Aerial views of (human-modified) landscapes, and the art it inspires
December 17, 2019 9:54 PM   Subscribe

In addition to their scientific value, many satellite images are simply intriguing to look at. Satellites capture an incredible variety of views of Earth. See the mesmerizing beauty of river deltas, mountains, and other sandy, salty, and icy landscapes. Some might even remind you of actual famous works of art! Six galleries of Earth as Art from U.S.G.S.. See also: 30 satellite photos, mostly of human development patterns, from Bored Panda. Want some more art in your aerial photography? Turning Images of Earth Into Abstract Art -- With help from satellites, artificial intelligence, and a painter born in the 1800s, a cartographer has created remarkable images of human-altered landscapes. File under aerial landscape art (Wikipedia)
posted by filthy light thief (9 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
I borked the "30 satellite photos" link, duplicating the NatGeo link instead of pointing to this Bored Panda article.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:30 PM on December 17, 2019


Mod note: Fixed!
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:31 PM on December 17, 2019




Brilliant!
posted by alasdair at 12:05 AM on December 18, 2019


I love these.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:44 AM on December 18, 2019


Back in the 80's, I was going into a government building in DC, and in the reception area, there was a large (10'x10' ?) photograph- an aerial view of downtown DC and the mall.
Something was weird about that photograph, and it finally dawned on me that the entire picture was looking straight down. There was no parallax. This wasn't taken from a few thousand feet. It was from much further away.
It was probably the first detailed image from space I ever saw.
posted by MtDewd at 7:40 AM on December 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


I've always loved maps. We traveled a lot in Europe when I was a kid. We had stacks of old military top maps to use for art projects. We always had National Geographic maps tacked to the walls.

A dozen years ago I had a part-time temp job at a USGS office. One of my responsibilities was sorting and cataloging the tiny library's print maps. One of the scientists was retiring and offered me his stash of maps, one of the very best gifts I have ever received. I hang them on my walls.
posted by mareli at 8:43 AM on December 18, 2019


The Daily Overview (source of the pictures in the Bored Panda link) twitter account is always one of the most delightful things in my twitter feed.

Their Tumblr and home pages are nice for scrolling through all the beautiful satellite images they've collected and the website where they are selling prints also has a nice interface for quickly browsing through all of them.
posted by straight at 9:50 AM on December 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


I love stuff like this. Thanks for the links, filthy light thief!
posted by straight at 9:53 AM on December 18, 2019


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