Bioluminescent Phytoplankton Glowing waves in California

While vacationing on the Maldives Islands Islands, Taiwanese photographer Will Ho stumbled onto an incredible stretch of beach covered in millions of bioluminescent phytoplankton. These tiny organisms glow similarly to fireflies and tend to emit light when stressed, such as when wave’s crash or when they are otherwise agitated. While the phenomenon and its chemical mechanisms have been identified for some time, biologists have only recently begun to understand the reasons behind it. You can see a few more of Ho’s photographs over on Flickr. Via Charismatic Planet

Beautiful Split Apple Rock of New Zealand

Split Apple Rock is a geological rock formation in The Tasman Bay off the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The rock, made of granite, looks like an apple split in half. The popular tourist attraction is located in the Tasman Sea approximately 50 metres off the coast between Kaiteriteri and Marahau.

 

Magnificent Captures of Bears Family in Snowy Surroundings.

Wildlife French photographer Sylvain Cordier, stumbled upon magnificent moment when he takes an opportunity to capture the family of polar bears set against an absolutely stunning sunset. Most of the photographers wish to capture polar bears within natural snowy surroundings, but more often they couldn’t get chance. Sylvain Cordier, spent 3 weeks in a boat and then finally able to capture two large cubs and their mother around and photographing their everyday lives. As they sit tranquilly and waiting for sun setting, it appears three bears had become accustomed to the sounds of photographer camera. These images are really beautiful, when vibrant sunset is the ideal time for backdrop of massive creatures. Sylvain Cordier sharing his experience in these words; in the evening time I got to about 6.30pm when sunset was imminent, I positioned my boat in the hope of bears would come in the right direction and luckily it would happened same as I thought, the atmosphere was absolutely outstanding. I recognized this would be my best wildlife experience.  

 

 Via Charismatic Planet

Blue Poison Frog

frog or blue poison arrow frog, Dendrobates “azureus”, is a poison dart frog found in the forests surrounded by the Sipaliwini savannah, which is located in southern Suriname and adjacent far northern Brazil.

 

National Geographic Most Liked Picture

National Geographic most liked photo of 2013 was Japanese macaque babies huddling together, as seen in One Life on Nat Geo Wild.

  A male lion in his prime - an embodiment of the sheer strength and power of these mighty beasts

 

Pink Fairy Armadillo (Chlamyphorus Truncatus)

Our absurd creature of the week is just absurdly adorable. The pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus), a 5-inch-long, quarter-pound critter with a rosy shell and a butt shovel. The pink fairy armadillo is closely related to the only other fairy armadillo, the greater fairy armadillo. It has have small eyes, silky yellowish white fur, and flexible dorsal shells, usually attached to their bodies solely by thin dorsal membranes.There is a single record for the longevity of a pink fairy armadillo that was held in captivity more than 4 years. This little beauty is extremely sensitive to environmental changes and stress.

 

Read More: Timber Wolf (Canis lupus)

 

Erupting Volcanoes To Surreal Cloud Formations.

From erupting volcanoes to surreal cloud formations, here are the most beautiful images NASA took of Earth from space this year.

"Into The Atmosphere" Time-lapse Video By Michael Shainblum

This video was an ongoing project for a year using 12,400 images from about 75,000 taken, about stunning time-lapse of the landscape of California. “Into The Atmosphere,” is tribute to the state of California and the striking deserts, mountains and coastlines that exist there. This video showcases a diversity of national state parks as well as less recognized natural areas. This lovely video also focuses on clouds, fog and interesting atmospheric conditions. Even though California is famous for blue sunshine skies, seeing a colorful storm cloud over Half Dome or an incredible sunset at the La Jolla Coves is truly a sight to see. The goal of this video is to show these environments in their best possible light.

National Geographic Travel's Shot Illuminating World Gallery

National Geographic just created an inspiring new gallery with the images submitted to their shot community. Called National Geographic Travel's Your Shot Illuminating the World gallery, it contains stunning light-filled images taken by photographers all around the world. From a classic photo of an Italian village perched high above a coast to Tokyo's brilliant display of a million LED lights, come see how places in all corners of the Earth come alive at night.

 Yi Peng Festival, Thailand

 Pitlochry, Scotland

 Shanghai Highways

 Holiday Display in Tokyo

 Ranohira, Madagascar

Manarola, Italy

Shadow Mountain

You can see triangular shadow cast by Mount Hood in northern Oregon, USA. The photo was actualy taken by Scott Hotaling who made the ascent from the south side during pre-dawn hours.As for why a jagged mountain casts a perfectly triangular shadow.

Photograph by SCOTT HOTALING

Website | Flickr | Facebook | Prints available

via Scott Hotaling on Flickr 

Hilariously Frog Arrogantly Riding a Beetle

Apart National Geographic's photo contests, the Sony World Photography Awards is one of other most favorite photo competitions to write about. For years now, we have showcased their standout entries and announced their winners.One of this year's early entries is this perfectly-timed photo of a tree frog arrogantly riding a beetle. Taken by photographer Nicolas Reusens Boden, it's hilariously called, The Knight and His Steed.

Grand Canyon Filled with Rare Weather Phenomenon or Fog

What an awe-inspiring sight! A few days ago, on Friday, November 29, The Grand Canyon was taken over by a rare weather phenomenon that filled the entire canyon with a thick layer of fog. The occurrence, called a temperature inversion, caused everyone, including rangers, to flock to the rim to take photos of it. As the Grand Canyon National Park Facebook page stated, "Rangers wait for years to see it. Word spread like wildfire and most ran to the rim to photograph it. What a fantastic treat for all!"

Amazing Image of Sydney Through A Glass

Indeed this is very creative capture by Daniel Roberts, we see part of the iconic Sydney skyline reflected in a Kirribilli wine glass. Along with the popular Sydney Opera House you can also see the RMS Queen Mary 2. The optic phenomenon that is causing the image to flip upside down is known as refraction. To learn more about refraction check out thisWikipedia entry. 

via Daniel Roberts (New Dan on Flickr)

Floating Biodome Absorbs Carbon Dioxide, Emits Oxygen

The Bloom is a futuristic take on marine farming designed by French firm Sitbon Architectes that was chosen as one of 5 finalists for the first Architizer A+ Awards in the "architecture and weather" category. The spherical structure is well designed to be a semi-submersible laboratory garden, cultivating microscopic marine organisms famous as phytoplankton that produce oxygen and aid in plummeting the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The floating structure is espically designed to be tethered to the seabed by a series of cables and uses an advanced filtration system to make salt-water into fresh-water for the onboard residents. An everlasting staff of researchers, scientists, and marine biologists would live aboard the vessel, screening the ongoing experiments and using the phytoplankton farms to lower carbon-dioxide levels in areas of requires across the globe. Bloom would also be able to detect infinitesimal changes in the surrounding waters to assist alert nearby nations of impending tsunamis. Eventually, the goal of the project is to address both global warming and the rapidly rising sea-levels.

 Sitbon Architectes' website

Unbelievable Light Painting Portrait in Seoul Korea

As part of this year's in recent times wrapped National Geographic Photo Contest, photographer Sungjin Kim entered this incredible light painting portrait. Like As we have seen a few times before, a piece of steel wool was spun to produce a brilliant cascade of sparks. Love how this was taken right in the middle of a busy metropolitan city and how the light painting effect is intensified by the reflection in the water. This is one of best picture I ever see.Playing with fire beside the canal in the modern city. Songdo, South Korea

Photo and caption by Sungjin Kim/National Geographic Photo Contest

Massive Wave Result of a Powerful Storm

The vigor of the Ocean is perfectly timed image by Tiago Pinheiro, you can view the massive waves crashing into the pier at Praia da Aguda in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. The waves were the result of a powerful storm at sea on October 15, 2012.

Russian peninsula of Kamchatka is a land of volcanoes

The Russian peninsula of Kamchatka is a land of volcanoes. During my journey there between October 14 to 26, 2013, I visited the active volcanoes Klyuchevskoy and Sheveluch. The former erupted for the first time in three years. During its strongest eruptive phase (shown above), lava fountains rose up to 0.6 mi (1 kilometer) above the summit dome, and explosions could be heard at a distance of 19 mi (30 kilometer) away. Note the funnel shaped cloud of steam and smoke more than Klyuchevskoy's concealed, volcanic cone. picture taken on October 16, 2013, at a distance of approximately 9.5 mi (15 km).

Photographer: Marc Szeglat; Marc's Web site

Author Summary: Marc Szeglat

Photo details: Camera Maker: Panasonic; Camera Model: DMC-GH3; Focal Length: 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 70mm); Aperture: f/2.8; Exposure Time: 3.200 s; ISO equiv: 500.