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We all know that a dog is man’s best friend, but what about a rabbit, a cat, and a guinea pig? In her sweet series, My Son and His Pets, photographer Ana Rosenberg documents her son’s undying companionship with these cuddly creatures.

The New Jersey-based photographer, artist, and mother-of-two captures intimate photos driven by intense yet tender emotion. With her children—11-year-old Analis and 8-year-old Alexander—as her primary subjects, Ana paints a raw and engaging picture of childhood. In My Son and His Pets, she zooms in on the touching relationship between Alexander and his furry friends.

Shot in a stark black-and-white palette, the series conveys a timeless and sentimental aesthetic. Ana shoots her son connecting with beloved pets, offering an glimpse into his world. Whether he’s cuddling with his puppy, blowing bubbles with his cat, goofing around with his rabbit, or lovingly cradling his guinea pig, each interaction visually expresses the innocence and tenderness of his youth.

Foregoing photographic perfection and striving instead for emotional energy, Ana successfully creates pieces that are both meaningful mementos of her son’s fleeting childhood and beautiful works of art.

Ana Rosenberg: Website | Flickr | Instagram 
via [Feature Shoot]

All images via Ana Rosenberg.

Most weddings experience their own form of unwelcome surprises, with some are easier to remedy than others. A wardrobe malfunction, however, ranks high among the things that brides want to avoid. Unfortunately, this exact scenario happened to a woman named Jo Du right before she walked down the aisle—as her bridesmaids were helping her into her gown, the zipper broke.

Unable to repair the dress, wedding photographer Lindsay Coulter suggested that they visit the next door neighbor’s house and ask for a pair of pliers. One bridesmaid went and returned with good news: the adjacent dwelling was hosting a family of Syrian refugees and the father happened to be a master tailor. Better yet, he’d be happy to help if needed.

“After a few minutes of further attempts there was a knock on the door,” Coulter wrote on Facebook, “and the neighbor along with the tailor and his son arrived to help, sewing kit in tow.” She left to snap photos and came back as Ibrahim Halil Dudu, the tailor, was putting the final stitches into the bride’s dress. Coulter captured the moment in a few photos.

Coulter learned that the Syrian family had just moved to Canada four days ago. “They didn’t speak a word of English,” she recalled, “and had been communicating by using Google Translate.” Continuing, “I couldn’t help but stand back in awe of the situation.”

The heartwarming sight was especially moving considering the turmoil the Halil Dudu and his family had seen back home. “Every weekend I take photos of people on the happiest days of their lives, and today one man who has seen some of the worst things our world has to offer came to the rescue.” Coulter said. “I’m in awe of the families who have welcomed these strangers into their homes and lives, and I’m inspired by the resilience of the Syrian people. We are truly blessed.”

Lindsay Coulter: Website | Facebook | Instagram
via [A Plus, The Huffington Post]

When the city of Antwerp needed a smart design to help them unite the city’s 500 port authority employees under one roof, the brief was multi-faceted. Not only would the building need to accommodate future expansion—Antwerp is Europe’s second largest port, handling 26% of the continent’s container shipping—but had to integrate the heritage of the protected former fire station already on site. In 2009, Zaha Hadid Architects unveiled their competition winning design. The project is one of 36 begun before Zaha Hadid’s passing in March and presents a magnificent solution in the voluminous structure that hovers above the fire station. By leaving the historical building’s facades exposed, the new architecture creates contrast and pays homage to the Belgian city’s past while harkening toward the future. The choice to build upward is not without historical precedent, as the original structure was intended to be a tower.

At 364 feet in length, almost twice that of the fire station, the New Port House expansion offers panoramic views of the Scheldt River, with the facade intended to reflect the changing colors and moods of the river. The glittering structure is composed of both opaque and transparent triangular facets that symbolically recall Antwerp’s status as a leader in the diamond industry. The facets also allow for controlled natural light, assuring a bright atmosphere that is less reliant on artificial light sources. Waterless lavatory fittings and motion detectors minimize water consumption, while parking accommodates 190 bikes and 25 electric cars. The waterfront location also afforded the possibility to transport much of the building material via water. A combination of these elements helped garner the building a “Very Good” BREEAM environmental rating. 

With a public reading room and library positioned in the enclosed courtyard of the fire station, the architecture considers both public and private sectors. In addition to new office space, the five-floor extension includes meeting rooms, an auditorium, restaurant, and an external bridge that connects to the old building. Whether it’s received as a floating ship or a glittering cluster of diamonds, Zaha Hadid Architects have created a piece of architecture destined to reshape the waterfront. 

Above: Photo via Hufton+Crow

Photo via Hufton+Crow

Photo via Hélène Binet

Photo via Hufton+Crow

Photo via Hufton+Crow

Photo via Hufton+Crow

Photo via Hufton+Crow

Photo via Hufton+Crow

Photo via Tim Fisher

Photo via Tim Fisher

Photo via Hélène Binet

Image via Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid Architects: Website | Facebook | Twitter
via [designboom]

Costa Rica is well known for its lush rainforests, astounding volcanoes, beautiful beaches, and diverse wildlife. The country also has a reputation for actively focusing on climate change initiatives and can now boast the title of running on 100% renewable energy for 76 straight days (and counting).

According to Costa Rica’s National Centre for Energy Control (CENCE), June 16, 2016 was the last day that fossil fuel-based energy was used on the national grid. Throughout August, the country has accumulated 150 days of renewable energy in 2016 alone. (Data for September activity use will be forthcoming.) This is the second time the Central American country has run for more than two months straight on renewable energy. In 2015, Costa Rica powered itself for almost 300 days (in terms of electricity generation) without burning oil, coal, or natural gas.

Above photo credit: Arturo Sotillo

Photo credit: Wiki Commons

Costa Rica is unique in that it’s powered on a mix of hydro, geothermal, wind, and solar energy, with hydropower providing about 80% of the total electricity for August. Geothermal plants contributed to about 13% of electricity generation in August, while wind turbines provided 7%, and solar 0.01%.

This impressive achievement is due to a couple advantages the country holds. Costa Rica is only about 19,700 square miles—a bit smaller than West Virginia at 24,231 square miles—and has a population of about 4.87 million people. This small population requires much less energy. Additionally, Costa Rica’s primary industries are tourism and agriculture versus energy-intensive industries such as mining or manufacturing. Heavy rains have also helped four big hydroelectric dams run above their usual capacity, allowing the country to turn off its diesel generators.

Even with these advantages, Costa Rica continues to make sustainability a top priority. The country is leading a massive hydroelectric project called Reventazón, run by the Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE). “Revantazón is the largest public infrastructure project in Central America, after the Panama Canal,” explained Mashable’s Maria Gallucci. “The dam’s five turbines will have a generating capacity of 305.5 megawatts – enough to power around 525,000 homes.”

Photo credit: Steve Jurvetson

While Costa Rica is undoubtedly setting an example in terms of how much focus it places on environmental sustainability, it also faces its own challenges. The country recently delayed its goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2021 to 2085. However, based on the progress the country has already made, 365 days of zero fossil fuels is surely on the horizon.

Photo credit: Trish Hartmann

Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE): Website | Report | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube
via [IFLScience, Mashable]

To nature enthusiast and self-proclaimed “lover of creative and adventurous things” Tobias Meyer, the sky is the limit.

Based in Switzerland—though seemingly always on the go—this 22-year-old travel photographer finds inspiration in the great outdoors. He documents his picturesque escapades on Instagram (under the pseudonym cosmokoala), where he shares everything from surreal sunsets to charming cabins and snowshoe hikes to helicopter rides. The result is a collage of beautifully-shot, wanderlust-inducing photos that read more as a stunning study of nature than as a social media account. 

Unsurprisingly, Meyer thrives on spontaneity and risk, throwing caution to the wind and believing that “the harder it is to get to the subject, the more unique the photograph will ultimately be.”  This thrill-seeking mantra materializes in amazing shots of steep cliffs, sky-high bridges, and cute-but-too-close-for-comfort bears. To Meyer, these once-in-a-lifetime moments—and consequent captures—are what traveling is all about: “An adventure means not knowing what to expect next.” Talk about a happy camper!

Tobias Meyer: Instagram | Website 
via [Instagram Blog]

All images via Tobias Meyer.

Artist Angela Schwer crafts clay sculptures that showcase the beautiful bounty of nature. Her intricate, detailed works are ripe with texture as leaves, fungi, sea urchins, and more are clustered together in decorative tiles to hang on your wall. Constructed in a single neutral color, the beauty of these organic shapes shine.

Schwer’s work revolves around the parts of nature that are often overlooked. “I could spend all day looking over fabrics, cellular photography, and the complexity of plant structures,” she writes. This fascination is translated into tiny, individually-formed elements that seemingly burst with life.

Although Schwer’s pieces look like porcelain, she actually produces them from polymer clay—a material that hardens in conventional ovens. “I enjoy the look of surprise when witnessing a shift in another’s perspective on what polymer clay can be used for,” she explains. “Previously considered a craft medium, I have found that polymer can be used in unexpected ways to create explosive pieces of art.”

These one-of-a-kind pieces are available through Schwer’s Etsy shop, DillyPad.

DillyPad: Website | Etsy

Rising up as spectral monsters, the New York City buildings captured by photographer Marc Yankus loom as giants in the urban landscape. The series of dreamlike images give new perspective to the architecture, and by pulling back to show his subjects in their naked context Yankus forces the viewer to observe their raw impact. The solitude that inhabits the photographs are in stark contrast to the normally buzzing city streets. This solitude enhances the magnitude of the historical buildings, which stand as silent witnesses to the passages of time. The alternating cool and warm tones of the photographs lend a cinematic quality to the series, where the buildings appear to be ripped from the set of a post-apocalyptic science fiction film.

Yankus’ work also serves as a time capsule of the evolving urban fabric. Some images commemorate the majestic past, while others look toward a decaying future. “On my way to the museum one day [when I was a boy], I was horrified to see wrecking crews knocking down one of my favorite buildings, a Beaux-Arts apartment building on 79th Street. In the months that followed, a monstrosity of a tower rose in its place. And while that eyesore is still standing today, the lost building—gone now for 40 years—endures in my memory [as] a fading, elegiac postcard of a lost time and place. In my current artwork, I seek to document New York’s iconic, lost, and forgotten architecture, from humble, small buildings to soaring skyscrapers. . . The buildings are not presented simply as they are. Muted of distracting visual noise, they represent my vision of how they ought to be seen.”

The Secret Lives of Buildings will be on view at ClampArt in New York from October 13 – November 26, 2016.

Marc Yankus: Website | Facebook | Instagram
via [archatlas]

All photos via Marc Yankus

Today, thanks to publicly accessible, digitized—or photographically reproduced—collections, art lovers can virtually “visit” museums through the screens of their computers, smartphones, and tablets. One major institution that has embraced this new technology is New York’s famed Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In addition to browsing prominent pieces from its permanent collection (over 70,000 reproductions are available online), now, you can explore every exhibition presented by the museum since its grand debut in 1929.

According to Michelle Elligott, the museum’s Chief of Archives, the new exhibition history tool offers “free and unprecedented access to The Museum of Modern Art’s ever-evolving exhibition history.” It commences with the museum’s inaugural exhibition—a showcase of Post-Impressionist greats like Cézanne, Gauguin, Seurat, and Van Gogh—and will continue to grow, “with new and forthcoming exhibitions appearing in the history as soon as they’re added to the calendar on MoMA’s website.”

Each exhibition materializes before your eyes with installation photographs, digitized reproductions of catalogues (including rare and out-of-print publications), master checklists, and press releases. Any show is also easily searchable, with selections narrowed down based on keyword, “type” (exhibitions, film series, performance programs, and other installations), and decade.  

Now you can stroll (and scroll) down memory lane with state-of-the-art ease.

Above image: Installation view of Cézanne, Gauguin, Seurat, Van Gogh (November 7–December 7, 1929)

 Installation view of Cubism and Abstract Art (March 2–April 19, 1936)

Installation view of Abstract Painting and Sculpture in America (January 23–March 25, 1951)

 Installation view of Masterpieces from the Collection (March 2, 1982–March 1, 1983)

Installation view of Monet’s Water Lilies (September 13, 2009–April 12, 2010)

Installation view of Painting & Sculpture II (November 20, 2004–August 5, 2015)

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): Website | Blog
via [Mental Floss] 

All images via MoMA.

Born and raised on the east side of Oahu, Hawaii, Morgan Halas is obsessed with anything and everything that has to do with the ocean. As evident through the photographs and videos on his website and Instagram, he loves spending time in the open water whether it’s diving, surfing, or capturing incredible and rare footage of ocean life. Many of his images, particularly his Water Shoot series, feature experienced free divers like himself placed within the ocean environment and evoke a sense of surrealism and romanticism. His unique ability to capture light at deep depths and accentuate the graceful poses of his underwater subjects produce these peaceful, dreamlike images.

Halas does not consider himself a photographer. He dabbled in photography in high school but did not fully submerge himself in the activity until around 2014 or 2015. When he realized the surrounding landscape and places he loved most were also extremely photogenic, he decided to delve further into photography and share them through film.

Environmental conservation is naturally a topic close to his heart, as Halas treasures the time he spends among ocean wildlife. His portfolio includes beautiful moments of sharks, dolphins, turtles, and stingrays, as well as awe-inspiring locations in Oahu and throughout Hawaii. We were grateful for the opportunity to ask Halas some questions about his photography. Scroll down to read our exclusive interview.

How did you first decide to start shooting photography underwater? What appeals to you most about shooting these types of photos?

Growing up in Hawaii, you are kind of destined to be in the water. I think it is second nature for anyone from here to pick up a camera and end up taking it into the ocean. Underwater photos to me have a dramatic feeling. I like the high contrast settings and the way the light appears underwater.

How do you select which subjects you work with and what is the process of working with them?

Most of the people I shoot are experienced free divers. The process is easy working with them because the sport of free diving is very relaxed and controlled, which makes for great photos. If I’m not shooting a free diver, I usually have a few basic poses that most people can achieve. Light, the clarity of the water, and being safe is very important when I am shooting. I take all my photos while free diving and it very important to know your limits. Shallow water blackouts are very common in free diving and could lead to death if you aren’t diving with a partner.

Besides photos of people under water, you also shoot wildlife and scenic photography. What is the creative process behind these photos?

Wildlife is by far my favorite to shoot. There is no greater feeling than having a positive interaction with a wild animal in the ocean. Most animals in the ocean are very curious about humans. It is so cool to watch them come and inspect you. It is kind of hard to get a good photo of them though, because you can’t instruct them. You just have to hope that the moment is right. I think that is why its so fulfilling to get a good shot of an animal. You have to put in the time and patience, and also be lucky. 

What messages do you hope to convey through your photography?

I try hard to portray feelings in my photos and the way I edit them. There is no greater feeling than looking at a photograph and noticing all the little details that help to tell a story. I hope my photos inspire passion to constantly strive and reach goals. I also hope my photos inspire people to love nature more, and to reveal that animals have feelings just like us. It is funny how people are so surprised when they do realize this.

What other projects are you working on, and what is next for you?

Right now I am working with my friend Natalie Parra and Keiko Conservation on projects to spread awareness for ocean conservation. I am not sure what is next for me, but whatever it is I’m excited for new opportunities. 

Morgan Halas: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Morgan Halas.