Drone fans rejoice! Plague Fort, also known as Fort Alexander, is a naval fortress on an artificial island in the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg and Kronstadt. Between 1899-1917, it housed a research laboratory on plague and other bacterial diseases. By the end of the 19th century, the fort was primarily used for ammunition storage, as the development of rifled artillery rendered the fort facilities ineffective for defensive purposes. During the 1890s, in wake of the discovery of the plague pathogen by Alexandre Yersin, the Russian government formed a special Commission on the Prevention of Plague Disease to facilitate research in this specific area of bacteriology. In August 1899, research work took off at Plague Fort, mainly focused on the study of plague disease and preparation of plague serum and vaccine from the immunized horses. Read more for another aerial drone video and additional information.
Photo credit: National Geographic / Sarah Bethea
National Geographic has been published continuously since its first issue in 1888, and it has always showcased the beauty of our planet. This year, the winners were selected from from nearly 10,000 entries in three categories – People, Places and Wildlife. The photo above was captured by Sarah Bethea of the Yosemite Firefall. “Each February, the sunset hits the right angle over Yosemite Valley to light up horsetail falls, resulting in a spectacular effect looking something like a lava-flow. we were fortunate enough to see this event two years ago during a clear break in an otherwise rainy day,” said Sarah. Did you know that the original Yosemite Firefall began as a summer event in 1872 and continued for almost a century? That’s right, burning hot embers were spilled from the top of Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park to the valley 3,000 feet below, but ended in January 1968, when the National Park Service ordered it to stop because the overwhelming number of visitors that it attracted trampled the meadows. Read more to see ten more winners.
Fujifilm’s Instax Mini 26 camera + rainbow film bundle lets you instantly print your photos at any event or occasion, and it’s being offered for just $39.99 shipped, today only, originally $69.99. Its simple operation, thanks to a high-quality FUJINON lens, provides great 2”x3” instant photos in as little as 90 seconds. Automatic exposure compensation always ensures that the right amount of light is captured in most shooting situations. A Lighten-Darken Control adjusts the intensity of colors to make the print finish brighter or darker. Product page. Read more for another hands-on video review and additional information.
Based on the Damen Yacht Support 6911, this 227-foot vessel has been fully customized and is perfect for a supervillain who just happens to be a worthy enough opponent to make your hero look good. Of course this person is also clever and accomplished enough that people must lend him begrudging respect, and this yacht is perfect, as it comes with a fully-equipped dive center, Saab Falcon remote vehicle, as well as a U-Boat C-Researcher submarine. Step out onto the deck, and you’ll find a fully-certified helipad with a hangar beneath made for an Airbus H130. That’s not all, it’s also certified for Arctic operations, with a max speed of 22 knots and room for a a crew of 22. Read more for more fascinating images from around the web.
Photo credit: Ossi Saarinen
Ossi Saarinen, a photographer from Finland, wants to show that his country is more than what most pictures show, especially the nature side of things. So, he regularly plans expeditions into the many forests that cover nearly three-quarters of the country. As you might’ve already guessed, he comes across lots of wildlife, including sleeping animals, like the fox above, who just happens to have found an ultra comfortable nook. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Unsplash
Are you a professional photographer that has always wanted to travel the world, even if it’s with someone else’s family? This job may be for you. One wealthy family from the UK is reportedly looking for a travel photographer, and offers to pay over $100,000 a year. To find the perfect candidate, they contracted photographer booking service Perfocal to narrow down the applicants. “We need someone to travel around the world with us and take photos. The photographer will be expected to travel for up to 3 months at a time, should work up to 10 hours on days of work, and will receive full sick pay and 30 days of holiday during the year,” according to the family. Read more to see all that the job entails.
Photo credit: Grace Chon via Peta Pixel
Photographer Grace Chon has started a new photo series called “HAIRY”, and it’s exactly as you imagined. All of the dogs featured in these images have been groomed in a Japanese grooming style, which doesn’t follow the usual cuts and rules, but rather emphasizes making the animals look as adorable as possible. Each of these haircuts took hours at the Los Angeles-based Healthy Spot, since most of the styling is done by hand. “I’ve always found before and after photos from dog grooming to be really funny. Usually it doesn’t even look like it’s the same dog in each photo! I had the idea of shooting a photo series that highlighted this extreme transformation,” said Grace. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Peta Pixel
Sony’s A7S II Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera isn’t the latest or greatest, but did you know that it was used to film an entire movie? That’s right, “The Possession of Hannah Grace” is officially the first Sony Pictures film to be shot using full-frame mirrorless camera. “The smaller camera’s ability to see beautiful under low light conditions, the LED lighting technology, and the methods we used in set construction made this whole production a case study in how to be efficient and still tell a great story with a fantastic look,” said producer Glenn S. Gainor. Accessories used include Vantage Hawk 65 anamorphic lenses to squeeze the 16:9 4K image down by 1.3 times to a widescreen size (2.40:1) cinematic format. Read more for additional pictures and information.
With Samsung releasing a flexible smartphone next year, bendy laptops aren’t too far off, and this conceptual device from Lenovo proves it. This computer will use “new screen technologies” to enable users to fold it when not in use, complete with a flexible display that stretches across most of the laptop and curves towards the keyboard. It will also offer voice control and of course retain the iconic red pointing stick found on current ThinkPads. A company representative mentioned that it will be constructed from “advanced materials”, but unfortunately, no other technical specifications were released, though it’s safe to say that most components will have to be custom-built to safely fit the bendy chassis if this ever makes it into prototype form. Read more for additional interesting images from around the web.
Photo credit: Blossom
The world of food photography is more than meets the eye, and while many things look delicious in ads, the things used to make them look that way are not safe for ingestion to say the least. One example would be creating fake champagne, which is actually a combination of soy sauce, Alka Seltzer for the fizz, and then last, but not least, water. Another example is tasty-looking ice cream that’s made from corn syrup, shortening, and food coloring for advertisements. “Blossom” recently created a video showing nine more tricks that professional photographers use to make food look good. Read more to watch the video and for additional information.