Photography is an art form which deals with manipulating light, angles, shades and hues, distance, perspective and other aspects to capture great moments both big and small alike that could tell a story or evoke a certain emotion from the people who view them.

It's a craft in which the artist continues to explore various techniques and avenues to frame a scene, landscape, emotion, or an experience in the best possible way. In this regard, Italian photographer Paolo Pettigiani has been trying out a technique utilizing the infrared spectrum to take photos.

His latest work explores two fascinating infrared contrasts: the imposing concrete jungle of Dubai and the amazing tropics of the Maldives. Pettigiani's work is primarily created using full-spectrum converted cameras. While the Dubai photographs used a converted Nikon D750, the Maldives shots were taken using a converted DJI Mavic Pro 2.

If you look at his photos, it might seem like filters have been applied on them but the sharpness and the intricacy of using the right tools and equipment make them a cut above normal photos with filters applied. Take a look here and see his collection of surreal and colorful infrared photos.

(Image credit: Paolo Pettigiani/Behance)

Ganapathi Bhat of Komale, Karnataka, India, needs to get up his trees to harvest areca nuts. So he built from motorbike parts a machine that reliably moves him up and down safely. MSN reports:

Seven months ago he started working on the concept again and finished the ‘tree bike’ in May using standard motorbike components such as clutch, accelerator, double brakes, shock absorbers and a 2.1 HP petrol engine. “The first time I took a ride to the top, I asked my son to be ready to call an ambulance,” says Bhat. But the machine proved to be safe and he climbed 150 trees before demonstrating it to local farmers. ''I have used high-quality components. But if there is a mechanical failure, it stops midway. You just press the clutch to gently glide it down.”

Neighboring farmers are very interested in his clever invention. Bhat plans to sell them for about 75,000 rupees a piece. That's just over $1,000 USD.

I suspect there'd probably be a recreational market, too. It looks like fun!

-via Geekologie

The Zishtova Fortress in Bulgaria dates back to the 14th century, maybe even the 13th century. It lies in ruin now, having been destroyed by the Russian military in 1810. But between those dates, the fort had some big adventures.  

An archaeological team led by Nikolay Ovcharov from the National Institute and Museum of Archaeology in Sofzia are currently conducting excavations at the site and the area around it. In mid-May, the team stumbled upon some cannonballs dating back to the mid-15th century—a time that coincides with a siege of the fortress, according to the website Archaeology in Bulgaria. This siege is notable in that it involved forces led by none other than Vlad III Dracula, aka Vlad the Impaler.

Dracula had three stints as the Voivode—an old Slavic term for the ruling military commander—of Wallachia, a late medieval principality situated between the Danube River and the Carpathian mountains. He was known for his unusual acts of cruelty, especially his excessive use of impalement to torture and kill his victims. Tales of Dracula’s brutality eventually reached Germany and Italy, inspiring a series of bestselling books. Bram Stoker may have taken inspiration from Dracula’s infamy, naming his vampire accordingly.

Ovcharov is also excited by the find because the cannonballs were ammunition for a rare early version of cannon, used for only one century. Read about the discovery and about Vlad's campaign against the Ottomans at Gizmodo.

(Image credit: Svishtov Municipality)

Talk about a unique profession! Andrew Koller (redditor u/CocaKoller) spent last summer as a professional bird scarer in the oil sands of Canada. He explained in a series of comments that the tailings ponds are toxic to wildlife, therefore frightening the geese away is the way to save their lives. They got used to cannons and scarecrows, so he leveraged his biology degree to get the job of shooing them away by any means necessary. This video contained NSFW language, as if the geese cared.

Discovered at Stillfried an der March in Austria, an old Bronze Age site, were these strange cereal rings. Led by Andreas G. Heiss along with his colleagues from Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAW-ÖAI), the analysis confirmed that these ring-shaped objects were created from dough derived from barley and wheat. 

The researchers were able to determine that the dough was made from fine-quality flour and then most likely shaped from wet cereal mixture and dried without baking. This time-consuming preparation process differs from other foods known from the site, leading the study’s authors to suggest that these cereal rings may not have been made for eating.

If they were not made for eating, then what were they made for?

Read more details about this discovery at Geek.com.

(Image Credit: ÖAW-OREA / B. Biederer)

Sometimes the best solutions might be the most ambitious ones. And if we're dealing with the global threat of climate change due to carbon emissions and other human activities that contaminate the Earth's atmosphere, we might need something beyond the ordinary. Something like big, floating islands made entirely of solar panels.

Imagine an open ocean, Sun beating down overhead, with 70 islands of solar panels, each 100 meters (328 feet) in diameter, bobbing silently out toward the horizon. The cluster of islands is churning out electricity and sending it to a hard-hulled ship that acts as an oceanic factory.

With the compounds extracted from these panels, we can then harness them to produce methanol, which would be a great alternative to burning fossil fuels. This could then help reduce the rate at which climate change takes its toll on the Earth.

This plan was outlined in a PNAS paper published this week, which suggests it's an option for addressing the global economy's over-reliance on liquid fossil fuels. Removing excess carbon dioxide from our environment is crucial to mitigating the effects of climate change.

(Image credit: Novaton/Ars Technica)

Mary and her dog Secret (previously at Neatorama) have a unique relationship, and Secret is a very smart dog. Here she plays Jenga with Mary, and she's a truly competitive player! -via Digg

The kid even wrote the pros and cons of him being absent. What a very informative letter he wrote.

Sarah Holliday, the boy’s older sister, shared the kid’s letter on Twitter last Tuesday. The tweet became viral immediately, garnering over 920,000 likes and over 200,000 retweets. The responses to her tweet were also gold.

Sarah also posted an update on what happened to her little brother.

“YES. My mom let him stay home. 😂 how could she not?!”

Via The Poke

(Image Credit: @sarahhollidayyy/ Twitter)

NASA has been talking about launching more private and commercial space missions to the International Space Station (ISS) for a while now and they have recently announced that they will open it for such expeditions. The only catch is it will cost you a ton of money.

The first mission will take place as early as 2020, the agency said. “If supported by the market, the agency can accommodate up to two short-duration private astronaut missions per year,” NASA said. 

“These missions will be privately funded, dedicated commercial spaceflights.” CNBC reported that each private trip will likely cost $50 million, and NASA will receive $35,000 per night.

(Image credit: Wiki Images/Pixabay)

Some researchers say they have actually succeeded in creating a system that can do artificial photosynthesis. If this would be verified, then it would have the potential of providing us with another source of energy and hopefully, use the system to resolve issues like carbon emissions which create air pollution and contribute to global warming.

The French researchers claim to have a fully artificial system, creating ethylene and ethane, both potent fuels, from the common mineral perovskite. The French system, as all the others, is still a prototype in a lab and a long way from being a functional way to produce sustainable fuel at scale—but it’s a promising start.

(Image credit: Stefan Steinbauer/Unsplash)

It was a swarm of ladybugs, and it was a massive one.

According to meteorologist Joe Dandrea, the ladybug bloom appeared to be about 80 miles by 80 miles. However, the ladybugs are not in a concentrated mass; they are spread out and fly from altitudes between 5,000 to 9,000 feet. The most concentrated mass appears to be 10 miles wide.

After seeing it on the radar, Dandrea called a spotter near Wrightwood in the San Bernardino Mountains to ask what they were seeing.

“I don’t think they’re dense like a cloud,” Dandrea said. “The observer there said you could see little specks flying by.”

It wasn’t immediately known what type of ladybugs were causing the phenomenon.

But at least it wasn’t locusts.

Via APNews

(Image Credit: AP Photo/ Seth Perlman)

California police warn everyone to keep their car doors locked as a bear welcomed himself in one unlocked car near Lake Tahoe and destroyed the vehicle’s interior.

According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, the bear could not go out as easily as it could have gone in. It was trapped inside.

According to Sgt. Dave Hunt, they could not open the vehicle from the outside as the bear apparently locked the doors somehow and broke the handles off.

While trapped inside, the bear apparently ripped the seats apart, tore open the glove compartment and pulled down part of the ceiling. The animal also urinated, defecated and spit all over the destroyed interior, police said. The department called the vehicle “a total loss.”

Police were eventually able to open the rear hatch to let the bear escape, FOX40 reported.

Poor car owners.

(Image Credit: Placer County Sheriff's Office)

“We beat the code! We beat the code!”, the man’s children screamed as the door to the safe finally opened.

For 40 years, the humble museum Vermilion Heritage Museum in Alberta, Canada tried everything they can in order to unlock this safe tucked away in their basement. They have hired blacksmiths, contacted the manufacturer, called former employees, and even challenged guests to unlock the safe — to no avail.

Last month, to everyone’s surprise, a man who visited the museum cracked the code on his first try.

Stephen Mills, from Fort McMurray, Alberta, was on a family camping trip with his wife, his two children and his father-in-law.

"We wanted to check out what the community has to offer," said Mills. "The museum was actually closed on the day we were there, but we managed to track down one of the volunteers, Tom Kibblewhite, who opened it for us and showed us around."

After giving the Mills' family a tour of the whole building, the volunteer proceeded to show them the objects in the basement, including the mysterious safe.

It originally had belonged to the town's Brunswick Hotel which opened in the early 1900s, Kibblewhite said. When the hotel shut down, in the late 1970s, the safe was locked -- and so it had remained.

"It was like a time capsule, nobody had any idea of what was in there," Mills said.

Like other visitors, Mills was offered the chance to take a crack at opening it.

So he put his ear up to the safe, "just like you see in the movies," he said, as his two children, aged 4 and 6, stood next to him.

"I looked at the dial and I saw the numbers were running from 0 to 60. So I thought in my head 20-40-60. I did a particular combination which is three on the right, two on the left, and 1 on the right, tried the handle ... and it opened!"

"It was a 100% guess," he said. "I was fully amazed. I stepped back a little bit and thought 'I'm buying a lottery ticket tonight!'"

The contents of the safe proved a little disappointing.

"Unfortunately there wasn't what we thought was there," Mills said. "Some papers, old checks, a waitress' notepad, and a receipt from the hotel, that's it."

What a lucky guy!

(Image Credit: CNN)

Castles have a certain charm to them. Though a lot of them feel like relics of the past, just one look at the castles we have that are still standing could take your breath away. Atlas Obscura recently asked their readers what their favorite castles are and they collated some of the most majestic here.

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)