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Icebreaker Louis Saint Laurent in Resolute Bay, Nunavut Territory, Canada.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a famous photographer author of those beautiful pictures of the earth seen from above. If you haven't seen his pictures you really should do it as soon as possible. Your chance could be next year in New York when Yann Arthus-Bertrand will bring his work back to the United States for the first time in 2009. The exhibition of his amazing aerial shots aimed to inspire people to think globally about sustainable living, will be on display in New York City at the World Financial Center Plaza and along the Battery Park City Esplanade from May 1, 2009 to June 28, 2009 in over 150 4-ft. by 6-ft. prints. When completed in New York City, the Earth From Above exhibit will also move on to California in 2010.
Photographs and captions all courtesy of Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Lake Nakuru has a surface area of 24 square miles (62 km2). which takes up one-third of the national park of the same name that was created in 1968.
It shelters nearly 370 bird species, includingthe lesser flamingo (Phoeniconalas minor) and the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), of which 1,4 million have been counted on the site. Like the other alkaline lakes scattered along the Rift Valley, its location on a rocky volcanic substrate, weal flow, intense evaporation, and average depth of 40 inches (1 m) give it a high soda content. These briny waters are favorable to the formations of blue-green algae, microorganisms, and small crustaceans, which providedthe basic diet of the flamingos. However, chemical products used in river farming and the water runoff from the nearby city of Nakuru have gradually polluted the lake waters. Since 1990 Lake Nakuru has been considered a wetland of international importance
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Town of Koh Pannyi, Phand Nga bay, Thailand. The south-western coast of Thailand offers a series of beautiful bays lined with many islands. Phang-nga Bay's special formations were created after the thawing of ice 15,000 years ago. Rising waters then submerged arid calcareous mountains, leaving only their peaks visible to the eye. The bay was turned into a marine park in 1981. One of its popular attractions is the village of Koh Panyi, which was built on piles two centuries ago by Muslim sailors coming from Malaysia. The inhabitants make a living via traditional fishing and tourism. Preserved by its configuration, the bay floor of Phang-nga Bay suffered much less from the tsunami of December 26, 2004 than nearby sites.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Icebergs and an Adelie penguin, Adelie Land, Antarctica. Antarctica, the sixth continent, is a unique observation point for atmospheric and climatic phenomena; its ancient ice, which trapped air when it was formed, contains evidence of the Earth's climate as it has changed and developed over the past millions of years.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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A whale swims off the Valdes peninsula, Argentina. After summering in the Arctic, whales return to the southern seas each winter to reproduce. From July to November, whales mate and bear their young along the coasts of the Valdes Peninsula in Argentina. Until the 1950s, this migratory marine mammal was extensively hunted for its meat and the oil extracted from its fat, which brought it to the edge of extinction. Protective measures were adopted after international attention was focused on the problem in 1937. In 1982 a moratorium was declared on whale hunting for commercial purposes, and in 1994 the southern seas became a whale sanctuary. After decades of protection, 7 of the 13 whale species, of which only a few thousand remain (10 to 60 times fewer than in the early 20th century), are still endangered.
© Yann Arthus-Bertrand
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Sally Collison/PUMA Ocean Racing
This weekend Volvo Ocean Race, the famous around the world regatta, has started in Alicante under extreme weather conditions: strong winds and huge waves. A great challenge for the sailing photographers. I'm particularly impressed by this outstanding sequence of "Il Mostro" taken by Sally Collison.Il mostro is the curious nickname (it means "The monster" in italian) of the boat of the Puma Ocean Racing team which is in my opinion the most photogenic and cool-looking boat ever built.
Check Sally Collison's website for the other great shots of this sequence
Sally Collison/PUMA Ocean Racing
Sally Collison/PUMA Ocean Racing
©Guilain Grenier - www.martin-raget.com
The photographer Guilain Grenier has kindly sent me these pictures of the start of the Barcolana in Trieste. Barcolana is a regatta famous for the huge number of participants and in this 40th edition there have been almost two thousand sails in the sea... an amazing spectacle.
©Guilain Grenier - www.martin-raget.com
©Guilain Grenier - www.martin-raget.com
©Guilain Grenier - www.martin-raget.com
©Guilain Grenier - www.martin-raget.com
©Reuters
This is a blog about water therefore blue is definetely the most common colour in the pictures i post. This is a REUTERS gallery made up just with pictures with a blue subject. It seems to me really nice.
all pictures ©Reuters
Click here to visit the original REUTERS gallery (you can read all the captions there)
Reuters pictures
This july coming back from Brazil I told in this post how many penguins I've unexpectedly found in the warm waters of Ilhabela, a wonderful island near Sao Paolo. In the meanwhile the media all over the world spread the news of the penguins arriving as far as Rio de Janeiro. Something really unusual for the magellanic penguins which are used to migrate along the atlantic southamerican coast but absolutely not so north. The scientists were and stil are confused about this unusual migration and a lack of food in their usual feeding waters or in an anomalous current that led them too north, both of them are probably consequencies of the global warming. The news is that the penguins haven't stopped in the meanwhile and they have arrived as far as Bahia and even to Recife that means that they have reached almost the equator after a journey of more than 3000 miles. Obviously many penguins are dead and the others are in great danger due to the extreme fatigue and to the excessive warmth of the waters. Brazilian authoritis have therefore decided to transport these animals with navy airplanes and ships back to the south. In the following pictures you can see the penguins loaded on a brazilian navy ship:
AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images
The following pictures instead show the release in the sea of some other penguins after having been transported by airplane:
(International Fund for Animal Welfare/AP Photo)
(International Fund for Animal Welfare/AP Photo)
