What's wrong with this washing machine ?
A photograph by Mal Smart - Here's a a note he added, "Two consecutive tripod mounted images blended in PS. One regular straight image the second with vaseline applied to a filter"
VIP observers are lit up by the light of an atomic bomb, Operation Greenhouse, Enewetak Atoll, 1951.
Castle Bravo detonation, March 1, 1954. 15 megatons. Largest nuclear test conducted by the United States.
Troop maneuvers during Operation Tumbler-Snapper were covered extensively by the media including a color featurette entitled “Operation A-Bomb” produced by RKO-Pathe. Twenty-one hundred marines participated in the test. May 1, 1952.
Dominic Truckee, 210 kilotons, Christmas Island Area, June 6, 1962. Speed Graphic camera. Film, Ektacolor.
Five volunteers sent to witness the Genie air strike at ground zero
“One afternoon I was at Lookout Mountain right here in Hollywood, and I got a call from a Woody Mark. He said ‘George, I need you out here tomorrow for a special test.’ I got there that night and he said, ‘Tomorrow morning you’re going to go out with five other guys and you’re going to be standing at ground zero.’ I said, ‘Ground zero?’ He said. ‘Yeah, but the bomb’s gonna go off 10,000 feet above you.’ I said, ‘Well, what kind of protective gear am I going to have?’ He said ‘None.’ I remember I had a baseball hat, so I wore that just in case. He gave me a still camera, and two motion picture cameras. These were 35mm Eyemos. I set up the two Eyemos, and had little trip wires that I could trip with my foot starting about 5 seconds before the blast. And the still camera, I also had a trip wire so that I could trip it. I could get one exposure only. The five other guys were scientists and they volunteered to be there. I wasn’t a volunteer. I didn’t find out until I got there.”
-George Yoshitake
Crossroads Baker, 21 kilotons Bikini Atoll, July 24, 1946.
Plumbbob Hood, 74 kilotons, Nevada Test Site, July 5, 1957.
Cameramen photograph shot of Grable at the Nevada Test Site, May 25, 1953.
Nuclear Testing Timeline
Between 1945 and 1962, the United States conducted over 300 atmospheric nuclear tests above the ground, in the ocean or in outer space.
On August 5, 1963, the United States and the former Soviet Union signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, effectively banning the testing of all nuclear weapons except those tested underground. Atmospheric nuclear test blast photography came to an end.
I was a little surprised when I saw that hulu added one of favorite IMAX films to its library. Until Chronos was made, all IMAX films were documentaries. Released in 1985, it was the first feature length IMAX film to take advantage of the large format. Like its sibling “Koyaanisqatsi”, Chronos is a gorgeous piece of visual & audio poetry. The film is essentially a wordless stream of beautiful imagery photographed around the world which documents mans achievements over time, some at regular speed, some in slow motion, and much in stunning time-lapse. The music composed by Michael Stearns fits the images perfectly, although one can’t help but to think of Vangelis when first hearing it.
While no home video format including Blu-Ray or streaming web format will ever be able to capture the true power of its visuals as originally projected on a monstrous IMAX screen, Chronos delivers some of the most breathtaking imagery available and is worthy of many repeat viewings. I highly recommend taking 40 minutes to watch it. Unfortunately, hulu only streams up to 480P, but I found the picture quality to be quite good despite the low resolution. Here’s a review from Film Exposed with all the details; http://bit.ly/10faOH
