Smithsonian announced the 2012 Photo Contest 50 finalists on March 4, 2013. Now it’s your time to vote for the Readers’ Choice Award winner. Voting will be open until March 29th at 2PM EST.

I really like this one - tiny yet strong ants holding on to the fruits and each other. And the eyes and those mandibles… yikes. Photo by Eko Adiyanto (Bekasi, Indonesia). Photographed in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia.

For a better look at more neat photos, visit Smithsonian.com and cast your vote!

The 11th annual contest is now open until November 29, 2013 at 2:00 PM EST. On a weekly basis beginning April 2, Smithsonian judges will post the best of the incoming entries to Smithsonian Retina. Finalists will be announced on March 3, 2014.

Smithsonian also notes, “This year we are also looking forward to highlighting the best photographs taken with mobile devices. Let us know that it was taken with your phone or tablet reader and show us the wonders of this new generation of photography.” So that means folks with smart phones and tablets can enter to win too.

Here’s what the judges look for in a winning photo:

“Technical quality, clarity and composition are all important, but so too is a flair for the unexpected and the ability to capture a picture-perfect moment.”

Photo Contest Prize Details

Fifty finalists will be selected, ten for each of the five categories. Smithsonian will notify the 50 finalists by February 28, 2014. Finalists’ entries will be published on the magazine’s Web site on March 4, 2014. At that time, readers can vote online for one readers’ choice winner. The Smithsonian will award eight prizes, as follows:

Grand Prize: $2,500

Category Winners:
The winners of each of the five categories will receive $500

Readers’ Choice:
The winner of the online Readers’ Choice award will receive $500

Mobile:
The best photo in any of the five categories that was taken with a mobile device will receive $500.

One cash prize per person; winners may receive additional noncash prizes. Winners must sign a release and license, declaration of eligibility, and will be responsible for paying any taxes they may owe on a prize.

Photo from Smithsonian.

Animal Children by Edith Brown Kirkwood and illustrated by M.T. Ross. is a classic children’s book. It’s available for free at Project Gutenberg.

Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to “encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks”. Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. As of November 2011, Project Gutenberg claimed over 38,000 items in its collection.

In Animal Children, the illustrations are kind of strange, in a good funny way.

There all these animals dressed and appearing like humans. And the rhymes are written really well. Probably a good read for children under 10. Or the kid in all of us.

There’s a good variety of animals included in this book, from the lazy sloth to my favorite, the alpaca. The knitter in me loves how Miss Alpaca wears her own wool the best. I also find Miss Gopher to be cute in her outfit.

“Miss Leopard Spermophilus, with her high-sounding name, Says just to be called “Gopher” is really a shame,
And she’s right here to tell you — if this knowledge you should lack — She’s the only one who wears the stars and stripes on her back.”

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This Halloween has me thinking about Disney’s fairy tale princess. Come to think of it I don’t remember ever wanting to be a princess for Halloween. Maybe a black cat or friendly witch.

This is Snow White. It looks almost creepy but somewhat interesting and sweet. The cover art from the book, The Art of Disney Princess. Available at Amazon or The Disney Store. Image .

I also like this version of Snow White, although the make-up is a bit too heavy for my taste. Photo by Ryan Astamendi.

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Just found out about this young and talented musician from England, Helen Jane Long. Her music is beautiful and it goes well with the nature scenes.

Warners Classic and Jazz: “Helen Jane Long’s debut album ‘Porcelain’ is an expressive, inspiring and evocative collection of original compositions which cross the worlds of classical, chill out, and filmic music to create an indefinable combination of music minimalism.”

And some other nice music below.

Expression - Helen Jane long

Photo from Warners Classic and Jazz.

Helen says “I don’t tend to follow any particular formula or pattern when I compose. I just play what I feel. In many ways I use composing as a form of therapy, a way of expressing thoughts and feelings without necessarily verbally communicating them….I hope that my music has a similar effect on those listening to it too”.

This music would be perfect for road trips to the country side.

This one is by Prince Waldecks Galliard

Ever since I started knitting, I found out there is a huge world of knitters. And different types of yarns have never looked so intriguing to me.

But I never thought I would come across something like this… it’s knitted chairs! Yuvinia Yuhadi has a blog dedicated to the knitted chair. What is so amusing and artistic is that you can turn a simple plastic lawn chair into something really nice.

Photos by Andreas Kokkino

The idea started as Yuhadi’s final-year project for her degree in product design at Middlesex University in London. It has now grown into a site with free pdf of the knitting patterns.

Maybe when I’m feeling ambitious and feel myself an accomplished knitter will I attempt the knitted chair and have it added to her photo gallery.

Meanwhile Melanie Porter has her own collection of knitted chair without the white plastic chair part.

Melanie undertakes the entire process herself and everything, from the restoration and upholstering to the individual, crocheted buttons, is done by hand.

Some of my favorites are pictured below:

Chair by Melanie Porter. This light green one is the “Olivia”.

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When I think of art, I usually think of museums with art you can’t touch. Or art that is otherwise hidden in someone’s private collection.

But not this artwork, it’s functional art that serves as a journal too. This journal is also neat that it has a magnetic clasp that keeps it close.

It’s made with beautiful Japanese kimono print. I love the color and the gold accents.  This pattern would also make for a nice blouse.

Here’s more info from Paper Blanks, the makers of these notebooks:

Block Print Reproductions Of Kimono Patterns.

Ukiyo-e (pronounced uu-kee-yo-eh) or “pictures of the floating world” is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings.

The kimono prints for this series were originally woodblock prints created by art publishers who meticulously reproduced enlargements of small details taken from the artwork of the greatest artists of the Edo period (c. 1600-1867), inspiring contemporary garment design trends.”

Note: Thank you R.E. for the gift!

This time lapse video was taken by Simon Christen over the period of one year in the San Francisco bay area. It really brings out the beauty of the place. It’s very mesmerizing to watch. I never realized how beautiful it is to see the moon rise or the cloud of fog rolling in across the landscape.

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Music by Nick Cave - Mary’s Song from the Soundtrack of “Assassination of Jesse James”.

Here is how Simon explains what settings to use for the night shots:

“I am always shooting in full manual mode and then adjust the exposure as the light changes. I take care of the “jumps” later in post. The exposure really varies depending on the shot. For example a bright city needs shorter shutter speeds then fog illuminated by moon light. The shutter speeds ends up being around 4-5 sec with the aperture wide open and high ISO settings. This way I get to take a picture every 5-6 seconds.”

Find more of Simon’s work at simonchristen.com

This is California’s new license plate redesigned, actually it’s just one artist’s conception of it. 

The artist is Stefan Bucher, who was commissioned by Fast Company to redesign California’s license plate. Originally an idea from GOOD Design, which asked “How do we solve Los Angeles quintessential problems including: “Tacos, Traffic, Ugliness, Water, Pollution, Isolation, and Acts of God, respectively.”

When I saw this new license plate design, I just thought it was too funny.  The far right corner mentions, “QR contains vehicle license and registration information, as well as your credit score.”  Come to think of it, maybe this won’t be far from how the future of California will look.  I sure hope not.  Image from Stefan Bucher.

Back in December of 2009, GOOD Design had an idea to bring artist together to solve LA’s situation. Here is what GOOD Design wrote, “The collection of people and ideas was wonderfully diverse, and offered some fun, serious, and occasionally totally outlandish things to think about as how to make LA an even better place.”

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I came across these interesting and useful designs from Finland. They are made by the designers at Tonfisk.

The philosophy behind their design company is to create not just a product with a different shape, but a whole new idea.  As stated, “Form follows function doesn’t mean all objects have to look the same” is built on Louis Sullivan’s functionalist dictum. However in spite of its cliché-status it describes best our design philosophy.”

Photo from Garden Design.

The “KIIKKU” is this stepped garden or potted plant display.  It lets you bring some color into your living room in a stylish and innovative way.  Kiikku consists of a walnut wood ladder from which hang four easily removable flower pots.

The term Kiikku means “swing” in Finnish. It swings upward to display your flowers in a pretty arrangement. The pots could also be used to hold a herb garden or even the easy to care for succulents.

It looks like a simple idea that serves a good purpose for people who like to collect many potted plants. The idea is to create a stepped garden which could also be placed either indoor or outdoor. A great idea for those with limited space. Available at Unison.  Photo from Unison.

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I love the artwork by George Barbier.  Here is two I’ve managed to scan from my note cards.

George Barbier was born in Nantes, France in 1882.  He was a popular fashion illustrator and costume designer during the 1920’s Art Deco period.  His illustrations were usually found in French fashion magazines and now can be found in art museums (as well as stationary).

“Voice me ailes!” - Look at my wings! This artwork was first printed in 1922 in French fashion magazine.

The drawing really brings you back to a different era. From the fashion to the sailboats in the background. I also like the simple yet elegant black dress, but can’t imagine looking like this all the time.

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