes me when I see the finished picture. You have a rough idea of what it is going to look like, but it is never quite as you imagined.
'I'm a real techie and I like setting up the telescope and the electronics and at the end getting something so beautiful and artistic.'
Out of this world: Messier 42, or the Great Orion Nebula, is a region of new star formation
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How can you compare a far-infrared image with an optical image?!? That's very stupid. It is like comparing a photograph and a X-ray of the same person.
- Davide, Venice, Italy, 08/1/2011 11:29
Wow. This man is a star! Good going Steve! You are triggering a new cult movement to star-photo-gazing.
- Ann, London, 08/1/2011 11:01
Optical and photgraphic systems have made such giant strides in my lifetime. Just 40 years ago even Mount Palomar's famous 200inch Hale telescope couldn't have produced a photograph as detailed and clear as that.
- Little Ted, London, England , 08/1/2011 10:38
You all say what you like, but for a man only at this for 3 years and a minimum amount of equipment what an incredible job! Beautiful photographs, well done Steve.
- ernest wilson ex-pat, Sarasota Florida USA, 08/1/2011 09:40
This is a national newspaper not designed for astronomy fans but anyone!!! The average person is drawn by the images which are stunning and amazing not the grammar and factual content in the article. Congratulations Steve on some beautiful images.
- Moose, England, 08/1/2011 09:04
Somebody is pulling somebody's leg. The amount of light pollution in the gentleman's neighbor hood, the vehicles shaking the ground, the temperature variations, the atmospheric moisture, and the elvish optics, can in no way compare with the product provided by orbiting observatories.
- Dutra, Leeds, UK, 08/1/2011 02:05
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ThinkGeek’s Joystick-It gaming accesory for the iPad might seem a little counterintuitive. You know, isn’t the point of the tablet to remove physical keys and buttons from the equation? But something tells me that you’ll forget about that pesky thought after a mere few minutes of playing around with the thing. Plus, it doesn’t require batteries!
Full story at LikeCool.
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