Photo of the day (11.11.10)


At first glance, I thought this photo was an aerial view of the sea with the gorgeous, saturated aqua green color, looking down from the clouds. Then I saw the tiny airplane silhouettes and realized it was looking *up* at 3,700 feet. Flickr user StefanTrego soared above upstate New York in an ASK-21 glider plane (which apparently has semi-reclining seats, pretty comfy for a tiny plane) with Harris Hills Soaring Club and has this shot to prove it. Certainly makes flying lessons look tempting for views and perspectives like this.

Have you ever taken flying lessons or seen the world from far above? Send your photos to our Flickr Pool and it could be our next Photo of the Day.

Photo of the day (11.24.08)

This is an aerial shot of Lake Nasser, in Abu Simbel, Egypt, taken by flickr user BrittElizabeth. Great shot. But how must it have been taken? From a helicopter, or from a high cliff facing the lake? Or with some super lens?

I also like this shot because it’s not something you expect to see when you think of Egypt. In the glory of the Pyramids and the local culture there, we forget that there exist remote, dry, desert-like spots. I also find this shot interesting as it shows arid land next to water; makes you wonder why there isn’t more vegetation in this area.

Got a pic you want considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Submit it here.

A screensaver that can make frequent fliers feel at home?

One of the signs that you are flying too much, is when you can’t sleep in your own bed without the soothing background noise of a jet engine, or when you find yourself looking out your bedroom window and feeling annoyed that all you see is the street, and not puffy clouds.

If you fit that description, then I suggest checking out Holding Pattern “First Class”. Holding Pattern is a screensaver for the Mac and PC that shows panoramic scenery from 57 different flight routes. The program has some of the worlds prettiest shots, including aerial photography of New Zealand, the Sahara, the Great Barrier Reef and Mount Rainier.

The photo you see above, is a real snapshot of how amazing the application looks. True flight junkies can turn on engine noise, set the time zone of the images, the flight path, the cruising speed and even the plane population (imagine being able to turn off seatmates in real life!). If you are lucky enough to have more than one monitor, you can even stretch the view over multiple screens.

Holding Pattern costs just $17.95, but you can get a taste of how nice it looks with their free version, Holding Pattern “Coach Class”. Of course, since this is a free version, you don’t get as many features, and only 15 different aerial views. Once you’ve installed this, you’ll probably be like me, and upgrade to first class right away!

You can download Holding Pattern here, just don’t blame me if you spend all day at work staring at your approach into LAX, instead of getting some real work done.