April 15, 2013 | 10 notes

Want to Win Money and Be Featured on Smithsonian Channel? Enter the Smithsonian Magazine Video Contest Today! Since In Motion launched on February 20 we have been amazed at the videos that have been submitted. Danny Cooke’s letterpress video shined new light on a classic art form. Mike Kvackay captured the beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for the world to see and Khurrum M. Sultan told the story of a young Pakistani boy who must care for his family after the tragic death of his father. Check out the In Motion page on Smithsonian.com for more videos and information about the contest. Be sure to bookmark the In Motion blog for the latest editor’s pick video. Ready to submit your video? Head over to the submission page for your chance to win our grand prize!

Want to Win Money and Be Featured on Smithsonian Channel? Enter the Smithsonian Magazine Video Contest Today!

Since In Motion launched on February 20 we have been amazed at the videos that have been submitted. Danny Cooke’s letterpress video shined new light on a classic art form. Mike Kvackay captured the beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for the world to see and Khurrum M. Sultan told the story of a young Pakistani boy who must care for his family after the tragic death of his father.

Check out the In Motion page on Smithsonian.com for more videos and information about the contest. Be sure to bookmark the In Motion blog for the latest editor’s pick video.

Ready to submit your video? Head over to the submission page for your chance to win our grand prize!

March 29, 2013 | 243 notes

What Major World Cities Look Like at Night, Minus the Light Pollution French photographer Thierry Cohen worries about city dwellers not being able to see the starry sky. With light and air pollution plaguing urban areas, it is not as if residents can look up from their streets and roof decks to spot constellations and shooting stars. So, what effect does this have? Cohen fears, as he recently told the New York Times, that the hazy view has spawned a breed of urbanite, sheltered by his and her manmade environs, that “forgets and no longer understands nature.” The photographer crisscrossed the globe photographing cityscapes by day—when cars’ head and taillights and lights shining from the windows of buildings were not a distraction. At each location, Cohen diligently recorded the time, angle, latitude and longitude of the shot. Then, he journeyed to remote deserts and plains at corresponding latitudes, where he pointed his lens to the night sky. Through his own digital photography wizardry, Cohen created seamless composites of his city and skyscapes. Continue reading and see photos of darkened New York, Paris, Tokyo and more at Smithsonian.com. Photo: Rio de Janeiro 22° 56′ 42″ S 2011-06-04 Lst 12:34. © Thierry Cohen

What Major World Cities Look Like at Night, Minus the Light Pollution

French photographer Thierry Cohen worries about city dwellers not being able to see the starry sky. With light and air pollution plaguing urban areas, it is not as if residents can look up from their streets and roof decks to spot constellations and shooting stars. So, what effect does this have? Cohen fears, as he recently told the New York Times, that the hazy view has spawned a breed of urbanite, sheltered by his and her manmade environs, that “forgets and no longer understands nature.”

The photographer crisscrossed the globe photographing cityscapes by day—when cars’ head and taillights and lights shining from the windows of buildings were not a distraction. At each location, Cohen diligently recorded the time, angle, latitude and longitude of the shot. Then, he journeyed to remote deserts and plains at corresponding latitudes, where he pointed his lens to the night sky. Through his own digital photography wizardry, Cohen created seamless composites of his city and skyscapes. Continue reading and see photos of darkened New York, Paris, Tokyo and more at Smithsonian.com.

Photo: Rio de Janeiro 22° 56′ 42″ S 2011-06-04 Lst 12:34. © Thierry Cohen