Photo Of The Day: Manhattan Skyline

by Meg Nesterov on

Tomorrow evening in New York City, you can witness a twice-a-year phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge, when the sunset perfectly aligns with the city’s grid and makes the streets glow. Manhattan already has one of the most photogenic skylines in the world, as demonstrated by this postcard-perfect shot by Flickr user James Adamson. His shot of the Empire State Building (still lit in holiday colors) in early January, when the winter evening light shows a different kind of beauty than the summer sunset, a little colder but just as magical.

Share your city shots in the Gadling Flickr pool for a future Photo of the Day. If you’d like to check out this year’s Manhattanhenge, see here for tips.

Video Of The Day: Barcelona Time-Lapse

by Elizabeth Seward on

“MIDNIGHT BARCELONA” from Pau García Laita on Vimeo.

What better way to see Barcelona at night than through the lens of time-lapse footage? This beautiful footage from the city was put together by Pau Garcia Laita. The lights of Barcelona against the night sky look surreal in this video and the music perfectly accompanies scenes of swirling motion from the cars’ headlights, the transformation of a periwinkle sky into a royal-blue sky into a midnight-blue sky and finally into a black sky, and the specific vibrancy this city exudes in the face of modernity, history and inspiring landscape. I’ve seen and posted a lot of time-lapse videos on Gadling, but this is one of my favorites so far.

[Thanks, Laughing Squid]

A Toy Tree In Brooklyn

by Elizabeth Seward on


When I caught a glimpse of this toy tree in Brooklyn, what surprised me most was that it didn’t surprise me. When you spend nearly a decade living in a city like New York, you begin to expect the unexpected, or rather, expect nothing and simultaneously categorize every possible crazy thing that might happen as expected. Toys aren’t the only things you’ll find hanging in Brooklyn and other boroughs of New York – shoes strewn across telephone wires are seen frequently. But no matter how unsurprised I was, this tree filled with toys is an extraordinary (and somewhat creepy) sight. And out of respect for the people who live near this tree, I’m not going to tell you where it is. I’m sure you’ll find it yourself if you ask around.

A World Health Map

by Elizabeth Seward on

Odra Noel is a scientific artist who has just created and released a piece she called “The Map of Health.” The map provides a visual representation of diseases affecting regions of the world. What’s more is that she uses depictions of affected body parts by each disease for each disease. The USA, which struggles with obesity and obesity-related diseases, is speckled with fat tissue. And with HIV being a leading cause of death in many countries of Africa, the continent is covered in images of blood cells. It’s an interesting and insightful map, one that might lend some thought or conversation about the people we meet when we travel and what kinds of illnesses they deal with regularly.

Thanks, Laughing Squid.

Fascinating Map Of London By Stephen Walter

by Elizabeth Seward on


Stephen Walter has a way of creating complex and obsessive art — specifically, maps. His maps of various areas in England are often enlightening, but he has himself beat with one of his latest creations: a fascinating map of London and its underground. The map was commissioned by the London Transport Museum and while doing his research for the project, Walter uncovered legions of undiscovered facts about London and began incorporating the eerie history beneath the surface of London into the map itself. The map isn’t all historical facts, though. Interjecting his own imagination with fabled stories and general lore alongside the facts, Walter created a map like no other — it transports you into a magical, parallel universe of London, where hearsay is marked and remembered.

[Thanks, Intelligent Life]