Margarida Rebelo

Photos from {cindy}, ana rien, HOWLD, and Gilderic Photography.

Many of you are experts in capturing those spectacular scenes of low-lying clouds. From strands of mist lining mountain slopes to hilltop chapels barely above blankets of fog to haze snaking through valleys, the foggy atmosphere adds welcomed mystique to all sorts of environments.

See, and share, more photography in the Fog Immersions gallery and Fog and Rain group.

Photos from Manuel.Martin_72, D.H. Parks, Kevin Day, eDDie_TK, Michael Mehl, andywon, Massimo Feliziani, dsovercash, and lorenzo sgalippa.

If there ever was a post that deserved the “Impending Doom” tag, this is it.

Sent in by Nadya N. as seen on Reddit.

Yub-yub. In the decades since our first film appearance, we Ewoks have borne the brunt of blame for the silly direction the Star Wars franchise took in the 80′s. Taunts like “jumped the shark,” “beginning of the end,” and “glorified toy commercial” endure to this day, shaming our families. We wish to remind the public that we are merely the creations of writers with no grasp of plot logic, which explains why a primitive race can learn to operate alien speeder bikes in seconds.

Also, if you people can tolerate midichlorians and Jar-Jar Binks, you can bloody well lay off us for a while. Yub-yub and goodnight.

The Force is strong in Frederique, Lori R.

Once upon a time, there was a cat named Merwin who had a problem with dogs. No matter where he went, the dogs would snarl, and bark, and chase him. He just had that kind of face, I suppose. Dogs hated it. Go figure.

On one particularly strenuous day, in which Merwin had been chased across two counties, he took refuge in a Dumpster and lamented his fate. “Why, oh why,” he moaned, “don’t dogs like me?”

Just then, Merwin saw a strange blue light coming from a coffee can. “I’m the Fairy of Goodness and Justice,” said the can, “and I will grant you your heart’s one desire.” Merwin knew at once what he wanted. “Please, good fairy,” he pleaded. “Make me something that dogs will like.” And so the fairy turned him into a tree.

Later, the tree was turned into plywood, and the plywood was turned into a table, and the table was marked down at the twice-yearly Bargain Blowout Bonanza at Gary’s House of Unfinished Furniture, and that’s the unvarnished truth. The end.

Via Reddit.

“All right, everyone, places please! Corgis, enter when you hear the drum roll and watch that first step. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnd…”

Cuteporter Jen S. send these in from Southern California, and says, “Are you ready for this? Betty the “Bee-ver” is ready for the OC Zoo Halloween Zoo-tacular event in Orange, CA. (It’s today from 10am-4pm PT.) Betty is leash-trained, so the staff can give visitors an up-close look to learn more about her.”

“For the other animals, treats are hidden in pumpkins for the animals to discover. The wonderful zoo staff dress up some of the animals they work with.”

“The animals at the zoo are mostly rescues that can’t be released back into the wild.”

“The staff find all sorts of creative ways to keep the animals entertained and active.”

Many of you made good use of flights by capturing what our world looks like from above. In these aerial photos, waterways and canyons etch intricate swirls and serrated contours through land colorized with sediment and sunlight, while distant fields appear like patchwork of a detailed quilt.

See, and share, more photos in the Fantastic Flightscapes gallery and Window Seat Please group.

Photos from Habbenwelt, SomePhotosTakenByMe, chrisotruro, xpgomes14, Daniel Incandela, Alf Gillman, V31S70, and wfxue.

The Romans built hundreds of bridges and conduits to deliver water via gravity across their empire, and many of these marvels of civil engineering still remain in varying conditions.

See more photography in the Ancient Aqueducts gallery and Aqueducts group.

Photos from dkilim, Goutkin, mathrong, sebastien.barre, questforfire2010, temte_mc, Le Monde1, -keka-, jacqueline_poggi, calafellvalo, urban_lenny, and nkarabiber.

Photographer Saffron Blaze states the mesmerizing appeal of these seasonal shots well. He titled an afternoon scene (top photo) of reflected colors from shoreline trees as “Nature’s Rorschach Test.” And as you can see here, other nature lovers found special spots at rivers, lakes, and ponds worldwide to shoot amazing landscapes of fall foliage.

See, and share more photos in the Fall Foliage Scenery gallery and Fall Foliage group.

Photos from Saffron Blaze, Bonnie M., RuthChoi, Patrick_K, SunnyDazzled, chris lazzery, diamir8000, jcnikon, dsovercash, allisonherreid, Christopher Wisker, and Dave Toussaint.

“I am about to buy a house in a foreign country. A house with the beautiful name of Bramasole. It is tall, square, and apricot-colored with faded green shutters, ancient tile roof, and an iron balcony [...]. The balcony faces south-east, looking into a deep valley, then into the Tuscan Apennines.”

These are the words that Frances Mayes uses in Under the Tuscan Sun to describe the Italian landscape so typical for Tuscany. While it may sound like an idealized view of the landscape, it is accurate.

Not without reason was the Val d’Orcia with its farmland, vineyards and olive plantations stretching hills and valleys lined with cypresses as far as the eye can see, which was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2004.

It’s “exceptional reflection of the way the landscape was re-written in Renaissance times to reflect the ideas of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing picture” and for the landscape’s celebration “by painters from the Scuola Senese.” Their “Images of the Val d’Orcia, and particularly depictions of landscapes where people are depicted as living in harmony with nature, have come to be seen as icons of the Renaissance and have profoundly influenced the development of landscape thinking.”

Enjoy the flair of Tuscany and discover more typical landscapes in our Tuscany and Val d’Orcia image searches.

Photos from Dennis_F, Kirstin Mckee, DWH284, MiaRossy, and Mirko M..

“As a kid, I liked sneaking into abandoned places and haunted houses,” says photographer Troy Paiva, known on Flickr as Lost America. ”It’s that spooky factor.”

“I guess I just never grew out of that,” he tells The Weekly Flickr in the accompanying video. “Everyday, there’s a never-ending list of unique, strange… or access-sensitive locations for me to shoot… and I love that!”

Wandering the deserted backroads of the American Southwest, Troy has explored the abandoned underbelly of America since the 1970s.

“When I was a kid, my family made road trips all over the West,” Troy says. ”I witnessed firsthand the demise of all these little roadside towns. I was only 12 years old, but was amazed people would just walk away from a whole city like that. Once I began driving myself, I began to explore these sites on my own in a much deeper way.”

Troy started taking pictures of these abandoned towns at night in 1989. He calls his method ‘night photography’ — timed exposures out in the desert, under a full moon.

“There’s only 12 full-moon weekends a year, so there’s a very limited number of days that you can actually do this kind of photography,” Troy says. “I think that’s part of the attraction for me; the rarity of it.”

His technique is very simple. Troy uses a DSLR on a tripod and locks the lens open for two to eight minutes. Many of the subjects he shoots are already gone: bulldozed, burned down, melted for scrap or simply vanishing beneath the shifting desert sand. Mobility is important, because most of the time, he’s sneaking in and out of these locations.

“I have to work fast and light,” Troy explains. “I’ve come close to being arrested dozens of times. I’ve been rousted by every kind of security, from minimum-wage guards to border patrol to even federal agents, but I’ve always been able to talk my way out of it. Once they see what I’m doing, and that I’m just a harmless weirdo taking pictures, usually they’ll say, ‘Alright, have fun. Weirdo.’”

Troy’s colored lighting is done with either flashlights or strobe flashes masked with theatrical lighting gels. While he does minor digital adjustments to some of the photographs, most of the lighting effects are all done on site during the exposure. These images are not Photoshop creations.

“With my lighting, I’m trying to create something that really isn’t there,” Troy explains. “I’m always trying to tell a story, create a mood, and I’m trying to just make people go, ‘Wow’.”

One of Troy’s favorite images is called Mrs. B’s Dirty Washcloth. It’s of a Cadillac interior in a junkyard.

“The thing that caught my eye here is obviously the dirty washcloth,” Troy explains. “I love the mystery and the incongruity of it. Why is the washcloth on the steering wheel in the first place? I’m just fascinated by these weird kind of mysteries and things that you find in abandoned places and junkyards.”

Troy isn’t the only one who has this fascination. His work and style has gained worldwide attention, appearing in major publications and in several foreign museums/galleries. The attraction and interest to his “Lost in America” series has captivated many; a reason, he says, is innately human.

“I think it’s a normal feeling for humans to be mystified and curious in abandoned places,” Troy explains. “You look at the history of humanity and our attraction to places like Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, the Greek, Roman and Egyptian ruins. They’re all pointing to the fact that we’re obsessed with ruins as a species.”

More than anything, Troy loves the serenity he feels in these places. He explains, “I love that feeling of being alone in a place that was crawling with people but is now empty and filled with their ghosts. And the ghosts of a culture.”

When asked how much longer he’ll continue night photography, his answer is quite simple.

“I’ve been doing this for 24 years now, and I still have the approach of an amateur. I don’t do this to please anyone. I do it because I’m passionate about it, and this is what I love to do.”

Follow Troy’s photostream to see more of his photography.

Watch a previous episode, featuring a risk-taking photographer shooting urban decay.

Do you want to be featured on The Weekly Flickr? We are looking for your photos that amaze, excite, delight and inspire. Share them with us in the The Weekly Flickr Group, or tweet us at @TheWeeklyFlickr.

Photos from Taiwan’s Taroko National Park, where bridges, a waterfall, and a gorge of marble attract sightseers seeking natural beauty and a getaway on an island with a population of 23 million people.

See, and share, more photos in the Taiwan’s Taroko Park gallery.

Photos from Edyta Knapik, jareed, Phototroph, - syphrix -, edwin.11, kalmenias, and BRIANCHAO.

A selection of photography from beaches and shores across the globe, including scenery at these picturesque locations: Sunshine Beach, Australia | Koganezaki, Japan | Point Reyes, California | Piha, New Zealand | Biscaia, Portugal | Cemagi, Indonesia

See, and share, more photos in the Coastal Scenery gallery and Beaches of the World group.

Photos from jason james gallery, -TommyTsutsui-, Joe Parks, Alex Schwab, vkalra29, StillBelieven, CResende, and eggysayoga.

Photos from Indonesia, a country of over 17,508 islands. The densely populated nation has a uniqueness in natural scenery and culture that’s made it a top destination for tourists, especially the temples and active volcano Mount Bromo.

See, and share, more photos in the Sights of Indonesia gallery and Indonesia group.

Photos from d.r.i.p., steinliland, =anja=, T.I.T.A., Arafinwë, and rbnisonfire, uploaded during the weekend.

Now in its fifth year, the Royal Observatory of the Royal Museums Greenwich conducts the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

This time, the competition received a record number of over 1200 entries from 49 countries. The best of these exceptional photographs – winners, runners-up or highly commended in the competition’s different categories and special prizes – are showcased in a free exhibition in the Royal Observatory’s Astronomy Centre which is open to the public from 19 September 2013 until 23 February 2014 from 10.00 – 17.00.

Without further ado, here are the winners:

| Guiding Light to the Stars from markg<<, overall winner of the competition and of the Earth and Space category.

| Celestial Impasto: sh2–239 from ngc1535, winner of the Deep Space category
| The Milky Way Galaxy from Jacob Marchio, winner of the Young Astrophotographers category
| Corona Composite of 2012: Australian Totality from Pachacoti, winner of the Our Solar System category

| Moon Silhouettes from markg<<, winner of the People and Space category
| The Trapezium Cluster and Surrounding Nebulae from László Francsics, winner of the Robotic Scope category

| Venus Transit, Foxhunter’s Grave, Welsh Highlands from Sam Cornwell, winner of the Best Newcomer category

Congratulations to our members who won or have been lauded as runners-up or highly recommended in one of the competition’s categories!

Every September the annual Great Reno Balloon Race (GRBR), the world’s largest free hot-air ballooning event, takes place in Reno, Nevada, and this year had plenty of talented photographers in attendance to capture the mass ascension and balloon-filled sky.

See, and share, more photos in the Reno Balloon Race gallery and Hot Air Balloons Worldwide group.

Photos from tony p photos, zhigangzhang, danishdynamite, The Happy Campers, Eric B 63, and Josh Hawley.

Glacier National Park, Montana, attracts nature lovers with it’s serene landscapes and wildlife habitat. Filled with lakes, mountains, and prairies, photographers give this destination plenty of attention from vantage points across the spectacular terrain.

See, and share, more photos in the Glacier National Park gallery and Glacier National Park group.

Photos from Hassy Chick Kalai, Jeff Pang, ThorsHammer94539, Marko Stavric, brodmann’s 17, Gym Girl!, Stella Blu, chaines9, TravelMichi, and lahorstman.

Many of you had the fortunate opportunity to explore the outdoors at high elevations, and here’s a sample of the vast mountain landscapes from hiking destinations worldwide.

Explore more photography from a few locations featured here: Vârful Peleaga, Retezat Mountains, Romania | Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming | Otago, New Zealand | Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy | Mt. Temple, Canada

See, and share, more photos in the Stunning Summit Views gallery.

Photos from r3vision, stuartmb1, Katherine Ross, _eins_durch_f_, Daniel_Ernst, PhiiiiiiiL, Anna Ristuccia, ng.greg, and Navi-Gator.

E já no dia 12 de dezembro que chega às salas de cinema nacionais a segunda parte da trilogia "The Hobbit".

Sim, é um filme inútil, desnecessário e profundamente capitalista. Mas que se dane. Eu vou lá estar na mesma.

O novo trailer de "The Desolation of Smaug" já anda por aí.

An hilarious Youtube compilation of various vine videos from a dad who wears a Batman mask while making fun of his kids and wife. An awesome way to keep your family entertained while making money from Youtube.

[Batdad | Via LS]

Buzzfeed titled this video 9 Body Hacks That Will Save Your Life, but I think this is kind kind of an overstatement, “improve your life” would certainly be more appropriate.

[Buzzfeed]