Photo of the Day (10.28.08)

by Grant Martin on

Usually I pick a Photo of the Day that’s somehow reflects on my current situation or feeling as I shop around for photos. But sifting through some of the pictures during my weekly duties last week, I stumbled across the picture of a mosuqe taken by flickr user flicts in Istanbul.

I’m a sucker for mosque and cathedral photos, probably because I’m always in awe of the architecture and silence in the structures, and this photo was no exception. Great shot, flicts.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr, and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day 7-30-08

by Jamie Rhein on

The green first drew me to this photo and then the concept. This is a photograph turned into an artist’s statement of sorts. Adam Baker, AlphaTangoBravo calls this shot he took in Granada, Nicaragua this past June “Dos Partes.”

Even if Baker hadn’t divided this into two color schemes, there would have been two images. The men on the scooter (?) and the woman walking–blurred and in focus. The color division creates a surreal quality and an odd depth of field. Is the man in the front glancing at the woman and she at him?

Also, the building’s walls in need of repair are a contrast to the ornate details or the door frame. That’s another way to look at two parts. Robust and crumbling. Possibilities or dreams gone by. I’ve just finished reading Pico Iyer’s Sun After Dark, Flights into the Foreign, so perhaps I’m feeling a bit fanciful myself.

If you have a shot to share, send it our way at Gadling’s Flickr Photo Pool and it might be picked for a Photo of the Day.

Get lost in Osaka Japan’s craziest public park

by Jeremy Kressmann on

I had a chance to visit Osaka on my trip through Japan last month and I am convinced it has be one of the more bizarre places I’ve ever visited. In addition to gorging myself on deep-fried Octopus tentacles and fishing for live eels, I also discovered Osaka boasts some truly surreal architecture.

This instinct for surreal architecture also extends Osaka’s public spaces, including one of the city’s more recent additions, Namba Park. Rather than tear down the city’s under-used baseball venue, Osaka Stadium, city planners decided to remake the space into a futuristic public space, boasting a shopping complex and an awesome rooftop park. The park is composed of a series of terraced levels, filled with cliffs, waterfalls, ponds, trees and manicured sitting areas. Sounds like a fun place to wander around for an afternoon, doesn’t it?

What I find most interesting about Namba Park is the example it sets for other urban tourist areas. All too often if a building or stadium proves unpopular, the city will tear it down and put an ugly parking lot in its place. Rather than follow this depressing example, the city of Osaka chose to leave the shell of their old baseball stadium intact, offering tourists and locals alike a useful public space that offers a great hybrid of both the urban and the natural.

Photo of the Day (6/26/08)

by Kent Wien on

If you are on the way to Essaouria, Morocco and you need to find a toilet, no problem. Could this sign be any more travel friendly? This shot by mce323 interests me for other reasons as well. See the man and the child in the background? Plus, there’s the coffee cup painted on the wall. What’s that about?

If you notice, the pink building has a crack in it. There are so many details that catch my eye. I’m also drawn in by the multiple textures. Don’t you know exactly how that wall would feel if you could reach in and touch it?

If you have an image of what you’ve seen in your travels, send it our way at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool. It might be chosen as Photo of the Day.

Dubai plans “Tower in Motion”

by Abha Malpani on

Nothing phases me in Dubai anymore. Anything and everything is possible in this city, so when I read news like this: “Dubai plans self-powered skyscraper with individually rotating floors,” I’m quite numb.

Opening para: “A $350 million tower to be known as the Dynamic Architecture building is to be constructed in Dubai. The 68-story tower will feature floors that can be individually rotated via voice commands.”

So each floor of this building will rotate individually to create a building that constantly changes shape. (I’ve stopped asking “why” when it comes to such projects.) Also, it will use wind-turbines to generate electricity for itself and another 5 buildings its size — that’s actually pretty neat, not to mention green.

Construction will start this month and word is that a similar project is in plan for Moscow as well.