Back of a Webpage – 100% fun, this simple yet unique website showcases what websites look like reversed – from the back, based on people’s imagination. What does that mean, exactly? See some pics below and you’ll get it.
Here’s the back view of Flickr – see the image, just like an actual photo from a developed film.
And here’s a creative submission, showing the back side of YouTube.
Bookshelf Porn – This Tumblr blog is a visual mecca for book lovers worldwide or, as the blogger behind Bookshelf Porn explains: “A photo blog collection of all the best bookshelf photos from around the world for people who *heart* bookshelves.”
Even if you’re not a huge books buff, Bookshelf Porn is loaded with beautiful photos to check out. I recommend starting with the Editor’s Picks. Here are my personal favorites:
Re-purposed Newspaper Stand Bookshelf via Poetic Home
Prettybooks: Yale Rare Book Library (by Nick Hollot)
Weekly App: Everyday for iPhone – This cool photo app for the iPhone is all about creating a personal visual timeline based on the pictures you took. Take your pic on a daily basis (you can use the app’s reminders to make sure you get into the habit), share these on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Flickr and create a video time lapse of all your photos. Everyday is a cool App that makes taking photos and processing them a fun and creative experience. Available on the iTunes App store. To learn more, see the video below.
What Was There – If cement could talk. It’s hard to believe, but today’s streets of America’s metropolises hold countless stories and moments of history. To us the streets of major cities have always been there, but What Was There shows what the streets that are so familiar to us today looked like in the past.
Based on Google Maps technology and user-submitted data and photos, What Was There is “a virtual time machine of sorts that allows users to navigate familiar streets as they appeared in the past.” The result is nothing short of astonishing and fascinating. Here are a couple of examples:
Not only you can see photos of what the streets looked like decades, even 100 years ago, you can use the magnifying glass feature on any zoomed in photo to see more details (simply roll over the photo). It’s just like going back in time.
In front of Tiffany’s, CA 1899
If you have an old street photo of anywhere in the world, and you wish to submit it to this formidable project, sign in and upload your photos. Help in perpetuating the human experience of past places and moments.
Wovox – Are you curious to see the offices of Google, Facebook or other cool companies? Wovox is here to make workplaces transparent, meaning anyone can see other companies’ offices but also share their own. The idea is to be inspired by and share cool working environments. Although the big social network firms are the most popular here on Wovox, many international users have shared their offices for you to see. Here are both Facebook’s headquarters in Palo Alto, CA and the lesser known yet just as cool, Pearls and Caviar in Abu Dabi.
Taste of Awesome – What happens when you take ordinary, boring photos and spice them up with witty commentary? Serious laughs. Taste of Awesome does just that and here below are a couple of photos to get you going. If you wish to submit your own go to the homepage and upload a photo, then add your annotation.
Starting today, each Thursday we will bring you the Top 10 sites of an alternating area of interest. This time the spotlight is on style, just in time for spring! So where do you go to keep up with the latest fashion trends? Style.com? Cosmopolitan Magazine? Perhaps Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar? All these are decent choices, but if you’re looking for less obvious sources of fabulous style, here are the top 10 recommended sites and blogs.
1. Fashionista.com – This is perhaps one of the best fashion sites on the Web covering everything from runway collections and fashion weeks to model gossip, season trends and street fashion. It is beautifully written, it’s packed with great photos, and before you know it you’ll become a regular on this site.
2. The Coveted – This ‘fashion central’ blog by Jennine Jacob gives you all you could possible need to stay ahead of the style curve; large high quality photos, great fashion finds, the latest news from the catwalks, even links to other noteworthy fashion blogs. If you’re looking for an inspiring style blog that keeps on giving, The Coveted is your answer.
3. Refinery29 – What makes this site unique is its geo-location approach; Refinery29 offers local fashion news to selected US cities, namely NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. In addition to their Coast-to-Coast content you will also find a comprehensive wealth of style info including fashion finds and deals, trends and relevant news. Refinery29 is filled with colorful images and engaging content which makes it a top style resources in my book.
4. The Blonde Salad – Meet the fashion obsessed blonde from Italy, Ciara Ferragni, who updates her blog on a daily basis with pictures of herself dressed in a different, super-stylish outfit each time. Each post includes large hi-res photos of Ciara, accompanied by a brief commentary and a shopping list to answer to those asking the ‘what are you wearing’ question.
5. Fashion Served – This site is brought to us by the Behance Network, a big design/creative network of sites and blogs. What makes Fashion Served unique are both its showcase presentation of the different posts, and also the unique creative fashion niches it drags into the spotlight.
6. Lookbook.nu – What a better way to learn about the latest fashion trends than by seeing what regular people are wearing? Lookbook is a place where users dress up, take a picture of themselves and submit it to the site. Once published, the Lookbook user community can vote on and share their favorite looks. This is a classic example of the fashion power of the people.
7. Street Peeper – Based on the same street style concept, Street Peeper gives us a daily dose of fashion trends from around the world. All photos are taken by the style scout Phil who, as I’m sure you’ll agree, does justice to beautifully dressed people. This a great source of style to check out.
8. The Budget Babe – Who doesn’t want to look amazing without spending ridiculous amounts of cash? Me neither. That’s why The Budget Babe is such a great blessing, making it possible to look like a million dollars without spending too much on clothes and accessories. One of the best things I like about The Budget Babe is the Dress By Numbers feature. This is where you can imitate the look of the stars by learning where to buy identical clothing at reasonable prices and still look like you just came out of a fashion spread.
9. Trendland’s fashion section – Trendland is a serious trend-forecaster website that covers the vast creative-visual world (art, design, culture and photography), but its fashion section is what makes it relevant to this Top 10 list. It’s the perfect place to stop by regularly to see what the next season will look like in terms of style and trends.
10. All My Faves Style page – This Mini Faves page on All My Faves offers a concentrated dose of the best style and fashion sites & blogs out there. You will find there -in addition to all the sites listed above- numerous additional resources all focused on great looks and inspiring fashion trends. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Instagram – Taking pictures with the iPhone is fun in and of itself, but there’s a free app that takes creating and sharing photos to a whole new level: Instagram. Even if you’re not too keen on sharing your photos, Instagram will open new photographic horizons for you.
Once you’ve signed up, take any picture. Next is where the Instagram magic lies; choose from a variety of photo filters to see how your seemingly ordinary photo is immediately upgraded. If you want to instantly share your photos, you can via Facebook and Twitter. See the picture below, Tweeting in the Rain by our team member and AMF Co-founder Roy Pessis, using one of Instagram’s retro-like filters. Looks like a postcard, doesn’t it?
Carbonmade – Those of us working in the creative industries such as design, graphic design, styling, photography and other visual mediums will appreciate this free online portfolio service. As a visual professional, you need to provide solid work examples to lure more potential customers and to make a name for yourself. And what a better way to do so than by creating an online portfolio of your own, one that looks amazing and presents your chosen works in an easy, nice-to-look-at place. Carbonmade offers just that.
To get started, I suggest exploring some samples – my favorites are Bódis Árvai Tünde Photography and Bunny Pirates by the illustrator Meghan Stratman, respectively shown here below.
The free Carbonmade bundle allows a maximum upload of 35 images (which is more than enough for the average professional), and a paid track of $12 a month for those interested in showcasing photos, videos, flash projects and more, all ad-free. What are you waiting for? Sign up now!
KNSTRCT – This fabulous digital magazine is a beautifully created ‘design central’ both industry professionals and casual observers will appreciate. KNSTRCT aims to be “a global hub of design and innovation, an online destination for art, interiors, architecture, fashion, travel and all other limitless definitions of ‘design’.” Does it live up to its mission statement? You bet. Their very homepage screams aesthetics in every possible way:
The homepage is made up of a collage of photos, each representing a separate article with a different artist or project in focus. Simply hover your mouse over one of them and it will become highlighted. If you prefer the more straight-forward way, simply use the menu on the top right and browse the KNSTRCT magazine by picking design type, industry, or use their open search.
The two photos below represent a couple of amazing articles I found here on KNSTRCT and wanted to share. The first is Lang Baumann Paints the Streets of Vercorin, and the second is The Gardens of Marqueyssac. Click the images below to see the full posts and hi-res photos.
Psykopaint – This super cool tool (free to use) invites you to paint over photos, whether photos you have on your computer or the ones in Psykopaint’s sample gallery, and create beautiful masterpieces.
Here’s my personal creation using a photo of my cat from last summer. I think I just found my next desktop background!
To learn more about the numerous painting and effect options you have available on Psykopaint, watch this video first and then proceed to create your own amazing photo-based painting!
Uber Humor – Although this funny website pulls photos and posts from other successful humor sites (including People of Walmart, Fail Blog and others), it essentially picks the best and most hilarious ones out there. The result is a non-stop session of laughs and OMGs. Here are but a couple of the funny photos I found here on Uber Humor.
