Lost Paris: Documenting the Disappearance of a Medieval City

If you can’t make it to Paris (or time travel), the next best thing might just be these photographs of a Paris lost, moments before its disappearance. Before it became the city of light, before the Eiffel Tower became its unmistakable symbol, photographer Charles Marville was commissioned to document the transition from medieval Paris, a city that…

Why Doesn’t Food Packaging look like this Anymore?

I‘ll let you in on a little secret. Backstage at Messy Nessy Chic, we’re in the early stages of a website re-design; an image overhaul, a shiny new make-over! And of course when it comes to any kind of re-decorating, you need inspiration. On the look-out for beautiful typography, colour palettes and shapes, I came…

Here is the Instagram Account of a Photojournalist stationed in North Korea

David Guttenfelder might just be the most interesting person to follow on Instagram. As the Associated Press Chief photographer in Asia, he’s a bit of a regular in North Korea now that the AP has opened a bureau in Pyongyang. “I’ve covered stories where foreign photographers are everywhere. But in North Korea I’m usually the…

Shoefiti: Behind the Modern Mystery of Shoe Tossing

Have you ever seen a pair of sneakers tied together and hanging over a power line? Chances are you have. The practice of shoe flinging, nicknamed ‘shoefiti’, is widespread and can be found the world over, from busy city streets to the loneliest desert highways. But for such a worldwide phenomenon, the strangest thing of…

The Luxury Hotel with a Secret Cold War Bunker built for Congress

For thirty years, a luxury resort hotel in West Virginia played host to the world’s wealthiest holidaymakers, all the while covertly moonlighting as the secret underground bunker built to house the United States government in the event of a nuclear fallout… In preparation for a nuclear attack, every last member of the legislative branch would…

To the Bookmobile! The Library on Wheels of Yesteryear

Long before Amazon was bringing books to your doorstep, there was the Bookmobile! A travelling library often used to provide books to villages and city suburbs that had no library buildings, the bookmobile went from a simple horse-drawn cart in the 19th century to large customised vehicles that became part of American culture and reached…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. XLII)

1. Early Skype Found on Flickr 2. The Sliding Facade of an Abandoned House British designer Alex Chinneck created the installation – called From the Knees of my Nose to the Belly of my Toes – by removing the facade of a detached four-storey house that had been derelict for eleven years and replacing it…

My Secret Paris View (vineyard included)

There are very few spectacular views in Paris that we don’t have to share with a lot of other people. The tourists have claimed the Eiffel Tower and the steps of the Sacré Coeur, while most Parisians will swear by the panoramic views from the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. And while their local instinct for…

Holy Land USA (Before & After): The Abandoned Christian Theme Park

Because nothing says fun, amusement and good times for all the family like bible studies, there was Holy Land USA, a Christian tourist attraction filled with religious exhibits in Waterbury, Connecticut between 1958 and 1984. At its height, Holy Land attracted up to 40,000 visitors a year to the park. Lead photo by Paul Maiorana…

The Forbidden Road of the French Alps

It might look like a traveler’s paradise, but this picturesque road is counted amongst the most dangerous in the world. Known as les Grands Goulets and built between 1843 and 1854, the legendary route is carved out of the cliffs of Vercors, a massif of mountains in the Rhône alpes region of France. After 156 years…