This week’s find is The Big Picture, a blog published three times a week by Alan Taylor at The Boston Globe. The Big Picture collects and compiles high quality news images from main stream media sources like the Associated Press, Getty Images and Reuters. This site appeals to me on many levels- as a photographer I really appreciate the physical and artist quality of these images. They are stunning on my wide screen monitor (none of that pixelated low resolution nonsense that is a necessary evil on most sites), and everything from the subject matter to composition, contrast and focus are always spot on.
In addition to the artistic merits, The Big Picture also brings to light important and ongoing news events around the world. Recent posts include astonishing images of the oil spill on the Gulf Coast, pictures via satellite of Saturn’s moons and a look at the violent natural disasters that have been reeking havoc on Guatemala. The subjects are a varied mix of both positive and negative news items, accompanied by their original photo captions. At three updates per week it is in no way a comprehensive news site, but it is an excellent supplement to traditional news coverage. Overall I find the blog to be an accurate and objective look at current and past events that provides a unique perspective on world news.
On a related note, upon visiting Alan Taylor’s personal website I discovered this little gem: The MegaPenny Project. Taylor’s side project puts large numbers that we are faced with daily into perspective, using pennies to help remove the ambiguity of enormous numbers. A neat and informative project from an obviously talented web developer with great ideas
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Have a great weekend everyone!