Time-lapse Photography Captures City Life, Beauty

I have just a quick post for you today. Watch this time-lapse photography of New York City:



Like I mentioned in this post about LA last summer, these images are so powerful because they elicit an emotional response from the viewer. Cities are stunning places, a fact we may take for granted as we whiz about them.

I think my favorite moment in this video occurs at the 1:20 mark when the walk/don't walk signal flashes back and forth in rapid succession. It almost makes me want to buy a camera and just leave it somewhere for a while. Who knows what splendor it would capture?

UNDERCITY Takes Us Beneath the Streets, To the Highest of Heights

In his new film UNDERCITY, director and cinematographer Andrew Wonder profiles urban historian (read adventurer) Steve Duncan as he explores the underbelly of the Big Apple. From abandoned subway stations to the city's oldest sewer system to the very top of the Williamsburg Bridge, Wonder catches it all in remarkable form and stunning clarity.

Note: Watch it full-screen and in HD.



For more coverage on the topic, check out these pieces at npr.org and The New York Times.

Nissan's "New Way," Leading the Way

Last September I posted a series of Nissan commercials which all riffed on the topic of innovation. A central theme, of course, was sustainability and the measures Nissan is taking, particularly with the 100 percent electric Leaf, to transform automobiles from gas guzzlers to zero-net carbon emitters (if the electricity used to power the car is produced with renewables, that is).

A few days ago I saw the following commercial on TV. I thought it was new at the time, but after I found it on the web I realized it was posted last June. Regardless of its production date, I think Nissan may be upping the ante as the Leaf rolls off of the assembly line in select markets. It will become available nationwide by the fall of 2011. The video below describes how the Leaf contributes to the paradigm shift of electric vehicles by assigning old meanings to new components.

See what I mean below: