Man Soars Above the New Zealand Coast in a Paramotor
Fly alongside Rob Whittall as he soars above New Zealand’s West Coast with his Paramotor, in search of a little sould satisfaction. White Cloud Productions NZ joined forces with Rob to capture stunning images of Raglan and the surrounding area…presenting Surreal Perspectives.
Video: White Cloud Productions NZ
Ed note: Check out these amazing photographs by George Steinmetz as he flew over Africa in a paraglider.
The World’s Rarest Gorilla Caught on Film
For the first time ever, conservationists have captured video footage of Cross River gorillas in their natural environment thanks to a camera trap secreted in a forest in Cameroon. The elusive gorillas are some of the most elusive animals on Earth.
Video: Wildlife Conservation Society
Ed note: To make matters even worse, it appears that humans pass on deadly infections to endangered mountain gorillas.
Photograph by Aaron Cress (Salisbury, North Carolina), January 2011, China Grove, North Carolina
In Focus: 75 Years Since The Hindenburg Disaster
Last Sunday, May 6, marked the 75th anniversary of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. The massive German airship caught fire while attempting to land near Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 people aboard, plus one ground crew member. Of the 97 passengers and crew members on board, 62 managed to survive. The horrifying incident was captured by reporters and photographers and replayed on radio broadcasts, in newsprint, and on newsreels. News of the disaster led to a public loss of confidence in airship travel, ending an era.
Top: The Hindenburg floats past the Empire State Building over Manhattan on August 8, 1936, en route to Lakehurst, New Jersey, from Germany.
Bottom: As the lifting Hydrogen gas burned and escaped from the rear of the Hindenburg, the tail dropped to the ground, sending a burst of flame punching through the nose. Ground crew below scatter to flee the inferno.
See the rest. [Images: AP]
Photographs of the Rarest Bird
James T. Tanner’s photographs of the ivory-billed woodpecker were believed to be the only pictures of a living nestling. Check out Smithsonian.com for the story and more photos.
Photo: James T. Tanner
Ed note: Now that you have seen the rarest bird, meet the most common bird in the world.
Photo of the Day: The rolling fog over the North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge
Photograph by Javier Acosta (San Jose, California), January 2010, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
An Aerial View of D-Day
A panoramic view of the Omaha beachhead after it was secured, sometime around mid-June 1944, at low tide.
Photo: U.S. Coast Guard Collection in the U.S. National Archives
Ed note: Have you heard of the monocled World War II interrogator?
From the Archives: Weegee’s Day at the Beach
Weegee danced and screamed to get the beach crowd’s attention. The masked man called himself Spider. Continue reading at Smithsonian.com
Photo: Weegee (Arthur Fellig) / International Centre of Photography / Getty Images
Ed note: “From the Archives” is a new category here on Retina. We’ll be posting past content with fascinating imagery that you may have missed.
The Gruesome History of Eating Corpses as Medicine
Thomas Willis, a 17th-century pioneer of brain science, brewed a drink for apoplexy, or bleeding, that mingled powdered human skull and chocolate. And King Charles II of England sipped “The King’s Drops,” his personal tincture, containing human skull in alcohol.
Illustration: Bettmann / Corbis
Ed note: Continue reading this gross, yet fascinating article at Smithsonian.com.
Photo of the Day: Local Malays playing cane ball on Mount Kinabalu
Photograph by Ana Chow (El Dorado Hills, California), February 2010, Mount Kinabalu, Borneo
