Aerial Photographs of Volcanic Iceland by Andre ErmolaevSeptember 25

Aerial Photographs of Volcanic Iceland by Andre Ermolaev landscapes Iceland

At first glance these photos by Andre Ermolaev look like twisting abstract paintings, but in reality are aerial photos of rivers flowing through Iceland’s endless beds of volcanic ash. Given its name and stereotypical depiction it’s somewhat surprising to learn that the small country named after ice is home to no less than 30 active volcanic systems. You’ll remember the eruption of the massive Grímsvötn volcano just last year that spewed some 120 million tons of ash in the first 48 hours and snarled air traffic for days. Of his photographs Ermolaev says:

Iceland is a wonderful country; I would even say that it is a true paradise for all the photo shooting-lovers. But what has become a real discovery for me is the bird’s eye view of the rivers flowing along the black volcanic sand. It is an inexpressible combination of colors, lines, and patterns. The photo represents the mouth of the river falling into the ocean. [...] A little bit upstream there is a yellow-colored brook flowing into the river, but yellow currents fail to mix with the main water flow. One can estimate the scale judging by the car tracks that are clearly seen on the black sand. This is just a river, just a volcano, just our planet.

You can see much more of his work over on 500px. (via my modern met)

New Portraits by Andrew SalgadoSeptember 24

New Portraits by Andrew Salgado portraits painting

One of my favorite portrait artists, Andrew Salgado (previously) who lives and works in London has completed a number of new works in advance of his second solo show, The Misanthrope, which opens at Beers.Lambert on October 11, 2012. You can see see much more of his recent work on his website.

Mysteries of Vernacular: Quirky Animations Explore the Meaning of LanguageSeptember 24

Mysteries of Vernacular: Quirky Animations Explore the Meaning of Language stop motion language etymology books animation

Mysteries of Vernacular is an ongoing video series by NYC-based Myriapod Productions that explores the etymology of individual words through a carefully animated book. According to Myriapod the series will eventually include 26 stories, each of which takes nearly 80 hours to research, construct and animate. Since taking Latin in high school I’ve been keenly aware of the bizarre ways in which different cultures appropriate and modify language, but this series really casts an engaging light on the whole messy ordeal. (via flavorwire)

An Austin Man Builds a Cathedral of JunkSeptember 20

An Austin Man Builds a Cathedral of Junk trash recycling installation documentary

This is a fascinating and touching glimpse into the ongoing art installation of Austin, Texas resident Vince Hannemann (aka the Junk King) who since 1989 has been collecting thousands of discarded objects and turning them into a giant cathedral of junk. In 2010 the city closed the structure claiming it was unsafe and demanded Hannemann obtain proper building permits for his “auxiliary structure”. He was then forced to remove nearly 60 tons of materials before finally obtaining the approval from an engineer. Over seven months hundreds of volunteers stopped by to lend a hand and the cathedral has begun expanding once again. Shot and edited by Evan Burns. Last photo by Blake Gordon. (via vimeo)

Wave Photographs by Kenji CromanSeptember 20

Wave Photographs by Kenji Croman waves water ocean

Photographer Kenji Croman lives and works in Hawaii where he’s developed an incredible ability to photograph waves. He recently launched a Kickstarter project to photograph waves in South America, and you can see some larger shots over on Amazing Pics.

Pine Cone Land Art from Sylvain MeyerSeptember 20

Pine Cone Land Art from Sylvain Meyer pine cones land art

I’m really enjoying this land art installation in Baulmes, Switzerland from artist Sylvain Meyer (previously). He says it took nearly two months to harvest and collect enough pine cones to fill 10 bags, and then another two days to complete it. See more over on Flickr.

Mysterious Underwater ‘Crop Circles’ Discovered Off the Coast of JapanSeptember 19

Mysterious Underwater Crop Circles Discovered Off the Coast of Japan nature Japan fish

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration less than five percent of the world’s oceans have been explored, meaning that 95% of what lies deep underwater on Earth has yet to be seen by human eyes.

One person who has dedicated his life to uncovering the mysteries of the deep is Japanese photographer Yoji Ookata who obtained his scuba license at the age of 21 and has since spent the last 50 years exploring and documenting his discoveries off the coast of Japan. Recently while on a dive near Amami Oshima at the southern tip of the country, Ookata spotted something he had never encountered before: rippling geometric sand patterns nearly six feet in diameter almost 80 feet below sea level. He soon returned with colleagues and a television crew from the nature program NHK to document the origins what he dubbed the “mystery circle.”

Here is what they found.

Mysterious Underwater Crop Circles Discovered Off the Coast of Japan nature Japan fish

Using underwater cameras the team discovered the artist is a small puffer fish only a few inches in length that swims tirelessly through the day and night to create these vast organic sculptures using the gesture of a single fin. Through careful observation the team found the circles serve a variety of crucial ecological functions, the most important of which is to attract mates. Apparently the female fish are attracted to the hills and valleys within the sand and traverse them carefully to discover the male fish where the pair eventually lay eggs at the circle’s center, the grooves later acting as a natural buffer to ocean currents that protect the delicate offspring. Scientists also learned that the more ridges contained within the sculpture resulted in a much greater likelihood of the fish pairing.

To learn more about the circles check out the full scoop over on Spoon and Tamago, and you can see two high resolution desktop photos courtesy of NHK here. If we’re still making discoveries this significant in 2012, it really makes you wonder what else is down there. Just 95% more to go.

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