In zoos, in private collections, and in the field with biologists around the world, I’m trying to photograph as many species as I can by using a portable studio with black and white backgrounds. I’ve been at this quite a while now and have captured nearly 1,800 in the past five years. That’s not nearly enough, but it’s a start.

You can follow along Sartore’s reports from the tour at National Geographic’s Field Test blog. Sartore has decided the Biodiversity Project needs a new, catchier name. And he would like your input on that decision. Yes, you may be the one to name this awesome mission! Leave your suggestions at National Geographic. Now take a look at just a few of the wonderfully diverse animals Sartore has photographed.

 A giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) at the Sunset Zoo. (Image credit: Joel Sartore/National Geographic)

West Usambara two-horned chameleon (Kinyongia multituberculata) at the Houston Zoo. (Image credit: Joel Sartore/National Geographic)

Damaraland mole rat at the Houston Zoo. This species is one of only two eusocial mammals, with members of colonies all serving specific roles, much like bees. (Image credit: Joel Sartore/National Geographic)

Hawk-headed or red-fan parrot (Deroptyus accipitrinus) at the Houston Zoo. This unusual Amazon basin parrot has a crown of brightly-colored head feathers it raises when it threatened or aggressive. (Image credit: Joel Sartore/National Geographic)

Coquerel’s sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) at the Houston Zoo. (Image credit: Joel Sartore/National Geographic)

Red Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea rubra) at the Houston Zoo. (Image credit: Joel Sartore/National Geographic)

Bonus: Joel Sartore’s Rare Photos

(video link)

Read more about the Biodiversity Project, and follow Sartore’s daily travels at National Geographic’s Field Test blog.

Previously at Neatorama: Joel Sartore and his book called RARE: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species.

On approximately October 31st, 2011, the population of the earth is expected to reach seven billion people. By the year 2045, we may have nine billion. National Geographic magazine is giving us a year-long series of articles, photo galleries, and interactive features focused on this population milestone. Can our planet take the strain? What can we do to ease the demands on resources? These images are from National Geographic magazine’s new “7 Billion” app, based on its year-long series on world population, now available as a free app for iPad.
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Photo ©Jonas Bendiksen/National Geographic
Population: 7 Billion January 2011

Venezuela Sharing a hillside with high-rise apartment dwellers, children dance at a shop in one of the squatter communities that ring Caracas, a city of three million. One in seven people on Earth lives in slums today. Providing them with better housing and education will be one of the great challenges facing a world of seven billion people and counting.
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Photo ©Randy Olson/National Geographic
Population: 7 Billion January 2011

India Its steaming streets crammed with vendors, pedestrians, and iconic Ambassador taxis, Kolkata throbs with some 16 million people—and more pour in every day from small towns. In 1975 only three cities worldwide topped ten million. Today 21 such mega cities exist, most in developing countries, where urban areas absorb much of the globe’s rising population.
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Photo ©Randy Olson/National Geographic
Population: 7 Billion January 2011

Spain Immigrants like these Indians at a Sikh festival in Barcelona are bolstering Europe’s stagnant population growth rate. Around the world, the childbearing decisions of young women will determine whether global population stabilizes or not. Research shows that the more education a woman receives, the fewer children she is likely to have.
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Photo ©John Stanmeyer/National Geographic
Population: 7 Billion January 2011

United States Bundled newborns on September 1, 2010, are arranged for a portrait at Orlando’s Winnie Palmer Hospital, the second busiest birth facility in the U.S. Unusual among industrial nations, the U.S. has a comparatively high fertility rate, due in part to the significant rate of teenage pregnancies and a steady influx of immigrants. By 2050 America’s population is expected to top 400 million.
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Photo ©Jonas Bendiksen/National Geographic
Bangladesh May 2011

Taxi boats called kheya nouka cross the Buriganga River to Sadar Ghat, Dhaka’s main boat terminal, providing transport in one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Low-lying Dhaka is among those most at risk from rising seas.
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Photo ©Jonas Bendiksen/National Geographic
Bangladesh May 2011

At a Breaking Point: Dhaka slums such as Korail (foreground) are bursting with environmental refugees, putting more pressure on a city laid low by aging infrastructure, intense poverty, and frequent flooding.
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Photo ©John Stanmeyer/National Geographic
Brazil’s Girl Power September 2011

The Shrinking Family
The seven children of 61-year-old Maria do Livramento Braz (left, seated in their midst) of Rio are a reminder of Brazil’s once high fertility rate. The number of kids per woman has plummeted since the 1960s. Working-class families now aspire to the middle-class lifestyle—and family size—of Maria Corrêa de Oliveira (right, seated), a Rio psychoanalyst. She and her husband have only Henrique, 8, and Diana, 12.
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Photo ©Pascal Maitre/National Geographic
Africa’s Albertine Rift November 2011

Forests are thinning out too, as hardwood trees are turned into charcoal, filling the bags of men careering toward a Congo market.
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You’ll find links to all the articles in National Geographic’s year-long series at the 7 Billion hub. NatGeo also produced videos about the population growth called 7 Billion and Are You Typical?

The judges decisions have been made, and the winners of the 2011 Nikon Small World microphotography competition have been announced. However, you can still place your votes among the 115 finalists for the Small World Popular Vote Award. It’s easy -just click a button to say you like a photograph, or skip to the next one. You can vote as many as you want, but Nikon asks that you vote on each picture only once. Votes for the Popular Vote Award will be taken until 5PM EDT on October 31st.

Nikon was generous enough to give Neatorama readers a special close-up view of some of the entries in this year’s competition. This particular collection is called “Making the Ordinary, Extraordinary.” It’s a chance to take a different kind of look at things we see every day, but certainly not this close!

Dr. Donna Stolz
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Blade of Grass (200X)
Confocal stack reconstruction, Autofluorescence
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Yanping Wang
Beijing Planetarium
Beijing, China
Sand (4X)
Reflected light
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Dr. Jan Michels
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Kiel, Germany
Temora longicornis (marine copepod), ventral view (10X)
Confocal, Autofluorescence and Congo Red Fluorescence
*

Yanping Wang
Beijing Planetarium
Beijing, China
Snowflake (4X)
Reflected and transmitted light
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Harry Leung
Immune Disease Institute, Harvard Medical School
Boston , Massachusetts
Down feather, whole mount
Confocal, fluorescence
*

Marc van Hove
Centexbel
Merelbeke, Belgium
Tufting needle eye with yarn
Epi-brightfield
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There are more photographs to be seen at the Nikon Small World site, and don’t miss your chance to vote for this year’s Popular Choice! Enjoy lots more images from previous Small World competitions in the Small World gallery.

The first Nikon Small World competition was in 1974. Since then, Nikon has recognized the efforts of those who turn microscope photography into art. 2011 is the 37th year for the competition, and around 2,000 photographs were entered. The judges decisions have been made, and the winners will be announced later this fall. However, you can place your votes among the 115 finalists for the Small World Popular Vote Award. It’s easy -just click a button to say you like a photograph, or skip to the next one. You can like as many as you like, really, but Nikon asks that you vote on each picture only once. Votes for the Popular Vote Award will be taken until 5PM EDT on October 31st.

Nikon was generous enough to give Neatorama readers a special close-up view of some of the entries in this year’s competition. This particular collection is called “Lives Within a Drop of Water.” It’s a chance to marvel at the world of microscopic life we would never be able to see with the naked eye. Other collections will follow in the days ahead.

Michael Shribak/ Dr. Irina Arkhipova
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Philodina roseola (bdelloid rotifer), live specimen
Video-enhanced polychromatic polarized light
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Frank Fox
Fachhochschule Trier
Trier, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Melosira moniliformis, living specimen (320X)
Differential Interference Contrast
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Dr. Jan Michels
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Kiel, Germany
Temora longicornis (marine copepod), ventral view (10X)
Confocal, Autofluorescence and Congo Red Fluorescence
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Joan Röhl
Institute for Biochemistry and Biology
Potsdam, Germany
Daphnia magna (freshwater water flea) (100X)
Differential Interference Contrast
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Gerd A. Guenther
Duesseldorf, Germany
Nassula ornata (freshwater ciliate), conjugation, living specimens (630X)
Differential Interference Contrast
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Charles Krebs
Charles Krebs Photography
Issaquah, Washington, USA
Hydra sp. capturing water flea (40X)
Darkfield
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Dr. Andrew Gillis
University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK
Chiloscyllium plagiosum (Whitespotted bamboo shark), embryonic pectoral fin
Stereomicroscopy with fiber optic lighting
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Dr. John H. Brackenbury
University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK
Water droplet containing a pair of mosquito larvae
Laser-triggered high-speed macrophotography
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Wim van Egmond
Micropolitan Museum
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Leptodora kindtii (giant waterflea) eye; living specimen
Differential Interference Contrast
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Dr. Ralf Wagner
Düsseldorf, Germany
Daphnia sp. (water flea) and Volvox sp. (green algae)
Darkfield, flash
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Jonathan Franks
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Algae biofilm
Confocal, autofluorescence
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Wolfgang Bettighofer
Kiel, Germany
Closterium lunula (green alga), living specimen from a bog pond
Differential Interference Contrast
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Dr. Carlos Alberto Muñoz
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Alona sp. (crustacean) mounted in Canada Balsam with crystals and other artifacts
Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast
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John Gaynes
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
3 day post-fertilization zebrafish embryo
Confocal
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There are more photographs to be seen at the Nikon Small World site, and don’t miss your chance to vote for this year’s Popular Choice! Enjoy lots more images from previous Small World competitions in the Small World gallery.

The night before Atlantis flies for the very last time, putting an end to the Space Shuttle program. Photographer: Sean Tamblyn

Story by Logan Kugler with photography by Steve Pemberton and Sean Tamblyn

Click the play button below to listen to accompanying audio courtesy of Sean Tamblyn.

17 seconds after lift off, the first sign of sound was audible from where I was standing, the closest location for any living human being, 3 miles away. First a mild rumble and then an overwhelming and sustained roar. Near its peak, the air above us crackled with a tin-can-like note that had everyone’s adrenaline pumping within 20 square miles.

The ground shook with the exhilarating force akin to sitting atop a subwoofer at an IMAX theater.

The heat pierced my skin as though I had just traveled closer to the Sun.

The explosion of light following directly behind the Shuttle was spectacularly bright and indescribably beautiful. For me, the light is what astonished the most. It was the brightest, most gorgeous gold you have ever seen. No image has ever captured it truly as it is and that’s why it surprised me so much. I had seen hundreds of photos of the Space Shuttle and it’s Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) under power, but none of them capture the true color. The flame wasn’t yellow, it was distinctly gold. Imagine the brightest gold color possible and that’s it.

As the Shuttle disappeared through the clouds, like a kid after a thrilling ride at Disney World, I shouted “Let’s do it again!” Then, I realized it was over. Not just that launch, but that I had just witnessed the last time a Space Shuttle will ever lift off for space again. It was done. Over. Never again.

As the last Space Shuttle to fly soared into the sky, it penetrated every aspect of the physical and emotional consciousness and unequivocally abducted the imagination of all 1 million who stood and looked up from the Kennedy Space Center and surrounding areas for that brief moment in time.

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – quote hanging on the wall at the Kennedy Space Center

The 4 astronaut crew of STS-135 walk alongside Atlantis as she makes her way from the OPF (Orbital Processing Facility) to the VAB to be moved vertical and be fitted with an orange fuel tank and two SRB (Solid Rocket Boosters) one last time. Photographer: Sean Tamblyn.


2 days to launch! Image credit: NASA.

The crew of STS-135 waves goodbye as they board the iconic Astrovan to be driven out to the Launch Pad to launch to space atop 3 million pounds of fuel. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

Astrovan as it makes its way out to the launch pad with astronauts aboard protected by an armored vehicle (and, not pictured, a helicopter, two police cars, an APC (armored personnel carrier), and a whole lot of guys with fully automatic guns, as well as a large man named Johann Schmidt with a ray gun; okay, I lied about the last one). Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

Emergency Launch Pad Egress System carries astronauts in these buckets down a zipline and drops them 1,200 feet west of the Launch Pad in the event of an emergency evacuation. From there, an M-113 armored vehicle comes to pick them up and transports them to a helicopter. Photographer: Malice Wonderland.

We have liftoff! Image credit: NASA.

T+ 1:37; View of Space Shuttle Atlantis’ smoke trail from the press viewing site. At the bottom left is the Apollo-era countdown clock. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

The Space Shuttle docked with the ISS (International Space Station) as they orbit the Earth together. Image credit: NASA.

Miraculous time-exposed photo of Space Shuttle Endeavor on STS-134 as it undocks from the ISS for the very last time with millions of stars visible in the background, and the lights down on Earth from its inhabitants below. Image credit: NASA.

1 day to landing! VAB in background. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

Space Shuttle Atlantis as seen from the ISS as it makes its descent through the atmosphere one final time to land. Image credit: NASA.

Atlantis is home! And there’s a man in the cockpit. These things don’t fly themselves yet? Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

Atlantis taxing to the OPF followed by its massive convey of support vehicles. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

Some NASA employees proudly walking Atlantis back home to the OPF for the final time. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

Close-up of Space Shuttle Atlantis’ front maneuvering thrusters. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

Atlantis parked in the driveway of the OPF (now “The Chop Shop”) to be dismantled. We will miss you Atlantis, as well as all of the other magnificent Orbiters which have inspired our imaginations, opened our eyes and motivated us to do more, become more, and make more of this short existence that we have. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

A final send-off from the crew of STS-135, the last Space Shuttle mission, poising in front of Atlantis. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

A job well done. Photographer: Steve Pemberton.

Many thanks to writer Logan Kugler and photographers Steve Pemberton and Sean Tamblyn. And, of course, NASA. Visit their websites for more!

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Expedition members are barely visible on the 2nd terrace of Mt. Nyiragongo's crater as they look down to the 3rd terrace and immense spatter cone surrounding the lava lake. (Photo Credit: Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

This Thursday, April 7th, National Geographic presents Man vs. Volcano, as part of their Expedition Week series of specials.

Journey into the mouth of Africa’s most active volcano, Nyiragongo, and stand on the shore of the world’s largest lava lake.  Join an expedition with a National Geographic Magazine photographer and an international team of scientists as they reach the volcano’s summit — a near-vertical 11,385 feet — and then rappel directly into its mouth — 1,300 feet — nearly the height of the Empire State Building.  With little doubt it will erupt again, the team hopes to take stunning images and gather geological samples to unlock the secrets of one of most dangerous and least studied volcanoes in the world.

Prepare yourself for the experience with this sneak preview, a collection of photographs of Nyiragongo from National Geographic.

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: The plume from the lava lake from Africa's largest active volcano. (Photo Credit: Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

Photographer Carsten Peter tests the thermal suit that Sims used to get close to the lava lake. "It can protect you from the radiant heat, but if you get hit with a lava splatter, the force will likely kill you," he says. For 30 years Peter has explored volcanoes around the world. "Seeing at close range the primal forces that shaped the planet can be hypnotic. You cannot allow yourself to fall under a volcano's spell, especially one as unpredictable as Nyiragongo. That can be a fatal mistake." (Photo Credit: Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

Read about the Nyiragongo volcano in an article by Michael Finkel, The Volcano Next Door, in this month’s issue of National Geographic magazine.

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Expedition members stand at the edge of the 2nd terrace at night. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Over 100 porters carry the expedition's camping, climbing and scientific gear to the summit of Mt. Nyiragongo. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: The plume from the lava lake from Africa's largest active volcano. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Expedition members are barely visible on the 2nd terrace of Mt. Nyiragongo's crater as they look down to the 3rd terrace and immense spatter cone surrounding the lava lake. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Expedition member Chris Heinlein stands on the 2nd terrace -- a flat beach-like surface of volcanic ash. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: A Virunga National Park Ranger pauses from his patrol of the Nyiragongo's rim to look down at the lava lake below. Rebels and poachers remain a threat to park and its visitors. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Mt. Nyiragongo's lava lake is the largest in the world. The temperatures of the magma within can reach 1,000 degrees Celsius. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: A twilight view from Mt. Nyiragongo's summit. The rising plume is highly corrosive and precipitates into acid rain. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: A twilight view from Mt. Nyiragongo's summit. A park ranger stands guard. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Expedition members stand at the edge of the 2nd terrace at night. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: Expedition member Chris Heinlein sets the ropes that will enable the scientists to make a full descent into the crater of Mt. Nyiragongo. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyamulgira, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: A rare view from above Mt. Nyamulgira, Mt. Nyiragongo's equally active neighbor. Its most recent eruption was in January 2010. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Mt. Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: A view of the summit of Mt. Nyiragongo from a UN helicopter. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo: Over one million people live in the shadow of Mt. Nyiragongo. Since the volcano's 2002 eruption, the population of Goma has more than doubled. (Photo Credit: © NGT)

African Volcano Quest

(video link)

Geologists and photographers meet to plan their journey to the summit of a very active volcano.

Spatter Cone

(video link)

Photographer Carsten Peter risks life and limb to get a shot from inside the spatter cone.

Man vs. Volcano airs on National Geographic Channel on Thursday, April 4 at 10PM ET/PT as part of the signature event, Expedition Week, preceded by Into the Iceland Volcano on the same night at 9PM ET/PT. National Geographic Magazine photographer Carsten Peter’s story and photos are also featured in the April 2011 issue of National Geographic Magazine (“The Volcano Next Door”), on newsstands now.

Designer John Leung from ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects brought us the Parallel of Time Clock last year. Now he presents the “Bias of Thoughts” Bookshelf. The design is based on the famous 2D illusion, now rendered in confounding 3D.

How many shelves are there? Look to the left: four shelves. Look to the right: three shelves. The design is based on the illusion known as the Impossible Fork or Blivet.

Of course, you wouldn’t normally see this kind of shape hanging on a wall. You’ll have to look closely to see how it’s done.

The artist designed the shelf to make you think.

Thoughts are biased. When ideas are passed from one person to another, due to the transfiguration of the communication process and the frame of mind of the receiver, they are always perceived with bias.

Inspired by the famous 2D drawing of the optical illusive bookshelf, a 3D structure is translated and the “Bias of Thought” bookshelf is formed. It can be used for shelving books and iPads as well as hanging magazines. Visually, the optical illusion serves as a reminder that, whenever one picks up a medium, ideas can be misinterpreted when passed from one end to the other.

It helps when notes are included!

This video may help you see the different angles so you can figure out how the bookshelf is made -or not.

(YouTube link)

In 2009, a team of British cavers investigated a recently uncovered cave in a remote Vietnamese jungle. The Son Doong cave is enormous; can it be larger than the current world-record holder? The explorers traveled for miles through the cave before hitting a 46-foot-high wall. Now, follow the team as they return to Son Doong to finish exploring the cave and climb the wall. Will Son Doong prove to be the worlds biggest cave? And what secrets are undiscovered inside this unique ecosystem?

The special airs Monday, December 20th at 10PM EST. Check the listings for an encore presentation. Also read the full article on Son Doong cave by Mark Jenkins in the January 2011 issue of National Geographic Magazine. But first, enjoy some of the beautiful pictures illustrating the natural beauty of Son Doong.

A half-mile block of 40-story buildings could fit inside this lit stretch of Hang Son Doong, which may be the world’s biggest subterranean passage. (Photo Credit: © Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

Like a castle on a knoll, a rock formation shines beneath a skylight in Hang Son Doong. A storm had just filled the pool, signaling that exploring season was coming to an end.(Photo Credit: © Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

Navigating an algae-skinned maze, expedition organizers Deb and Howard Limbert lead the way across a sculpted cavescape in Hang Son Doong. Ribs form as calcite-rich water overflows pools. (Photo Credit: © Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © NGC)

Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © NGC)

Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © NGC)

Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © NGC)

Hang Song Doong aka Mountain River Cave, Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © ITV STUDIOS LTD./ Simon Reay)

Hang Song Doong aka Mountain River Cave, Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © ITV STUDIOS LTD./ Simon Reay)

Hang Song Doong aka Mountain River Cave, Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © ITV STUDIOS LTD./ Simon Reay)

Hang Song Doong aka Mountain River Cave, Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © ITV STUDIOS LTD./ Simon Reay)

Hang Song Doong aka Mountain River Cave, Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © ITV STUDIOS LTD./ Simon Reay)

Hang Song Doong aka Mountain River Cave, Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © ITV STUDIOS LTD./ Simon Reay)

Hang Song Doong aka Mountain River Cave, Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © ITV STUDIOS LTD./ Simon Reay)

Racop says that his occupation is more than just a job, it’s a mission. “I’ve been studying this car since I was two-years-old.  I have over 5,000 photos, all 120 episodes on tape, and lots of video of the Barris cars in my archives.  Yeah, you could say that I’m a little obsessed!” Racop says, laughing.

Racop has received official sanction for his fully-loaded, fully-drivable replicas. D.C. Comics has now licensed his company to manufacture official Batmobile replicas.

“Most of our customers are in their late 40′s or 50′s,” Racop said.  “The kids are out of the house, they have come into some money, and it’s time to do something fun. They either like the 1966 Batman, or just loved the 1966 Batmobile.  Either way, every guy between the ages of 40 to 60would love to have this car.  This was their childhood dream car, just as it was for me. Some want a Batmobile to show off while picking up their kids from school.  Others use them for charity events.  Some have private collections, and others drive it nearly every day.”

“I say this with all humility: we’ve been very blessed with a very talented crew, and to receive this license from DC Comics is an absolute honor.”

Racop’s Batmobiles feature gadgets seen in the TV series, such as the Batbeam, a flashing red beacon light, a polished aluminum roll-top dashboard, electric actuators for the hood and trunk, a green flashing radar Detect-a-scope, and “rocket” exhaust pipes that spew two-foot flames!

An authentic 1966 Batmobile replica will set you back $149,999. For that price, you’ll have the coolest car anyone around has ever encountered. Find out all about them at Racop’s website, Fiberglass Freaks. Phone inquiries can be made at 574-722-3237.

Oh, you wanted to see some pictures? Feast your eyes!

BATMAN and all related characters, vehicles, props, symbols, and other BATMAN elements, are trademarks and copyrights of DC Comics.

Links: Official Nat Geo AMAZING! Website | Amazon | National Geographic Shop

Lovers of the weird and the wonderful – isn’t that all of you Neatoramanauts? – rejoice: not only did Neatorama get a glimpse of the book and TV series, we’ve also got 4 copies of the book to give away (more on that later). First, here are some of the neat things you’ll find in Nat Geo AMAZING!

Unbalanced

"That’s the balance between life and death, and that is where life is"
                                                              - Eskil Ronningsbakken

Most of us seek balance in our lives, but few of us have turned it into an art form. Eskil Ronningsbakken is the exception, perfecting it even over troubled waters … on a tight-rope thousands of feet in the air. Sometimes he is on a bicycle, sometimes he is on his feet; often times he is upside down. Occasionally he glides above solid ground, dangling from a hot air balloon.

"Other people might see this as stupid, but to me it’s about being free and able to do what I want in my life," says the Norwegian, who has been performing for the past decade. Ronningsbakken is taking that message to the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, and the young Africans who live there. By teaching them acrobatics, he hopes to inspire lifelong confidence. "As a professional balancer," he explains, "you’ve got to be able to overcome fear. You’ve got to be at total peace with yourself."

Taking A Spin

It's every armchair traveler's fantasy: a changing landscape without having to leave the comforts of one's home. Architect David Fisher has designed a 200-apartment building in Dubai where each of the 80 floors rotates individually, taking in the views of the city in a one-hour orbit.

The building is luxurious - a drive-in elevator allows owners of the apartments, which range in price from $3 million to $30 million, to park outside their doors - but it's also smart: Fisher's Dynamic Tower, as it is called, is the first 100 percent self-powered green building with the ability to generate electricity using horizontal wind turbines and solar panels. Those who wish to live here but suffer from motion sickness need not despair: A voice-activated control allows owners to instruct the floors when to take a spin.

Learn To Think Like A Kung Fu Master

"War and peace" takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to the 1,500-year-old martial art of Shaolin kung fu. But what seems like a mass of contradictions to a Western mind - except, perhaps to fans of David Carradine in Kung Fu - is perfectly sensible to the monks who practice the discipline.

To wit: Practice meditation to keep your mind quiet at all times, even when breaking an iron bar over your head or using your hand to cut through a two-by-four like a chain saw.

Still deeper: Accept that only through understanding violence can you avoid it. If violence cannot be avoided, parry only with the force initiated by the attacker, in essence taking the intent of harm and "returning it to sender." Even if it's a battle to the death, you are merely avoiding another's attempt to inflict pain on you.

Needless to say, nailing these simple truths means that situations that cause stress to the less enlightened become nonissue for the monks. Take stage fright. The monks pictured here tour the world performing their combination of acrobatics and fighting skills for audiences. Photographer Philipp Horak, who tagged along to document them, said they keep their cool at all times. "You'd think they would have to prep and concentrate before a show," says Horak, "But they go to a Chinese restaurant at 6 p.m., eat so much they feel bad, and then perform."

Shooting The Curl

Ask surfer and photographer Scott Aichner about the allure of riding the waves, and he sounds like a man in love: "You feel at peace with the Earth, and everything is just perfect," he says.

Capturing other people riding the barrel, on the other hand - as he did here with fellow surfer Angelo Lozano in Mexico - is not a mellow experience. Aichner dons a pair of snorkeling fins and then waits - treading water, holding his camera, and hoping for the perfect shot. Being in the right place at the right time - a surfer can ride the barrel for an average of only four seconds - can mean Aichner may stay in the ocean for up to three hours at a time (he trains for these marathon swims by running). The photographer, who has surfed since he was ten years old, says understanding the ocean and the conditions is crucial, since catching the perfect ride (and the perfect picture) depends on all of the elements coming together.

As an artist, Aichner admits he must make personal sacrifices: There are plenty of days he wishes he were the one on the surfboard, rather than bobbing on the surface watching others side the waves. "Surfing is my first love, and photography is my second. But I'm a better photographer than I am a surfer." Still, he jumps at any chance he can to ride the barrel himself, a thrill he admits can be daunting. "It's a controlled fear," he says. "Riding the currents is like merging on to the freeway when there's a semi in front of you and another one behind you. You just get in the flow of things and know everything will work out. Or, you prepare for controlled destruction."

Depth Defying

Forget those special glasses with the red and blue lenses - all German artist Edgar Mueller needs to create a 3-D image is a slab of cement and some chalk.

Mueller, who began practicing street art when he was 16, is in a whole different league from those who take to the sidewalk with a piece of chalk. Creating his art for festivals around the world, Mueller works with as many as five assistants and for as long as five days to complete his images. Perspective is everything, both for the artist and the viewers: Stand in the wrong place, and you'll see only streaks of paint. But look from the correct vantage point, and the street will suddenly seem to rise and fall with the images of glaciers, caves, waterfalls, even the apocalypse. "Close one eye when you look," counsels Mueller, "and it's even better."

Bee-rded

From the Archives, circa 1920, Vincennes, Indiana

This looks like one hairy situation. A bee-keeper in Vincennes, Indiana, circa 1920, let a swarm of the insects cover his face to demonstrate the peaceful nature of honeybees.

Honeybees, 1 of approximately 20,000 known species of the insect, rarely sting when they are away from their hive. Come too close to their home base, and you risk a swarm: The pheromones released by one bee's sting alert the others to arm themselves for battle. But keepers breed for docility, and stings are infrequent for those who handle their charges with care.

Honeybees, which pollinate about one-third of the food Americans eat - from fruit and vegetables to grains - are on the wane. The White House has 60,000 honey-making bees, but there are only about 1,000 mass honey-producing beekeepers in the United States. Enthusiasts say if amateurs kept even one hive, that would help keep the world buzzing.

Burn and Crash

Greg Carpenter was ten years old when he set his first car on fire. So perhaps it was inevitable that he would grow up to become Dr. Danger, a stuntman and thrill seeker. "I do the flaming car thing real, real good," says Carpenter, also a songwriter.

For this particular act, he ignites a car with 20 to 30 gallons of gas and drives it into a pile of junk cars, exiting at precisely the right moment. But the day this photograph was published, Carpenter performed the same trick with a different result: The car crashed and the seat belt pulverized his intestines. He was given a 5 percent chance of survival, but 21 days later, he was back at work.

"As a child, I used to wonder what I would do in a battle. Would I have hidden, or gone behind enemy lines?" he says. "I think I've figured out I would have gone behind enemy lines."

Funeral Procession

This somber shot was caught by photographer Monica Szczupider when she was volunteering at Cameroon's Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, which saves chimps orphaned by the bush meat trade. "Because the chimps saw us taking away Dorothy [pictured here], we decided to let them watch as we buried her, so they would perhaps understand she would not be returning," says Szczupider. "Almost all of them have watched their mothers die, so it was the least we could do for them."

Szczupider says that none of the human witnesses were surprised by the fact of the animals' grief, but says, "I was shocked by the manner in which they grieved. Many of them were so quiet. Chimps are so vocal, and easily distracted. To see them so focused on Dorothy, silently, was humbling. It was their grieving process, and it was an honor to be a part of it."

For humans, the grieving process is so painful that simply the act of watching other people go through it elicits our empathy. No wonder, then, that our witnessing this rare sight in the animal kingdom can't help but make us anthropomorphize.

Picky, Picky

Freezing temperatures, insane heights, the threat of death ... what's not to love? An ice-climbing junkie, Cameron Lawson took this photograph of climbing buddy Tim Wagner dangling from Utah's Upper Bridal Veil Falls. Though he swears that for the experienced it's not as scary as it looks, even Lawson took a fall last year after 20 years of practicing.

"Climbers fall all the time, but with ice climbing, you have spikes on your boots, axes in your hand, and sharp things around your waist, plus the last ice screw that secures you is 20 feet below you, which means you're actually falling 40 feet," he says. Needless to say, "Your relationship with your climbing buddies are really intense, because your life actually depends on them." Tennis, anyone?

Chasing Oz

It looks like this man is running the wrong way. But for a select few, the eye of the storm is exactly where they want to be.

Engineer Tim Samaras, photographed here by Carsten Peter, is a tornado chaser. Samaras spends months each year searching for the perfect tornado, a meteorological phenomenon still only partially understood by scientists. Driving a van outfitted with six probes designed to measure a tornado's wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature, Samaras hopes to plant his teammates - Peter, Pat Porter, and the rest of a team from National Geographic - in the path of the funnel. For his part, Peter wants to be the first photographer to film the inside of a tornado.

Approximately 1,000 of these destructive rotating columns of air tear through the United States every year, more than any other country in the world. Strong tornadoes can create winds that blow up to 205 miles an hour, their damage paths extending as far as 1 mile wide and 50 miles long. About 40 percent of these are those that touch down in the central Plains states from March through July, when cool, dry air from the Rocky Mountains mingles with warm, damp undercurrents from the Gulf of Mexico.

Samaras and Peter aren't alone in their tornado obsession. A thriving tourist industry devoted to eyewitnessing the storms has grown up in "Tornado Alley," a belt that runs between South Dakota and Texas. Those who want to thrill at the howling winds can book a vacation with companies, such as Storm Chasing Adventure Tours, that bring gawkers to places where the extreme storms are most frequent. Says Stephen Hondanish, a lightning specialist with the National Weather Service whom the team met during their expedition, "Everyone can read weather maps now. The information is shared. We don't hide it. So we all know where to go." But as Anton Seimon, a geographer and storm chaser who traveled with the National Geographic team, says, "The tornado has become the black hole of meteorology. We really don't know how it works."

For Samaras's team, chasing tornadoes has become their own fraught wild-goose chase, with two seasons spent enduring bad weather that was not quite bad enough to qualify for their purposes, prompting Samaras to say, "We should hire ourselves out as storm-prevention people. Everywhere we go, the storms fizzle out." Then, the third spring season, they are finally in the right place at the right time - in this case, Manchester, South Dakota, where a half-mile-wide twister set down on the town of just six people, raising roofs, rearranging walls, displacing sheds, but luckily killing no one. One couple sought refuge in their bathtub; a neighbor was pulled by the winds right through the wall of his trailer home. Resident Rex Geyer lost his two-story farmhouse in a flash. "There was nothing left, no trees, no house, no nothing, "he says. "Just the foundation picked clean."

For Carsten Peter, the moment he had waited for was as dramatic as he had hoped, but equally unsettling. "It's an eerie situation," he says. "First, this beautiful, perfect structure comes towards you and then there's this smooth, rushing noise, and then everything is eaten up - everything. Power poles are sucked up out of the ground, all the steel wires are ripped off the metal fences, and the fences are blown down flat, leaving nothing but a pristine meadow. It's really crazy."

The Incredible Story of the Bond-Like Submersible Car

James Bond seems to have it all: adventure, sophistication .. and in The Spy Who Loved Me, even a car turned submarine. Inspired by that Lotus Esprit, the Swiss company Rinspeed has designed the SQuba, built at a cost of $1.5 million and holding the record for being the first fully submersible car. After the driver dons breathing gear and heads for the deep, this sporty-looking open-topped automobile floats until a door is opened to allow water in to help it sink. On land, the car goes about 77 mph, while it slows to about 3 mph on the surface. Once submerged, the car-boat, which battery powered so it has no emissions, can be driven to a depth of 33 feet at about 1.8 mph, rendering the choice of "sink or swim" irrelevant.

Bonus: Boxing with Cobras

From the Nat Geo AMAZING! TV Series, here's a village in Thailand where the inhabitants not only live side-by-side with king cobras, they also fight them in the ring!

The Book: Nat Geo AMAZING!
Nat Geo Amazing! is National Geographic as you've never seen it before - a celebration of the world's 100 most fascinating people, places, and things, showcased in a large-format, full-color paperback. Nat Geo AMAZING! has no trouble grabbing your attention and never letting go. This 192-page collection of the world's most fascinating information is the must-have companion to the new National Geographic Channel series launched in July 2010.

Available at: Amazon | National Geographic Shop

About the Author
Melina Gerosa Bellows is the executive vice president of Children’s Publishing at National Geographic. She oversees the Children’s Book Division and serves as editor in chief of National Geographic Kids, the largest children’s magazine in America with a circulation of 1.2 million. The magazine has nearly 20 international editions.

Bellows’ first National Geographic book, “Nat Geo AMAZING! 100 People, Places, and Things That Will Wow You” is the companion book to “Nat Geo AMAZING!”, a 10-part television series that will debut on the National Geographic Channel in July 2010.

Win a Free Copy of the Nat Geo AMAZING! Book

Our friends at the National Geographic are kind enough to provide us with 4 Nat Geo AMAZING! Book. Instruction: To enter, visit the Nat Geo AMAZING! website, watch some amazing video clips (all episodes guide) and then tell us in the comment below your favorite video clip/image/story and why. Four best comments win. One entry per person, please! Good luck!

Update 8/5/10 – Turns out I have 5 to give away, so congratulations to Tyson, Samuel, Katherine, sano2pop, and holly4 who got the free book!