Fotoglif: “Welder Raymond Vanwinkle of Magnolia, Texas, works on the BP Pollution Containment Chamber” May 3rd, 2010, REUTERS/Sean Gardner

“Welder Raymond Vanwinkle of Magnolia, Texas, works on the BP Pollution Containment Chamber at Wild Well Control, Inc. in Port Fourchon, Louisiana May 3, 2010. Energy giant BP Plc, its reputation battered by a catastrophic oil spill threatening the U.S. Gulf shore, said on Monday it was working to stem the gushing undersea leak and promised to pay for the cleanup and compensation claims. BP is working on to try to seal the ruptured well with an undersea containment system that would capture the leaking oil and channel it to a tanker on the surface.”

“When The New Yorker called last year, I was so surprised, I jumped up and hit my head (rather badly) on my desk lamp.” said Frank Viva. “Earth Day” (left) is available on newsstands this week. “It’s my second cover for The New Yorker and this time, I somehow managed to avoid serious injury. Us? We’re celebrating Earth Day on Thursday by taking our bikes to the office.” (source)

About Frank Viva:

“Frank Viva started out as an illustrator working for places like Time, Esquire, The New York Times and The Boston Globe. He later began a second career as a graphic designer. Nowadays, Frank lectures when asked (and sometimes when not), judges competitions, sits on two college advisory boards and writes a column in Applied Arts magazine. A past president of The Advertising & Design Club of Canada, he is passionate about cooking, wine and his daily bike ride to the office. His first children’s picture book will be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.” (more)

Learn more about the NOAA on Wikipedia.

I first became aware of this forecast model via Boing Boing

Artist statement:

“The word electricity is thought to derive from the ancient Greek elektron, meaning “amber.” When subject to friction, materials such as amber and fur produce an effect that we now know as static electricity. Related phenomena were studied in the eighteenth century, most notably by Benjamin Franklin. To test his theory that lightning is electricity, in 1752 Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm. He conducted the experiment at great danger to himself; in fact, other researchers were electrocuted while conducting similar experiments. He not only proved his hypothesis, but also that electricity has positive and negative charges. In 1831, Michael Faraday’s formulation of the law of electromagnetic induction led to the invention of electric generators and transformers, which dramatically changed the quality of human life. Far less well-known is that Faraday’s colleague, William Fox Talbot, was the father of calotype photography. Fox Talbot’s momentous discovery of the photosensitive properties of silver alloys led to the development of positive-negative photographic imaging. The idea of observing the effects of electrical discharges on photographic dry plates reflects my desire to re-create the major discoveries of these scientific pioneers in the darkroom and verify them with my own eyes.” (artist’s official website)

About PDN :

“PDN Photo of the Day displays photographs selected by the editors of Photo District News, a publication for photo professionals.” (read more).

Previously on Skandalon

Dan McCarthy: “Power line 5”, ink on paper, 8”x12”, 2001