In the hands of Flickr user verargulla, these Gold Coast surfers seem to exist in a silver-gold haze – a dreamy netherworld of mist, skyscrapers and cooperative waves. It’s enough to make the idea of surfing attractive even to those who’ve never successfully ridden a wave.
Upload your best images of surfers, skyscrapers and dislocated fantasies to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. We select our favorites from the pool to be Photos of the Day.
Today marks the 51st anniversary of manned space travel, and if you happen to be in a former Soviet country, you may be celebrating Cosmonautics Day. On April 12, 1961, 27-year-old Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space, orbiting the Earth for nearly two hours. The USSR beat the US in the space race by just three weeks, and two years later, Russia would send the first woman to space. Flickr user (and new father, congrats!) AlphaTangoBravo snapped this picture of a Russian Cosmonauts poster he picked up in Moscow. You can celebrate the anniversary of space travel, or Yuri’s Night, at parties around the world.
Have any travel photos commemorating historic travel dates? Add ’em to the Gadling Flickr pool for another Photo of the Day.
“I wanted to see Cuba before it changes,” starts off “Incubation,” a short travel film by French multimedia artist Guillaume Le Berre. “But I’m the one that has been changed.”
Through photos and videos captured over a 15-day trip, Le Berre offers a nostalgic look at life in modern-day Cuba. Some of the images are expected: smiling children playing baseball, grand automobiles from the 1950s, sexy salsa dancers at night. Others are more striking: men scavenging in garbage cans, vultures picking at animal carcasses, concrete walls with the letters “CHE” outlined repetitively. With Cuba’s natural beauty juxtaposed against such contrasts, it’s easy to see why the filmmaker was changed, and to remember what it is about travel that changes us all.
[via EcoSalon]
Scuba diving is a hobby that many travelers enjoy. People traverse the globe looking for the best dive sights and new adventures. While most scuba divers consider any excursion in which they see a new fish or sea creature a success, the young man in this video had a bigger catch in mind: his girlfriend. He proposed underwater in Riviera Maya, Mexico after plotting with the dive crew for six months leading up to the trip. The YouTube video description provides more details:
Once in the water, we dived for approximately 25 minutes until we both sat on the bottom of the ocean floor with fish, turtles, and lobsters all around. Once we sat, Emily thought we were actually taking a group picture. She had no idea she was about to be engaged!
I pulled out a board that I had written on, “I love you so much. Will you marry me?” I pulled the ring out of a shell that I had hidden it in. She was so confused she didn’t know what to do. Also, with scuba diving, you can’t give a thumbs up, because it simply means to surface, so we we’re left to enjoy out satisfaction with the “OK” sign.
OK indeed.
This Sunday marks the Easter Holiday in much of the world, and worshippers everywhere are marking the day with uniquely local traditions. As evidence check out this photo taken by Flickr user Aldaberto.H.Vega in Honduras. As part of Semana Santa locals lay out brilliant “carpets” on the streets composed of colorful sawdust and flowers documenting the Stations of the Cross. The Gadling team liked the eye-catching visuals of the scene so much that fellow blogger Meg Nesterov used almost exactly the same image in a photo during Easter 2011. Seems like quite a sight to see, whether you’re a practicing Christian or simply curious about the world.
Have any great photos to share from your own travels? Why not upload them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.