National Geographic's International Photography Contest 2013

National Geographic's International Photography Contest 2013 National Geographic's International Photography Contest attracts thousands of entries from photographers of all skill levels around the world every year. The Big Picture features 25 magnificent entries from three categories: People, Places and Nature.

Beautiful NEw Fashions Victoria’s Secret Fashion 2013

As everyone who hasn’t been under a rock knows, tonight is the night the highly-anticipated 2012 Victoria’s Secret fashion show will air. I’ve never been a huge fan of the show, however I do enjoy seeing a handful of my favorite “mass-market” models prance down the runway in cheesy little outfits. I also appreciate and respect the high production value that goes into the shows, even if they are quite ridiculous, with the outfits often more reminiscent of a holiday masquerade parade than something appropriate for a fashion show. Based on the images that I’ve seen, along with the backstage teasers, and a few conversations with those who were actually at the filming a few weeks ago, there are a few models that I’m looking forward to seeing this year. First is Constance Jablonski. Constance is a larger-framed girl, and on the boxy side, and thus has to work much harder to look skinny compared to the smaller framed models – which she has obviously been doing. She’s definitely been a super good girl judging from these images, and I’m proud of her.. I can see how hard she’s been working. Some fashion models who get the opportunity to walk in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show use it as an opportunity to gain a few pounds to “fit the mold” of the brand, but not Constance and Magdalena! They didn’t slack off one bit (in fact Constance did the opposite) … very smart, because we know how fickle the industry is. Then there are the standard Victoria’s Secret girls that we see every year, either because they are a staple for Victoria’s Secret or they’re Victoria’s Secret “Angels” – and honestly, some of them are just there because they’ve signed a contract for a certain number of years. These include Miranda Kerr, Candice Swanepoel, and Erin Heatherton. These three are nothing impressive, as you’ll see in the images below.

Miranda Kerr’s New Victoria’s Secret Photo Shoot NEw 2013

Miranda Kerr’s New Victoria’s Secret Photo Shoot Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr posed on the beach in several different bikinis for the new Victoria’s Secret catalogue. Orlando Bloom‘s girlfriend is the first Australian model to become a Victoria’s Secret Angel and has appeared in the Victoria’s Secret Runway Show for the past three years. Virgin Airlines boss Richard Branson recently attempted to get Miranda to pose as the face of his airline, after naming several planes after her, but her premiere Australian client David Jones objected, and the deal did not go through.

Fashion News Victoria's Secret fashion show models strut NEw 2013

The annual Victoria's Secret fashion show hit the airwaves on CBS Tuesday night, with Miranda Kerr showing off the $2.5-million fantasy bra (above), Jay-Z making an appearance and 37 other models walking the runway in lingerie. Most of us will never look as good in as few clothes as Miranda and Doutzen Kroes, who is posing at right. But you can at least copy their hair and makeup, with tips from the show's makeup artist, Tom Pecheux. Because the show was actually taped a couple of weeks ago, Kerr and the fantasy bra were able to make an appearance on Tuesday at the Victoria's Secret at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. [Orange County Register. The dress Amy Winehouse wore on her "Back to Black" album cover sold at auction in Britain on Tuesday for four times more than had been expected. The dress fetched the equivalent of about $63,000, which is to go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity that aids young people. The buyer was Fundacion Museo De La Moda, a fashion museum in Chile. H&M's collaboration with Trish Summerville, the costume designer on the soon-to-be-released "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," is scheduled to go on sale Dec. 14. Computer-hacker clothes befitting title character Lisbeth Salander are a big change of pace from H&M's recent Versace collection.  Meanwhile, H&M announced Tuesday that it will team with Italian design label Marni on a 260-piece collection for men and women, scheduled to go on sale in March. The "Hunger Games" nail polish we blogged about recently looks like a non-starter. It seems that as soon as word of the collaboration started to spread, polish company China Glaze and film studio Lionsgate got into a dispute and are heading to court after China Glaze's parent company filed a breach-of-contract suit against Lionsgate.

The World’s Most Beautiful Mosque in Malaysia is Vulnerable

The Malacca Straits Mosque in Malaysia is arguably the world’s most beautiful and it is vulnerable to rising seas. Malaysia is one of the few countries that share Dubai’s obsession with manmade islands and grandeur. We have often cast a critical eye on the Emirate’s core developers for building artificial islands that have wrecked havoc on the Gulf’s marine environment, but the danger doesn’t end there. As increasing levels of greenhouse gases choke the planet and giant plumes of methane fast-track global warming, glaciers and ice caps melt, leaving all low-lying and coastal developments vulnerable to rising sea levels. Take a look at the beautiful Malacca Straits Mosque in Malaysia. It was propped up on concrete pillars, but how will it fare in a few decades when the Strait of Malacca.