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35 (Really) Stunning Photos and Pictures
We love beautiful photography. In photos, the beauty isn’t necessarily reflected in an eye-catching combination of colors; perspectives, angle, composition and, most importantly, the idea behind the shot or the situation in which the shot was taken, are particularly important when it comes for our showcases.
Over the last months we have covered a variety of different photography arts, such as shadow photography, night photography, city photography, arial photography, urban decay and many others (you can find them in our section Inspiration). This time we present you a “mixed bag” of some truly outstanding photos and images, created by talented photographers and designers across the globe.
Below you’ll find 35 truly stunning, beautiful and unusual photos. Every image is linked and leads to the source from which it was taken. Please feel free to explore further works of the talented photographers presented above.
You may want to take a look at the following related posts:
35 (Really) Stunning Photos and Pictures
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Vitaly Friedman, editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine (www.smashingmagazine.com), an online magazine dedicated to designers and developers.
- 122 Comments
- 1
- 2March 15th, 2009 8:19 pm
You’re always amaze me …
- 3March 15th, 2009 8:26 pm
amazing works
I always feel free to view these pictures
And to express in chinese, it is:太厉害了 - 4March 15th, 2009 8:49 pm
nice collection
- 5March 15th, 2009 9:38 pm
you’re tremendous, smashing!
- 6March 15th, 2009 9:39 pm
Nice? Yes.
Stunning? No.
Good collection? Yes.
Great collection? No. - 7March 15th, 2009 9:52 pm
each and every shoot has an idea a concept and meaning plus emotion attached to it :)
thanks for sharing they are really nice
- 8March 15th, 2009 10:27 pm
I feel an instant emotional connection with each and every of these beautiful photographic images. Thanks Smashing!
- 9March 15th, 2009 10:53 pm
Some of these are pretty outstanding, some not. Love the ones from Jamie Fernandez, Steven (merriewells), Majed Sultan Ali, Brad Harris and Sarah Lee.
- 10March 15th, 2009 11:31 pm
There are some outstanding shots but unfortunately just some. I think it would be better to make a smaller collection, let’s say 10 photos, to keep the quality high. Same goes for some of your other collections and lists. Anyway, thanks for this, it was a pleasure to view some beautiful photos!
- 11March 15th, 2009 11:44 pm
Clark Little, Brad Harris, Perico Terrades, Jaime Fernandez, Azzam Merchant, Rosie Hardywow! You really stand out! Great works all of you!
- 12March 15th, 2009 11:44 pm
Hey! great collections! really made my day! thanks
- 13March 15th, 2009 11:48 pm
some are great, some are good…
I would prefer collections about a certain topic.
- 14March 15th, 2009 11:50 pm
Super collection, some very imaginative stuff.
- 15March 16th, 2009 12:03 am
They’re all good, clean photos with good qualities, but they all just seem so “stock” to me. the only one I really like which might even be the most simplistic, is the one that has “I MISS HER” painted on a wall. That’s the only one that really hits me.
- 16March 16th, 2009 12:06 am
nice stuff
- 17March 16th, 2009 12:11 am
A great collection…thank you for the inspiration.
- 18March 16th, 2009 12:35 am
Wow.. Thanks a lot – they’re beautiful
- 19
- 20March 16th, 2009 1:16 am
There are many beautiful photos, thanx. Especially with road.
- 21March 16th, 2009 1:58 am
Cool photos!
- 22March 16th, 2009 2:14 am
Wow wow wow! What an art !
Awesome Photographs really ! =) - 23March 16th, 2009 2:21 am
i love those bradharris.com photos
- 24March 16th, 2009 2:35 am
Absolutely stunning!! I love these posts ye do, they do my heart good! Although the one of the surfer makes me wanna cry, I need to surf NOW!!
I really like Gavin Will’s shot, I do the same thing, leaning on the window watching the city go by, and it captures perfectly the feelings.
- 25March 16th, 2009 2:44 am
Some photos are REALLY bad
- 26March 16th, 2009 2:58 am
Wow pics. loved the one with the sun peeping between the wave.
- 27March 16th, 2009 3:33 am
Simply stunning…. Love the inspiration.
- 28March 16th, 2009 3:59 am
Beautiful…
- 29March 16th, 2009 4:19 am
Sorry fellas, but I’ve seen way more stunning photos than these above. Anyway, nice try (bow)
- 30March 16th, 2009 5:04 am
These photos are just beautiful. Thank´s for the post.
- 31March 16th, 2009 5:05 am
honestly….. not that impressed.
- 32March 16th, 2009 5:15 am
great great great
- 33March 16th, 2009 5:33 am
Some photos are nice, but most of them are just colorful kitsch…
- 34March 16th, 2009 6:02 am
Even colorful kitsch can be beautiful..
Daniel Cheong’s picture is wonderful. Overall a very nice collection.
- 35March 16th, 2009 6:11 am
Are close-ups of flowers really stunning, though?
- 36March 16th, 2009 6:11 am
It’s unfortunate that for photos to be considered “stunning” that excessive editing in Photoshop or 3d Max is needed. Many of these have been edited QUITE a bit – and I’m not talking about just boosting the saturation. HDR – different exposures layered over each other and cloning is visible in at least a couple of these pieces.
I’m all for the use of Photoshop to boost my photos, but there’s a line to where it becomes computer art rather than photography.
I’d prefer to see a post of actual photographs with minimal editing – let me see what you saw through the viewfinder, rather than a couple of hours of fiddling on the computer, editing a base image, applying a couple different exposures on top, cloning out this, removing that, adding that shadow in…
- 37
- 38March 16th, 2009 6:53 am
Lots of kitsch. I like photos that could be the beginning of a (short) story. Like the first one.
- 39March 16th, 2009 6:57 am
Very Nice
- 40March 16th, 2009 7:03 am
man, I am tired of HDR manipulation.
- 41March 16th, 2009 7:17 am
They are nice. However, not stunning.
- 42March 16th, 2009 7:19 am
47 photos != 35…
- 43March 16th, 2009 7:20 am
Some nice work but I feel the post could be split between photoshop modified and straight up photography.
- 44March 16th, 2009 9:05 am
Pretty much the slightly below average Smashing collection of “pretty.”
Nice? Yes, with all the softness implied by “nice.”
“Stunning?” Puhlease. Try harder and don’t be so lazy. You’ve done much, much better than this in the past. This selection verges on “Stock Photography.”
- 45March 16th, 2009 9:58 am
The kitty pic was my favorite! : ) Thank you for these!
- 46March 16th, 2009 10:05 am
I completely agree with Stephanie.
- 47March 16th, 2009 10:38 am
Smashing!!!!! Very Inspiring . Clark Little’s was gr8!!
- 48March 16th, 2009 10:41 am
The title of this article is “Stunning Photos and Pictures…” I will add with accent on Pictures.
Yes some of them are really stunning.
I noticed that editorial have tendencies for publishing HDR images, which I considered borderline with kitsch.
About “stock looking photos”, internet audience is used to look at stock images, not just on internet there are tv commercials, magazines, etc., so with
new generation of digital photographers, hobysts and everyone else with todays procurable
digital cameras and software equipment, people are making stock looking photos consciously or subconsciously, we all are under influence of our enviroment.For those who never heard for Henri Cartier-Bresson, just type that name in google, and browse. Enjoy and learn something.
- 49March 16th, 2009 11:51 am
Buenisimas imagenes.
- 50March 16th, 2009 11:58 am
I have to agree with a handful of the folks here and say the overwhelming majority of the photos posted in these type collections on smashing simply are not stunning photographs.
I mean, I get that people have their own tastes, and I’m cool with that, but for such a fine site to have such an amateur eye for photography is surprising!
That said, there are 4 or 5 great photos in this collection. I won’t single them out so as to be rude, but I think most with a sensibility for photography can pick them out.
I say – if you want smashing to be as good a source for stunning photgraphy as it is for web design, you should have a guest poster do your photo collections. Would be great I think…
- 51March 16th, 2009 12:09 pm
janusz leszczynski’s foto isnt amazing is dull and boring -and there is nothing stunning
- 52
- 53March 16th, 2009 1:52 pm
That helicopter light-painting is incredible! The amount of work that must have gone into preparation is astounding. That last photo looks great too, but I’m not sure if that rainbow-esque spectrum is attributed to processing.
- 54March 16th, 2009 2:57 pm
Careful, or you’ll wear out that link-bait strategy that has served you so well till now. This post was definitely sub-par.
- 55March 16th, 2009 3:06 pm
you guys could really use a photographer on board because these photography posts of yours are getting more and more average.
- 56March 16th, 2009 3:26 pm
Rosie Hardy as your last picture? You know she steals people’s images right? google “rosie hardy plagiarism”…
Not cool
- 57March 16th, 2009 4:45 pm
Gorgeous picture … Great
- 58March 16th, 2009 8:00 pm
Clark Little, 5348 Franco AWAY, Daniel Cheong …. really STUNNING…!!!!
thanks a lot!
- 59March 16th, 2009 9:10 pm
I absolutely LOVE Rosie Hardy’s photos. Thanks for the post.
- 60March 16th, 2009 9:36 pm
Rosie Hardy ? Are you kidding ?
She is a copycat.
She copies the original photos of DeviantArt artists and sells the images.
Ps : Please google : Rosie hardy Plagiarism.
- 61March 16th, 2009 10:39 pm
@John – absolutely – she’s a fraud
This is a write up about her situation
- 62March 17th, 2009 12:30 am
I suggest you to remove “(Really) Stunning” from the title…
- 63March 17th, 2009 12:50 am
And truth to eat beautiful photos!
…
Particularly gentle embraces…
Thank! - 64March 17th, 2009 1:06 am
WOW!
- 65March 17th, 2009 2:39 am
This is great!!!
Waves photo’s photographer is too lucky with such this photo :)Thanks
- 66March 17th, 2009 4:44 am
I love the mood in Jaime Fernandez’s and the colour feast in Mayela Fabbiani’s!
- 67March 17th, 2009 5:37 am
Does what it says on the tin… some really stunning photos. Though I agree that some do use alot of photoshop effects, which is a shame.
- 68March 17th, 2009 6:58 am
Most of these are fantastic! But I don’t know why some of those are there.
- 69March 17th, 2009 8:19 am
One the images above has been placed on this site without my knowledge or permission, can anyone please tell me who I can send the bill to for the use of this image, thankyou.
- 70March 17th, 2009 9:00 am
Excellent photos. My eyes are wide open.
- 71March 17th, 2009 9:55 am
Stunning…a few, but surely not all of them. Maybe I should start describing my own as amazing, extraordinary collections and they too will be Digged hundreds of times and soon enough I’ll be able to make a living doing this…hmmm…http://mackieimages.smugmug.com/
- 72March 17th, 2009 10:08 am
@John and @Tony, I had no idea about the “Rosie hardy Plagiarism”. That’s awful. I came across her photos through Flickr and really liked her style. I didn’t know that couple of her pictures were copied from other people’s hard work. She shouldn’t have done that cuz after all she has a lot of original work and that could ruin her career.
- 73March 17th, 2009 11:19 am
sum of this stuff is preaty cool but most of it sucks
- 74
- 75March 18th, 2009 3:06 pm
I just love to check out your site from time to time and see inspiring photos, artworks, designs, tutorials, etc. and this is right up there. Thanks for posting, especially for people like me who enjoy being inspired and love all types of media for creation, rather than act like some mightier than thou art critic who thinks they made CREATIVITY up! Keep em coming!
- 76March 18th, 2009 8:31 pm
LOVE
- 77March 18th, 2009 8:57 pm
Incredible GOD!
- 78March 18th, 2009 9:41 pm
Nice Photos and Images!!!
- 79March 18th, 2009 11:34 pm
These pics are really great, as always. it always amazes me how you manage to find these pics. :)
- 80March 19th, 2009 4:00 am
Some really great pictures! Thank you for showing!
- 81March 20th, 2009 1:28 am
Gracias por publicar mi foto, estoy realmente encantado
- 82March 20th, 2009 6:52 am
so beautiful!!!
- 83March 22nd, 2009 1:45 am
I agree with 35, Stephanie…. most of these photos have been edited in someway.. some more than others… and I would agree that not all these are quite as earth shattering as you make out… I really don’t like too much photoshop editing. 1st photo was a good start and a few others but then a few others let down the notion that it is purely photography. Show me some photos which are purely photography and hardly any photoshop editing and I will be immensely impressed. I might as well add that my photos are awesome.. but I am biased :)
- 84March 26th, 2009 7:05 pm
Great Photo’s
- 85April 3rd, 2009 4:55 am
These are really stunning photos. They are actually smashing.
- 86April 14th, 2009 6:53 am
Most of these are pretty boring. A few are cool I guess.
Nothing amazing. - 87May 4th, 2009 11:37 am
All these pictures are phenominal!!
- 88May 29th, 2009 11:52 pm
That was outstanding and exceedingly inspirational! Excellent job. :)
- 89June 6th, 2009 7:58 pm
VERY NICE TO SEE PICTURES
I M DR SHAH MURAD MASTOI
- 90June 22nd, 2009 8:32 am
jOuao9 comment6 ,
- 91June 27th, 2009 7:52 pm
hi chachoo im khalid mastoi
- 00
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Hey Thanks a lot for these wonderful images.