Photography
Relive the 1940s Through These Old Color Photographs
The Library of Congress has more than 1600 color photos of WWII-era America
August 28, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Electron Microscope Zooms In, Finds Life on Life on Life
There's a bacterium on a diatom on an amphipod on a frog on a bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea!
August 22, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Was Vincent van Gogh Color Blind? It Sure Looks Like It
Filtering van Goghs works to simulate color blindness unlocks strikingly different images, perhaps revealing something about the way the famous painter saw the world
August 20, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Inside the Unnerving Reality of Modern Slavery
The number of people currently in slavery is estimated to be upwards of 27 million — double the number of slaves taken from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade
August 17, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Through the Lens of Cosmo Covers: Remembering Helen Gurley Brown
With her magazine, the longtime editor sold sex as well as the latest, often provocative fashions
August 17, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Click Around This High Definition 360° Panorama of Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover has been on the surface of the red planet for a week today, and this interactive panorama makes you feel like you’re actually there. We know that saying gets bandied about a lot, but it really, really does. As space writer Amy Shira Teitel notes, “how are these things popping up so fast!” By [...]
August 13, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
New Tech Identifies that Special ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ That Makes Paris Paris
Science provides an answer on what details in an urban street scene clue people in on what city it is from.
August 09, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Swimsuit Series, Part 5: Olympic Athletes, Posing
Vintage styles cycle in and out of favor among medal-winning racers
August 08, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Old-Timey Olympians Show How Things Have Changed
Clendenin's photos evoke the feeling that for all the changes seen by the modern Olympic games, the athletes themselves could easily be transposed across time.
August 01, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Beautiful New Earth-From-Space Footage from NASA
Take a couple minutes between the barbecue and fireworks to put things into the larger context by appreciating “that we are all riding through the universe together on this spaceship we call Earth, that we are all interconnected, that we are all in this together, that we are all family.” The Atlantic points us to this beautiful [...]
July 05, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Announcing the Winners of Our 9th Annual Photo Contest
Our editors pored over more than 67,000 photographs, each one a postcard from a unique time and place
July 2012 |
By Jesse Rhodes
The Swimsuit Series, Part 2: Beauty Pageants and the Inevitable Swimsuit Competition
In the latest chapter of the series, we look at how bathing suits came to be an integral part of the Miss America competition
June 28, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Gigapixel Camera Takes 11-Foot Wide Photos in 0.01 Seconds
Update: This story originally discussed a prototype camera capable of capturing 50 gigapixel images. Though a design has been laid out for such a camera, the existing prototype takes one gigapixel shots. A brand new photography system uses 98 synchronized camera to capture a gigapixel photo in an instant. If this were a normal camera, [...]
June 20, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Stunning View of Arctic Could Be Last of its Kind
Photo: NASA/GSFC/Suomi NPP Scientists working with data collected by NASA’s new Suomi NPP satellite put together this absolutely gorgeous view of the Earth’s icy north. The image, which shows the Arctic polar ice cap, a green Europe poking out of the clouds on the left, and northern Africa, the middle east, and Asia, was made [...]
June 19, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Winners of Nature's Best Photography
Through January 2013, the Natural History Museum is home to stunning photographs of wildlife around the world
May 24, 2012 |
By Smithsonian.com
Celebrating Motherhood in Pictures
Here are some of our favorite photos recognizing moms of all kinds submitted by readers over the last nine years
May 10, 2012 |
By Smithsonian.com readers
Gripping Photos of Fallen Soldiers’ Bedrooms
A photographer's images of domestic tranquility pay tribute to U.S. service members
May 2012 |
By T.A. Frail
The Breathtaking Surfing Photos Featured in Swell
A new book catalogues some of the best sites around the world to catch a wave with stunning photography
April 17, 2012 |
By Chloë Schama
The 21st-Century American Prom
Renowned photographer Mary Ellen Mark invites herself to the dance, capturing the poignant moment teenagers teeter on the edge of adulthood
April 2012 |
By Sloane Crosely
The Best Science Visualizations of the Year
Browse through the winning images that turn scientific exploration into art
February 15, 2012 |
By Laura Helmuth and Sarah Zielinski
