As we write, two brothers are making their way across the United States on self-built bikes made from recycled trash, documenting their search for eco-villages, urban farming initiatives, and new ideas for business. America ReCycled, as Tim and Noah Hussin have dubbed their project, is a quest for the lost American Dream. In their own words: "The modern American is so disconnected from those......read more
If there was ever a photographer whose ouevre makes us want to beeline for the nearest ocean, lake, or forest, it's Jake Stangel. Based in San Francisco, Stangel travels around the country documenting different lifestyles, from orange farmers in Florida to surfers in Oregon. He explains his approach: "When I am setting up a shot, I'm trying to directly, purely relay my experience -- what I see,......read more
From the impressive portfolio of LA photographer Justin Carrasquillo come these breathtaking images of people contemplating natural landscapes. Taking from his People series, the photos show off his eye for sweeping American vistas and beautiful natural light. From his artist statement: Whatever the locale, on the best days [my] images will stir up unexpected feelings and thought in the viewer......read more
This is a collection of aerial footage which my dad shot in the late 1980's which I recently had re-scanned at 2K resolution. I then edited and color corrected this little piece just for fun. Shot largely on Arri IIC with Eastman Kodak 5247 ...read more
The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History.......read more
Published late in 2012, Natural Histories offers a rare glimpse of seldom-seen, fully illustrated essays from the American Museum of Natural History's Rare Book Collection. And it's not just for armchair scientists. Included in the clamshell package are 40 prints of extraordinary illustrations, printed in quality stock, just begging to be framed. From the curation to the printing, this is a......read more
A new documentary about the U.S. food system hit its first round of theatres this month. American Meat, directed by Graham Merriwether, documents the lives of dozens of American farmers producing both industrially and sustainably raised meat. The film's main subject is Joel Salatin, a pasture-based pork rancher featured in Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma". Salatin has started producing......read more
Here's a nicely styled sustainable house prototype spotted over at Inhabitat. Designed by Architecture Research Office and Della Valle Bernheimer for the Syracuse School of Architecture, the R-House is a compact, angular form that hits on the twin notes of sustainability and affordability. Built to passive house standards, with a final price tag of under $150K, the 1,100 square foot......read more
For "An American Food Trip," another instalment in the excellent Perennial Plate series about sustainable eating, filmmaker Daniel Klein and his team travelled 23,000 miles across 42 states to tell the stories of "Real Food in America." The resulting clip, cobbled together from seven terrabytes of footage, offers a fast-moving and fascinating glimpse at food culture all over the States. As......read more
In "America's Dead Sea," award-winning photojournalist Jim Lo Scalzo serves up a beautiful but disturbing document of the Salton Sea, the heavily polluted saline lake southeast of Los Angeles. Lo Scalzo manages to find a fresh perspective on the notorious, much photographed sea, which was formed in a desert basin when the Colorado River flooded just over 100 years ago. With no outflow, and......read more