We tend to think of blogs that showcase large images as a phenomenon of the past few years. But NASA's Earth Observatory has been posting its
Image of the Day since April 1999 (when its first "large" image available for download was
a 214 KB jpeg of the North Pole). Now, Image of the Day has downloads of images in multiple formats, most of which measure in megabytes, not kilobytes, and these stunning images of the earth's surface give context to the human activity down below:
a toxic spill in Hungary,
wildfires in Mexico, the growth of
a coal mine in West Virginia,
agriculture in Brazil,
snowmelt flooding in Fargo, North Dakota,
last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico,
artificial islands in Dubai,
the aftermath of Japan's recent tsunami.
posted by ocherdraco
on Apr 16, 2011 -
4 comments
Fortepan is a collection of 4973 found amateur photos sourced mainly in Budapest. Pick a year and browse - photos are organized in chronological order from 1900 to 1990, accessible via a slider. "Users are encouraged to use, copy, send to friends, clip or paste the photos, which are
free for they are not our property."
(via Szanalmas, sometimes nsfw)
posted by madamjujujive
on Aug 29, 2010 -
19 comments
From about 1875 to the 1940s,
cigarette cards spurred tobacco sales. Sets offer a glimpse into the popculture of the times, spanning
newsmakers,
cinema celebrities, and
sports stars; cute illustrated subjects, like
"frisky" and
children with rosy cheeks; handy info like
air raid precautions,
first aid, and
amusing tricks; and neat stuff like
famous escapes,
exotic races, and
figures of speech. Browse
more fun sets of vintage images.
posted by madamjujujive
on Dec 11, 2007 -
21 comments
Inner City Youth, London "In 2002,
Simon Wheatley began photographing London's publich housing developments...and was able to obtain a level of intimacy with his subjects that provides a true picture of the daunting project of growing up in the intimate confines of drug use, societal neglect, and poverty."
This (Flash-based) narrated slideshow features Wheatley's work, and is a look at the culture...and also the music (
grime) "as an artistic response to the place and circumstance, an expression of the violence, bleakness, and neglect..." (via
Future Feeder)
posted by tpl1212
on Jul 20, 2006 -
38 comments
They that go down to the sea in ships, a really hauntingly beautiful collection of images of seafarers from the past. Some of the images have handwritten notes on the back as well. It's good to get a glimpse of the people and decades lived in by most of our grandparents. Who knows where all those digital images we all take will end up one day.
posted by rhyax
on May 2, 2004 -
7 comments
"Twexus does contain 15800 images today". Twexus is an enigmatic, engaging little database-driven photoart site that rewards you with new site features as your page views increase. I can't seem to tear free from the hypnotic effect of the "
symmetry" page that concerns itself with my opinion on each proffered image.
sorry, gotta go... must... return... to... twexus...
posted by taz
on Nov 21, 2002 -
15 comments
Do you recognize this photo?
This rather ominous photo of military officers smirking and stoic Polynesians with faces smeared with white paint (or who knows what?) turned up recently in the archives of the Historic Preservation Office of Samoa. The archivists believe it to have been taken in the 1930s, but can't say what it depicts exactly. Wierd!!
posted by rschram
on Jun 14, 2001 -
9 comments
I like the concept of the
FYI Image Depository. It's kinda neat to just waste an hour sifting through what people have uploaded. The contents range from fingerpainting to softcore porn.
posted by tdecius
on Oct 7, 1999 -
0 comments
