After the reaction to my first group of interesting photos I've decided to post a second group of photos. Again, all of these are regular photos and none of them have been altered or photoshopped. Usually I'll comment on the photos but I'll let everyone submit their own this time. On the first one, take a step back and take a look. It's like she's behind a curtain.

One of the most beautiful photos I've seen

All of these photos found at the Something Awful forums, the most interesting forum on the net

Perhaps it's like "The Hatch" in Lost. You see something like the door below and can't help but to think of the world that could be below. We see something and we absolutely have to know what's inside. Welcome to the world of Urban Exploration. The exploration of all things abandoned or closed from society for years. The only thing more exciting than entering a world of years gone by is the unbelievable photography that can result. Here are 5 sites that share the world of urban exploration either through amazing photography or interesting discussion.

1. Opacity

To merely call this a site of photos of abandoned buildings wouldn't be doing the creator, Motts, justice. I consider Motts one of the finest photographers I know. I think he states it best in this quote " Once a building no longer serves its purpose, and all of its functionality ceases to exist, it becomes truly fascinating. Each room is transforming into something new at its own rate, yielding to the forces of nature as it reclaims man's creation" Motts specializes in abandoned hospitals and institutions and captures them in a way that will most likely stir up some emotion, usually fright or fascination. You can feel the emotion and
history in every photo

2. Urban Exploration Resource. UAR is a Canadian web community of urban explorers. The picture section is fantastic (a few selections can be seen below) and even has a section for photographers to have their photos critiqued.

3. The site of David McMillan photos. David's photos have been featured all over the net. He has become famous for his pictures of Chernobyl, 10 years later. Most people have seen some of his work by now (below) but most have never made it to his actual site. Haunting and brilliant.

The 28 Days Later Forum. Within this site is a subculture of UK based urban explorers. A site made up of roughly 4000 members that trade locations and discuss their latest trips. It tends to lean more towards amateur explorers but the discussion flows freely and compared to other sites, the members seem to gladly give directions and information about their latest finds. I get a kick out of how the forum is broken down. High stuff, leisure sites, industrial sites, military sites, underground, and other. I think that pretty much covers it. And again, beautiful photography within.


The WebUrbanist: The 7 Deserted Wonders of the Post Modern World has been a huge internet success. WebUrbanist was the site that introduced me to the unbelievable photography that can result in urban exploration. The posts show a knack for combining imagery and themes in a way that makes you want to click links to find out more. The "hobbit home" from below was one of my favorite ([from this story]) . The site touches on things most people have never heard of and most likely will never see in person and that's why I continue to visit. WebUrbanist has a great collections of abandonments images and
information as well as a beginner's guide to urbex an other abandonments resources. On a humorous side note, I also realized from this site that pictures look better if you outline them with a thick black line.

You have to watch the video to believe this. These fans use their clothes to display signs. No cards just one color on the front, one color on the back, and when they open their jackets one more color. Very cool

For some reason, I've recently taken an interest in Mt. Everest. What could be more amazing than standing on the highest point in the world? With over 400 summits and "only" 11 deaths in 2006 , I have read some stories in magazines and on the Internet, about how the average person now has a chance to reach the summit. Some go as far as calling Everest a "tourist trap" They often say it is now too easy and too crowded on the mountain and that the challenge has been taken away. I call BS and say it is as dangerous as ever with more people dying in 2005 as any time in the last 10 years and a major disaster is just around the corner. Last year you had a one chance in 40 of dying, but overall it is still 1 in 20. Here are some photos and explanations why it is as dangerous as ever.

You don't get many bad steps on Everest. Now combine these with fatigue, low visibility, and inexperience and you have death. In the second photo, this formation later collapsed killing two men in the process.

Avalanches and blinding snowstorms still happen and are the leading causes of death. 2-1 over falls. There are just more climbers to kill now.

In January, the coldest month, the summit temperature averages about -36° C (about -33° F) and can drop as low as -60° C (-76° F). In July, the warmest month, the average summit temperature is -19° C (-2° F). At no time of the year does the temperature on the summit rise above freezing. Frostbit isn't a killer but it sure gives you something to remember your trip by.

Yes, it's getting crowded. It's these unexperienced people that won't know how to handle a situation should it become dangerous. This is also a once in a lifetime chance for many and they will will attempt the summit no matter what the conditions. Experienced climbers go on to the top only once out of every 3 chances .

Everest can cause coughs so rough that that your ribs splinter like balsa wood. It is nicknamed the "Khumbu cough". Also, because of it's altitude, the snow and ice become so bright that if you don't have eye protection it will certainly cause snowblindness. Imagine trying to face all the above while being completely blind. If you do have trouble, it doesn't get any better, see below.

If you get "in a bad way" on a summit attempt there isn't much chance of getting help. It takes every bit of energy and strength to make it up and down. Trying to take another person with you is almost impossible. Even if they could, anyone outside of your team probably won't help you because of this. There have more than a few instances of this, where they leave you to die. Don't believe the old "we'll come back for you" lines.

I'm sure you realize that the air is a bit thin up there. Yes some people attempt a summit without oxygen but those are the truly experienced or the truly crazy. The rest of us will need it almost all the time just to have a chance. What if you run out or the line freezes up? How about the new climbers that take their empty canisters and set them precariously on the side of the mountain only to become missiles to the climbers below? In England if your blood oxygen level drops below 90%, the doctor can legally make decisions for you. On Everest, the highest level recorded is 82%.

So go ahead. Pay your $70,000. If Playboy Playmate Martyna Wojciechowska (second from left) can do it, why can't you, right? Go ahead , I'll meet you at the top.

How in the world could this be funny? The video itself is not that funny but after you watch it go to the comments here over at digg. I got a kick out of the kids over there on this one.

You've seen it a million times. The effect of Digg or Reddit on a site but what you don't see all that often is the results of one article being on some of the top humor sites and digg and comparing the hits that result from each. Digg certainly has the most response but many of the other sites have suprisingly good hits as well and combined are quite a force. This is the hit results from a tattoo article I had this month and the sources . It really points out how many hits the big humor sites can send out. This is over the course of a week.

The other tech sites that tend a ton of hits are boing boing, endgadget, and now techcrunch. Combined they may be able to top these . Of course on the humor side the big boy is Fark who can send 50K on a good day. I realize these numbers are personal and based on my one story. The hits could differ greatly story to story but I think these are pretty good averages for all the sites. I have been dugg before with story reaching 3500 diggs and the numbers were about the same from digg on that one as compared to the tattoo post. In conclusion I believe the humor world is bigger than the tech world and capable as a group sending much more traffic to your site as a collection. I just happened to get a story on both world to be able to compare the two. One thing they both have in common. The readers from both sites come and go and don't stick around. No comments, no clicks, no problem.

The guys over at Freakingnews had a contest to have users submit a picture combining two faces of famous people using photoshop. From left to right Orlando Bloom with Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Will Smith and Bill Clinton. Here are more of the top photos.