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Archive
August, 2009 Monthly archive

liverpool couple 337x500 Liverpool couple

From the archives, here’s a picture I took in Liverpool, in ’91.

airplane view sunset sky 500x333 View from the airplane

Through the airplane window

All roads lead to The Crotch. Shot from the Bloomingdale Trail, just off Leavitt St.

Milwaukee Ave Chicago clouds 400x500 Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago

Milwaukee Avenue, as seen from the Bloomingdale Trail.

sean canetta hawaii farm 333x500 Sean Canetta in Hawaii

sean canetta hawaii cu 333x500 Sean Canetta in Hawaii

I visited my old pal Sean Canetta on the big island of Hawaii a few weeks ago. You may remember him from public access television’s inspirational show, The Joy of My Burden.

I took pictures of the Bloomingdale Trail for John Greenfield‘s cover story in this week’s Reader .

bloomingdale trail chicago1 333x500 Reader cover story: Bloomingdale Trail

cosmicmain 232186s1 500x341 Cosmic photography

The Horsehead Nebula from 'Ancient Light: a Portrait of the Universe' by David Malin

Today’s Independent has a profile on Australian astronomical photographer David Malin. That’s right, the mind boggling image above is a photograph, not an illustration.

“Photography has been crucial to the advancement of astronomy, it transformed it completely. We were able to see bigger and more interesting things than previously imaginable. Now digital technology reveals an even more mysterious universe that is just as interesting and beautiful,” says Malin.

A selection of Malin’s work has been put together in a new book titled Ancient Light: a Portrait of the Universe. These photographs were captured using old-fashioned glass plates coated with a super-sensitive chemical emulsion. The photographs were taken in the name of science, but have been selected for their aesthetic appeal.

“The Horsehead nebula, dust and gas adrift in Orion” is an image of a cosmic dust cloud in the shape of a horse’s head. The clouds glow and an extra bright star dominates the scene. Malin points out that a dark patch at the base of the cloud is where new stars form. In scientific terms, it’s a mass of plasma, hydrogen and dust. Visually, it’s sublime.

Here’s the book; it looks incredible.

2172 Volcanoes National Park panorama

Volcanoes National Park on the big island, Hawaii.

(click on the globe above, then use your mouse to move around; use shift and control keys to zoom in and out)