Photos that did not win - from Wired.com

From Wired.com: A lot of great photos were overlooked in 2008 in the slew of images we received (an average of more than 500 submissions) for each of our twice-monthly photo contests. In celebration of the year coming to a close, we've gone back and pulled out some of our favourite contest photos that just didn't get the votes they deserved.

Dust Bunny Thief by Nick Wilson

Long Exposure

Alexey Titarenko uses long exposure shots to get a ghostly effect in his photographs. The results are a series of hauntingly beautiful photographs.

(via Link)

Stunning Arctic Sunrise

This stunning sunrise over Inglefield Bay in the Northwest of Greenland was captured by seasoned Artic photographers Bryan and Cherry Alexander Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA/BRYAN & CHERRY ALEXANDER

The award winning pair were staying in the Inuit community of Qaanaaq, which is situated 800 miles from the North Pole when the "apocalyptic" loud colouring began. "It was just before dawn, around 10 am, when an Inuit friend of mine whose house I was staying in came to my room and suggested that I take a look at the sky," says Mr Alexander. "I went outside and was immediately stunned by the beautiful and dramatic cloud formation. I just couldn't believe my eyes. I have worked in the Arctic regularly for the past 37 years and I had never seen the sky like it. It looked apocalyptic and like a scene from one of the Lord of the Rings movies."

(Link)

Interesting Wildlife Shots

Till 1913 - possible to ship children through mail

Posted by the Smithsonian Institute - a very interesting photograph taken about 1900. Some special delivery this was! No more waiting for the stork - the kids came through the mail ...

This city letter carrier posed for a humorous photograph with a young boy in his mailbag. After parcel post service was introduced in 1913, at least two children were sent by the service. With stamps attached to their clothing, the children rode with railway and city carriers to their destination. The Postmaster General quickly issued a regulation forbidding the sending of children in the mail after hearing of those examples. (Link) via Boing Boing

Amazing photographs of China

These beautiful photographs of China are taken by Professor Feng Jiang who holds a Ph.D from the University of York. Click on this link to see more: The Wonders of China

Shark Pictures

The wildlife photographer Chris Fellows spends over half of each year waiting off the coast of South Africa to capture the sharks at their grisly work. These dramatic pictures, taken near Seal Island, in False Bay, are part of a decade-long campaign to promote positive awareness of great white sharks, which are classed as "endangered" largely due to being hunted by man.

(More photos here: Link)

Earthquake wedding photos

Photographs at a wedding show clearly the destruction caused by the Sichuan Earthquake. I am wondering about the couple ... what was it like for them? Did they manage to get married before the quake struck? Or did they have to postpone for another day?

More photos here: (BBC)

Some really cool photographs

These photos showed up in my Inbox and I had to share them - they are really interesting. I am not sure who to credit so if any of these photos are yours, please contact me for proper accreditation.

• Apparently these little kids are getting ready to welcome Mussolini - somewhere in Italy during WWII.
  

• Shanghai by Night.

• A close encounter. Amazing what nature photographers will do for a good shot! I was watching Mark & Mike on Animal Planet and they do some crazy stuff just to get the perfect shot!
  

• The name of a town in New Zealand

• and this looks like a name of a town, perhaps somewhere in Scandinavia? I could not find any information.
  

• A mushroom cloud.
  

• An elephant gets out of the water

• Who is going to win?

• A slight marital dispute?

• Yesterday I went for a walk with my dog on the beach in front of my home. The amount of junk washed up on that beach made me want to cry! I saw empty toothpaste tubes, white lunch boxes, empty soda bottles, tires, just so much rubbish that people throw into the sea. I could not walk bare feet for fear of cutting myself. I spent the half hour exercising my dog and cursing mankind and its negligent ways. And when I came home I saw this photograph in my e-mail. How beautiful is this place? I have been informed that it is the Maldives but I have no way to confirm it. This photograph makes me dream of far away places and realize that it will be progressively more difficult to find places as pristine as this. I am so sorry for what we are doing to our Earth.