Soap Bubble Bursting

Super-slow-motion pictures show soap bubble bursting in stunning detail

To the human eye the bursting of a bubble is a simple affair. One prod of a finger and - pop! - it's vanished in a split second. But as these breathtaking pictures show, the process is spectacular - if only we could see it. These images were taken with a slow-motion camera to show every stage of the soap bubble's disappearance. Photographer Richard Heeks, from Exeter, used a fast shutter speed of 1/500th of a second and chose a perfect wind-free day so nothing would disturb his shoot, while his wife Sarah provided the all-important finger. A bubble is made up of three layers - one thin layer of water sandwiched between two layers of soap molecules. As Mrs Heeks's finger breaks the surface tension, the perfect sphere is replaced by a round mass of soapy droplets which dissolve into the air. And the bubble is gone. Mr Heeks, a student, used a macro camera to get in close and had to wait patiently for a windless day. He even had to find a sheltered spot in his garden so any sudden gust would not disturb the shoot. It took him a month until he got the sequence right after seeing his nieces playing with bubble mixture. 'I was looking ideas for new things to photograph and I just thought the bubbles looked beautiful and with a bit of luck I managed to get one mid burst,' he said. 'That's what started it off. 'One day I was so absorbed in the project I didn't notice a group of builders watching me. I think I must have looked a bit of an idiot, but maybe they thought it was fascinating. Who knows, because I got embarrassed and scuttled back into the house.' A bubble is actually made up of three layers - one thin layer of water sandwiched between two layers of soap molecules.  No matter what the shape the bubble is initially, it will always try to become a sphere because it as the smallest surface area and requires the least amount of energy to achieve. The biggest bubble ever blown was 50 feet by 2 feet in diameter. It was achieved by David Stein from New York in 1988.

بالتصوير البطيء : فقاعة صابون وهي تنفجر

ﻗﺎﻡ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﻮﺭ ﺭﻳﺘﺸﺎﺭﺩ ﻫﻴﻚ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﻘﺎﻁ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﺼﻮﺭﺓ ﺑﺎﺳﺘﺨﺪﺍﻡ ﻛﺎﻣﻴﺮﺍ ﺗﻠﺘﻘﻂ ﺻﻮﺭﺓ ﻛﻞ 1 ﻋﻠﻰ 500 ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﺜﺎﻧﻴﺔ ! ﻭﺣﺮﺹ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﺧﺘﻴﺎﺭ ﻳﻮﻡ ﻻ‌ ﻳﻜﻮﻥ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻱ ﺭﻳﺎﺡ ﻟﻀﻤﺎﻥ ﺛﺒﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻔﻘﺎﻋﺔ ﺿﻤﻦ ﺇﻃﺎﺭ ﺍﻟﻜﺎﻣﻴﺮﺍ

Port Campbell National Park

The Twelve Apostles in Victoria, Australia

The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. The Apostles are a collection of miocene limestone rock stacks jutting from the water in Port Campbell National Park, between Princetown and Peterborough on the Great Ocean Road. Tourism activities (including helicopter tours) are conducted from a visitor centre, situated on the inland side of the Great Ocean Road; with parking and viewing areas. Parks Victoria classifies the structure as nationally significant, with the area being one of Victoria’s major tourist features; attracting approximately two million visitors a year. The Apostles were formed by erosion: the harsh weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually eroded the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then became arches, which in turn collapsed; leaving rock stacks up to 45 metres (148 ft) high. The site was known as the Sow and Piglets until 1922; after which it was renamed to The Apostles for tourism purposes. The formation eventually became known as the Twelve Apostles, despite only ever having nine stacks. The stacks are susceptible to further erosion from the waves. On 3 July 2005, a 50 metre tall stack collapsed, leaving eight remaining. The rate of erosion at the base of the limestone pillars is approximately 2 cm per year. Due to wave action eroding the cliff face existing headlands are expected to become new limestone stacks in the future.

صـــــور : الرسل الإثنى عشر في ولاية فكتوريا الأسترالية

الرسل الاثني عشر هي عبارة عن مجموعة من أكوام الحجر الجيري قبالة شاطئ ميناء الوطنية بارك كامبل، من طريق المحيط العظيم في فيكتوريا، أستراليا. جعلت قربها من بعضها البعض في موقع من المعالم السياحية الشهيرة. الرسل هي مجموعة من مداخن الميوسين الصخور الكلسية البروز من المياه في ميناء الوطنية بارك كامبل، بين برنستون وبيتربورو على طريق المحيط العظيم. وتجرى الأنشطة السياحية (بما في ذلك رحلات طائرات الهليكوبتر) من مركز الزوار، وتقع على الجانب الداخلي من طريق المحيط العظيم، مع وقوف السيارات ومناطق المشاهدة. حدائق فيكتوريا يصنف هيكل كما كبيرة على الصعيد الوطني، مع المنطقة كونها واحدة من الميزات فيكتوريا السياحية الرئيسية؛ جذب ما يقرب من مليوني زائر سنويا. وتم تشكيل الرسل من قبل تآكل: الظروف الجوية القاسية من المحيط الجنوبي تآكلت تدريجيا من الحجر الجيري لتشكيل لينة الكهوف في المنحدرات، والتي أصبحت بعد ذلك الأقواس، والتي بدورها انهارت، تاركة أكوام الصخور تصل الى 45 مترا (148 قدم) عالية. كان من المعروف أن موقع مثل سو والخنازير حتى عام 1922، وبعد الذي أعيدت تسميته إلى الرسل لأغراض السياحة. تشكيل أصبحت في نهاية المطاف تعرف باسم الرسل الاثني عشر، على الرغم من الاضطرار فقط 9 المداخن. الكدسات عرضة لمزيد من التآكل من الأمواج. في 3 يوليو 2005، انهارت كومة 50 مترا طولا، ترك الثمانية المتبقية. معدل تآكل في قاعدة الأعمدة من الحجر الجيري حوالي 2 سم سنويا. ومن المتوقع أن يعود إلى العمل موجة تآكل الرؤوس وجه جرف القائمة لتصبح اكوام من الحجر الجيري جديدة في المستقبل

The Amazing Stilt Houses

The Amazing Stilt Houses of Soneva Gili in the Maldives

Soneva Gili by Six Senses is located in one of the largest lagoons in the Maldives, with jetties threading across crystal clear water out to spacious over-sized villas, providing spectacular water views of the ocean from every room. Set on the private tropical island of Lankanfushi in the Male’ Atoll, it is one of 19 atolls that stretch over 800 kilometres through the Indian Ocean, and is one of the 1190 islands which make up the Maldives. The resort is just a 20-minute speedboat ride from the International Airport at Male’, the capital of the Republic of Maldives Like many of the luxury resorts in the Maldives, Soneva Gili features stunning stilt houses for accommodation. It’s an incredible feeling to wake up from a sleep on the ocean and the warm weather and white sand beaches make the Maldives a tropical paradise. Below you will find an incredible gallery of pictures of this beautiful resort along with additional information about what makes Soneva Gili special. Enjoy!

Nepalese honey hunters

Just buzz-ness as usual... Fearless Nepalese honey hunters scale 250ft cliffs in pursuit of their prize - while under attack from the world's largest bees

For most of us, a pot of golden honey is only a supermarket away. But for the Rai people of Nepal, gathering the sweet stuff involves a death-defying climb on home-made ladders - and a four-hour mission to extract the precious nectar. To make matters worse, the daredevil hunters come under attack from swarms of the world's largest bee while perching 250ft up the side of a cliff. The honey seekers fashion ladders out of braided bamboo to access their prize, the toxic rhododendron honey produced by the Apis laboriosa bee. With no safety equipment and just a long stick to retrieve the honeycomb, they climb to dizzying heights until a nest has been sighted. When the honey is within their reach, each man spends a painstaking four hours slowly harvesting it by hand. The people from Bung valley leave each spring to brave the cliffs which play host to Apis laboriosa, the world's largest bee. They use sharpened bamboo poles to slice their way through the honeycomb before dropping it to the ground for other members to collect. Their only protection from falls comes from tying their feet to the makeshift bamboo ladders. Helpers light fires at the base of the cliffs in a bid to smoke the bees out, and the gesture inevitably prompts a massive swarm. As every swarm on the cliff will join the offensive, this can mean a 20 minute assault from over a hundred thousand furious bees. Mr Tourneret, from Paris, France, said: 'Despite looking fragile, the bamboo ladders are extremely strong. 'I used one to climb up alongside the Rai people and photograph them close up. 'Despite wobbling a bit, they feel a lot stronger than a normal metal one we use in the West. 'These people are very wise and know how to make nature work in their favour. 'Even though it is a dangerous activity, none of them looked at all fazed by the climb and process having been taught the skill by their fathers and their grandfathers before them.' Although it is some of the most sought-after honey in the world, toxic rhododendron is - as the name suggests - poisonous. An incautious consumer can often be left rolling on the ground with agonising cramps. The honey can fetch a huge price in South Korea, but the Rai people prefer not to trade it, believing it has therapeutic powers.

صـــــور : جـنـي الـعـســل في جـبــال الـهـمـلايـا ... " سبحان الله وبحمده "

    في دولة نيبال و على سفوح جبال الهملايا يوجد أنواع مختلفة من زهرة رودودندرون على ارتفاع ، بين 6000 و 19000 قدم. واكبر مجموعات من النحل في العالم تجتمع في هذا المكان. يقوم الناس في هذه المنطقة في نبيال بجمع الحبال و السلال ونقلها على سفوح الجبال بصعوبة ويتم جمع العسل من اعلى سفح الجبل بطرق بدائية و خطيرة ..