Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Friday, November 13, 2015

They Stumbled Across This In The Woods... Beneath It Was A Terrifyingly Awesome Secret.

Deep in the woods in the middle of northern Germany there are strange, periscope-like pipes that are jutting out of the ground. One day, a group of friends stumbled across them in the former German Democratic Republic territory. They decided to explore the area, even though it seemed a little dangerous. What they found hidden beneath the ground was historically interesting ... but also terrifying.



The Friends used to play there as kids but never explored what was  connected to the pipes.
But it was time. The entrance was originally covered with a wooden lid, but it was removed with a crowbar.


The view from inside the entrance,  iron door and all
There were endless, hospital-like hallways....
Acoustics inside of the bunker make everything  more horrifying.

Black & White

1.American photographer, Robert Frank, once said: "Black and white are the colors of photography". In his birth month, here's a selection of Indian cities and their iconic monuments — in black and white — through the ages.


2. The iconic Howrah Bridge over the Hooghly river in Kolkata. Officially named Rabindra Setu, it is the sixth-longest cantilever bridge in the world.


3. A panoramic top-view of Hyderabad, which is otherwise also known as the City of Pearls.

4. Rajbongshi tribals trying to please the goddess Manasi Devi in Uttarakhand. 

5. Mecca Masjid, also known as, Makkah Masjid, in Hyderabad, is situated around 200 yards southwest of the Charminar. Built around 1694, it is one of the oldest mosques in the city and one of the country's largest.

6. Kedartal (also known as Shiva's lake), is a glacial lake at 15,600 ft in Uttarakhand. The lake is the source of Kedar Ganga, which in Hindu mythology is considered to be Shiva's contribution to Bhagirathi.

7. It's not everywhere that you would find fishing nets being heralded as a tourist point, but these Chinese fishing nets in Kochi, Kerala, happen to be one of the most-visited tourist sites of the city.

8. You can come across images of Mumbai's famous dhobi ghat, or community laundry, in movies and documentaries alike. Said to be the world's largest outdoor laundry, it is a very popular attraction among foreign tourists.

9. Artistically carved chattris, temples, shrines and ghats surrounding the banks of Gadisar Lake Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
10. See black-and-white, and you'd generally hop back decades. In this photograph — clicked around 1935 — a traffic policeman is seen guarding himself from the harsh sun, while on duty.

11. The Red Fort in Delhi is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. It was the capital of the Mughal Empire until 1857. The Diwan-i-Khas, seen here, was the area where the king would greet important dignitaries and visitors.

12. This characteristic image of the goddess Durga being sculpted just before the annual Durga Puja festival in West Bengal is one that evokes an overwhelming feeling of hope and excitement among bengalis around the world. 

13. This Tibetan Buddhist monastery was re-established in the late 17th century, just 45km away from Leh. The annual Hemis festival honoring Padmasambhava is held here in early June. 


14. A 1925 image of the famous market place of Chandni Chowk in Delhi. The street, which seems rather empty in the photograph, would now be packed chock-a-block at all hours of the day.

15. Indian streets, and how can one not have cows and bulls — even if they're in black-and-white! Though these two specimens are battling it out in 1930s Kolkata, this is a common sight in many parts of the country.

16. A monkey sits in front of the many arched gateways of the Galta Ji temple close to Jaipur, Rajasthan. 


17. A 1951 picture of a horse-drawn carriage during the monsoon season in Mumbai. Replace the carriage with a slew of cars and bikes, and you could easily be photographing the city in real-time!

18. A shaman performs a ritual with ash and a knife in the hills of northern India. This is a way of connecting with spirits and beings in the 'other world'. 

19. The famous compound of Bara Imambara in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 

20. Beautiful curvy roads on the Old Silk Route, between China and India, Sikkim

21. Humayun's Tomb in Delhi recently got a pop of colour, but it still looks majestic in this black-and-white picture. The monument represents the introduction of the Persian style in Delhi and the combination of red sandstone and white marble highlights the mixing cultures.

22. The Mumbai skyline takes on a rather whimsical tenor on rainy evenings.

23. The Taj Mahal in Agra is one of the most photographed monuments in the world. This one has particular relevance when it comes to the black-and-white world, since there is a myth Shahjahan wanted to construct a replica of the Taj in black marble as his own tomb.

24. A rather unusual view of the Taj Mahal, taken from a rooftop — contrasting the majestic Taj against the city buildings.

25. From one iconic monument to another. The Qutub Minar in Delhi is a must-see for those visiting the Indian capital. The great thing about visiting the Qutub Minar, is that you have the Mehrauli archaeological park just nearby, which houses the tomb of Jamali Kamali, Metcalfe's Folly, and other smaller monuments. 


26. The architectural style of this house of worship is called Expressionist Architecture. Completed in 1986, the Lotus Temple in Delhi was designed by Fariborz Sahba, who wanted to bring out the concepts of purity, simplicity and freshness of the Baha'i faith in his design. 


27. Photographer Dominic Rouse said, 'Colour is everything, black and white is more.' Delve into the romanticism of that thought as you gaze at this picture of the Amer Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan.


28. The Adalah stepwell close to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is a stunning example of Indian 15th century architecture. 

29. The deserts of Rajasthan have traditionally been a point of interest for photographers the world over. The black and white tone of this image conveys the wistfulness of the hardy and majestic camels against the harshness of the arid desert — much of which is left to the imagination of the viewer. 

30 . The Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai is a lifeline for many. The geometrical character of this cable-stayed bridge with pre-stressed concrete-steel viaducts assumes a rather Old World quality in this monochrome image.