Spy pigeon, carrying a small format automatic camera. On display at Vevey photography museum. Initially, the military potential of pigeon photography for aerial reconnaissance appeared attractive. Pigeon photographers

Pigeon photographers

In 1903, German apothecary Julius Neubronner decided on an unprecedented experiment – to combine dove and camera. The innovator equipped birds with automatic cameras. Reducing the size of the camera, Julius places them at the pigeon breast. Despite the extremely lightweight design, the birds could not fly at an altitude of 100 meters. Five years later the inventor Neubronner patented his “Method and means for photographing landscapes from above.” He achieved recognition in 1909 at the International exhibition in Dresden. Visitors could experience firsthand how Cyborg pigeons flew with cameras on their chests, the negatives at once manifested, printed and then sold.
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Flags in nature. The nature landscape resembling three stripes of Russian flag – white, blue, and red

Flags in nature
The colors live a remarkable life of their own after they have been applied to the canvas, said the great artist Edvard Munch. These amazing pictures of nature with its fantastic landscapes mimic the national flags of different countries – Turkey, Poland, Peru, France, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Estonia, and Russia (image above). The flag of the Russian Federation is a tricolor flag consisting of three equal horizontal fields; white on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom. The flag was first used as an ensign for Russian merchant ships and only became official in 1896. The flag continued to be used by the Russian Provisional Government after the Tsar was toppled in the February Revolution and was not replaced until the October Revolution which established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic – the world’s first constitutionally socialist state. The modern era flag underwent a proportion change in 1993 and has been official since 2000.
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Picture taken by Yuri Sorokin, 33 year-old photographer, Kamchatka peninsula, Russia. Too shy bear

Too shy bear
This funny picture of a shy bear was taken with Canon EOS 50D, at a distance of 150 meters, on Kamchatka peninsula, Russia, on 19th August 2012. 33-year-old wildlife photographer Yuri Sorokin enjoys traveling and photographing beautiful nature, landscapes, mountains and fields of Siberia, Eastern regions of Russia.
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Photography by Mikhail Baevsky. Ghost in the mountains

Ghost in the mountains
This ghost-like figure over a mountain range is a rare natural phenomenon known as a Broken Specter. Ukrainian photographer Mikhail Baevsky was part of the group which came across the unusual spectacle at Chatyr-Dag mountain region, in Crimea, Southern Ukraine. The ghostly figure Mikhail photographed is actually his own shadow magnified hundreds of times as it is cast upon the surface of clouds opposite the sun. The stunning illusions are created when a low sun shines behind someone looking down into fog from a ridge. The ghostly figures can sometimes appear to move, often very suddenly, due to the drifting clouds.
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Silene stenophylla Ice Age flower

Ice Age flower
Known as Silene stenophylla, it is the oldest plant to be regenerated, according to scientists. It is fertile and able to produce viable white flowers and seeds. “The squirrels dug the frozen ground to build their burrows, which are about the size of a soccer ball. They first put in hay and then animal fur for a perfect storage chamber,” said Stanislav Gubin, one of the authors of the study, who spent years rummaging through the area for squirrel burrows. “It’s a natural cryobank.” The tissue can be preserved in ice for thousands of years, paving the way for a possible resurrection of the Ice Age mammals.
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Rainbow over waterfall Victoria. Victoria Falls, the largest and most beautiful and famous waterfalls in the world

Rainbow over waterfall Victoria
Victoria Falls are the largest and most beautiful and famous waterfalls in the world. They are located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa. Its width is nearly 1800 meters, and height – 108m, for a minute from the top of the waterfall falls down 87 tons of water. For many travelers, the beautiful Victoria Falls is the place must visit. The font of the devil is located here. Due to the splashing water on sunny days appear rainbows, incredible in their colors and beauty. Victoria Falls is one of the main attractions of South Africa, and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Hairless alone baboon. Rejected Bald female baboon in Kariba, Zimbabwe. Photograph by Ann Warner

Hairless alone baboon
It’s not easy to detect at once what creature is featured in the photograph. This totally bold female baboon was found in Kariba, Zimbabwe, Africa. British housewife 65-year-old Ann Warner spotted this pitiful hairless baboon, all alone hiding in the bush, after being rejected by her troop. The poor animal doesn’t have any friends, she has to survive alone, searching for food. Apes lose their hair in rare cases of alopecia, like humans, but the cause of her baldness is unknown.
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Anemone Metridium senile looks like a dandelion. Deep-sea creatures by Alexander Semenov, Russian marine biologist and photographer

Deep-sea creatures by Alexander Semenov
Russian photographer Alexander Semenov is the author of these underwater alien like sea creatures. The marine biologist, Semenov graduated from the Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Moscow State University named after Mikhail Lomonosov in 2007. Shortly thereafter began working at the White Sea Biological Station of Moscow State University. He is currently working in the organization of marine scientific research of the BBC. According to Semenov, he dives himself with pleasure with his camera.
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Paradise for photographers, Beautiful terraced rice fields in Bali

Terraced rice fields in Bali
The most beautiful landscapes in Bali are its colorful terraced rice fields. And at the same time, there is no more as low-paid and heavy work, as the cultivation of rice. The average rice matures in five months, and most of the time in the water. Put in the water in order to avoid direct sunlight and protect against weeds. Bali has a very well developed drainage system in the rice terraces – from the upper rungs water pours onto the lower, etc.. It prevents the mini-lakes from stagnation and decay.
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