As society whirls around us, I take a certain kind of comfort in seeing the planet keep whirling as well.

Colossal writes,

With a camera peering out over the landscape of Tivoli, Namibia, Bartosz Wojczyński focused on the sky. The Polish photographer created a hypnotic timelapse spanning 24 hours that has a focal point in the atmosphere rather than on the land. Each minute, he snapped a frame that subsequently was looped 60 times to create the final 24-minute version that’s a mesmerizing look at Earth’s cycles.

Come with me, my-yyyy love, into the Ningaloo Canyons in 4K…

Colossal notes,

Spanning 180 hours in total, the underwater adventure led to the discovery of more than 30 new aquatic species, in addition to the longest animal ever recorded. A member of the Apolemia genus, the record-breaking organism reaches an unprecedented 154 feet.

Arthur Cauty has created an interesting “exercise in light painting and parallax displacement to create the illusion of 3D (or 2.5D) and motion in a series of still photographs captured after nightfall.”

This film is comprised entirely of still images. All motion achieved in post production. The only time lapse shots are the star trails. All other shots are typically comprised of between 3 and 5 exposures of the same subject, but with different lighting in each, then blended together or transitioned between to give the effect of seamless motion.

“Who would have thought an anthropomorphized camera crane could bring joy to thousands of camera nerds the world over,” writes PetaPixel. And yet here we are, and I’m charmed. 😌

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A post shared by Rapid Motion Camera (@rapid.camera) on May 4, 2020 at 8:04am PDT

What in the what what?

As PetaPixel writes,

Engineer and YouTuber Ben Krasnow over at Applied Science has put together a fascinating little optical demonstration that explains the physics behind ‘hypercentric’ optics and how they allow you to see around and behind objects. He even shows you how to build your own.

See their post (and of course the video itself) for details.

Days of Miracles and Wonder, part 3,293… 😳🚁🦋

Kottke writes,

For an upcoming episode of a show called Spy in the Wild, PBS’s Nature used a tiny drone disguised as a hummingbird to capture footage of a swarm of half a billion monarch butterflies as they overwinter in Mexico.

And of course I can’t let butterfly footage go by without gratuitously showing one of my favorite kid videos ever, captured of my then- (and now-) mysterious son Henry at age 2:

[Via]

I imagine you’re as fatigued by all this stuff as I am—but honestly this piece is really touching & beautifully composed.

Spanning more than 30 countries, the film includes a breadth of perspectives, from a 93-year old Malayan grandmother to a 19-year old Slovenian man, and includes an original score that was remotely performed by musicians from around the world.

[Via]

You’re up, Philly:

And you, London:

I can’t help thinking of The Road:

Fin.

How much do I love that after 35+ years doing this, Russell is still doing things like popping out of bed at 3am with madcap energy, just to make something beautiful? Enjoy: