Inside a Wave - Mindblowing Photography!

 These are some mindblowing photos from inside a wave called shore break art photographs. Getting inside, over and under 30-40 foot waves is no small feat, especially with bulky camera equipment, and a goal of finding that perfect angle and lighting condition that makes a perfect shot.

 

"The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little" is nothing short of epic.


(all images copyright Clark Little via DRB)

Clark Little is pretty well known today as the foremost shore break art photographer (his art has been seen on "Good Morning America", and featured in a number of glossy magazines all over the world). But as much as we like the fantastic shots of various wave' innards, we are even more impressed to see him pitched against dangerous, massive amounts of water - violent waves, where you only have a moment to make that shot and to get out of the harm's way.

Into the Vortex!








(Clark with his camera "inside" and "under" the waves)

Encounter with a Wave (almost alien-like in intensity, if you ask me):



The Result: Out of This World

A glorious, almost Mandelbrot-like complexity is simply striking in this "Glitter" photograph (our favorite):







Unusual, over-saturated colors show up inside crystal clear waves, reflecting kaleidoscopic world around them:





There is also a place for pure abstraction, even psychedelic touches:



This image is titled "The Twelve Disciples" - see if you can spot some faces inside that wave, too:



Here is perhaps his most famous image: the wave's "mohawk", an amazingly colorful splash, featured recently inside National Geographic magazine:



Another singular splash:



Inside the belly of the beast: "The Twister" photograph shows what a violent wave is made of -



Even in the absence of killer monster waves, the shorebreak art can look slightly alien... Here is the little "Frosty" guy:


(all images copyright Clark Little)

Unique & Special Postage Stamps

These are some really unique postage stamps, from a stamp that looks & smells like chocolates to a cloth stamp to even a CD-ROM stamp!

 

This stamp was printed on silver foil by the government of Tonga:



(images by Rod Perry, via)

These stamps issued in Malaysia feature a variety of nocturnal animals and actually glow in the dark:





In 2004, Switzerland issued this wooden stamp made from 120-year-old fir trees:



Switzerland also produced this embroidered stamp in 2000, celebrating the world-famous embroidery created in St. Gallen, one of the Swiss cantons:




This Austrian stamp from 2005 is similarly made of threads, embroidered into the design of the Edelweiss, the well-known alpine flower. The stamp was issued in honour of the Austrian embroidery industry, which dates back to the eighteenth century. The stamp has a self-adhesive backing, but can even be worn if so desired



Austria Post also produced in the world's first stamp made of soccer ball material in 2008, to mark the UEFA Euro soccer tournament:


(on the right: famous Lufthansa's soccer ball airplane paint scheme)

In 2006, Austria issued this curious stamp, which could even be said to be out of this world. The stamp contains 0.03 grams of dust from a meteorite found in Morocco two years earlier, which was fixed to the stamp with a special adhesive:




These cloth stamps from Grenada, the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, honour the humble teddy bear:




The Rock of Gibraltar is one of the world's most recognized natural features and it appeared on this Gibraltar stamp in more ways than one in 2002. The stamp's top layer is actually embellished with finely pulverizedpieces of rock from the famous landmark:




This 2007 stamp printed on thinly sliced cork is from Portugal, commemorating the country's cork industry, which produces around 30% of the world supply:




A Singapore souvenir set of $5 stamps from 2008 was covered in beads on a sheet shaped like a handbag:



Several countries around the world have produced scented stamps offering a variety of different aromas. The small Himalayan nation of Bhutan was probably the first nation to issue this type of stamp in 1973. These stamps were perfumed to smell like roses:



In celebration of the Year of the Pig in 2007, China really did issue a stamp bearing the aroma of sweet and sour pork (above, right). It is rumoured that the stamp's adhesive actually tasted a little like the famous Chinese delicacy, but this is far from established fact.

Issued to raise awareness of the dangers of forest fires, these Brazilian stamps smell of burnt wood:



Also from Brazil, where most of the planet's supply of coffee beans originates, this stamp is scented with thearoma of coffee, one of the country's largest exports:


(images via) 

Another country renowned for a product derived from beans is Switzerland, world famous for its chocolate. This stamp was sold in a foil-wrapped booklet, similar to most chocolate bars. However, the stamp merely smells likechocolate and apparently when licked tastes exactly like glue:


(image via)

In honor of the centenary of the Nobel Prizes in 2001, the United Kingdom issued this stamp with the scent ofeucalyptus. When the stamp is scratched, eucalyptus aroma, hidden in tiny capsules in the stamp's top layer, is released:



The stamp shown above right is giving off sandalwood scent; it comes from India.

Several countries have placed moving images on their stamps. This one from Austria includes forty eight images, which allow a three second "movie" to appear when the stamp is viewed from certain angles.


(image via)

The small Himalayan nation of Bhutan is famous for its stamps, including the first ever stamp made of steel:



These embossed stamps, depicting famous world leaders, are printed on plastic:



These stamps issued in 1973 by Bhutan are also real phonograph records. They contain traditional folk songs and an oral history of the kingdom, in both English and Bhutanese, and really can be played on a record player:


(images via)

More recently, Bhutan introduced postage stamps that doubled as actual CD-ROMs. One is entitled "Bhutan: In Harmony with Nature", the other "Bhutan: 100 Years of Monarchy".

 

Astounding Japanese Highways, Bridges & Interchanges

Japan saw most of its infrastructure bombed back to the stone age in the final years of World War II, which makes the country's post-war rejuvenation all the more astounding. Huge, complex public works projects saw a concrete & steel web of highways, bridges and interchanges blossom from the wreckage of war.

Today, shaped by the demands of restrictive space and economic boom & bust, Japan's hardened transportation arteries display artistic forms that go far beyond their functions.

 

(images credit: Ken Ohyama)

Above left is the Hakozaki Junction, part of the Metropolitan Expressway in Tokyo, and at right is the Hokko Junction in Osaka... These images illustrate the solution engineers used when building multi-lane highway interchanges in some of the world's most crowded cities in Japan: go vertical!



(images credit: Ken Ohyama)

Ken Ohyama has made it his mission to chronicle some of the more striking Japanese roadworks in a Flickr series called Interchange and a book of his photos available from Amazon. One of the more outstanding examples is The Hokko Junction shown above - a part of the Hanshin Expressway near Japan's second city, Osaka.



Also in Osaka is the Higashiosaka (East Osaka) Loop of the Hanshin Expressway. The photographer's technique gives the sweeping curve of the roadway an almost tubular appearance:


(images credit: Ken Ohyama)

When engineers have space to work with, they take full advantage. This wide field view of the Higashiosaka interchange shows the almost organic complexity of a busy cloverleaf, resembling a living creature's circulatory system with the vehicles acting as blood cells.


(image credit: zvkk)

Highways upon highways... without any end in sight:


(images credit: Andrew Yamaguchi, Sergei Mingazhev, Stassia)

One interesting feature of Japanese elevated highways: they often run above rivers or sea channels, using the available space above the water. Here are some of these "highways on the sea" -



(images credit: takasuuuui, kokix)

The incredible Japanese road infrastructure really took off in the 1960s - check out the vintage photo on the right:


(left image credit: FotoOleg)

Such "Bladerunner" sights are commonplace now, brimming with urban energy -



(images credit: kokix)

By the way, for the tricky "urban density" photography, head over to this page... and see if you can spot something wrong with the image there.


Slipping Sideways

Some sections of the Hanshin Expressway suffered severe damage during the 7.2 magnitude Great Hanshin Earthquake which hit the Kobe, Japan area in January of 1995, killing over 5,500 people and costing over $200 billion.


(image credit: AFP / Jiji Press)

On the bright side, the affected sections of the highway did not "pancake", as happened in the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, but instead slipped sideways and tumbled over. Either way, one doesn't want to be driving through a highway interchange or junction when a big quake hits!


Recession, what recession?

Public works spending has long been the Japanese government's preferred way to spend budget surpluses, boost employment, keep the ruling party's supporters in the construction industry loyal, or all of the above. The highway depicted below is one of those projects, steadily overtaking a quiet city street like Godzilla in slow motion.


(images credit: Cisco's Japan Blog and Snegura)

Which came first, the highway or the building? The question is moot as both have learned to accommodate one another. The Hanshin Expressway takes a shortcut through the 5th to 7th floors of Fukushima's Gate Tower building, also known as the Bee Hive.



(images via)

The story goes that the original building's owner wanted to knock it down and rebuild, but was told by city planners that the space was being allocated to a newly planned exit of the expressway. Both sides refused to budge, and the compromise was completed in 1992.


(image via)

Tokyo residents can easily avoid using the highways and expressways which crisscross the city, thanks to one of the world's largest and most efficient subway systems, but when traffic is light they can be a pleasure to drive. The view can be pretty intense, as in the time-lapse photo below:


(image credit: Vladimir Zakharov)

Urban density in Tokyo is simply astounding:


(image credit: Sam Graf)


The Rainbow Bridge and the longest suspension bridge

Dark Roasted Blend has been covering some rather fascinating bridges before. Here are a few more - a spectacular sample from Japan. The 570 meter (1,870 ft) long Rainbow Bridge spans the northern (inner) part of Tokyo Bay and has been a city landmark since it opened in 1993. Two roadways, a transit line and pedestrian walkways all use the bridge, resulting in a seemingly chaotic tangle from certain angles.




(images credit: Uncharted Futures and lmkuzya)

It's at night, however, that the Rainbow Bridge comes alive with signature color! Spotlights mounted at strategic locations bathe the bridge's superstructure in prismatic glory. Best of all, the lighting is solar powered with energy stored during the day powering the light show at night:


(image credit: Gussisaurio)

Announced in 1969, the massive Kobe-Naruto highway route project stretches 81 kilometers to connect Japan's main island of Honshu with the much smaller island of Shikoku to the south. The jewel in the crown is the 4-kilometer long Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which cost $3.6 billion to build over the ten year period between 1988 and 1998:


(image credit: Aurelio Asiain)

Of course, any discussion of Japanese highways wouldn't be complete without mention of Mount Fuji. The mountain's iconic snowy peak is visible from Tokyo - on clear days, at least - but though it's certainly possible to reach the dormant volcano's doorstep via highway, taking the Shinkansen bullet train is a better bet.


(image credit: fui)