Becorns

David M. Bird:

Becorns are woodland creatures crafted from acorns, pine cones, sticks, and other natural materials, then photographed in nature with birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and other wildlife. The photography process usually involves a study of animal behavior, birdseed, and a lot of patience. My work evolved from my years as a designer for Lego, where I learned to build characters and tell stories with bricks. Now I do the same, but with sticks.

Delightful work. Here’s a video about his work process.

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Nevada nuclear test sites

I’m not going to try to reproduce the images here – fitting them into this layout would require losing much of the detail that makes them so striking – but you should definitely go and see some photographs of Nevada’s nuclear test sites in a New York Review of Books review of a collection of Emmet Gowin’s images:

In 1996 and 1997, the Department of Energy and the US Air Force allowed the photographer Emmet Gowin to take photographs of Nevada’s nuclear landscape from a helicopter. These have now been gathered in a new book, The Nevada Test Site, published by Princeton University Press. Gowin’s original prints aren’t large, about 10” x 10”. But even slightly reduced in size, they give a sense of extraordinary scale, thanks to the raking light and the stark immensity of the Nevada basin. The intimate clarity of Gowin’s lens makes it look as though every detail within its range is aspiring to be noticed. On the desert floor, cause and effect seem to have been reversed. The craters look as though they’re ancient geological formations, the roads added later by curious investigators exploring these strange formations.

Unfortunately the book is too costly for me to indulge myself by buying a copy, but it costs nothing to look at the review.

Grin and bear it

Underwater photographer has one little problem, given the nature of his hobby:

What Enric despises most about the ocean is it’s ridiculously cold temperature. He tries to “travel to warmer waters during the winter in the Mediterranean Sea.” During cold seasons, there’s nothing he can do but stay out of the water, as much as it pains him. If he could give his younger self any piece of advice, it would be to live closer to the ocean and swim in it “as much as possible.”

Zeppelin

Hybrids

Digital Collage Artist Creates Weird and Wonderful Animal Hybrids

From a sealion/horse creature named a Horseal to a Labrador puppy/albatross combo called a Labratross, Fredriksen renders his weird and wonderful critters by first finding two images that go well together. “The angle has to be right, and it helps a lot if the skin/fur textures are approximately similar. This is the hardest part,” Fredriksen explains […]

I think Pugilla is the most adorable (narrowly ahead of Pengwhale), and Hammergull most natural mix (i.e. the one I’d barely notice if it flew by me, until someone prompted me to look more closely.)

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In search of warriors

Kim Frank went In Search of Warriors:

A story told by my grandfather sparked a fascination. Far to the east lies a land, wild and vast, inhabited by the legendary warriors who rescued my grandfather. Mongolia. For fifteen years, I’ve returned to this country, seeking to understand the raw beauty and tenacity that shapes those who call it home.

Widescreen landscapes, populated by souls far hardier than me.

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