This is a composite picture of nine images (taken with a Canon 200mm lens) and 38 eclipse images layered over one another. The eclipse occurred July 22, 2009.

Miloslav Druckmüller and colleagues took the photos at the Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands as part of an international expedition organized by the Institute for Astronomy at University of Hawaii.

The image shows how magnetic waves emanate from the sun in brilliant nano-flares.

The 2292 x 1572 image is also available showing all the nearby stars.

Source: Miloslav Druckmüller, Peter Aniol, Vojtech Rušin, Ľubomír Klocok, Karel Martišek, Martin Dietzel

Click on the picture for a larger image.

Is this a really well done painting? If your answer is yes, then you're wrong!! It's a photo, of a person, in front of a set, in a mall! It's an amazing blend of photography, body paint, and modeling.

The picture was taken by University of Hawaii Art Professor Peter Kun Frary, who noticed the display outside of a MAC cosmetics store. The amount of time and effort that went into this must have been truly staggering.

To quote Professor Frary from his site :

Although carrying a heavy SLR can be a drag, it's worth it when a great image leaps out and bites you on the arse. Recently I walked by the Ala Moana Mac cosmetic store and noticed a crowd of Japanese tourists gawking and snapping pics. Amazingly, a model in full body paint was posing against a set. She was a darn good simulation of a late 19th century oil painting. At first I though she was nekid--wearing only makeup--but she sported a few scrapes of cloth in the right places. Also, she hardly ever blinked...

Read more...