Ferrari 250 GT SWB

These cars are timeless masterpieces in automotive history. Whilst the 0-60 may be halved today, I’d pay 10X the amount for one of these over anything of recent vintage from Maranello.

lightboxFerrari 250 GT SWB (or 250 GT Berlinetta Passo Corto)

Nature

Cerita Ambar visited Kilauea lava flow from the sea at Kalapana, Big Island Hawaii.

When molten lava meets the ocean it’s a profoundly cinematic moments in nature. Peter Lik’s award winning shot came after countless trips to Hawaii hoping to capture volcanoes. Stunning.

Kilauea Volcano, on Kalapana, The Big Island, I found following some rumors down dirt roads. I shot it at 5:54 a.m., under moonlight. It reminded me of the legend of Pele, Goddess of Fire in Hawaiian folklore—legend has it that she and her sister Na-maka-o-Kaha’i, Goddess of Sea and Water sabotaged each other. You can visualize Pele in the upper left, blowing steam from the volcano into the ocean.” Visit www.peterlik.com. *Tech Specs:* Tripod-mounted Hasselblad H2 with 50mm lens and Fujichrome Velvia 50. Exposure, 2 sec at f/11.

STASIS

A welcomed addition to our cinema listing featuring luscious cinematography with a deep stirring soundtrack. Bit of a familiar and trying storyline but it’s worth sticking with it for such lovely art direction

STASIS from Christian Swegal on Vimeo.

STASIS by Christian Swegal 24m high definition movie with outstanding art direction.

In the future, an Ex-Soldier is placed in virtual exercises to cure his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In the simulations, he sees glimpses of a mysterious girl, presumably someone from his past. When a Stranger appears in his facility offering answers, the Soldier finds himself once again asked to kill, this time for her…

Sport is simple

howies

Originally wrote this back in 2009. Still a refreshing idea.

Howies are on to something with this print campaign. In a world that’s increasingly disenfranchised by the economic struggles, bitter foreign wars and a sense that big government is part of the problem, a return to simplicity is a strong message. It’s a brand that is daring, albeit with a simple bold message of peace & tranquility.

Eugenio Recuenco

Click on the image to see the whole widescreen image open. It’s stunning and well worth it.


Dark tones; tracking this very cool photographer Eugenio Recuenco

Recuenco is now one of the most important Spanish photographers on the international scene. Endowed with a brilliant sensibility for “chiaroscuro”, this photographer is considered as a true heir of the grand masters of Spanish classical painting like Goya, El Greco and above all Zurbarán.

Obama

obama

The White House posted this photo on its Flickr feed yesterday, of President Barack Obama taking a moment to sit on the bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. Obama remarked on the moment later that day, at a campaign event in Michigan. (The bus is housed at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit.)

“I just sat in there for a moment and pondered the courage and tenacity that is part of our very recent history but is also part of that long line of folks who sometimes are nameless, oftentimes didn’t make the history books, but who constantly insisted on their dignity, their share of the American dream,” he said, according to a White House pool report.

Paying homage to a hero does not make one a hero or a great leader. But contemplating the wisdom and brevity of such events in history is a powerful way to start.

Roberto Cavalli

The blacks and yellow/oranges are glorious in this campaign, but fire is a worrisome symbol. Therefore not sure.

Roberto Cavalli is celebrating 40 years of his brand (and animal print domination) therefor Mert and Marcus who delivered some pretty stunning photography for Cavalli’s Anniversary book also photographed one of the last standing supermodels daring us with her environmentalist status: Gisele Bundchen on fighting wildfires!

HT @designscene.net

Petra, Jordan

Amazing view of the Jordanian ancient city of Petra, Jordan with fresh snow

Amazing view of the Jordanian ancient city of Petra, Jordan with fresh snow.

UNESCO has described it as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage“. Petra was chosen by the BBC as one of “the 40 places you have to add to your all time must-see bucket list”

In October, 1917, T.E Lawrence, as part of a general effort to divert Turkish military resources away from the British invasion of North Africa, led a small force of Syrians and Arabians in defending Petra against a much larger combined force of Turks and Germans.

Lake District

In dramatic fashion the light shines down on Derwentwater, Cumbria

Maps of the Lake District are dotted with terms bestowed by the area’s tenth century A.D. Norse settlers. Thus the district’s famed lakes are often called “tarns,” streams become “becks,” valleys are dubbed “dales,” and clearings are known as “thwaites.”

Kate Moss – Blue Cafe

Testino

Mario Testino has not only created iconic portraits of society’s most well-known figures, but has been a driving force in the creation of the cult of celebrity. Kate Moss continues to be one of Testino’s most frequent and favoured models, in part for her ability to convey something particularly English and for her unaffected beauty. His portrait ‘Kate in Blue Cafe’ (2005) is typical of Testino’s trademark style, being at once both disarmingly nonchalant yet highly posed.

This limited edition print was published to coincide with the exhibition ‘Joshua Reynolds: The Creation of Celebrity’ at Tate Britain. If you managed to get hold of one at the time then you made a sound investment.

Michael Bosanko’s light graffiti

First covered by the Guardian who ran this story back in 2009.

Invasion: ‘What I feel I am trying to convey is a sense of an aesthetically pleasing shape that clearly does not belong in that particular place or area,’ says Bosanko. Based in Cardiff, most of the light art is drawn either in the empty urban night spaces of cities like Newport and the artist’s home town, or in the more desolate landscapes of the Breacon Beacons.

He spent the past five years developing his technique. These images were taken with a long exposure on a digital Canon camera. Thirty-nine-year-old photographic artist Michael Bosanko has made these pictures, which have not been Photoshopped, using colored torches at night in the same way that an artist uses a paintbrush. His digital camera stays on a long exposure, ranging from 10 seconds to one hour to create the images against the backdrop of Cardiff, Newport and the Brecon Beacons in south Wales

Vestmanna Cliffs

The Faroe Islands is a country in the Norwegian Sea, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing country.

Remote island communities have always fascinated me. From the independent nature of the people who call them home, rugged scenery that often graces the landscape, the animals that live there- they can really spark the imagination.

Art and Science

I’m just not too sure Gucci intended this to go this far, right? (click to skip the smoking canister)

Clearly a provocative image, likely re-released to become a viral sensation.  Gucci obviously took it upon themselves to race to the bottom of the heap. But why?

Branding Brands put it concisely:

As we all know, understand, and imagine; Gucci sells sex. Since 1994 when Tom Ford took over Gucci the company had one clear message “sex!” It was the sexual revolution of women lead by Tom Ford who’s dream was who’s dream was to empower women on a sexual level.

Gucci


This recent campaign follows a simple undeniable trend: Sex sells. Gucci rose out of what seemed certain bankruptcy to one of the most popular and successful luxury fashion retailers.

Although controversial the original provocative ad campaigns by the “then” creative director Tom Ford ensured his message of sexual empowerment became a series of intriguing ads.

But let us be clear about the “now” brand message under new leadership of Frida, Gucci is a beacon of luxury taste, a fashion role model with a halo of respect. The imagination runs wild on Gucci’s seductive visuals, never the explicit. Sure my own righteousness is questionable.

HT @beautiful-visible