Tag: Nature

BlookUp and the environment

Posted on by Team Blookup

BlookUp’s printing partners must have the PEFC label.

Timber Procurement Assessment Committee -TPAC- évalue PEFC | ATIBT

The PEFC label (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) is an international NGO that promotes the protection and sustainable management of forests throughout the world.

PEFC certification ensures the renewal of the forest, while preserving the water, soil, fauna and flora of this natural environment.

PEFC’s ambition is to preserve the forests, to guarantee the respect of those who live, work and walk in them, but also to perpetuate the forest resource to meet the wood needs of Man today and for the future!

The paper for our blooks is from :

-Manufacturing scraps, collected from individuals, industrialists and retailers, or unsold goods.

-Forest thinning and maintenance (unused tree tops, by-products of primary wood processing, wood chips…).

BlookUp is at the heart of the new ecological challenges and is committed to produce more environmentally friendly. We make sure that the production of paper respects the procedures guaranteeing the sustainable management of forests.

Seeing and hearing Iceland with HVISL!

Posted on by Team Blookup

A book you can smell already exists ! Now check out the book that you can listen to?

Hear for yourselves!

Audiobooks, those kind of books one person will read aloud and record so that others can listen to them, are a growing part of books sales nowadays. They mainly prove their practicality for visualy impaired people.

hvisl

For those who can afford it, there are some book concepts that combine vision and hearing to enjoy together as a global experience: This is the concept of Hvisl – Whispers of Iceland, both a photo album and sound guide taking you on a trip around Iceland!

The project was created by Chloé Curé and Bertrand Lanthiez, based on their shared experience of Iceland during a 2-weeks trip. Sounds effects were brought by Johannes Mandorfer.

hvisl-cables

Their collaboration allows you to appreciate breathtaking pictures of beautiful landscapes and warm interiors, accompanied, as you flip the pages, by the sound of the wind and the waves, a conversation in Icelandic, the cracking of the ice or the bubbling of the geysers…

While you enjoy the atmosphere through your headphones, you will also learn everything you need to know about landscapes formation, local language, climate, mythology… Truly an immersive experience!

hvisl-text

____________________________

Source | Images: Bertrand Lanthiez 

Building skyscrapers inside giant sequoias

Posted on by Team Blookup

Since 2006 the architecture magazine eVolo organizes the Skyscraper competition, a contest during which teams of architects from all over the world come up with ambitious (sometimes crazy) projects that not only challenge the limits of construction working but also rethink the way man-made buildings interact with the environment.

This year more than 400 projects have been examined by the jury, only 3 won the competition and 22 received honorable mentions, the project we are introducing today received one of these.

project-overview
Credits: Evolo

At the very heart of this team of South-Korean architects, the Giant sequoia is one of many numerous victims of human activities and although it is now protected, its life span has shortened due to climate change. In addition, the roots of this giant are very small in comparison to its height and do not grow deep in the ground; so when the core starts to rot the sequoia collapses under its own weight.

The project intends to reconcile mankind and nature with a more respectful approach of architecture by replacing the empty and/or rotting space inside the said giant in order to build skyscrapers inside that will neither harm the trees nor drastically change the landscape. The new structure build inside the sequoia acts like a new backbone that will prevent the tree from collapsing. The working space inside the “sequoiascraper” (Yup, I just made it up) should be dedicated to arts and research. A bold project that, if it ever sees the light of day, will prove that there are alternatives to bending nature to our own will and deforming the landscape. Hats off to them!

sequoia-skyscraper-base
Credits: Evolo

sequoia-construction
Credits: Evolo

sequoia-inside
Credits: Evolo

___________________________

Source

Interview: Pamela Breitberg captures nature’s beauty and shares it on a blog

Posted on by Team Blookup

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so imagine a blog full of photographs! Today we have the chance of interviewing Pamela Breitberg who is going to tell us about her blog and her passion for photography!

– Tell us a little bit about yourself : You, your passions, your hobbies, your projects…
I am recently retired from teaching. I am a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) who taught science lab to 1st through 8th grade elementary students in the inner city of Chicago. Prior to that I was a professional portrait and wedding photography.

My “hobbies” are being outdoors: walking and biking, and photography: micro, portrait style and candid all which reinforce my appetite for learning. My passionate hobby is nature photography which I share through this blog and various books. The blog is a way for me to share the wonders and beauty of being outdoors observing nature. I am an avid reader as well. My blog has stimulated desire to research while I try to include some scientific or folk information on species in my images.

Projects, at the moment, are on hold while I continue photography as a method to stop and reflect on God’s gifts and wonders. The past few years have been stressful with health issues and passing of both my parents; being outdoors and photography has been a blessed self-therapy. Giving is the best therapy, it has been said, and so my blog is my venue for giving. I am touched each time someone “likes” or comments on one of my posts.

Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg

—————————————————————————–

– What is your blog about and why did you want to address this subject when starting it?
My blog is photography, primarily of plants and animals in the United States’ Midwest. I now spend some of the year along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, so I’ve begun to include images of that nature. My writing includes scientific information, folklore and personal observations and experiences. Occasionally I add photography tips as well.

I originally began my blog to share my photography with my parents who lived 300 miles away. It has been a surprising thrill to discover that my blog is read worldwide. Now that my parents are no longer reading the blog I continue to share my images and thoughts with the many followers of my blog; what a wonderful vehicle to share my passions. I feel as though I know some of my followers as I read their blogs and we share common interests in nature and photography. It is sharing that gives back indeed.

Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg

—————————————————————————

– Why did you want to turn your blog into a book?
BlookUp intrigued me because it was an EASY way to turn my blog into book format and have a hard copy of my work. It’s always nice to physically hold a book and browse through it. The hard copy is for myself. I took advantage of the e-book format for sale because it’s affordable for readers and is more environmentally friendly (less use of paper).

Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg

—————————————————————————

– How did you find out about BlookUp? What did you think about the making process of your blook?
I saw the ads for BlookUp while on WordPress, reading others’ blogs.  The process of making the books via BlookUp were painless and straight forward. I made two volumes to make each book more manageable in size. It was very easy for me edit out any posts that I did not want to include.

Pamela-holding-her-blooks
A happy blook owner!

Thank you so much Pamela for this interview! Don’t forget to check out her blog to see more gorgeous photos!

Sarah printed the book of her cottage’s every day life!

Posted on by Team Blookup

Sarah of the blog wetandwindycottage.wordpress.com decided to print the book of her blog, where she describes her life between her job and her cosy house surrounded by fields, flowers, and animals.

As we never shared any story of this kind before, we wanted to make you discover this quiet and lovely universe ! Make yourself at home and enjoy the story of her blog and her blook!

__________________________________________

First, tell us about yourself : You, your passions, your hobbies, your projects…

I am a qualified lawyer, I fell into the job really as a means of earning a reasonable wage and being able to live in the lake district where pay is low as the majority of jobs are in the leisure industry.

That said I love my job, I can make a difference to peoples days. I am in civil litigation and education law.

I am married, we haven’t been able to have children, but I have 2 horses, a donkey, 2 cats, a nearly grown up puppy 2 ducks and lots of chickens. I live in a beautiful house in the middle of fields with views all around,

sarah-chicks
Aren’t those cutties?

__________________________________________

I know I am so lucky but even when everything is beautiful but sometimes it is still difficult to stay positive.

In winter I am up at 6 to feed muck out horses sort out the chicken, ducks and dog, then be clean and not smelling of poo by 8am to drive off to work, I then get home from work at 6 and start again with the horses etc, in the middle of this is keeping a house a garden reasonably tidy.

We moved into the house 4 years ago, there was a small garden only but we had been able to buy the fields around, we were successful in obtaining planning permission which allowed us to build the barn and stables, extend the garden and convert a small barn into more living accommodation.

We have build the barn and stables, started on the garden but don’t yet have the funds to convert the barn into more living.

sarah-garden
A little glimpse of Sarah’s garden

__________________________________________

What is your blog about and why did you want to address this subject when starting it?
I started my blog as a new years resolution to be more positive and do something for myself. The aim was to treat it like a diary of what was happening in and around me and mainly my home. As one of the aims was to be positive, I don’t really focus on the negatives which can make life look idyllic, but that I admit to that so I think it is ok. I am not pretending life is perfect, I am choosing just to show the good bits.

I made areas I was going to cover such as garden, polytunnel monthly update to keep me focused.

The areas have changed as I have done different things, I make more reference to walks now as I take Ellie my springer spaniel on walks in and around the lakes.

I also cover more cooking that I thought I would, but this again makes me more creative.

Also if I see something, like a birds nest in an artificial Christmas tree (a post from this year), I like to tell myself about it when I re-read when I am sat in a rocking chair in my 80’s trying to remember what I did.

choc-chip-cookies
Yummy chocolate chip coooookieeeees!

__________________________________________

What contents (articles, illustrations) are you the most proud of?

I am not a skilled writer or photographer, my first posts were really just practice runs on what to do, from last December so 12 months in I did a post on starling murmurations, I love the photographs.

To be honest I didn’t think of “proud” of what I had done, I hadn’t advertised, few of my friends or family know about it, it really was just for me.

But I bought myself for Christmas the Blook of my first years blog, and was really chuffed at how it looked; especially as that had not be the aim.

What moment of your blogger life was the most memorable for you so far?

As above, getting my blook through the post and thinking really, I did that!!

choc-chip-ingredients
I couldn’t show you Chocolate Chip cookies without showing you their ingredients, could I? Click on the image to see the whole recipe!

__________________________________________

Why did you want to turn your blog into a book?

I didn’t know I did, I saw the advert around Christmas and in previous years I have produced picture books of our progress at the cottage for my husband and thought actually I might like this as a present for me.

 How did you find out about BlookUp?
I think Blookup “liked” one of my posts and as I don’t get many likes I always look to see who they are and realised it was an advertisement.

blook-sarah-front-cover

What are the positive and negative points of the making of your blook?

It highlights spelling mistakes, which being a lawyer I shouldn’t do, but apart from that is a physical record of the good bits in the year.

blook-sarah-inner-layout

Do you enjoy the final result? What does your family and friends think about your blook?

My husband(!!) has shown it to a few friends and family who have visited, they didn’t know about my blog and are really supportive

Would you recommend BlookUp?

Yes, it is a great physical memento of a lot of hard work, I plan to get one done every January, again it keeps me focused on blogging.

Giant Flipbooks in the woods of New Hampshire

Posted on by Team Blookup

If you venture in the woods outside the city of Strafford, New Hampshire, you most likely will stumble upon several giant Flipbooks. You probably owned a similar (but smaller) version of those as a child.

For those who are not familiar with Flipbooks, the idea is simple. They are books filled with drawings that, as you flip through the pages, create an animation and tell you a short story.

new-hampshire-woods-giant-flibook-red-bird-daytime

Mobile Studio, an architecture firm based in London. They  applied this concept on a much larger scale with the help of children from the local summer camp called Beam Camp. The result is astonishing !  Giant boxes filled with drawings that you can flip through with a crank!

But we are not done yet,  the boxes containing the drawings were built in such a way that the boxes will reflect their surroundings (here the woods) during the day using a special film on the panels, and let the mechanism visible at night thanks to in-built LEDs.

new-hampshire-woods-nighttime-three-giant-flipbooks-transparent-glowing-LEDs

new-hampshire-woods-giant-flipbook-metal-mirror-crank-gears-tree

Due to the Flipbooks’ close link with nature, the young campers decided to draw each flap so that it will create animations of bird behavior when one would crank through the book’s pages. “These are the world’s largest mechanical flipbooks ever made“ as stated by Mobile studio’s director Chee-Kit lai.

___________________________________________________

Source – Photos credits: Emily Wilson

                                                     An article by BlookUp