Photographer Rachael Talibart specializes in capturing the majestic and tumultuous power of the sea along England’s coast. Her most recent book “Tides and Tempests” looks incredible — full of turbulent crashing waves, skies of spray, and shorelines of surge and froth. I love how her photographs freeze the water in positions that seems surreal while underlining the sheer power of these storms. You can find more of her work on her website and Instagram. (Image credit: R. Talibart; via Colossal)
When filming, things don’t always go according to plan. Glasses break, splashes obscure your subject, and sometimes effects just don’t turn out the way you expect. But if you’re the Macro Room team, even those mistakes and outtakes are pretty darn fascinating to watch! I especially like some of the granular “splash” sequences here. (Image and video credit: Macro Room)
There’s nothing quite like a towering storm cloud to showcase nature’s power. This gorgeous photo by Laura Rowe shows pastel clouds over West Texas in the middle of a thunderstorm. Despite the dusk at ground level, the height of the cloud keeps it lit by direct sunlight, giving its turbulent convection that colorful glow. Rowe, as it happens, is not a professional photographer, which is a good reminder to us all: it’s always worth looking up! You never know what beauty you’ll miss if you don’t. (Image credit: L. Rowe; via Colossal)
Although engineers often consider fluid mechanics through the lens of mathematics, that’s far from the only way to understand fluid physics. Today’s video is an alternative interpretation of a classic flow — the flow around a cylinder — created in a collaboration between dancers and engineers. The result is what they call a “physics-constrained dance improvisation” that shows how the flow changes as its speed increases. I love this concept! It highlights the visual and qualitative differences between flow states and maintains space for artistic creativity. Be sure to watch the full video! (Video and submission credit: J. Capecelatro et al.)
Birds have a level of control in flight that would make any engineer jealous. This 2021 Audubon Photography Award winning video by Bill Bryant shows off the skills of a red-tailed hawk. On this occasion, the hawk is using strong winds coming off the Rocky Mountains to hover in place. Notice how active his wings and tail are in adjusting to the changes in the wind while his head is perfectly still. With his head still, the hawk can scan the ground for mice and other prey. It’s absolutely incredible to see how effortlessly the hawk is accounting for unsteadiness in the wind here! (Video and image credit: B. Bryant; via Audubon)
In “Starlit” filmmaker Roman De Giuli explores a universe in a fish tank. The planets and asteroids we see are droplets of paint and ink floating in a transparent, gel-like medium. I particularly like the sequences where paint stretches, beads up, and breaks into a string of droplets! (Image and video credit: R. De Giuli)
I may never get tired of drone videos of sheep herding. They are mesmerizing to watch and full of so many characteristics of flow. Like a compressible fluid, the herd squeezes together as it passes through a gate, then spreads and decreases density as it reaches the pasture. The sequence of sheep moving down the road reminds me of pipe flow, with a boundary layer of sheep along the edge who choose to graze rather than move with the herd. There are even sheep vortices in this video, folks. Vortices of sheep! How could you resist watching?! (Video credit: L. Patel; via Colossal; submitted by Florian T. and Matevz D.)
Towering mountains of convection and ominous colors are staples of Adam Kyle Jackson’s storm photography. His dramatic portraits of supercell thunderstorms highlight the majesty and power of these turbulent phenomena. Make sure to follow him on Instagram for lots more! (Image credit: A. Jackson; via Nat Geo)
Sometimes the mundane events of life hide extraordinary phenomena. This award-winning photograph by Sarang Naik shows yellow-brown spores streaming off a mushroom during monsoon season. The plume is abstract and beautiful; you could easily mistake it for the flames of an Olympic torch. But common as they are, the lowly mushroom hides interesting depths. To get their spores to travel further, mushrooms actually generate their own breezes! (Image credit: S. Naik; via Big Picture Competition)
With the Olympics kicking off today, FYFD will follow our usual tradition of Olympic-themed posts for the next couple weeks, so be sure to come back each day for the latest featured sport!
Today’s video is a little different: it’s an inside look at a butter-making shop in France that uses traditional nineteenth-century methods to process the butter. Watching workers fold and shape 50 kilos of butter is mesmerizing, and it highlights the amorphous, pseudo-fluid nature of the butter. Yes, the butter holds its shape like a solid, but it’s a soft solid at best and certainly shows fluid-like qualities when force is applied. A word of warning: you might not want to watch this on an empty stomach! (Image and video credit: Art Insider; via Colossal)