POW veterans celebrated at VA luncheon

AMARILLO, TEXAS -- There are fewer than 30,000 POW veterans left in the United States, and about 50 of them were honored Monday at the VA Hospital in Amarillo. "These veterans have given in such a way to their country," VA Hospital Director Andrew Welch stated. "What they've done is they've stepped up for their country, gone to war, been captured during wartime and suffered in a POW camp and have made it back home. And we want to make sure that they know how much we appreciate them every single day." A report has shown that up to 2,800 of these POW veterans die each year, and soon none will be left. The VA Hospital hosts the luncheon twice a year to thank veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam for all they put on the line to ensure Americans could keep their freedom. "To preserve their memory before it's a memory...," Welch said. "In other words, to appreciate them right now while they can still hear us appreciating them and to let them know that we care about them, that we appreciate what they did for their country." The POWs hear it time and time again, but Welch said nothing can be done to completely thank the men for the services and sacrifices they provided. LINK

Mountain Light # Timescapes Timelapse

Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby each film frame is captured at a rate much slower than it will be played back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing. Time-lapse photography can be considered to be the opposite of high speed photography. Processes that would normally appear subtle to the human eye, such as the motion of the sun and stars in the sky, become very pronounced.
Time-lapse is the extreme version of the cinematography technique of undercranking, and can be confused with stop motion animation.
LINK: Youtube
Special thanks to Tom Lowe @ Timescapes for capturing and producing such beautiful footage. You can contact Tom or download the original video in full 1080 resolution @ http://www.timescapes.org/

The View From A High Speed Train, In Slow Motion

Just how fast is a high speed train? Watch as video artist Graeme Taylor captures a speeding train through a station using a high speed camera, and the effect is mesmerizing. LINK, Via: Youtube

Raw Video: Minnesota Tornado Picks Up Home

A storm chaser captures a tornado Wilkin County, Minnesota shredding a farmhouse. There were no reports of injuries. (Aug. 8). LINK: Youtube

Guns and Roses: The Photographer Who Literally Shoots His Subjects

"Point and shoot: A red rose in liquid nitrogen explodes on contact with a bullet in one of Alan Sailer's dramatic high-speed photographs"
A photo shoot usually requires a photographer to just point a camera and snap - but U.S. artist Alan Sailer takes the process much more literally.

The California-based photographer, 54, has captured a series of otherwise unassuming items as they explode on contact with a bullet.

The dramatic results feature everything from flowers to fruit, as well as more unexpected items such as bacon and even snow globes.

An expert at high-speed photography, Mr Sailer takes the pictures in a dark room positioned around 20cm from the target. The camera, which features a unique home-made flash, is set at a one-second delay.

Mr Sailer, who describes the process as 'beyond dangerous, says: 'The special item is the flash. It is a home-built unit based on the design of Harold Edgerton*. The flash is about .5 microsecond in duration and runs at 17,000 volts. It is beyond dangerous, it's deadly.

'The flash is triggered when the pellet from a rifle travelling at about 200 metres per seconds passes through a laser beam. Its the same principle as those beams that set off a chime when you walk into a store,' he continues.

'The camera is set at one second and an f-stop of 9-13 depending on the reflectivity of the subject. The flash stops the action. The one second gives me time to click the camera shutter with one hand while I pull the trigger on the rifle with the other.' LINK

GIANT SPIDER CAPTURED ALIVE !

This is a fishing spider(dolomedes vittatus). Also to stop the guessing..the cap is a YUENGLING beer bottle top.. LINK: Youtube