Photographer Benjamin Grant has set off on a mission to change the way we see our planet with his stunning photo project - Daily Overview.
Every single day, Grant shares one satellite photo from Digital Globes to change the way we see our planet. "With a focal length 16 times longer than a standard DSLR camera, the cameras are so powerful that you can take a picture of a beach ball on the Golden Gate Bridge in full resolution…from Los Angeles," Grant told Bored Panda. "I try to present the images with no bias and let people decide what these altered landscapes mean, based on the facts and the visual evidence in the frame. I believe that this perspective is a means to start a conversation about the condition of our planet and how we can better protect it."
"I create the images by stitching together numerous high-resolution satellite photographs. I partnered with a satellite company called DigitalGlobe and accordingly have access to their full archive of imagery. Once I have put together a composite image, I then treat it like a photograph to make it as crisp and easy to understand as possible to accentuate certain patterns, colors, or places." The results are so amazing, Grant has even put together a book of over 200 high-resolution satellite photographs. It's titled "Overview: A New Perspective of Earth", and can be purchased through Amazon.
This post may include affiliate links.
#42 Medina Quarter, Marrakesh, Morocco
31.633080724°, -7.986173343°. The medina quarter in Marrakesh, Morocco is characterized by its winding, maze-like streets. Because the intricately connected honeycomb of alleyways narrows to less than a meter wide (~ 3 feet) at certain spots, the area is generally free from car traffic.
12points
#43 Discovery Bay Discovery Bay, California, USA
37°54′31″N 121°36′01″W. Discovery Bay is a waterfront community built on a network of man-made dikes in Contra Costa County, California, USA. Development of the area began in 1964 is now home to roughly 13,352 residents. As seen in this Overview, many residents have private docks with boat access to the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta.
12points
#44 Durrat Al Bahrain, Bahrain
25°50′17″N 50°36′18″E. Durrat Al Bahrain will consist of 15 connected, artificial islands (including six atolls, five fish-shaped, and two crescent-shaped). Construction costs are estimated at $6 billion and the project is slated for completion in mid-2015.
12points
#45 Inman Yard, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
33.800083, -84.451936. The Norfolk Southern Railway operates 21,300 miles of track in 22 states, primarily in the Southeastern US. Inman Yard in Atlanta, Georgia, pictured here, is one of the major railyards that houses a portion of the operation’s 3,648 locomotives and 79,082 freight cars.
12points
#46 Arlit Uranium Mine, Arlit, Niger
18°44′N 7°23′E. With just three days until the release of “Overview”, I’m sharing a few of my favorite images from the book. Here’s one from the chapter all about mining, ‘Where We Extract’. The Arlit Uranium mine is located in Arlit, Niger. French nuclear power generation as well as the French nuclear weapons program are dependent on the uranium that is extracted from the mine - more than 3400 tonnes per year.
12points
#47 Atlantic Ocean
Ever wondered how the moon affects the tides of water on Earth? Long story short, it’s gravity. As the moon orbits the Earth, it exerts a gravitational pull on the Earth. Since the Earth is significantly larger, it doesn't actually move towards the moon, but the water on it's surface, being liquid, does move.
11points
#48 Malé, Republic Of Maldives
41.75283°, 73.506694°. Malé is the capital and most populous city in the Republic of Maldives. With more than 47,000 residents per square kilometer (0.39 square miles), the heavily urbanized city constitutes the fifth most densely-populated island in the world. Malé and the other islands of the Maldives are located one meter (3 feet) above sea level.
11points
#49 Plasticulture / Greenhouses, Almeria, Spain
36.78234°N 2.74315°W. Plasticulture refers to the practice of using plastic materials in agricultural applications. This is visible in the plains and valleys of Almeria, Spain where nearly 20,000 hectares are covered by these greenhouse structures.
11points
#50 Desert Shores Community, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
36.211001, -115.266914. The Desert Shores Community in Las Vegas, Nevada contains 3,351 units and four man-made lakes.
11points
#51 Car Terminal, Richmond, California, USA
37.9137118, -122.368161. Cars are unloaded and parked at an automobile terminal in Richmond, California, USA. In 2015, 17.5 million cars and light trucks were sold in the United States, raising the total number of registered vehicles in the country to roughly 253 million.
10points
#52 White Island, Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand
37°31′S 177°11′E. Whakaari, also known as White Island, is an active stratovolcano, situated 48 km (30 mi) from the North Island of New Zealand in the Bay of Plenty. Whakaari is New Zealand’s most active volcano, and has been built up by continuous eruptions over the past 150,000 years. The island is approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter and rises to a height of 321 m (1,053 ft) above sea level.
10points
#53 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
34°55′16″S 57°57′16″W. The planned city of La Plata, the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, is characterized by its strict grid pattern. At the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris, the new city was awarded two gold medals for the “City of the Future” and “Better performance built.” This is the fifth of seven posts in our week focused on urban planning.
10points
#54 Ipanema Beach, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
22°59′01″S 43°12′16″W. All of the exciting coverage at the Olympics has us thinking of this beautiful Overview of Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro! Frequently recognized as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, its 2.25 miles of sand are divided into segments by lifeguard towers known as "postos.”
10points
#55 Rodewald, Rodewald, Germany
52°39′57″N 09°28′56″E. Fields surround the residential area of Rodewald, Germany. The agricultural village was first mentioned in historical records from the early 13th Century and is now home to 2,549 people.
10points
#56 Puente De Vallecas, Madrid, Spain
40.398204°N 3.669059°W
10points
#58 Port Newark, Newark, New Jersey
40°40′54″N 74°09′02″W. Shipping containers are stacked at the Port Newark Container Terminal in Newark, New Jersey, USA. The massive facility handles over 600,000 shipping containers every year and has begun expansion projects that will increase annual capacity to 1.1 million containers by 2030.
9points
#59 Karlsruhe, Germany
49°00′33″N 8°24′14″E. The city of Karlsruhe, Germany was planned with a palace tower at its center, surrounded by 32 radiating streets. Because the design resembled the ribs of a folding fan, the city is sometimes called the “fan city” or “Fächerstadt." Additionally, this city's urban plan gave rise to the geometry concept of “Karlsruhe Metric” which refers to a measure of distance that assumes travel is only possible along radial streets and along circular avenues around the center.
9points
#60 Naarden, Netherlands
52°18′N 5°10′E. Naarden is a star fort in the Netherlands. The city was constructed in the manner seen here so that an attack on any individual wall could be defended from the two adjacent star points by shooting at the enemy from behind. Today Naarden is home to roughly 17,000 residents.
9points