Photographer’s 400-Megapixel Image of the Sun is Made up of 100K Photos

By in Photography

Photographer’s 400-Megapixel Image of the Sun is Made up of 100K Photos

High resolution image of the sun

Backyard astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has released his highest-ever resolution image of the Sun — a 400-megapixel image made up of over 100,000 photos.

McCarthy tells PetaPixel that he was shooting all day on December 12 but it was a 30-minute period in the early afternoon when the temperature of high altitude air currents changed to create a more consistent refraction index thus improving the clarity and stability of fine details when looking through miles of atmosphere at Earth’s nearest star.

“In that time I captured 3,000 photos on each panel of a 40-panel mosaic, well over 100,000 individual 16-bit photos,” he explains. “The camera was shooting at about 80 frames per second during this process, so it was captured like a high-framerate video.”

400-megapixel image of the Sun
The Star of System Sol

With a ridiculous amount of data, McCarthy tasked his computer with the mammoth job of sorting the photos into a coherent image.

“I used a method called ‘drizzling’ that I usually use for planet photos, where the software attempted to determine data ‘between’ the pixels to simulate a higher focal length,” he explains.

“It increases the resolution tremendously if the photo is a high enough quality, but is an extremely computer-intensive process.

“Once my software spat out the stacked photos, I assembled them by hand into the final high-resolution mosaic.”

Close crop of the Sun
A close crop of McCarthy’s 400-megapixel image.
Close crop of the Sun
A zoomable version is available here.

Bigger, Better, Brighter

McCarthy is no stranger to a super high-resolution image of the Sun; PetaPixel has covered similar projects before. But this latest image is his biggest one yet.

“I’m always determined to push the limits of what’s possible with my equipment,” says the Arizona-based photographer.

“In this case, the air was steady enough for me to get great detail across the entire surface, something that I struggle with in my location.

“I find these high-resolution photos of celestial bodies are great for capturing the imagination of people who wouldn’t ordinarily think to look at them, and inspiring more people to look up is my mission in life.”

crop of the sun

McCarthy used a 5-inch reflector modified for solar use and an AR127 telescope, Baader D-ERF filter, Daystar Quark Chromosphere Filter, ZWO ADC atmospheric dispersion corrector, and an ASI174MM camera (modified with a heat sink). The Sun was tracked using an EQ6-R Pro.

McCarthy has named his creation The Star of System Sol and it is available as a limited print on his website.

More of McCarthy’s work can be found on his Instagram, X, Facebook, and website.

Image credits: All photos by Andrew McCarthy.

Millwork Makes Space in the Crossfold Loft by Kalos Eidos

By in Design

Millwork Makes Space in the Crossfold Loft by Kalos Eidos

It is often said the best design goes unnoticed, but that’s not entirely true of the Crossfold Loft by interdisciplinary design studio Kalos Eidos. Helmed by architect Ryan Thomas – who is also a founding member of the feminist collective WIP Collaborative and Co-Chair of AIANY New Practices Committee – her solution to a client’s compact space in Brooklyn, New York, is more compelling than any midtown urban development that mistakes novel installations for public art or glossy towers for a solution to the housing crisis.

View from entryway into a living room. The kitchen’s footprint was expanded to include an elongated island that acts as the visual and functional hub of the space, with a freestanding counter surface large enough to work for dining and entertaining guests.

Compact is King

The versatile space-planning and minimal interventions executed with surgical precision in the 900-square-foot home allow this structure to maintain multiple identities – currently a two-bedroom unit with ensuites, respectively, convertible to a one bedroom – while integrating custom storage and enough horizontal planes to display a collection of personal artifacts. “The strategy for this project was to mine the floor plan for small-scale opportunities to capture space, increasing the capacity for storage through a cumulation of small gains in depth and surface area, while leaving the floor area open for essential furniture elements,” Thomas says.

Interior renovations echo the shared ethos of Kalos Eidos and the creative owner for whom the refreshed residence is recalibrated to adjust flow, functional use, and visual connection. Without radically altering the layout of room partitions, Thomas is able to create a substantial entryway that gives the illusion of opening up with a vastness to the primary quarters. The kitchen is further delineated by a soffit, gently marking program while pushing inhabitants on and through to the living room proper. Multiple layers of millwork meander along the perimeter, mitigating the existing quirks between fenestration, physical subdivisions, and home furnishings, which is especially helpful in resolving layout issues with limited real estate.

Kitchen island, cabinet, and backsplash details.

Millwork pieces operate in conjunction with one another as a critical layer to synthesize the overall space, helping to soften corners and edges, interlock and overlap function, and visually orient from zone to zone.

Dabbling in the Dark Side

The main volume is punctuated with dramatic elements in a way that provides balance and anchors the space rather than weighing it down. The central island and corresponding cooking surfaces incorporate a mixture of many textures including fluting, marbling, and matte finishes. These things combined create graphic clarity and a background to better articulate bright objects and collectibles displayed in the foreground. “Once we landed on a kitchen color scheme, which ended up centering around matte black tile and cabinet fronts, with a dark green-black soapstone countertop, the client had the idea to use terracotta colored grout at the tile backsplash,” Thomas notes. “It’s a subtle detail given the slender dimension of a grout line, but it was such a great thought and really adds a surprising layer of warmth and nuance that is both playful and sophisticated, bold and refined.”

A living room space with seating and a shelf all anchored by a coffee table.

Crossfold Loft’s primary living and lounge area

A living room space with seating on the left and straight ahead anchored by a coffee table.

The lounge area integrates furnishings amid the large, full-height glazing of the space by introducing new sectional sofa pieces, a minimal, floating storage credenza, and a video projector above.

Leaning Into the Fold

Site conditions encourage the use of a diagonal parti through architectural gestures suggested by the building as if to say “this way.” Portions of the wall that once jogged in-and-out inconsistently now clearly divide the living space from the private bedroom and ensuite. And what started as the default resultant of a dimensional offset now becomes the driving force orchestrating the experience. “Acting as a kind of cross-fold seam for the activity of the main living area, this new threshold serves to visually and spatially link the space of a second bedroom,” Thomas adds. Like one of the Gestalt principles that underpins visual communication, the resolved vertical plane creates a line of continuation that engages visitors from the moment of entry.

A visual archway that is half solid bookshelf and half a passageway.

The custom arched millwork bookcase and passageway make use of a generous threshold.

A dining table, chairs, and planter.

The dining and workspace are beyond the arched threshold. Select functional objects like a ceramic sculptural table by artist Liz Hopkins, a pair of vintage sunflower yellow reading lamps, and a set of vintage oak dining chairs from the client were starting points for determining the specific color choices for elements in each area of the apartment.

A chair and plant in the corner of a workspace.

Soft seating in the dining and workspace

Shelving with a smattering of books, objects, and plants.

Shelving in the dining and workspace

The Power of the Arch

Punctuating the axis is an arched form – half shelving, half threshold – designed as a bookcase you can seemingly step through continuing to build on the apartment’s dichotomy is the contrast created by the solid-void, the light-dark.The idea first emerged during the interactive process thinking through opportunities the mass could yield. “It helps dissolve the fold’s flatness while adding some depth and materiality to a portion of the floor plan that is predominantly used only for circulation and passage through the different zones of the apartment.” Traying in and around the fanciful doorway makes the transition through it feel kaleidoscopic in motion, especially when the shelving is decorated with a variety of colorful paraphernalia.

A view of the kitchen through an archway.

The backside of the custom archway looks into the kitchen from the dining and workspace.

A bed, storage, and bookshelf.

A view into the bedroom

Part of a bed, built in storage, and bookshelf.

Select functional objects like a ceramic sculptural table by artist Liz Hopkins, a pair of vintage sunflower yellow reading lamps, and a set of vintage oak dining chairs from the client were starting points for determining the specific color choices for elements in each area of the apartment.

Moving Forward

Meaningful architecture isn’t about grand gestures in the urban fabric or homogenous new builds. The most impactful works an architect can contribute to society are those imbued with personality derived from the client, and in doing so, help homes, buildings, and neighborhoods celebrate their local language. “As an approach we strive for in our process is to center ideation less around problem-solving a laundry list of isolated issues, but rather to set up a framework of critical values and priorities to be synthesized in the final design,” Thomas says. “The result necessarily relies on architectural and spatial thinking, but also on the composition of objects, materials and other elements that are folded into the space to help it become coherent and usable for living.”

An architectural drawing.

An architectural floor plan for the Crossfold Loft

Deep captions courtesy of Kalos Eidos; Photography by Steve Freihon .

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. A regular contributor to titles under the SANDOW Design Group, including Luxe and Metropolis, Joseph serves the Design Milk team as their Managing Editor. When not practicing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design. The New York-based writer has also contributed to exhibitions hosted by the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture and Architectural Digest, and recently published essays and collage illustrations with Proseterity, a literary publication.

Portraits of Zürich’s underground youth culture

By in Photography

Portraits of Zürich’s underground youth culture

Noah Noyan Wenzinger’s photo book Noyan 2015-2022 chronicles everyday scenes and ‘coming-of-age situations’ in the Swiss city

23January 2024

Born from a collection of over 50,000 pictures, Noah Noyan Wenzinger’s photobook Noyan 2015-2022 pulls together a selection of images from the prolific, Zürich-based photographer’s vast archive. The monograph (published by Edition Patrick Frey) chronicles the world through Wenzinger’s eyes and presents a nuanced portrait of youth culture in his hometown.

Be it a club, a friend’s living room, a smoking area or a snowstorm, Wenzinger’s lens is trained on his immediate experience. One portrait depicts a young woman at what appears to be a cluttered dining table, totally immersed in doodling with a marker pen and surrounded by detritus; one portrait captures friends in the street, nonchalantly smoking, leaning against a wall at night and lit by harsh flash; another photograph depicts a girl whose smiling face is semi-obscured by her baseball cap. In some of the pictures, people are wearing masks which anchors the images in the Covid times and recalls those heady experiences of coming out and mingling after periods of quarantine.

Photography is part of the fabric of Wenzinger’s everyday life. Never without a camera, the moments that compel him to take a picture are many and varied. “It can be anything really,” he says. “Moments can arise everywhere and at any time, even just when I’m going to the grocery store. I always have my camera with me.”

Often unexceptional in isolation, the photographs in Noyan 2015-2022 accumulate meaning with each turn of the page as tales materialise and recede. “A lot of different stories emerge from the book, there is not one single narrative. It’s a collection of stories which, together, are a collage of the time,” he tells Dazed, adding, “I mean, it’s also a coming-of-age type situation.” In a sense, it’s a tapestry of scenes; fragments of memory. While the main overarching theme may be navigating the transition between adolescence and adulthood, the images, when placed side by side, suggest myriad subplots and intrigues.

Another crucial theme of the book is Zürich itself and Wenzinger’s desire to enlarge and challenge wider perceptions of Switzerland’s youth culture. “There’s more to Zürich’s youth culture than most people realise,” the photographer explains in a conversation over email. “It can be cramped and small, but a lot is going on in Zürich for its size. It has a lot of potential.” Are there any surprising or unexpected aspects of the book? “That most of it plays out in Switzerland,” Wenzinger tells us.

The book also incorporates artwork by Noah Stark (AKA Clutterstew) whose graffiti-like illustrations punctuate Wenzinger’s portraits, creating breaks in the flow of photographic imagery. “Noah Stark’s work is based on a rather idiosyncratic form of art, where he puts his mark on everything he wants,” Wenzinger tells us. “The drawings by themselves don’t particularly mean anything specific, neither do they specifically interact with the photographs directly. They are meant to split up the three phases in the book. They deliver a breathing area for the viewer to have a small break after seeing the first and second bunch of the pictures.”

Ultimately, one of the principal takeaways of Noyan 2015-2022 is about maintaining curiosity and interest in the minutiae of the world around you, however seemingly mundane. Wenzinger, who “thinks in pictures”, explains, “My surrounding is a constant flow of ideas for my work. If I am walking around, I always see something that is interesting to me.” And what does he think makes a perfect photograph? “When the essence of the moment is captured in the picture and the viewer experiences this essence,” he concludes. “It doesn’t matter if it’s raw or staged.”

Noyan 2015-2022 is published by Edition Patrick Frey and is available to order here now.

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Paul McCartney’s Beatlemania-Era Photographs Head to New York City

By in Photography

Paul McCartney’s Beatlemania-Era Photographs Head to New York City

Amid Beatlemania in America, from 1963 through 1964, Paul McCartney was photographing everything he could behind his Pentax 35 mm camera. His collection of images, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm, has been on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England, and is on its way to New York City to the Brooklyn Museum where they will be on display beginning May 3, 2024.

The exhibit will feature more than 250 of McCartney’s photographs from his archives capturing The Beatles during one of the most historic musical moments in time.

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Videos by American Songwriter

[RELATED: 3 of Paul McCartney’s Most Surprising Collaborations]

“Since first arriving in New York in February 1964, Paul McCartney has built a strong, everlasting connection to the city,” said Catherine Futter, director of curatorial affairs and senior curator of decorative arts at Brooklyn Museum in a statement. “His vibrant photographs from The Beatles’ first visit capture the energy of the city, the excitement of the American fans, and the frenzy of the band’s status as celebrities. Yet the images also record The Beatles’ fun and delight with each other.”

Futter added, “Through McCartney’s lens, we feel the intensity of being at the center of such extraordinary events.”

Paul McCartney’s 1963 Selfie. Self-portrait, London, 1963. (Photo: Paul McCartney under
exclusive license to MPL Archive LLP)

The Eyes of the Storm exhibit also chronicles a longer timeline of The Beatles’ earlier beginnings with photographs of the band playing concert halls in Liverpool and London and the start of their touring internationally, first to Paris and then to the United States. The collection also holds intimate images of McCartney’s bandmates John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr at the brink of stardom.

Once in America, The Beatles enraptured an entire generation, which is evident in many of McCartney’s images of paparazzi and fan frenzy. When the band arrived in New York City, they made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was viewed by nearly 73 million people.

[RELATED: Paul McCartney’s Book, Photo Exhibition Captures Cusp of Beatlemania]

McCartney’s photography also expanded into more portraiture, landscape, and documentary-style photographs. In 2023, McCartney also released a more expansive collection of his images in the book 1964: Eyes of the Storm.

“Millions of eyes were suddenly upon us,” said McCartney, “creating a picture I will never forget for the rest of my life.”

Photo: Courtesy of Paul McCartney / Nasty Little Man

Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 Winners Celebrate International Beauty

By in Photography

Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 Winners Celebrate International Beauty
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Slovenian photographer AndreJa Ravnak has been named the Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 | © AndreJa Ravnak / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)

The Travel Photographer of the Year revealed the winners of its 21st annual photo competition. The 2023 winners showcase the best in travel photography and celebrate the diverse landscapes, nature, cultures, and people worldwide.

A Slovenian photographer has taken home the top honors for the second year in a row. AndreJa Ravnak is “The Travel Photographer of the Year 2023,” following in fellow Slovenian Matjaz Krivic’s footsteps.

Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
© AndreJa Ravnak / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)

Ravnak’s winning images show rolling hills in Czechia and Italy. The contest organizers describe her images as demonstrating “fairytale beauty.” Ravnak’s “day job” is as an architect, so she is not even a professional photographer.

“Becoming Travel Photographer of the Year is a huge recognition. From my personal experience, I know it’s not easy to judge photography. Images are not measurable, so being a judge is a complex task and responsibility,” says Ravnak. “I would like to thank the panel of judges for recognizing my work. I’ve seen many excellent and creative photos in this year’s TPOTY final and it’s such a great honor to find my work recognized.”

Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
© AndreJa Ravnak / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)

“Congratulations to all the winners; together, we are enthusiastically documenting this wonderful world, and perhaps this is a small contribution, a reminder to preserve its wonder for future generations,” she adds.

Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
© AndreJa Ravnak / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)

“There is a subtle elegance about this year’s winners. This comes through in
both of AndreJa’s winning portfolios; one takes us into simple landscapes, with delicate colors and a textural beauty, the other into the hop fields, out of season and undressed ready for the next planting. Neither are obvious subjects, neither photographed at an optimal time of year, and yet they are both engaging and rather beautiful,” says TPOTY founder Chris Coe.

Young Travel Photographer of the Year

Alongside Ravnak’s victory as Travel Photographer of the Year 2023, the competition also named 14-year-old American photographer Caden Shepard Choi the “Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2023.”

Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
14-year-old photographer Caden Shephard Choi is the Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 for her images of indigenous Diné (Navajo) people in Chinle, Arizona. | Credit: © Caden Shephard Choi / Travel Photographer of the Year (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Credit: © Caden Shephard Choi / Travel Photographer of the Year (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Credit: © Caden Shephard Choi / Travel Photographer of the Year (tpoty.com)

Individual Category Winners

Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Age 15-18 Category Winner | Credit: © Lilly Zhang (USA, age 17) / Travel Photographer of the Year (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Under 14 Category Winner | Credit: © Zayan Durrani (USA, age 14) / Travel Photographer of the Year (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Landscape and Environment Portfolio Winner — © Armand Sarlangue (France) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Best Single Image in a Landscape and Environment Portfolio Winner — © Kazuaki Koseki (Japan) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Nature, Wildlife, and Conservation Portfolio Winner — © Martin Broen (USA) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Best Single Image in a Wildlife and Conservation Portfolio — © Martin Broen (USA) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
People and Cultures Portfolio Winner — © Athanasios Maloukos (Greece) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Best Single Image in a People and Cultures Portfolio Winner — © Jack Lawson (UK) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Visual Stories Portfolio Winner — © Alain Schroeder (Belgium) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
Best Single Image in Visual Stories — © F. Dilek Yurdakul (Turkey) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
MPB One Shot: A Quieter Life Winner — © Ignacio Palacios (Australia/Spain) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
MPB One Shot: Above, Eye Level, Below Winner — © Josien van Geffen (Netherlands) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)
Travel Photographer of the Year 2023
MPB One Shot: Leisure and Adventure Winner — © Andrea Peruzzi (Italy) / Travel Photographer of the Year 2023 (tpoty.com)

More From Travel Photographer of the Year

This year’s competition was judged by a 16-person international jury and all finalists must provide their RAW/original image files to be eligible to win. The complete gallery of winners and commended photographers is available on the Travel Photographer of the Year website.

Image credits: Photos courtesy of the Travel Photographer of the Year. Photographers are credited in the individual image captions.

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