Located at the Liss Ard Estate Gardens in Cork County, Ireland; the James Turrell Irish Sky Garden Crater is an amazing sculptural land art installation by famed artist James Turrell. The Irish Sky Garden Crater is open from April to November and measures about 25 meters (82 ft) in length, dipping almost 13 meters (42ft) at it’s lowest depth.

The man-made hollow is accessed via a dark concrete tunnel flanked by Liscannor stone, featuring a white marble stone that reflects the light from the rim of the crater during the day. The design is based on a birthing scenario, where visitors walk through the dark tunnel into the light. “It’s about rebirth and optimism, its experiential and it nurtures the desire to walk towards the light [into the crater]. It evokes powerful reactions in people,” says Arthur Little, the manager of Liss Ard estate. [Source: The Irish Times]

The space has been constructed to view the sky while lying on large stones placed in the centre of the crater. The crater’s edge, hovering in your peripheral vision, perfectly frames the infinite and endlessly changing sky. “The most important thing is that inside turns into outside and the other way around, in the sense that relationships between the Irish landscape and sky changes,” says artist James Turrell of his work. [Source: Cow House Studios]

Throughout India, Pakistan and the Middle East you will find camels. These domesticated even-toe ungulates are not only hard workers, but they also provide milk and meat. These animals are celebrated in a variety of festivals including the world famous Bikaner Camel Festival in Rajasthan, India and camel beauty pageants in Abu Dhabi and the Cholistan Desert in Pakistan.

According to photographer Osakabe Yasuo, this incredible camel hair artwork can up to three years to create. For the first two years, the hair is grown, trimmed and prepped. For competitions, the hair is then trimmed into intricate patterns and dyed for the dramatic effect you see below.

Please enjoy this gallery of incredible camel art. Big thanks to Osakabe and the other photographers for documenting this fascinating tradition with such wonderful photos.

Welcome to the Shirk Report where you will find the 25 funniest images, 10 most interesting articles, and 5 most viral videos from the previous week of sifting. Most images found on Reddit; articles typically originate from Twitter, RSS and email; videos come from a variety of sources. Any suggestions? Send a note to submit@twistedsifter.com!

THE SHIRK REPORT 2.0 IS HERE! IMAGES WILL NOW APPEAR RIGHT BELOW THE TEXT LINK. TO HIDE THE IMAGE, SIMPLY CLICK THE TEXT LINK AGAIN. PLEASE ENJOY RESPONSIBLY AND STAY SIFTY MY FRIENDS!

25 IMAGES

 
- Ring the bell
- That does not look safe
- Excellent display of passive aggression ||| Another excellent display!
- Captain Hook
- Dry rubs
- Embrace your critics
- Opportunistic marketing
- A friendly reminder that the Internet isn’t always right. Am I right?
- Billy Clinton poses with three adult film stars. The legend grows
- As badass as handlebars can be
- Ask me about my watermelon
- Furniture pod
- Vandals 1, Cameras 0
- Oh the places they’ll go
- The correlation between explosions and revenue for Michael Bay films
- Shadow play
- When you need to set up something big, better call…
- Best hockey celebration?
- Your bowling is bad and you should feel bad
- Ghetto pool heater
- These animals are punny
- Thanks Laundry Lounge! (photo by @MikeChops)
- The new face of football
- 1 year, 1 beard, 1 gif
- Beach potatoes

10 ARTICLES

 
- The other man on the podium
- The 36 Absolute Best Things In The World
- SpaceX Launches With 15 Dreams Onboard
- The awesomely insane Heaven and Hell nightclubs of 1890s Paris
- Skydiver Becomes First To Land Without Chute
- Jonathan Ive interview: Apple’s design genius is British to the core ||| Part 2 of Interview
- How One Flawed Study Spawned a Decade of Lies
- A site dedicated to stupid QR codes (thx for sharing @MikeChops!
- How the Chicken Conquered the World
- The Ultimate Counterfeiter Isn’t a Crook—He’s an Artist (thx for sharing Tennyson!)
 

5 VIDEOS

Thx for sharing T. Smith!

In this breathtaking photograph by bbe022001 on Flickr, we see a beautiful ‘Moon Bridge’ in DaHu (Big Lake) park in Taipei, Taiwan. I was unable to find out much additional information on this amazing photograph. I used Google translate on the photographer’s description in Chinese below, hopefully some of it adds some detail into the process that went into capturing this painting-like image:

[Translated by Google]

- On a foggy morning, including the Great Lakes Lake Park photographed scenery

1. Shooting mode: aperture light decision, F11, the metering I remember is that the matrix metering, shooting NEF files

2. Second, due to the part of the sun’s map in the top right of the sun is too bright, the mountain was too black, it will result in the dynamic range is too large, the photos will not show all. When finished post-production, it is clear part of the sun and can not figure significantly light next to the sky is pale one, but the mountain and the lake is exposed just. So I decided to use the LR gradient filters reduce the brightness of the sky and the sun. Adjust this one, regardless of exposure or angle should be very careful, because believe it will cause significant dividing line of light and dark, it would be false. When moderately above the horizontal plane made ??from dark to light from top to bottom gradient, and then below the horizontal plane with a way to do a bottom-up from dark to bright gradient, up and down a little range of the horizontal gradient filter does not affect the scope of (relative light). Horizontal upper and lower fog will be more intensive.

3. Third, backlit film, so the color will be destroyed and rendered more like a gray background. So I decided to add a little blue LR split tone part of the shadow in order to meet the morning blue color temperature (In fact, the sun already high color temperature part has not bluish). Saturation do not adjust too high would be more natural. The bright part of the Ministry will not move him, to maintain the original color. Re-adjust the exposure and brightness, but I did not move the contrast and black, because I’m afraid the mountain gradient will disappear. In order to maintain the tone of the whole shoot, so I so photos all synchronization processing (the color of the part) and then fine-tuning.

Alpacas are a domesticated species of South American camelid, bearing a striking resemblance to llamas only much smaller. They have been bred specifically for their ‘fiber’ which is used for similar knitted and woven products that wool is used for. This wonderful ‘fiber’ comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified in the United States. [Source]

What was I talking about again? Oh right, the hair. Alapacas have awesome hair. It comes in various shades, lengths and textures and it’s glorious enough to bring a smile to your face. Don’t believe me? Check out the gallery below and let me know if you feel any better by the end

A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite, or in an artificial explosion caused by humans.

Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not made. Crater lakes covering active (fumarolic) volcanic vents are sometimes known as volcanic lakes, and the water within them is often acidic, saturated with volcanic gases, and cloudy with a strong greenish color. Lakes located in dormant or extinct volcanoes tend to have fresh water, and the water clarity in such lakes can be exceptional due to the lack of inflowing streams and sediment.

Crater lakes form as precipitation within the rim fills the created depression. The water level rises until an equilibrium is reached between the rate of incoming and outgoing water. Sources of water loss singly or together, may include evaporation, subsurface seepage, and in places, surface leakage or overflow when the lake level reaches the lowest point on its rim. [Source: Wikipedia]

Below you will find a gallery of some of the most beautiful looking crater lakes in the world. Knowing these were all created and formed by volcanoes only adds to their mystique. Enjoy!

A well-known crater lake, which bears the same name as the geological feature, is Crater Lake in Oregon, USA. It is located in the caldera of Mount Mazama. It is the deepest lake in the United States with a depth of 594 m (1,949 ft). Crater Lake is fed solely by falling rain and snow, with no inflow or outflow at the surface, and hence is one of the clearest lakes in the world. [Source]

Quilotoa is a water-filled caldera and the most western volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. The 3 kilometres (2 mi) wide caldera was formed by the collapse of this dacite volcano following a catastrophic VEI-6 eruption about 800 years ago, which produced pyroclastic flows and lahars that reached the Pacific Ocean, and spread an airborne deposit of volcanic ash throughout the northern Andes. The caldera has since accumulated a 250 m (820 ft) deep crater lake, which has a greenish color as a result of dissolved minerals. Fumaroles are found on the lake floor and hot springs occur on the eastern flank of the volcano. [Source]

In a region bursting with people, a few big open spaces remain—like the Rift floor in Queen Elizabeth Park, pocked with crater lakes formed by volcanic explosions. If protected areas hadn’t been set aside in the Albertine Rift from the 1920s to the 1960s, conservationists doubt any large wilderness areas would exist today. [Source]
 
The Western Rift, also called the Albertine Rift, is edged by some of the highest mountains in Africa, including the Virunga Mountains, Mitumba Mountains, and Ruwenzori Range. It contains the Rift Valley lakes, which include some of the deepest lakes in the world (up to 1,470 metres (4,800 ft) deep at Lake Tanganyika). Much of this area lies within the boundaries of national parks such as Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwenzori National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Lake Victoria is considered to be part of the rift valley system although it actually lies between the two branches. All of the African Great Lakes were formed as the result of the rift, and most lie within its rift valley. [Source]

Kelimutu volcano contains three striking summit crater lakes of varying colors. Tiwu Ata Mbupu (Lake of Old People) is usually blue and is the westernmost of the three lakes. The other two lakes, Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai (Lake of Young Men and Maidens) and Tiwu Ata Polo (Bewitched or Enchanted Lake) are separated by a shared crater wall and are typically green or red respectively. Kelimutu is of interest to geologists because the three lakes are different colors yet are at the crest of the same volcano. [Source]

Lake Pinatubo is the summit crater lake of Mount Pinatubo formed after its climactic eruption on June 15, 1991. The lake is located near the boundaries of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales provinces in the Philippines and is the deepest lake in the country at 800 m (2,600 ft). It is about 90 km (56 mi) northwest of the capital city of Manila. [Source]

Mount Zao is a complex volcano on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. It consists of a cluster of stratovolcanoes and is the most active volcano in northern Honsh?. The central volcano of the group includes several lava domes and a tuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which contains a crater lake named Okama. Also known as the ‘Five Color Pond’ because it changes color depending on the weather, it lies in a crater formed by a volcanic eruption in the 1720s. The lake is 360 metres (1,200 ft) in diameter and 60 m (200 ft) deep, and is one of the main tourist attractions in the area. [Source]

Mount Katmai is a large stratovolcano (composite volcano) on the Alaska Peninsula in southern Alaska, located within Katmai National Park and Preserve. It is about 6.3 miles (10 km) in diameter with a central lake-filled caldera about 3 by 2 mi (4.5 by 3 km) in area, formed during the Novarupta eruption of 1912. The caldera rim reaches a maximum elevation of 6,716 feet (2,047 m). In 1975 the surface of the crater lake was at an elevation of about 4,220 feet (1,286 m), and the estimated elevation of the caldera floor is about 3,400 ft (1,040 m). The mountain is located in Kodiak Island Borough, very close to its border with Lake and Peninsula Borough. [Source]

Taal Volcano is a complex volcano located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Historical eruptions are concentrated on Volcano Island, an island near the middle of Lake Taal. The lake partially fills Taal Caldera, which was formed by powerful prehistoric eruptions between 140,000 to 5,380 BP. Viewed from Tagaytay Ridge, Taal Volcano and Lake presents one of the most picturesque and attractive views in the Philippines. It is located about 50 km (31 mi) south of the capital of the country, the city of Manila.
 
One large rock, now called Vulcan Point that projects from the surface of the crater lake was the remnant of the old crater floor that is now surrounded by the 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide lake, now referred to as the Main Crater Lake. Vulcan Point is cited as the world’s largest island within a lake on an island within a lake on an island, i.e., Vulcan Point within Crater Lake, on Taal Island within Lake Taal, on the island of Luzon. [Source]

Deriba Crater is at the highest point of Jebel Marra at an elevation of 3,042 m (9,980 ft), in Darfur in the western part of Sudan. The caldera rim became Sudan’s new highest point, after the independence of South Sudan. It is between 5 km and 8 km in diameter across the outer crater. The inner crater is filled by a crater lake. The 5-kilometer-wide Deriba Caldera was formed by explosive eruption of the Jebel Marra Volcano approximately 3,500 years ago. The volcano is considered dormant, rather than extinct, as hot springs and fumaroles (gas and steam vents) are still present. [Source]

Mount Ruapehu, or just Ruapehu, is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kilometres northeast of Ohakune and 40 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park. The North Island’s major skifields and only glaciers are on its slopes.
 
Ruapehu is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and the largest active volcano in New Zealand. It is the highest point in the North Island and includes three major peaks: Tahurangi (2,797 m), Te Heuheu (2,755 m) and Paretetaitonga (2,751 m). The deep, active crater is between the peaks and fills with a crater lake between major eruptions. [Source]

Yak Loum is a lake and a popular tourist destination in the Ratanakiri province of northeastern Cambodia. Located approximately 3 miles (5 km) from the provincial capital, Banlung, the beautiful lake occupies a 4,000-year-old volcanic crater. Due to the lake’s tremendous depth (157 ft or 48 m), its water is exceptionally clean and clear. The lake is almost perfectly round and measures 0.45 miles (0.72 km) in diameter. Large trees and rich, lush rain forest, the home of many exotic birds and parrots, surround the lake. [Source]

Kerid is a volcanic crater lake located in the Grímsnes area in south Iceland, on the popular tourist route known as the Golden Circle. It is one of several crater lakes in the area, known as Iceland’s Western Volcanic Zone, which includes the Reykjanes peninsula and the Langjökull Glacier, created as the land moved over a localized hotspot, but it is the one that has the most visually recognizable caldera still intact.
 
The caldera, like the other volcanic rock in the area, is composed of a red (rather than black) volcanic rock. The caldera itself is approximately 55 m (180 ft) deep, 170 m (560 ft) wide, and 270 m (890 ft) across. Kerid’s caldera is one of the three most recognizable volcanic craters because at approximately 3,000 years old, it is only half the age of most of the surrounding volcanic features. While most of the crater is steep-walled with little vegetation, one wall is sloped more gently and blanketed with a deep moss, and can be descended fairly easily. The lake itself is fairly shallow (7–14 metres, depending on rainfall and other factors), but due to minerals from the soil, is an opaque and strikingly vivid aquamarine. [Source]

Licancabur is a highly symmetrical stratovolcano on the southernmost part of the border between Chile and Bolivia. It is located just southwest of Laguna Verde in Bolivia. The volcano dominates the landscape of the Salar de Atacama area. The lower two thirds of the northeastern slope of the volcano belong to Bolivia, 5,400 m (17,717 ft) from the foot at 4,360 m (14,304 ft), while the rest and biggest part, including the higher third of the northeastern slope, the crater and summit, belong to Chile.
 
The summit and the crater are located entirely in Chile, slightly over 1 km (3,281 ft) to the south west of the international borders, it is about 400 m (1,312 ft) wide and contains a 70 m (230 ft) by 90 m (295 ft) crater lake, Licancabur Lake, which is ice-covered most of the year. This is one of the highest lakes in the world, and despite air temperatures which can drop to -30 °C, it contains planktonic fauna. [Source]

Askja is a stratovolcano situated in a remote part of the central highlands of Iceland. The name Askja refers to a complex of nested calderas within the surrounding Dyngjufjoll mountains, which rise to 1,510 m (4,954 ft), askja meaning box or caldera in Icelandic. The region is only accessible for a few months of the year. Being situated in the rain-shadow to the NE of the Vatnajökull icecap, the area receives only about 450 mm of rainfall annually. The area was used during training for the Apollo program to prepare astronauts for the lunar missions, their main objective in Askja was to study geology.
 
Oskjuvatn is a large lake that fills much of the smaller caldera resulting from the 1875 eruption. Its surface lies about 50 m below the level of the main crater floor and covers about 12 km². When the lake originally formed it was warm, but today it is frozen over for most of the year. Oskjuvatn is the second deepest lake in Iceland at 220 m deep. Viti is a smaller explosion crater on the north east shore of Oskjuvatn, approximately 150 metres diameter. It contains a geothermal lake of mineral-rich, sulphurous, opaque blue water. [Source]

Heaven Lake is a crater lake on the border between China and North Korea. It lies within a caldera atop the volcanic Baekdu Mountain, a part of the Baekdudaegan mountain range and the Changbai mountain range. It is located partly in Ryanggang Province, North Korea, at 42.006°N 128.057°E, and partly in Jilin Province, northeastern China.
 
The caldera which contains Heaven Lake was created by a major eruption in 969 CE (± 20 years). The lake has a surface elevation of 2,189.1 m (7,182 ft). The lake covers an area of 9.82 km² (3.79 sq mi) with a south-north length of 4.85 km (3.01 mi) and east-west length of 3.35 kilometres (2.08 mi). The average depth of the lake is 213 m (699 ft) and maximum depth of 384 m (1,260 ft). From mid-October to mid-June, it is typically covered with ice. [Source]

In this fascinating closeup, we see hundreds of ‘little brown mushrooms‘ covering a tree. Some see little umbrellas, some only see the dying/decaying one in the middle; and many, apparently, are simply repulsed by such a large amount of fungi in one place. I’m undecided, yet inexplicably drawn to this photo. What do you think of this little mushroom kingdom?

“Little brown mushroom” (or LBM) refers to any of a large number of small, dull-coloured agaric species, with few macromorphological uniquely distinguishing characteristics. As a result, LBMs typically range from difficult to impossible for mushroom hunters to identify. Experienced mushroomers may discern more subtle identifying traits that help narrow the mushroom down to a particular genus or group of species, but exact identification of LBMs often requires close examination of microscopic characteristics plus a certain degree of familiarity or specialization in that particular group.

For mycologists, LBMs are the equivalent of LBJs (“little brown job”) and DYCs (“damned yellow composite”) that are the bane of ornithologists and botanists, respectively. [Source: Wikipedia]

In this unique, open-concept loft space, ECDM Architects were challenged by the owner to create a bedroom in this relatively small 50 square meter (538 sq ft.) apartment. The solution of a hanging or suspended bedroom is both elegant and functional. The living room area now has separation from the rest of the space and the bedroom can serve dual purpose as a sort of ‘bench’ should guests congregate in dining room/kitchen area.

Completed in 2005 and located in Montrouge, France, Chez Valentin is a funky space that’s sure to leave an impression. In the pictures below you may notice the living room being shown with several different layouts, which one do you like best?
 
[First spotted on Arch Daily]

Using simple strainers, public sources of light and very steady hands; artist and sculptor Isaac Cordal creates incredible faces in colander baskets, placing them around London, using street lights to project shadowy figures onto sidewalks.

We’ve already featured Isaac’s brilliant work before, but in this series entitled Cement bleak, Isaac takes his street art to a completely different (but equally amazing) place from his well known miniature cement sculptures.

Can you imagine walking down a street and coming across one of these installations? Keep up the amazing work Isaac! You can check out his other work on his official site at: http://www.isaac.alg-a.org

There are countless unsung heroes that bring your favourite television shows and movies to life. In this post, the Sifter salutes the brave stuntwomen and stuntmen who put their bodies in harm’s way to get those action shots and sequences that can make or break a scene.

They are professionals that do an amazing job which is why you hardly notice them. You believe it’s the actors because of great editing, matching wardrobe and a stunt double that looks similar (for the most part).

Last week there was a gallery posted to Reddit of about 15 images. That was enough to get me started and I was able to find another 15 photos of actors with their stunt doubles. Enjoy!