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The riparian buffers flanking the Niger River in Timbuktu, Mali, appear in red.
maps

Striking Satellite Images of Cities on the Brink

A fresh perspective on the fragility and resilience of our world.
Jessica Leigh Hester September 24, 2018
A photo from The Daily Herald, with the original caption "Girl acetylene welders were at their job as usual today, cutting the girders of the temporary Waterloo Bridge, which is being dismantled."
photography

Women Built London's Waterloo Bridge, But It Took These Photos to Prove It

Uncovering evidence of a long-forgotten history.
Anika Burgess September 21, 2018
George R. Lawrence and his 1,400-pound camera.
trains

In 1900, Photographing an Entire Train Required the World’s Biggest Camera

With bellows big enough to stand in.
Anika Burgess September 5, 2018
A Jo Mora carte of Carmel-By-The-Sea, made in 1942. Click to zoom.
maps

The Cowboy Cartographer Who Loved California

Jo Mora poured the state's whole history—and his own life—into his incredibly detailed, whimsical maps.
Cara Giaimo August 30, 2018
<em>Mysteries of Love and Space II</em>, one of Navina Khatib's layered photos of Bolivian salt flats.
landscapes

A Surreal, Pastel Perspective on the World's Largest Salt Flat

Dreamy images of Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni.
Anika Burgess August 29, 2018
<em>People in Interiors</em>, from <em>The Sociological Record</em>, Ostropa, Silesia, 1980.
houses

Zofia Rydet Spent the Last Decades of Her Life Trying to Photograph Every House in Poland

Inside an archive of more than 20,000 documentary images.
Anika Burgess August 24, 2018
Winged skates from the Strathcona Palace Pier rink, Toronto, Canada.
collections

When Local Roller Rinks Had Their Own Collectible Stickers

Distinctive designs from the "Golden Age" of roller-skating.
Anika Burgess August 23, 2018
<em>An Ostrich Saving Its Young with the Blood of an Asp</em>, from <em>Miroir de l’Humaine Salvation</em>, France, 15th century.
medieval

The Secret Meanings Behind the Beasts in a Medieval Menagerie

In Middle Age Europe, animals were popular storytellers.
Anika Burgess August 17, 2018
<em>King Eider</em> by Daniel P. Huffman visualizes the arctic life of the king eider sea duck. This is one of 135 pieces that Huffman produced for the <em>Ecological Atlas of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas</em>.
maps

The World's Newest, Most Gloriously Designed Maps

Cartographers, rejoice.
Anika Burgess August 10, 2018
Arne Jacobsen's Skovshoved gas station, Copenhagen, Denmark.
roadside attractions

Sometimes, Gas Stations Are Beautiful

A new book captures their strange appeal.
Anika Burgess August 9, 2018
On the Extraterrestrial Highway, Nevada.
aliens

A Photographer’s Journey Through the Heart of UFO Country

From Area 51 to Roswell, a believer's-eye view of the desert.
Members of the Boulder City Consulting Board and other officials standing in a section of pipe over the Hoover Dam, 1935.
photography

Famous Landmarks, Before They Were Finished

Revealing photos of works-in-progress.
Anika Burgess July 24, 2018
One of Neubronner's pigeons, with camera.
pigeons

For a Brief, Glorious Moment, Camera-Wielding Pigeons Spied From Above

In the early 20th century, Julius Neubronner turned his birds into photographers.
Anika Burgess July 13, 2018
Skowhegan, Maine, May 1992.
architecture

The Mystery Man Who Spent 20 Years Photographing North American Buildings

His name was Barry Gfeller, and he left behind an astonishing 50,000 previously unseen images.
Anika Burgess July 6, 2018
A photo of mechanic Joseph David, made by biologist Louis Boutan.
science

How a 19th-Century Biologist Became an Underwater Photography Pioneer

A deep dive into the "submarine landscapes" of Louis Boutan.
Anika Burgess June 14, 2018
Tilted trees on Nozaki Island, Japan.
sacred spaces

An Island's Spiritual History, Documented in Haunting Photographs

Walking the trails to prayer on Japan’s Nozaki Island, once home to persecuted Christians.
Anika Burgess June 11, 2018
A young boy enjoys the Chicago summer in 1979.
history

The Lost Newspaper Archives of Black Chicago Are Now at Your Fingertips

The Obsidian Collection and Google are bringing historic African-American media outlets online.
Cara Giaimo June 7, 2018
<em>Grand View Motel, Raton, New Mexico; December 18, 1980.</em>
roadside attractions

The Vanishing World of Neon Motel Signs

A photographer has spent decades capturing these symbols of Americana and the open road.
Aïda Amer May 30, 2018