PAVAN MICKEY: Beautiful

Showing posts with label Beautiful. Show all posts

Friday, June 21, 2013

Famous Castle of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria

Krak des Chevaliers, also Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of Kurds; as a result it was known as Hisn al Akrad, meaning the "Castle of the Kurds". In 1142 it was given by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, to the Knights Hospitaller. It remained in their possession until it fell in 1271. It became known as Crac de l'Ospital; the name Krak des Chevaliers was coined in the 19th century.

Photo — Link

The Hospitallers began rebuilding the castle in the 1140s and were finished by 1170 when an earthquake damaged the castle. The order controlled a number of castles along the border of the County of Tripoli, a state founded after the First Crusade. Krak des Chevaliers was amongst the most important and acted as a centre of administration as well as a military base. After a second phase of building was undertaken in the 13th century, Krak des Chevaliers became a concentric castle. This phase created the outer wall and gave the castle its current appearance. The first half of the century has been described as Krak des Chevaliers' "golden age". At its peak, Krak des Chevaliers housed a garrison of around 2,000. Such a large garrison allowed the Hospitallers to extract tribute from a wide area. From the 1250s the fortunes of the Knights Hospitaller took a turn for the worse and in 1271 Krak des Chevaliers was captured by the Mamluk Sultan Baibars after a siege lasting 36 days, and then purportedly only by way of a forged letter purportedly from the Hospitallers' Grand Master that caused the Knights to surrender.

Photo — Link

Saturday, March 23, 2013

The Keyboard Monument

Russian artist Anatoly Vyatkin installed a giant replica of a Cyrillic QWERTY keyboard made of 86 stone blocks, each weighing up to 1,000 pounds. The Keyboard monument (which in some circles also goes by the name "Claudia") is a permanent outdoor sculpture located in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where it remains a prominent tourist attraction.

The landmark, which was designed to mimic an IBM PC keyboard, incorporates a piece of technology into the natural landscape, promoting the idea of integration and inviting passersby to interact with it. Pedestrians in the area often find themselves playfully hopping onto the "keys" of the installation, despite knowing it serves no immediate function. The installation provides a whimsical bit of art for the public that is still very relevant. It will be interesting to see how future generations perceive it once keyboards have become obsolete.

Top image by SparkleStarCat

Image by Andrew Sebrant

Image via publiciti

Image by Hope Zaostrovnyh

Image via 1001chudo.ru

Image via English Russia

Image via publiciti

AIPAD Photography Show

Goodyear GZ-20A Blimp

When traveling, it's typical to see the sides, the front, even the tail of an airplane, but it's not often that you get to see the details of a plane's underbelly. American photographer Jeffrey Milstein gives us this opportunity in his project, entitled Aircraft: The Jet as Art. Each machine is perfectly centered within the composition, which results in a sense of graphic symmetry and precision that is unique to the perspective. By presenting them in this way, the artist encourages his viewers to examine the beauty and form of this modern technology.

When exhibiting the photographs, Milstein produces large prints so that his viewers can almost feel the rush of air from each plane as it zips past. When documenting each plane, Milstein says, "It’s like shooting a moving duck. The planes are moving so fast, and I have only a hundredth of a second to get my shot. I have to keep the camera moving with the plane and then fire the shot exactly at the top dead center. It took a lot of practice.”

If you are interested in this project, Milstein's work will be exhibited at the AIPAD Photography Show in New York from April 4-7, 2013.

Alaska Airlines "Disneyland" Boeing 737-400

Harrier Jump Jet

America West Airlines Airbus A320-200

Citabria 7GCBC

Southwest "Shamu" Boeing 737-700

Southwest Boeing 737-700

United Airlines Boeing 757-200

USAF Learjet C-21A

America West Express Bombardier CRJ900

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Beautiful and Aching Photos About Finding Yourself

Alexandra Benetel has many fond memories of traveling with her family at a very young age. She remembers picking up a disposable camera at a local store and shooting all the scenes around her. Her real passion for photography, however, didn't fully develop until she enrolled in a visual design course in high school. As she tells us, "During that time, I learned about pinhole photography, was introduced to the site Flickr and, ultimately, absolutely fell in love with photography."

If the last name Benetel sounds familiar, you may remember it from a recent post we wrote about her brother Christian. When asked to describe how their styles differ, Alexandra told us this, "I think Christian puts a lot of himself in his concepts. I'm more focused with becoming someone else and taking on the role as a character. In saying that, I make sure that I'm able to relate to that character in some way so that there's a little piece of me in my photographs as well. I definitely think that we edit quite differently and I've found that our ideas aren't as similar as what they may have been in the past."

To us, both are highly talented at drawing out an emotion, of making us feel a sense of vulnerability right along with her subjects. "I aim to create beautiful photographs that capture mysterious yet dream-like worlds, filled with oddities that encompass aspects of reality," she says. "I want people to be transported to a different world, escape their life for just a little while and experience something fantastical. At the same time, I want people to relate to and feel something when viewing my work."