(Really) Stunning Pictures and Photos
Photography is a very powerful medium and a very difficult craft. Excellent photos don’t only display some facts — they tell stories, awake feelings and manage to share with the audience the emotions a photographer experienced when clicking the shot button. Taking excellent pictures is damn hard as you need to find a perfect perspective and consider the perfect timing. To achieve brilliant photography you need practice and patience. However, it is worth it: the results can be truly stunning.
Below you’ll find 50 brilliant photos and stunning pictures — some pictures tell stories, some are incredibly beautiful, some are funny and some are very sad.
All pictures are copyright of their respective owners. Please explore the further work of the photographers by browsing through their work. We’ve tried to cover different themes so that everybody will find something interesting and spectacular for himself / herself. All screenshots are linked und lead to the pages from which they’ve been taken.
You may also want to take a look at the following posts:
- (Really) Stunning Desktop Wallpapers covers desktop wallpapers related to typography, art, technology, photography and abstract themes,
- 35 Fantastic HDR Pictures presents 35 extremely beautiful and perfectly executed HDR-pictures.
(Really) Stunning Pictures and Photos
Water and a Girl
Beautiful composition, excellent scenery, amazing play of colors.
The Ball is Coming!
Analogue shot with Seagull 6×6 (Chinese clone of Rolleiflex), made in 1983. “The gulfball is suspended on a fishing line in front of the camera. It was a stormy day. So I had to shoot 5 or 6 films for getting one image with the ball in the center position AND a light reflection on the golf club.”
Sky
The sky is reflected in a drop of water. Beautiful scenery.
Returning to the same ocean
Beautiful sand textures, beautiful composition and somehow a very sad story hidden behind the image.
Tree
A colorful tree from a different perspective.
Gizmo
How adorable is that?
Glittery Ball
“The reflection in this water droplet, it looks like the glitter is stuck to the water, but NO, it is reflections from the glitter on the feather.”
Yaw? Weeeee
You probably shouldn’t try this in your local trains. Such pictures are unforgettable.
Leap of Faith
What does being one step away from falling into the abyss feel like? The photo is taken by Paul Perton.
Astronaut Self-shot Over Earth
Could this be the best self-shot ever? It’s truly out of this world.
Autumn in red
Pure beauty. No words are necessary.
FlickrMeeting – Genova – G3
Blue baloon, a small detail, gives the picture an incredible power.
![Mind-Blowing Photos - FlickrMeeting - Genova - G3 - [Ghe semmu + DieciCento + Milanoue!!W ]](http://media.smashingmagazine.com/images/pictures-photos/photos-12.jpg)
Sea in the sea
Incredible scenery. Apparently, the shot was made on the boat in the middle of the sea.
If I was an old building…
“If I was an old building I would want to be by the ocean. Till’ the end of times”. Photographed at the old fishing piers of the Texas Bolivar Peninsula.
Bee the Cat
“It’s hard to get the right exposure, with them being white, and with the fact they don’t stay still unless they’re sleeping.”
Passing the Golden Gate Bridge
Glow
Smoke from a leaf pile.
Swimming pool
Taking a look at the swimming pool. From a quite different perspective.
Reflect
A reflection from the louvre’s pyramid.
Time To Go Home…
“Tthe way the birds are lined up makes the composition extraordinary fantastic.”
Seagull on a sign
This seagull seems to have its own personal understanding of human’s rules.
Marshmellow girl
A beautiful composition.
Refashioned Dahlia
Photo taken at Duncan Garden in Spokane, WA.
Water drop
A photo taken at the exact right time. Available as a desktop wallpaper in various resolutions.
Blessed fog
A shot of Grande Madre di Dio in Torino, Italy.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse
“Once per year at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse they shut down the weak insipid modern (presumably electric) light and switch over the the 5 kerosene lamps and fresnel lens of the original, as it was 135 years ago.”
Fire Shot
Location: Changa Beach, Coquimbo.
A conversation
Fox, bird and snow. This picture is titled “Good afternoon, my name is chikiricuatro”.
Shanghai – Acrobatic
Picture taken during an acrobatic show in a Shanghainese theatre.
Northern lights as seen from space
Skier’s Paradise
“Climbing partner at 17,000′ on Denali carrying his skis down to around 16,200′ where he will be able to ski down the rest of the way to base camp at 7200′.”
Photograph Taken at the Exact Right Time
All alone.
This shot is taken on a Norway’s cliff Prekestolen (also known as Preacher’s Pulpit).
Above the clouds
The shot taken during the flight from Vienna to Frankfurt, approaching Frankfurt.
Cockfight
Taken by Jan Sochor.
Polar lights
Öxarárfoss in Iceland – Aurora Borealis taken by Arnar Valdimarsson.
Here floats a bubble in the air…
Sources and Resources
You’ll find many more excellent photos, illustrations and pictures on the following sites:
- Pixdaus.com
A social community dedicated to sharing photos. Pixdaus is a place where anyone can post his pictures, photos and others rate it. If it’s cool it gets to the main page and more people can enjoy it. - Ffffound.com
Image bookmarking. An invitation-based service.
Related posts
You may also want to take a look at the following posts:
- (Really) Stunning Desktop Wallpapers covers desktop wallpapers related to typography, art, technology, photography and abstract themes,
- 35 Fantastic HDR Pictures presents 35 extremely beautiful and perfectly executed HDR-pictures.
bhavin
April 29th, 2008 7:11 pmIt is awesome
mahi
April 29th, 2008 7:29 pmawesome pictures…. pure beauty.
Matt Mikulla
April 29th, 2008 8:07 pmAs a photographer, I love posts like this. From a design vs. bandwidth standpoint I am encourage that you included so many images in your post. I tend to stay away from including more than 5 images that size. I’m probably living in a time years ago before high speed internet was around.
I might start listing my individual portfolio pages` with the full size images in line. I’m just thinking.
Great photography and very inspiring. The world is an amazing place and it’s the photographer’s job to interpret and express it.
Matt Mikulla
April 29th, 2008 8:13 pm@Sylvia
The image of the cockfight I think is a truly amazing image. The subject matter may be morally reprehensible, but sometimes photographers and photo editors must side on presenting truth and reality. Think of the images that real combat / war photographers present to us. Think of the images burned into our minds from the holocaust. Evocative, powerful, and instructive.
Anthony
April 29th, 2008 8:15 pmAll alone.
This shot is taken on a Norway’s cliff Prekestolen (also known as Preacher’s Pulpit).
this will make you piss in your pants.
PRIYA
April 29th, 2008 8:59 pmreally superb!!!
bharath
April 29th, 2008 9:16 pmfanfuckintastic
Scott
April 29th, 2008 9:32 pmThose of you that think you are all high and mighty and come here and slam this post with your demeaning comments and think you know all there is to know about photography need to get off your computers and go back to school and take a pre-photography 101 class. You need to go find out what real photography is all about. It’s not about perfect this or perfect that or something being completely free of post camera tricks. It’s what’s in the photographers eye and it’s what the photographers brain interprets as that image in the eye as it should be on paper and if that image on paper is a quality representation of what the photographer was attempting to convey then who are you to tell us or the photographer that these images on this post are worthless dribble? Start all over with your photography education my friends and dump those expensive fancy overpriced digital cameras that you think make you great photographers. Go build your own little darkroom and spend about five years making images with a homemade shoe box pin hole camera. Then bring your results here and let US critique them. Until then learn to be nice and offer positive criticism. I for one find many of these images quite stunning and I have been studying photography and taking pictures for forty years. I have many awards for pictures much less stunning an impressive than most of these. Kudos to you smashing for rising above those that choose to be close minded and view the world with blinders on.
videobloger
April 29th, 2008 9:44 pmvery beautiful pictures.
Prashanti
April 29th, 2008 10:34 pmMind Blowing ………………………………………………………….!
Divya K
April 29th, 2008 11:12 pmhmmm. it has a mesmeric charm.. i was spell bound.
nasir
April 30th, 2008 12:28 amcannot single out the best. they are all exquisite!!!
hassan
April 30th, 2008 12:29 amawesome pics… ive been to the show in shanghai… and i must agree it was a really great show…
kyle bracewell
April 30th, 2008 12:54 amIs it just me, or is “Seagull on a Sign” a fake? The bird on the sign and the bird on top of the sign have the EXACT SAME OUTLINE. That’d be just shy of impossible, if not completely impossible.
karthiga
April 30th, 2008 1:27 amsimply Superb..
boogy
April 30th, 2008 1:39 amsome r really nice; some r scary: hope, photobirds on photowaves :)
I like “Cat and deer” the most :)
Roger
April 30th, 2008 1:40 amHOW PHOTOSHOP CAN BE BEAUTIFULL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
saravanakumar.R
April 30th, 2008 2:47 amSimply Marvlous
Lola
April 30th, 2008 7:16 amWhat do you lamers always say “photoshop”?? You’re idiots.
Someone
April 30th, 2008 9:12 amAmazing photos. The caption of photo number 3 is inaccurate. The sky is not “reflected,” simply, the drop acts as a simple lens, inverting the image. Great work thought!
federico
April 30th, 2008 12:41 pmno puedo dejar de admirarme con estas fotografías, esto es arte puro… gracias!
charlie
April 30th, 2008 2:08 pmim pretty sure the bird one is fake. the outlines are identical.
still rad though.
noone
April 30th, 2008 3:20 pmYou’re right, the one with the seagull is a photoshop. Why would there be a no seagulls sign? Do they really expect them to obey? Unless it means, ‘don’t feed the seagulls’. In any case, it’s fake, because the silohuette is exactly the same.
This picture is as old as the internet.
Autumn
April 30th, 2008 11:01 pmOh my gosh, the bubble one was so pretty, … I also really liked the water droplet and the glitter.
Vitthal
April 30th, 2008 11:21 pmFantastic…
Grant
May 1st, 2008 2:32 pmThe best advert for eyes I’ve seen recently.
Keenan
May 1st, 2008 5:22 pmOh my god! Amazing photographs.
gustavo
May 1st, 2008 6:25 pmExcelentes excelentes
epsy clara
May 1st, 2008 8:34 pmsuperbbb… no words to express…each n every shot is taken with mind blowing perception… great themes… hats off……..
jovianjokerjoe
May 1st, 2008 10:20 pmthese photographs are awesome, but the short description/comment on them is irritating. before i can see the photograph, i’m confronted by someone else’s opinion on it. it doesnt allow me to appreciate the photo or form my own opinion on it. instead of putting it before the photograph, you could put it afterwards with a couple of linebreaks in between, or better still, put it as an alternate text so that a mouseover brings it up.
i hope you’ll keep this in mind in future posts.
sherin
May 2nd, 2008 1:24 amReally Awesome .!!!
Great Work….
shridhar
May 2nd, 2008 3:22 amGreat!! Simply Great Photographs!
marcia
May 2nd, 2008 6:00 amI’m with you, no further comment necessary. They are SO striking!
Dejan
May 2nd, 2008 11:38 amVery nice photos!
Veoma lepe slike!
Red Cedar
May 2nd, 2008 12:36 pmWhether these were done by “artsists” or “amateurs” where are the photocredits? Have you asked permission from the photographers to make money from their work in this way? This type of image rip-off has become all too common – I am curious how you justify it?
Quicky
May 2nd, 2008 6:04 pmI agree with the previous post by Red Cedar. How do you justify displaying people’s without asking permission from the photographers?
Jasper
May 3rd, 2008 2:30 amAlthough I love most of the pictures displayed, I don’t like them all. Not all of them are as good as I expect them to be at Smashing Magazines. “Cat and deer”, “Leap of Faith” and “Photograph Taken at the Exact Right Time” are funny, and I would be very proud if they were my vacation pictures, but great timing doesn’t make a picture great. And we’ve seen the water drops falling a thousand times before. Furthermore, I agree with Red Cedar and jovianjokerjoe. This is not a bad post, its a bad Smashing Magazine post. It’s not as good as others at Smashing Magazine, and that’s a shame. I hope next posts will be as good as the ones before this one.
Kaustubh Joshi
May 3rd, 2008 4:16 am‘Nature’ the loving living God!!! Thought provoking for sure.Human element just tries to improve upon the natural SILENCE.Thank you guys.
olee
May 3rd, 2008 4:51 amawesome……………….
webpixelkonsum
May 3rd, 2008 7:33 amfantastic
Angie
May 3rd, 2008 2:54 pmThe one of the cock fight makes me sick. What’s so great about an image depicting something so senseless and wrong (and illegal)?
Kevin
May 3rd, 2008 6:02 pmStuning and Great!!
Marie-Paule
May 3rd, 2008 11:43 pmfantastic pictures of moments that can happen only ones in a life time.. the right time at the right moment…. congratulations
adineh
May 4th, 2008 12:01 ammorvelous….beautiful colors,unique angles!
Jasper
May 4th, 2008 12:47 amThis is at Scott, who seems to dislike critics from non-photo-veterans. Scott, our (speaking for those who feel just as attacked by you as I do) lack of experience with photography, doesn’t make us incapable of judging an image. Although we probably won’t be able to explain why we feel about a picture as we do, as you could, we still feel something when we look at it. And that is, I think, the essence of a good photo. Let me explain.
I don’t believe photography is about “what’s in the photographers eye and what the photographers brain interprets as that image in the eye as it should be on paper and if that image on paper is a quality representation of what the photographer was attempting to convey then who are we and so on“. Because art (photography is art, I’m sure you agree) is about feelings. Art creates feelings, feelings create art. Art creates fashion, fashion creates feelings, feelings creates art.
What a photographer sees, what image he creates in his head, if this image is formed by the artists feeling, and how successful he is in enrapturing that feeling in his final picture (with or without photoshop), will in the end determine if the result is a photo, or a snapshot. And whoever you are, experienced or not, looking at a real photo, you can understand, you live trough his moment, you feel that feeling.
There are photo’s in this post, that lack that experience. Snapshots. Photo’s that don’t make me feel. They make me think, maybe, but not feel. I don’t get connected with the photographer. I don’t need 40 years of holding a camera for that. I just have to be human.
Some of these photo’s are snapshots.
Polr
May 4th, 2008 4:44 amMakes me want to get out with my camera again!
Calum
May 4th, 2008 11:51 pmCan’t you make some effort to identify the animals, e.g.a ladybird, blue-tit a sparrow and a magpie. What kind of deer/cockerel are they?
Reminds me of a supermarket selling “curved yellow fruit”
kVS NAG
May 5th, 2008 2:10 amREALLY SUPERB
sheryl
May 5th, 2008 2:27 amkool pics…….very interesting……Really Like !!!!!!!
CrazyLeaf
May 5th, 2008 7:31 amThe images make me throw my camera away.
joelt
May 5th, 2008 11:18 am#40. Is incorrectly labeled. While it may be in Norway, that is not “Preikestolen”. Do an image search and you will see, plus I have been there and I knew Preikestolen, Preikestolen was my friend, and senator, you are no Preikestolen.
Tom
May 5th, 2008 11:33 amThese photos are great! Sure, some of these might be Photoshopped, but who cares? They are still nice to look at.
Chris
May 5th, 2008 8:10 pmTruly amazing pictures. A lot of them make me appreciate what our beautiful world has to offer. And why do so many think the seagull picture is fake? Because it’s ironic? Chill out people.
F. Henderson
May 5th, 2008 9:09 pmI really liked the last photo of the young girl…….absolutely beautiful……Thanks
Manoj Oommen
May 6th, 2008 12:23 amExellent Creation – God I appreciate the works of your hands!!
Thanks for creating all of them.
Krithika
May 6th, 2008 10:07 amreally awesome….
moments captured at the fittest time and the right perspective….
Hats of to the photographers…!!!
Sketchee
May 6th, 2008 12:19 pmI really like the bird and meat! Haha it’s not something you see everyday!
Badal
May 6th, 2008 10:28 pmThe best picture collection on the web.
Madhu MItha
May 6th, 2008 10:37 pmsuperb photography…
the beauty of god’s creation is well exhibited !
cheers to the photographer!!!
saki
May 6th, 2008 10:46 pmMindblowing….Really amazing…
great work done by great ppl….
Naveen
May 7th, 2008 1:10 amReally amazing……very nice photos….Really enjoyed a lot
anbu
May 7th, 2008 1:31 amExcellent!!! Its all mind blowing…
Superb photography….
Never can be beaten up… Cheers!!!
Bob
May 7th, 2008 9:11 amphotoshopped all the way baby!
One of the most obvious examples? The seagull on the sign… clearly the seagull image on the sign is the same as the one standing on the sign. Look at the outline…enough said. Way to over-glorify some mediocre shots that were digitally manipulated extensively (or faked all together) to make them look like more than they ever, EVER were.
Jacinto
May 7th, 2008 12:54 pmPor que toda la jente escriben ingles? No hay ningun inteilgente? La mayoria de los fotos son de maravillia pero algunos son mas que normales. Tengo monton parecidos. Pienso que vosotros tanbien.
Naigu
May 7th, 2008 6:23 pmAbsolutely beautiful, stunning photos. Those are some of the best I have seen.
alantae
May 7th, 2008 7:28 pmthat is crazy, just too see this i am joyful
potpot
May 7th, 2008 7:55 pmthese are just perfect…!!! i mean this post has a purpose.. sometimes you need this kind of post to freshen and loosen the pressured of everyone, especially the staff of smashing magazine. And the photography are great, every thing are great, if you don’t consider this a photography then what is this? Who set the standard? only you yourself has created the standard, but Good Job Smashing Magazine..
I Love it
rp
May 7th, 2008 10:30 pmThe description for #7 is inaccurate. The glitter _is_ on the surface of the water droplet, you can tell quite clearly on the original.
mehdi
May 8th, 2008 1:48 amthat’s very very nice. ohh, it’s very wonderfull
ALVA
May 8th, 2008 5:10 amA very nice presentation of the beauty of everything captured at the exact moment. I love everything about this pixes.
akram joOon
May 8th, 2008 8:12 amkheyli beautiful boodan :D
zeitoon
May 8th, 2008 11:48 amFantastic. I enjoyed a lot.
“Seagull on a sign” :)
emily
May 8th, 2008 5:59 pmTHESE PICS ARE AMASING
i wish i could take pics like these =]
FoxyRoxy
May 9th, 2008 6:28 amsome r really nice pics
fourmi4x
May 9th, 2008 1:41 pmI love “Above the clouds”
But I would have called it “The eath is smoking / Steaming” don’t know, because it really makes a beautiful picture of human (polluting) activity
Thanks for sharing it’s all great :)
* DaNnY *
May 9th, 2008 5:14 pmWoW! ThIs PiCtUrEs ArE aMaZiNg! XD
mais
May 10th, 2008 2:53 amid like to have some photographing lessons, these are amazing wonderful photos thank you for sharing
Me
May 10th, 2008 10:35 amamazing!
head7over8heels
May 10th, 2008 3:23 pmTo comment # 128 by “noone” : Yes, thank you. That’s what struck me as soon as I saw the “photograph”. At first, I thought it was funny that the bird was in the same position as the one on the sign, then I realized it could not possibly have perfectly mimmicked every angle and curve. I was frustrated that someone’s digital alteration project was posted on a website labeled “(Really) Stunning Pictures and Photos”. Let’s hail with actual talent behind the camera.
snowbird
May 10th, 2008 7:17 pmSOME OF THESE SURELY MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING AND IS PROOF THAT BEAUTY ALWAYS SURROUNDS US IF WE LOOK FOR IT..I CAN’T EXPRESS MY THANKS ENOUGH,ESPECIALLY SINCE I WAS SO VERY SAD TODAY. TAKE CARE
Mary Stunz
May 10th, 2008 9:35 pmBreathtaking photos -reflection, striking color contrast, whimsical pictures
cleverly, powerfully done
Ash Red
May 11th, 2008 5:47 amAAAAAAWE SUM. Picturisque. Converse. Indingnant & jealous. Peace out . Ashwin……
rod
May 11th, 2008 11:27 amI totally agree, cockfighting is a brutal sport not an aesthetic pleasure.
N33rDow3ll
May 11th, 2008 7:28 pmthe seagul is real its real its real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
J.Apo.B.
May 11th, 2008 11:22 pmcongrats for these pics, crazy!!! a pleasant view! i invite to take a look at my flickr page hoping you would like the pics. flickr.com/photos/jacopobordin/
sadaf
May 12th, 2008 3:39 pmreally good images ohhhhhhhhhhhhh coolllllllllllllll
lili
May 13th, 2008 12:10 amI love it , that ‘s very very nice.
Saayo
May 14th, 2008 4:29 amInteresting, stunning and unforgettable images!! Thanks for sharing them.
LEONELL VELASCO
May 14th, 2008 5:56 amGREAT…….PERFECTLY TAKEN AN ART IN EVERY PIECE OF COLLECTION
Muse
May 14th, 2008 8:06 amvery stunning. Seen most of them in DeviantArt – which the artist claim been ripped off or stolen. After seeing and stumbling many amazing photographs in different sites and photographers claiming the photos belong to them, I’m not sure ‘who stole who’….. But credits should be given to the real people who took them… I feel sorry for them though….
NUBLET
May 14th, 2008 8:45 pmPHOTOSHOPPED!!!!!!!!!!
PhotoG
May 15th, 2008 7:41 amMuse, which photos are the artists claiming are stolen? That’s a bold statement to throw around without citing any examples.
Some of these are photoshopped, but most of them are not. I think there’s some fantastic work here. Good photography? Most definitely.
carla
May 15th, 2008 7:46 amThe one with the bird oon a sign cant be real, the bird is in the same position and has the exact same silouhette!
Also the flower one ‘refashioned daliah’ looks like it has been drawn to me!
Other than that absolutely great!
cliphord
May 15th, 2008 5:18 pmAll of these pictures brought no true emotion to the viewer…landscapes are easy…what would henri cartier bressen think? What about pain? Suffering….you should be ashamed of yourselves.
kerri
May 15th, 2008 8:03 pmthese are great photos.
i wish i could do this good of
a job =]
brandi
May 15th, 2008 8:12 pmI am a makeup artist and would love to shoot with one of these photographers
Bobby
May 15th, 2008 8:38 pmAwesome collection !!
ruman
May 16th, 2008 3:13 amI m a web designer and i love the photographs it was assum.
jay
May 16th, 2008 8:29 amTo cliphord: Not all photography should be pain and suffering. There are such a vast amount of emotions in the world, why only concentrate on the bad? I would absolutely love to see photographers show me something more than the sad, unjusts of the world. I WANT REALITY ALONG WITH DREAMS!!!
And these landscapes, are beautiful! The first is my absolute favorite, and I can see why you put in as number 1.
jaz
May 16th, 2008 3:37 pmVery good photos… i wanna think that these are really taken and not edited by a computer program…
well… congratulations and thanks for share!!!