Incredible Woman Who Seeks to Be the First Female to Row from Japan to San Francisco

28-year-old Sonya Baumstein plans on being the first woman to complete an extraordinary journey. With no sail and no motor, Sonya will be rowing 6,000 nautical miles by herself from Choshi, Japan to San Francisco, California because she likes a good challenge. Using a 770-pound, 24 foot boat, this adventurous young woman will not only be taking on an incredible quest, she is also going to be working as a citizen scientist for NASA's Earth and Space Research program Aquarius. With special technology attached to her boat, the explorer will be collecting data on water temperatures, salinity levels, and currents as she rows along her path.
Although this woman likes almost any extreme adventure, rowing holds a special place in her heart. When in college at the University of Wisconsin, Sonya was hit by a car and her fitness regime helped her to recover faster than most people would during her three years in rehabilitation. “The level of fitness I was in, and my ability to stay at that fitness level and push myself there all the time, I attribute to that time on my high school rowing team,” she told CNN. Since then, the inspiring voyager rowed from Spain to Barbados with three friends in 2011, biked from Mexico to San Francisco in 2012, and has traveled the Bering Strait on a stand-up paddleboard in 2013.
During her upcoming expedition, Sonya plans to post updates about her journey on Twitter, since she will have internet access on her boat named "Icha," which means “when we meet we are family” in Japanese. Already, the accomplished rower has prepared a mantra for the 4 to 6 months of her trip: "I'm the power; I'm the precision."

Extraordinary Entries from National Geographic's 2015 Traveler Photo Contest

Last month, we featured some gorgeous entries in the 2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest, and we’re now pleased to share more great submissions with you. The competition is one of our very favorites, and it showcases some truly stunning travel photography. These images represent many unique places around the world, and it allows you to discover parts of the planet you might've never known existed.
It’s not too late to enter the contest - the deadline is Tuesday, June 30 at 12 p.m. EDT. There are four categories, including: Travel Portraits; Outdoor Scenes; Sense of Place; and Spontaneous Moments. So photographers, be sure you submit your work before the end of June. The grand prize winner will receive an eight-day National Geographic Photo Expedition to Costa Rica and the Panama Canal for two. How exciting!
Check out more of these great entries below, courtesy of National Geographic.
Above: Eye for an Eye
The Yetis of Nepal - The Aghoris as they are called are marked by colorful body paint and clothes
Photo and caption by Abrar Mohsin /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Jump
Boys in Clifton Beach in Cape Town jumping into the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo and caption by Slawek Kozdras /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest


Millions of tulips
A bird ́s view of tulip fields near Voorhout in the Netherlands, photographed with a drone in April 2015
Photo and caption by Anders Andersson /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest


Meditation on the rocks
Kit Mikayi is a rock formation about 40m high situated west of kisumu, western Kenya. She climbs up the rocks rocks daily to meditate.
Photo and caption by Allan Gichigi /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest


Sakura Color
I'm looking forward to seeing "Sakura light-up" at megurogawa river every spring.
Photo and caption by Motoki Uemura /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest


Tree of Life
Incredibly beautiful and extremely remote. Koehn Lake, Mojave Desert, California. Aerial Image.
Photo and caption by Jassen T. /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest


I always thought hippos were vegetarian!
Lucky timing! The oxpecker was originally sitting on hippo's head. I could see the hippo was going into a huge yawn (threat display?) and the oxpecker had to vacate it's perch. When I snapped the pic, the oxpecker appeared on the verge of being inhaled and was perfectly positioned between the massive gaping jaws of the hippo. The oxpecker also appears to be screeching in terror and back-pedaling to avoid being a snack!
Photo and caption by Howard Singleton /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest


Locks of Love
Pond de l'Archeveche - hundreds thousands of padlocks locked to a bridge by random couples, as a symbol of their eternal love. After another iconic Pont des Arts bridge was cleared of the padlocks in 2010 (as a safety measure), people started to place their love symbols on this one. Today both of the bridges are full of love locks again.
Photo and caption by Martyna Blaszczyk /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest


'Cape Solander' from 300 feet
This wave is situated right near the CBD of Sydney. Some describe it as the most dangerous wave in Australia, due to it breaking on barnacle covered rocks only a few feet deep and only ten metres from the cliff face. If you fall off you could find yourself in a life and death situation. This photo was taken 300 feet directly above the wave from a helicopter, just as the surfer is pulling under the lip of the barrel.
Photo and caption by Ian Bird /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest


A view of Lion's Head from Kloof's Corner in Cape Town, South Africa
Photo and caption by Neeve Terman /National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

Twisted Park Benches and Disappearing Rooms of Water at Brooklyn Bridge Park

As if New York doesn't have enough exciting art going on right now, with Yayoi Kusama's show at David Zwirner and Teresita Fernández's golden canopy at Madison Square Park, it can now add another must-see exhibition to the list. At Brooklyn Bridge Park, Danish artist Jeppe Hein has just opened Please Touch the Art. His most comprehensive exhibition ever presented in a public space in the United States, the show consists of 18 interactive works that are both fun and surprising.
The exhibition, which has been curated by Public Art Fund Director and Chief Curator Nicholas Baume, includes three distinct bodies of work. Appearing Rooms consists of a series of "rooms" with walls that appear and disappear as vertical jets of water shoot up from the ground in a grid-like pattern. Installed on the Bridge View Lawn at Pier 1, the iconic water sculpture challenges visitors to move throughout the "rooms" without touching a drop of water. If you don't time it just right, you might come away soaking wet!
Mirror Labyrinth, installed at the Pier 3 Greenway Terrace, is a large-scale installation that consists of mirror-polished stainless steel vertical posts. Spaced equidistantly, the posts form three radiating arcs. While the width of each vertical post is the same, the heights vary. The artist purposefully created them this way to mimic the Manhattan skyline, which sits across the river.
Finally, the third body of work can be viewed throughout the park and it's called Modified Social Benches. Sixteen red park benches have been twisted and bent in response to the park's landscape. Hein wanted to reinvent the way we thought of the typical park bench. As Public Art Fund states, "Straddling the line between functional seats and eccentric art objects, Hein coaxes visitors to become conscious of the act of sitting as they perch, recline, or rest on his benches."
Here's what curator Baume told The New York Times about Heine's interactive art. "One of the brilliant things about Jeppe’s work is he can engage you no matter what your background or experience or age in a very direct way. And through that process — whether it’s through something joyful or something funny or something strange or something perplexing — he works on all of those human and intuitive levels to then allow you to think differently about your environment, about yourself, about who you’re with and where you are.”
You have almost a full year to enjoy these whimsical artworks. Please Touch the Art began on May 17 and runs until April 17, 2016.

Above: Jeppe Hein, Modified Social Bench , 2015, Photo: James Ewing

 Jeppe Hein, Modified Social Bench , 2015, Photo: James Ewing Modified Social Bench , Photo: James Ewing
 Mirror Labyrinth , Photo: James Ewing  Mirror Labyrinth , Photo: James Ewing  Mirror Labyrinth , Photo: James Ewing  Appearing Rooms , Photo: Nicki Sebastian  Appearing Rooms , Photo: Nicki Sebastian  Appearing Rooms , Photo: Nicki Sebastian  Appearing Rooms , Photo: Nicki Sebastian  Appearing Rooms , Photo: Nicki Sebastian

Girlfriend While Traveling to Breathtaking Indian Landmarks

When photographer Murad Osmann and his girlfriend Natalia Zakharova were vacationing in Barcelona, they started an Instagram series that their followers fell in love with. The photographs feature Osmann being led by his girlfriend through the incredible destinations that they visit, resulting in the Follow Me theme that is present in all of their travel snapshots. "The first photo happened in Barcelona while we were on vacation. My girlfriend was a bit annoyed that I was always taking pictures of everything, so she grabbed my hand and tried to pull me forward. But it didn't stop me from doing photos," stated Osmann to Mashable. "That's how it all started."

After visiting extraordinary places like Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, and France, the couple recently visited India in February, which is where Natalia dressed up in Indian-esque outfits to recreate their famous Instagram images. While the twosome travelled to Delhi, Udaipur, Varanasi, Jaipur, and more, Osmann used his iPhone to capture photos of their journey and the Camera+ app to add necessary corrections. The images not only display famous tourist destinations, they also depict the natural beauty, people, and distinct style of this breathtaking country.

What it's Like to Spend Two Years as an Elderly Woman

After volunteering to visit the homes of lonely seniors, photographer Kyoto Hamada got the idea to go undercover as an older woman in New York City. With the help of a grey wig, elaborate makeup, and new clothes, Hamada created her elderly alter ego Kikuchiyo-san, who she photographed for 2 years in a series titled I Used To Be You. "I have always been drawn to elders," explained the photographer toThe Huffington Post. "I often sense an otherworldly air from them as though they are still living in another time. These are the kind of elders that I wonder what their life is like, that I want to talk to, or follow them to their home."
When the 42-year-old walked the streets of NYC as Kikuchiyo-san, she noticed that people treated her differently. Many opened doors for her or offered to help her carry her bags. A Japanese man even bowed to her, which is a cultural sign that shows respect for elders. The biggest difference that Hamada observed was that she often did not matter in the eyes of others. "No one seemed to care, or even notice me. It's already very easy to feel ignored in New York City, but as Kikuchiyo-san, I sometimes felt totally invisible," she said.
As her alter ego, the photographer learned that growing older should not matter. "Each stage of our life is a temporary experience," stated Hamada. "There are different kinds of beauty in different periods of our lives. Beauty in a 5-year-old child, a 25-year-old, a 45- or 75-year-old woman is all different." With this in mind, Hamada hopes to translate Kikuchiyo-san's experiences into a 99-page photo book after her Kickstarter campaign reaches its goal of $10,000.

Jellyfish Chandeliers and Flowing River of Light at Vivid Sydney 2015

Vivid Sydney, the spectacular annual light festival going on in Australia from May 22 to June 8 this year, has just released some sneak peek photos of some of their most dazzling light installations. Ample Projects has created Jellyfish Chandeliers, huge handcrafted sea creatures that are 3 meters in diameter and are 9 meters in length. Their frames are made of steel and are covered with satin fabric. The tentacles are made up of LED rope, globe lighting and fibre optics. The glowing sculptures hang high above passengers who have just stepped off the train at Chatswood station.
The enormous light fixtures are a part of a whole underwater light walk journey in Chatswood. Ample Projects and 32 Hundred Lighting have collaborated to transformed Chatswood Mall into an immersive, light-filled river where the ground resembles ripping blue water. There's even an ambient electronic water soundtrack that will make visitors feel as though they're listening to rolling waves. Swimming in the river will be lights sculptures of underwater characters. Situated at the mouth of the Flowing River of Light is the Aquarium, a projection that transforms the underside of a pedestrian overpass into a light show. It acts as an unexpected overhead window view into an underwater world and is centered around an electric eel living at the mouth of the river.