Brown reefs edge a turquoise lagoon in this astronaut snapshot of the New Caledonian coastline. Reefs like these form a natural barrier that protects coastlines from storms by breaking up waves (seen here as those white edges) before they reach the shore. The lagoon is streaked with lines of tan where sediment flows from the uplands into the water. Similarly, the color variations from green to blue in water hint at changes in depth, organic content, and more. (Image credit: NASA; via NASA Earth Observatory)
Tag: fluids as art
Stunning Waves
Photographer Lloyd Meudell captures breathtaking images of ocean waves off his home shores of New South Wales. The waveforms and lighting combine to create infinite variety in shape and texture. Some waves look like towering mountain landscapes; some look like glass sculptures. Every one of them draws you into the ocean’s power. (Image credit: L. Meudell; via Bored Panda)
Liquid Sculptures
Snapshots of splashes are nothing new, but few have mastered the art of freezing incredible shapes in water the way Markus Reugels has. His splash photography is mind-boggling, especially knowing that he uses Photoshop only for minor corrections like contrast and removing sensor noise. Fortunately, he’s generous in sharing his expertise. Check out lots more incredible photos and plenty of how-to guides (mostly in German) over at his site. (Image credits: M. Reugels)
“Art of Paint”
Filmmaker Roman De Giuli is always coming up with spectacular and visually fascinating new ways to manipulate ink and other liquids. In “Art of Paint,” he applies thin layers atop a custom plate that can be tilted in any direction. The results sometimes resemble acrylic paint pours, sometimes Marangoni flows, and sometimes look more like salt fingers or Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. The extreme variety of forms is quite unique among these sorts of films and is well worth taking the time to view in fullscreen. (Image and video credit: R. De Giuli)
“Timedrift II”
As a teenager, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. The final ascent began around midnight, and we climbed through the dark, through sunrise, and into the early morning. I remember pausing at one point, just as the sun was rising, and looking out at the clouds thousands of meters below. From that height, they looked like an ocean, rippled with lavender waves. Timelapse films like this one, by filmmaker Martin Heck, remind me of that morning and the sense that I had of the sky as an ocean, flowing, crashing, and surging in ways we cannot appreciate until we slow down and look closer. (Image and video credit: M. Heck/Timestorm Films)
Inside a Metal Vortex
What do you get when you combine liquid gallium, a blender, and a special probe lens? Some pretty wild slow-mo video of a liquid metal vortex, courtesy of the Slow Mo Guys. This video is almost as notable for its set-up as it is for the high-speed footage, given the lengths Gav and Dan go to in order to get the shot! (Image and video credit: The Slow Mo Guys)
“Metamorphe”
A smoke-like haze drifts over surreal landscapes in the “Metamorphe” series by Reuben Wu and Jenni Pasanen. Though fluidic in appearance, these pieces are a merger between Wu’s drone light photography and Pasanen’s AI-assisted digital creations. Even so, the images are extremely evocative of fluid motion, connected as they are to human senses (like smell, hearing, and touch) that often rely directly on fluid dynamics. For more, check out the artists’ sites and Instagram. (Image credits: R. Wu and J. Pasanen; via Colossal)
Aqueous Chandeliers
Colorful dyes falling through water form chandelier-like, branching shapes. These formations are the result of a slight density difference between the heavier dyes and the surrounding water. As the dye falls, Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities cause the mushroom-like blobs and their branches. With creativity and photographic skill, Mark Mawson turns these ephemeral shapes into bold liquid sculptures, frozen in time. See more of his work in these previous posts, on his website, and on Instagram. (Image credit: M. Mawson)
“Life and Chaos”
In “Life and Chaos,” artists Roman Hill and Paul Mignot shot fluid flows live in a 1 cm x 1 cm square, then projected those images across 3,300 square meters. There’s something incredible about art on this immersive scale. It is literally impossible for any one visitor — or even the artists themselves — to experience the full piece; each person, by definition, can only take in a small part of the whole. That makes it all the more incredible to derive such a piece from a tiny, tiny canvas. As venues for this sort of immersive art spread, I can only imagine the amazing art we’ll see! (Image and video credit: R. Hill and P. Mignot)
“Water III”
In “Water III,” filmmaker Morgan Maassen explores the ocean from above and below. I love the sheer variety of fluid phenomena; yes, there are classic breaking barrel waves for surfing, but there are also rib vortices and bubble plumes and churning turbulence that wouldn’t be out of place in a stormy Midwestern sky. Enjoy! (Image and video credit: M. Maassen)
