And lastly, the most amazing battle of them all.  We all know that dogs “claim” to rule over cats, but this image really captures the ninja-like skills that felines secretly possess, as you can see by this vicious Roundhouse Kick!…

I recently stumbled upon Julia’s website portfolio and came across her section of photography.  What I found in one particular series titled “Lauren the Tyrant” was a brillance in the use of light and shadow to portray the charm of a child’s mind at play.  What do you get when cross a small plastic dinosaur and a few cheese-graters?  A wonderful glimpse of imagination and ode to Japanese B-movies.

Keep up the great work Julia…

Now that my disclaimer is out of the way, I also want to proclaim a great amount of praise and admiration for those men who, for lack of a better term, just let it all hang out, or should I say, grow out.

However, there needs to be a fine line drawn between a cool, rugged, mountain-man look and that of a circus freak.

And along comes Matt Rainwater, a fabulous portrait and scene photographer who somehow managed to gather the most prolific assembly of outlandish men with outlandish facial hair. His photo gallery titled Beardfolio is perhaps the most diverse and weird homage to the folical that I have ever seen, even though his use of lens and lighting are outstanding.  He is hailed as a wonderful photographer, and yet he uses his unique characters and subjects to turn it into an art form.

Ladies and gentleman… I give you an ode to the beard and mustache.

As usual, Time has unveiled what it considers to be the Top Ten Photographs of 2009.

In summary, I would have to agree.

#1:   Barack Obama waits backstage moments before taking office as the 44th President of the United States on Jan. 20.

Callie Shell / Aurora for TIME

#2:  A U.S. Army soldier from the 10th Mountain Division surveys a road in the Tangi Valley, Afghanistan, on Sept. 4.

Adam Ferguson / VII Mentor for TIME

#3:  Family members gather at the coffin of Senator Edward Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 29.

Doug Mills / New York Times / Redux

#4:  A mourner awaits the start of a tribute to Michael Jackson at the Apollo Theater in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City on June 30.

Todd Heisler / New York Times / Redux

#5:  Airline passengers stand on the wings of a US Airways Airbus 320 jetliner that safely ditched in the frigid waters of the Hudson River in New York City after a flock of birds knocked out both its engines on Jan. 15.

Stephan Day / AP

#6:  Local drug dealers settle a score in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. In the past few years, the small West African nation has become a key transit point for drug cartels from South America.

Marco Vernaschi / Pulizer Center For Reporting

#7:  Supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi run in the streets during protests in Tehran on June 16.

GETTY

#8:  A Palestinian family rests in the rubble of its home in east Jebaliya after the Israeli incursion into Gaza on Jan. 16.

Kevin Frayer / AP

#9:  A giraffe felled by drought lies dead on a road in Wajir, Kenya, on Oct. 9th. The country has had virtually no rain in several years and is facing a severe water crisis.

Stephano De Luigi / VII Network

#10:  Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin enjoys a horseback ride during a vacation in Tyva, Russia, on Aug. 3.

Alexy Druzhinyn / EPA

The winner turned out to be J.D. Busche from Texas and in my opinion blew the competition out of the water. His entry outshined in creativity that of my entries and the other 1,000+ entries in this national competition.

Below is the winning photo…

Now if you are still thinking, what is the big deal, or what in the heck am I looking at, then take a look at the video J.D. also submitted to help explain his entry. WOW…

Veer Contest Submission from J.D. on Vimeo.

Confucious say, “If you can’t find the book you’re looking for, you’re probably in the…”

This art form takes usually a day or two to create and involve taking up a good half-a-block of sidewalk or street area to paint a scene that, only when viewed from one perspective, gives the illusion of a 3-dimensional scene.  More interesting ones utilize a concept where a bystander or pedestrian walking by can “interact” with the image for the humor and entertainment of those standing in the “sweet spot”. Take this example (below) done by artist, Manfred Strader.

Edgar Mueller

But what you perhaps have not come across is that of German street artist Edgar Mueller, who takes the concept one step further. When I say further, I mean in terms of square footage, and not just objects of fancy, or cute little scenes, but entire environmental scenes that take up the entire area.  When seen from the right spot, the effect is nothing short of amazing.

Take a closer look at the following images that show the transgression from a blank area of pavement to the finished image.  This particular event took place near West India Quay in London.  It was called the Cave Project.

Day One

Day Two

Day Four

The Final Image

Video: The Entire Process

Rhett Dashwood is one of those individuals.

Rhett recently went to great lengths, to the tune of MONTHS, searching mile by mile on Google Maps throughout Victoria, Australia in search of unique letter forms that would comprise his aerial alphabet.

While you may question the extremity of his determination (and that he may have TOO much time on his hand), you have to marvel at the impressive results…

This alphabet is comprised of photos taken in urban areas that have tall buildings. All shots are from the vantage point of looking up.

The reason I chose to share this is it confirms that designers, photographers, artists, and other creatives just plain look at the world around them through a different set of eyes.