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| About the Imageless Publication |
Robert Van Dyk (contact)
If you have a question or comment about Imageless, you may want to try e-mailing me.
This work is licensed under a
Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. This means that you're
free to copy and reuse any of my stories (noncommercially) as long as you
tell people where they're from.
Note: You're welcome to reprint occasional Imageless posts pretty much anywhere (presentations, papers, blogs with ads, etc). If you're not outright merchandizing, you're probably fine. Just be sure to attribute the story to http://www.robertvandyk.com/imageless and the photo to whoever is credited under the story.
For the most part, the images aren't mine. I get them from sources who have released their photography into the public domain or published using a Creative Commons Attribution license.
I've always wanted to publish a regular comic, but never had any drawing skills. While I realize that this doesn't stop other webcomics, I wasn't satisfied with my first attempt with an artless comic strip. Since then, I've made some adjustments to the formula and found that I really enjoy writing stories to go along with complementary, high-quality imagery. And since fiction is one of my passions, the overarching concept of Imageless has quickly helped me fill a niche in my life. The current goal is to entertain (with fun images and cheerful short stories) and educate (with the non-fiction source of the images and serious reflection in the stories). As of 2009, the goal is to publish one new Image/Story per week.
If it's a not-for-profit publication, you need no permission -- just print them with attribution to http://robertvandyk.com/imageless (or simply robertvandyk.com if you're pressed for space). If it's a for-profit operation, I'll probably give you permission if you email me to let me know. You can post Imageless in your blog (providing proper attribution) with no need to get my permission.
Original posting dates are embedded in the URL in the format:
"Year underscore Month underscore Day dot html" (i.e. 2009_11_09.html).
No, but I'd welcome submissions from readers who might be interested in doing this. I wouldn't mind the extra overhead of hosting a bunch of languages.
The following is a selection of some of the sites I've gone to for source photography:
Original photograph was taken by the US Navy and posted here. The images shows the destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70) launching a Standard Missile-3 as it operates in the Pacific Ocean on July 30, 2009. The missile successfully intercepted a sub-scale, short-range ballistic missile launched from the Kauai Test Facility, Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. The launch was the latest Missile Defense Agency test in conjunction with the U.S. Navy. General details about the Missile Defense Agency are on Wikipedia.
The second photo was from the sinking of Destroyer Escort Torrens to test a new type of torpedo on June 14, 1999. The Mk-48 Torpedo warhead contains explosive power equivalent to approximately 1200 pounds of TNT. This explosive power is maximized when the warhead detonates below the keel of the target ship, as opposed to striking it directly. When the detonation occurs below the keel, the resulting pressure wave of the explosion "lifts" the ship and can break its keel in the process.
Original photograph was released with this press release from NASA on December 10, 2007. The image was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover named Spirit (MER-A) on October 26-29, 2007 (Spirit's Sol 1,355 through Sol 1,358). The image is a panoramic self-portrait put together from 8 seperate images and it shows dust built up on the solar panels of the rover. The rover survived the sand that had built-up on it and explored for another 2+ years before becoming stuck in sand and denoted a stationary research platform on January 26, 2010 by NASA after several months of unsuccessful attempts to free the rover. Earlier self-portraits by Spirit, such as one taken on Sol 586, offer a comparison view of cleaner solar panels. Wikipedia has a copy of the image as well as more information.
Original image is from the Yo! Sushi Japanese cuisine restaurant in Manchester, UK. YO! Sushi is a British restaurant chain which was started by British entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe in 1998 and is part of the YO! Company. The image shows an example of conveyor belt sushi which is popular in Japan. YO! Sushi uses the Japanese style conveyor belt method of delivering sushi to customers.
Original image is a oil-on-canvas painting by Ivan Shishkin. It's called Morning in a Pine Forest and it was created in 1889. The painting can currently be found in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia. High-definition version of the image is here while a Russian hosted version of a regular definition is here. Supposedly, this is one of the most recognizable paintings within Russia, like some of Norman Rockwell's paintings in America. More details are on available on Wikipedia.org.
Original photograph has been released by the DoD to the general public. The image depicts the 4-million pound Sea-Based X-band Radar (Missile Defense Agency) being lowered into place aboard a converted offshore oil rig at the Kiewit Offshore Services in Corpus Christi, Texas, on April 3, 2005. The radar's mobility gives it the capability to be positioned on the ocean to support Missile Defense Agency tests and also operationally support defense of our homeland, deployed forces and allies and friends. The Sea-Based X-band Radar was first featured as the Imageless Story called The Pearl.
Original photograph by Stephan Herz on December 29, 2005 at an Ice Hotel near the village of Jukkasjärvi, Kiruna, Sweden. The image depicts a room that contains the Absolut Icebar. Ice hotels are reconstructed every year, and are dependent upon constant sub-freezing temperatures during construction and operation. The walls, fixtures, and fittings are made entirely of ice, and are held together using a substance known as snice. More details are on Wikipedia.org.
Original photograph by Marcello Casal Jr of Agencia Brasil (a public Brazilian news agency). The image was taken after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. It shows people in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Bel-Air attempting to collect goods left in evacuated houses. Alterate image source is here. More details are on Wikipedia.org.
Original photograph by Randy Montoya of Sandia National Labortory. Used in the article Rapid-fire pulse brings Sandia Z method closer to goal of high-yield fusion reactor. The Z machine is the largest X-ray generator in the world and is designed to fire a very powerful electrical discharge (several tens of millions of amperes for less than 100 nanoseconds) into an array of thin, parallel tungsten wires called a liner (pictured here). More details are on Wikipedia.org.
Original photograph was taken by U.S. Navy Journalist 2nd Class Ryan C. McGinley in January 2006. The article describes the Sea Based X-Band Radar platform used to support the U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD). The image depicts a X-Band Radar Ship arriving in Pearl Harbor aboard Heavy lift vessel Blue Marlin. The image is alternatively available on Wikipedia.org.
Original photograph from NASA: March 23, 2009 Extravehicular Activity (EVA). The mission was to relocate the Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart from the Port 1 to Starboard 1 truss segment. Astronaut Richard Arnold, STS-119 mission specialist, is shown participating in the mission's third scheduled session of EVA as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station.
Original photograph taken by Wikimedian "Oscar" on May 15, 2007 in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The image shows the fireline commemoration of the May 14, 1940 bombardement by Nazi Germany known as the Rotterdam Blitz. Though negotiations between the Germans and Dutch had led to a command to abort the bombing mission, the planes were already en route and most never received the updated order. The attack against civilian targets was a turning point that led to retaliation by the British against non-military German targets.
Original photograph was taken by Airman 1st Class Kathrine McDowell of the U.S. Air Force on 23 May 2007. It depicts United States Air Force Airmen from the 20th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Protection Flight neutralize a live fire during a field training exercise at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. The exercise includes training in self-aid buddy care, expedient firefighting, weapons handling, and night-vision devices.
Original photograph was taken by Ryan Owens (RKOwens4) from the roof of World Trade Center 7. Joe Woolhead was kind enough to provide access to the roof on the evening of September 10, 2008 to photograph the Tribute in Lights. The photograph was snapped earlier in the afternoon and depicts the construction site for the Freedom Tower in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
Original photograph from the National Park Service: Zion National Park. The image depicts an artist-in-residence at the park and the article is an application to be the 2010 artist-in-residence. Prospective artists will be given an opportunity to "bring new insights, enjoyment, and understanding of [the Zion National Park] desert sanctuary.
Original hummingbird photograph was taken by Jon Sullivan. It's distributed on pdphoto.org (Public Domain Photo is a site that Jon runs). Details about Costa's Hummingbird are available on Wikipedia.
Original photograph from NASA: Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 mission commander, makes a short checkout of the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the early part of the first Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA-1) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. This view of the "stripped down" Rover is prior to loadup. This photograph was taken by Geologist-Astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, Lunar Module pilot. The mountain in the right background is the East end of South Massif.
Original photograph by Spc. Chase L. Kincaid of the U.S. Army. Displayed on DefenseLink Multimedia for the search dora flowers. The image depicts Iraqis shopping for flowers in a marketplace in the Dora neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 25, 2009.
Original photograph by Randy Montoya of Sandia National Labortory. Used in the article New SunCatcher(TM) power system unveiled at National Solar Thermal Test Facility. The image depicts the Suncatcher v2.0 (smaller, lighter, more manufacturable, cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and maintainable) made by Sterling Energy Systems. Each device captures 25kWe so a farm of 60 of them (slated to be built in 2010 in AZ or CA) will produce 1.5MW (enough to power 1200 homes).
Original photograph by Randy Montoya of Sandia National Labortory. Used in the article Sandia supercomputers offer new explanation of Tunguska disaster. The image depicts an asteroid strike from a simulation model where projectile-velocity is factored into the destruction-capacity-calculation used to determine that smaller asteroids can do a lot more damage than we previously realized.
