First up, absolutely stunning macro shots of some awesome insect architecture: Macro Photographs of Nature’s Tiniest Architects by Nicky Bay. Be sure to click the link so you can see all of the photos. All I have is “Wow!”
Arctiine moth pupa (Cyana sp.)
Bagworm Moth
Next, a lake of mirrors. This left me speechless. A Photographer’s Digital Journey to Produce a Lake of Shattered Mirrors.
“Impact” by Erik Johansson, image provided by artist.
Swedish photographer Erik Johansson had a vision for a digital photograph of a lake shattering like a mirror, an image he wanted to produce as accurately as possible. To achieve this effect for Impact, Johansson bought 17 square meters of mirrors, found a boat and a model, and posed all three in a stone pit until he got the best shot for the final image. Several months of planning, shooting, and editing later and he has an entire video that documents the tasks that lie far beyond the many hours he spent in Photoshop.
That video for “Impact” was pretty cool. I am not artistic at all, but I can appreciate everything that went into this piece, from the planning through the execution to the final product. Thanks for highlighting it!
Yeah, it was! I was just about on the floor from being stunned. That’s an amazing work, and I’m seriously impressed and jealous. :D
That’s a gorgeous piece of art. I’m just glad it’s not as obvious in the final image that the fish is gutted as in the shooting. That’d be such a waste.
The bagworm moth larvae build cool looking towers (in the link given).
The shattered lake is impressive. The video gives the impression that the original lake scenery is from Lake Vänern, the biggest lake in Sweden and the third biggest lake in Europe (after Ladoga and Onega in present-day Russia).
I think this is funny but somewhat impractical (unless you need a drawer that can’t be opened silently).
Ice Swimmer
That’s where you hide the treats that you don’t want anyone else to get while you’re napping. :)
I can’t get enough of that insect architecture. Such cultural little critters!
Giliell:
I didn’t even notice the fish until I watched the video. I must have spent 2 hours at Johansson’s site, he has a number of pieces I’d love to own.
I was wondering about that. The scenery was drop dead gorgeous.
I love the way this sort of thing is done!!! It’s wonderful how realistic you can make effects if you plan for them and set them up so that the lighting is going to be completely consistent throughout. Also: a few hours of prep-work saves hundreds of hours of photoshop work.
(People who enjoy this might also enjoy the works of Greg Crewdson, and the documentary about him entitled Brief Encounters”)
I am not sure if I am a fan but I am awed by the amount of work that goes into his creations. Actually, I think that a lot of the impact of his art is the “OMG THAT MUST HAVE TAKEN FOREVER!” factor.