We recently pitted the iPhone 6 camera against the DSLR Canon 5D Mark II and the point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot SD1400-IS. The iPhone held its own in many areas, and it's unbeatable when it comes to portability.

And as the adage goes, "The best camera is the one you have with you."

But for those of us who make a living taking photos or count photography as a serious hobby, the camera phone will never replace a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex).

Here are my reasons why:

Interchangeable lenses

The biggest difference between a smartphone camera and a dedicated camera is the ability to use different lenses.

The importance of good glass cannot be understated. High-quality lenses produce unparalleled sharpness and image quality. These photos look crisp, detailed, styled, and hyper-real. They look like photographs instead of snapshots.

In addition, a professional or "prosumer" camera allows you to use whatever lens is appropriate for the situation. If you are shooting sports, you can put on a zoom lens to get close to the action. If you are taking a portrait of someone, you can use a short telephoto lens. If you want to capture a crazy party, put on a wide-angle lens to get the entire scene. You get the idea.

The striking photo below, for instance, was taken from more than 50 feet away with a Nikon D90 and a 300-mm telephoto lens. An iPhone attempting the same photo would never have been able to zoom that closely without pixelating the entire image.

In addition, portraits simply look better with a DSLR and a lens designed to flatter people. The iPhone is stuck using its default, slightly wide-angle lens, which isn't flattering on people.

That’s just the utility aspect. If you want to get into the craft and artistry of photography, using different lens is one of the foremost ways to produce different, interesting images.

There are external lens attachments that you can add onto your iPhone, like the Olloclip 4-in-1 iPhone Lens System, the iPro Lens Kit, and iZZi Orbit Pro. These are an improvement over the default lens in the iPhone, but the quality cannot compare with a DSLR lens.

In general, the materials in external smartphone lenses are not high quality. It's hard to expect them to be. The most expensive of these external lenses ranges between $200 and $300. The lowest-end DSLR lenses start around there.

In addition, many of the iPhone lenses have issues with vignetting (when a photo darkens or blurs near the edges), sharpness, distortion, or are just plain clunky.

Ergonomics

A smartphone will always beat a professional camera for portability. It’s built to travel in your pocket everywhere, and it's easy whip out at just the right time. It’s sleek. It’s cool. It fits nicely in your hand. One thing it’s not built for? Taking photos.

Think about every time you’ve ever taken a photo on an iPhone. Sure, it's only a couple of clicks to the camera app and snapping the photo, but think about the actual feel of it in your hands and how hard it is to frame an interesting photo.

It’s awkward. You have to hold the phone out in front of you. You have to look on a small screen to see how everything fits. Even on a large phone like the iPhone 6 Plus or a Galaxy S, it’s difficult to see whether all of the elements in your photo are composed exactly the way you want or if you’ve captured the delicate focus you are looking for. It’s hard to take photos in a crowded setting and not have everyone around you know exactly what you are taking photos of.

Compare that to just about any dedicated camera. It’s made for the explicit purpose of shooting photos. It sits in your hands nicely, easily allows you to adjust settings without fumbling with the back of the screen, and the camera responds tactilely to the press of the shutter.

Best of all, there’s a viewfinder. You can look through the viewfinder and see exactly what your photo looks like at the size you are looking at, not through the prism of a smartphone screen. Composing small details and framing is easier, more accurate, and more precise.

Manual settings

The iPhone, like almost all smartphones, is hopelessly lost in this category. The iPhone’s default Camera app, which most people use, offers no way to manually adjust settings.

Here's why that's a big problem.

All cameras, including the iPhone and my Canon DSLR, are pretty dumb when it comes to determining proper exposure in all but ideal situations. Imagine a black-and-white photo. All cameras’ automatic sensors want to turn everything in your photo into a dull, even gray. Shooting snow? Gray. Shooting jet-black asphalt? Gray. All photographers know this, and it's why every good photographer uses manual settings to compensate.

Now the iPhone does have manual settings, so long as you download an app like Manual or Snapseed. These are helpful and bring the smartphone closer to what I'm looking for in a camera, but ultimately they are mere approximations to what a true camera does. The shutter speeds and ISOs that smartphone cameras can handle — two out of three factors when determining proper exposure — are so limited that most of the time you are better off just letting the auto settings on the camera do its thing.

Further, smartphone cameras have lenses with a fixed aperture (the hole in the lens through which light passes). Being able to change your aperture is important because it allows you to do all sorts of stylistic things that make photos look great. Shooting a mountain landscape? Adjust your aperture so that it is very small and everything from the mountains to the field in front will be in focus. Doing a close-up of a flower? Adjust to a wide-open aperture, and you can make sure the camera focuses only on the flower, while the whole background turns into an aesthetically pleasing blur.

Here's what a close-up photo looks like with a Canon 5D Mark II and 35-mm lens:

And the iPhone 6:

Notice anything?

First, the iPhone has predictably turned our white bowl gray in all but the brightest areas. Second, the bright orange of the carrots has lost some of its luster. The photo is exposed and focused well, but overall it's boring.

Take a second look at the DSLR photo. The exposure settings have been adjusted manually to make sure the bowl stays bright white. Doing so also pitched up the colors of the carrots and jalapenos, making a more aesthetically pleasing shot. Finally, by using a sharp 35-mm lens and a large aperture, I created a visually interesting focal plane that draws the eye in. And that's in a shot that took me all of a minute to set up.

Manual settings are also hugely important when shooting motion. Depending on the lighting in the situation, shooting motion (like sports and moving cars) is one of the most difficult photographic situations there is. It requires constantly tweaking your settings in minute ways to trick your camera into giving you the best it can. In all but bright and sunny conditions, smartphone cameras just don’t measure up. Adjusting settings on the fly is clumsy and autofocus is too slow and imprecise. In addition, smartphone cameras simply can’t handle the high shutter speeds necessary for capturing motion. It’s a recipe for bad photos.

Sensor size

One of the biggest determinants in digital image quality is size of the image sensor in your camera. When it comes to that, smartphones simply can't measure up.

Digital camera sensors are full of millions of light-sensitive spots that record information about what is seen through the lens. The bigger the sensor, the more area for the camera to capture and record light. (In the old film days, the equivalent was the size of your film: A large-format camera that took 8-by-10 film always took far more detailed photos than those taken by a 35-mm camera.)

How big is the difference between sensor sizes? Look at this graphic (note that even though Apple introduced a new sensor with the iPhone 6, it’s still the same size as earlier models):

Cameras with larger sensors are capable of capturing more information, producing photos that have more contrast, more accurate colors, and less noise, especially when shooting in low-light situations.

Ever try shooting in a dark room with an iPhone? The photos are barely passable. There’s blur and noise if you're lucky, and ugly flash if you're not.

Here's a photo I took with my iPhone at a Jack White concert earlier this year:


Here's a photo taken by a DSLR on Getty Images. It was taken last year at Governor's Ball in New York City. White was using roughly the same stage and lighting set-up.

Leaving aside the fact that the DSLR was able to get much closer with a telephoto lens, the most obvious difference is the detail in White's skin tone and clothes. While the DSLR was able to turn a difficult lighting situation into a compelling photo, the iPhone struggled to capture even the largest details. The band members' skin is too bright and everything else is too dark.

The problem is equally pronounced in bright situations. Here are two photos I took of identical street scenes. The first is with the DSLR, the second with the iPhone 6.

While both have some issues with lens glare and contrast — a hallmark of shooting in the middle of the day — the iPhone's issues are more pronounced. The DSLR retains detail in the brightest parts of the image without blacking out all of the shadows. The iPhone 6 image, on the other hand, has extreme lens glare, almost no detail in the shadows, and bright light clouding most of the image.

Leaving aside lighting issues, larger sensors produce higher-resolution photos, which means that when you want to blow up the photo on your 80-inch plasma TV or print them out to hang on your wall, they still look sharp.

Ever tried to print out a photo taken on your iPhone? They generally look awful. I’ve had plenty of friends try to show me prints of iPhone photos, and I’ve had to lie more than a few times that their photos "look great."

Now some of you will probably say, Pssh. Just give Apple/Samsung/HTC some time. They’ll make a bigger sensor. Chances are they won’t. Consider the form factor of a smartphone and just how much other stuff they have to pack into that ever-slimming frame. They may increase the sensor marginally, but it will never match a dedicated camera.

The verdict

All of this isn’t to say that an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S, or other smartphones aren’t fine cameras. They are. Ultimately, the quality of photos comes down to skill level of the person taking them.

Hand an amateur an 8-by-10 large-format camera and they won’t know what to do with it. Alternately, give a skilled photographer an iPhone and they can produce awesome, awe-inspiring work. (If you want to see some amazing iPhone work, check out the book Hashtag Sandy.)

But give me a choice, and I would always pick my DSLR.

SEE ALSO: Visit the utopian summer camp where campers make up their own rules

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NOW WATCH: 10 things you didn't know your iPhone camera could do

Each year, there are approximately 1.8 million conventions, conferences, and trade shows in the United States. Conventions are a big business and, for many, an even bigger social event.

From clown conventions to BronyCon, conventions provide an outlet for niche communities to gather and celebrate their sometimes unusual interests with like-minded people.

For the last two years, photographer Arthur Drooker has been investigating the sometimes weird, always interesting world of conventions. Through them all, he's found one common theme.

“No matter what they’re about, where they’re held or who attends them, all conventions satisfy a basic human urge: the longing for belonging,” says Drooker.

Drooker shared some photos from the project with us here, but you can check out the rest on his website, Conventional Wisdom.

When choosing what conventions to attend, Drooker wanted to avoid oversaturated events like ComicCon or Star Trek. He was looking for those like the Association of Lincoln Presenters, the first convention he attended, that have a grassroots following.

At the Lincoln convention in Columbus, Ohio, 150 people dressed as Lincoln. The group's goal is to provide real-looking Lincolns to reenactments, parades, and schools.

Each convention was full of people that were "passionate and obsessive" about their interests. Drooker says the energy was infectious. The Vent Haven Convention in Cincinnati bills itself as "the oldest and largest annual gathering of ventriloquists." The convention has open mics, appearances by pros, and workshops on how to ventriloquize.

For the first time ever, a prize for the best photo taken with a mobile phone will be given at the Sony World Photography Awards. 

The panel received 10,293 entries from amateur and professional photographers all over the world. Believe it or not, all of these images were taken with a cell phone. 

20 photos have been selected for the shortlist. Anyone can vote by visiting the World Photography Organisation's web site and "liking" their favorite photo. Voting closes March 17.

The winner will be announced at the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards gala ceremony on April 23, along with the winners in other categories. 

A bridge disappears into the fog in this photo by Helen Whelton of the UK.

A sailor hits an obstacle in this photo by Carla Vermeend of the Netherlands.

Craig Atkinson's photo shows two young ones at a wedding at Tatton Park, a historic estate in the U.K.

New York City is a historic place, and like any historic place it has its secrets. Photographer Will Ellis know this better than most.

Ellis is an urban explorer, one of many who seek out and investigate abandoned and usually off-limits buildings and structures.

Often these places exist right in our everyday environments without us even knowing they're there.

He's been photographing abandoned spaces in and around New York City for years, documenting these hidden artifacts of bygone times.

His work has been compiled into a book, which is available for purchase here.

Ellis shared some exclusive images with us and talked about his experiences exploring New York's most intriguing hidden ruins.

Ellis says he first discovered the thrill of urban exploration when he entered an abandoned building in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook on a whim. "What stuck with me was that sense of discovery and adventure," he tells Business Insider.

"For the next few weeks and months I was heading out to new locations every chance I got," he says.

At first, Ellis says, he was interested about the visual aspect of the buildings and explored in order to get great photographs. Soon, though, he starting wondering about the history and stories behind the structures he was shooting, so he began to do research.

On Sumba, a remote island in the Indonesian archipelago, natives continue to celebrate their most ancient traditions. The most important of these is the Pasola, an annual festival to celebrate the harvest. 

The Pasola festival is a brutal war ritual that pits two neighboring tribes against each other. Men of age ride on horseback throwing spears, with a deadly intent to spill blood onto the soil. Without blood, the Sumbanese believe, the harvest will be bad. 

Photographer James Morgan recently traveled to Sumba to document the festival. He has shared some of his photos with us here, but you can check out the rest at his website. 

Editor's Warning: Images in this slideshow may be considered graphic by some readers.

Sumba is a tiny island in Indonesia with a population of about 650,000. Unlike most Indonesian islands, Sumba has indigenous horses, which play an important role in Sumbanese culture.

Sumba is largely covered in rice paddies. The Sumbanese believe that for the rice to have a good harvest, blood must be spilled on the ground.

To spill the blood, the Sumbanese enact the Pasola. Shamans called "ratus" determine the date of the Pasola based on the appearance of the Nyale sea worms, which show up on the beach once a year.

Red Flag 2015-2 featured previously unannounced participants, and even virtual participants in an all-time first.

In addition to the variety of USAF squadrons, the air combat exercise held Mar. 2 to 13, 2015 out of Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, NV featured international participation by a NATO E-3, F-16s from the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF), Mirage 2000s from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), T-38s from Randolph AFB, and F-16CMs from Aviano Air Base, Italy. A listing of the scheduled participating units is found in the Air Force release “Nellis AFB Hosts Red Flag 15-2”

Beyond what was seen, multiple off-site participants were involved virtually in the exercise as well.

Lt. Col Stodick explained that most virtual participants were housed in simulators out of Kirtland AFB, NM and included a complete joint surveillance and target attack radar system (JSTARS) crew sending virtual ground target information to the aircrews flying in the exercise.

A number of other unidentified units participated virtually. And while the “physical” exercise took place over the 15,000 square mile Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), the virtual component added a much broader dimension to the exercise, covering a simulated 1,320,000 square miles.

This combination of Red Flag and Virtual Flag was a first, and is described as the USAFs LVC (Live-Virtual-Constructive) training. The Live and Virtual not only reduces the cost of the exercise but increases the participation, scope and complexity.

It is quite an extraordinary training dynamic that utilizes state of the art networking and communication assets to provide the most comprehensive air warfare experience on the planet. More details are captured in an Air Force article “LVC Integration takes Red Flag to the Next Level.”

Each Red Flag has its own flavor, and in this case it was of interest to note that no F-22s were involved, and three US Army Patriot batteries were deployed on the range with more units deployed “virtually.”

The exercise has a search-and-rescue component as well, and maintenance personnel are challenged to overcome unique obstacles such as working with limited spares, adapting to critical equipment that is deemed inoperable or limited access to the aircraft after a base comes under “simulated attack.” The crews must think on the fly to adapt, overcome and achieve their mission.

Tactics continue to evolve, and participants must be calculated and wary about their approach to unfolding situations. A solo F-16C Aggressor was recently “captured” fast and low on the “Blue side” of the range, and it was noted that the aircraft was trying to lure "Blue Air" into a pursuit to lead them subsequently into an enemy ambush. Red Flag isn't simply a scripted exercise, and innovative, dynamic activity challenges reactions and creates tremendous learning experiences in a safe environment.

Each day hosts a unique scenario — perhaps a response to an international Superpower that seizes a small neighboring nation, defending against an attack, addressing a hostage situation, or dealing with localized regional conflict initiated by a rogue nation. In any case, the exercises try to represent the reality of the world that confronts us today.

One one of the Red Flag days I visited the NTTR and witnessed activity that appeared to mimic real world deployments taking place today. "Blue Air" F-16s in numbers attacked from the east and engaged "Red Air" over the southern portion of the range.

With Red Air controllers calling intercept vectors, B-1Bs flew through contested air on strike missions above 20,000 ft. Missile shots, kill calls, and intercept vectors were continuous.

Aircraft had to break away for air to air refueling by one of the orbiting KC-135s, or to regenerate and re-enter the fight. Meanwhile in the north two pairs of UAE Mirage 2000s circled over northwestern ranges in a pattern that appeared to be combat air patrol (CAP).

Supported by the UAE Mirage 2000s and just a little further to the north, two B-52Hs from Minot AFB flew racetrack pattern, periodically breaking away for what were likely weapons runs on targets on the northwestern ranges.

While the B-52s dropped no live ordnance during Red Flag, they were configured to carry everything from conventional, to smart and stand-off weapons tailored to their specific mission profiles. Ninety to 120 minutes of intense action came to an end quietly as aircraft with missions complete returned to Nellis AFB.

Exercises such as Red Flag bear a close resemblance to the way modern conflicts are addressed, as coalitions involving integration of a broad number of specialized and international assets. In such cases Red Flag training is critical to prepare for such real world deployments.

The objective of Red Flag has been to provide participants with 10 “combat mission” experiences before entering combat in order to greatly increase the performance and survivability of participants. This approach has demonstrated tremendous success in ensuring US and coalition forces are the best trained, most prepared military forces on the planet.

Special Thanks MSgt USAF David Miller 99th ABW Public Affairs and the entire 99th ABW Public Affairs Team.

Todd Miller lives in Maryland, and is an avid photographer of military aircraft.

SEE ALSO: The Air Force took these incredible photos in a single one-week span

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A "monster" storm hit the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Friday and Saturday, causing widespread destruction and unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths.

The cyclone passed directly over the main island, where the capital Port Vila is located, before passing through a series of islands further south, where 33,000 people live.

Here's what Cyclone Pam looked like from a NASA satellite. The eye of the storm is east of Vanuatu.

Vanuatu is made up of 65 islands and has a population of 267,000. Nearly 50,000 people live in Port Vila, which was hit particularly hard. As much as 75% of buildings in the capital were destroyed or severely damaged. Below are some of the homes in Port Villa.

A large tree uprooted by Cyclone Pam lay on a street near a prison in Port Vila.

The category 5 storm led to winds that peaked at about 168 mph as well as rain, flooding, landslides, and sea surges that led to beached boats, destroyed homes and buildings, disintegrated roads and bridges, and disrupted communications. This is a flooded street in Port Vila.

The official death toll has eight killed and 20 injured, but that is expected to rise. Many of the outer islands, which were expected to be hit the worst, are still cut off from communications. This is the scene in a neighborhood in Port Vila.

A child in front of his home was surrounded by debris in Port Villa. The southern island of Tanna has experienced "total devastation," according to reports received by the Australian Red Cross. 

"Many of the buildings and houses have been completely destroyed … More than 90 percent of the buildings have been destroyed," Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale told Reuters in Tokyo. The photo below shows residents looking at damaged boats washed up into a small inlet in Port Vila.

A boy named Samuel kicked a ball as his father, Phillip, searched through the ruins of their home, which was destroyed by Cyclone Pam in Port Vila.

Vanuatu is an extremely vulnerable place for natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and cyclones. Resident Adrian Banga saw his home destroyed by Cyclone Pam in Port Vila.

The storm is reported to be comparable in strength to Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippines when it hit in 2013. Here, a car lay abandoned among damaged trees along a road in Port Vila.

"We don't know what happened to our families," Lonsdale told NPR. "There is a breakdown of communication so that we cannot reach our families. We do not know if our families are safe or not. As the leader of the nation, my whole heart is for the whole people of the nation."

SEE ALSO: The 10 cities most at risk of being hit by natural disasters

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Without actually going there, it’s hard to get any kind of proper perspective on a cave that boasts a single chamber 5km long, 200m high and 150m wide.

But here’s some stunning pics and footage which is the result of a combination of a couple of modern miracles – drone camera tech and the discovery of the massive cave Hang Son Doong in Vietnam, which only came to the world’s attention in 2009.

Photographer Ryan Deboodt has been posting some incredible images of caves he’s explored for a bit over a year now on Instagram and Facebook. His first shoot in Hang Son Doong was in December, 2013, but at the end of January this year, he added a quadcopter and a GoPro Hero to his armory.

He kindly let us run a few stills and the footage, starting with the entrance to Hang Son Doong, located in jungle near the Laos-Vietnam border.

It was thought to have been first discovered by local man Hồ-Khanh in 1991.

The cave is so huge it even hosts its own microclimate:

It’s an 80m rappel just to get in, for starters.

You could fit a 40-storey building in the main chamber. That’s just one reason why you have to book several months in advance and cough up in the vicinity of $4000 to get a spot. (Deboodt said Oxalis Adventure helped arrange all the permissions and logistics for him to get into the cave for the shoot.)

There’s entire new species of plants, monkeys, birds and flying foxes in here.

Deboodt was using a Canon 6D with a Canon 16-35mm f/4 lens, a DJI Phantom 2 drone and a GoPro Hero 4 Black.

“The original goal of the trip was to collect three timelapse cameras that I had left in the caves for the past six months to document the flooding (which unfortunately didn’t happen this year, will try again next year),” he says.

“I decided pretty last minute to take the drone in to try and capture some unique footage of the cave.”

He succeeded. Here’s the full drone footage he took near the entrance and the first and second skylights which are 2.5km and 3.5km inside the cave.

You can see more of Deboodt’s images and other work on his website, Facebook, and Instagram pages.

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The aurora australis, also known as southern lights, that magical, cosmic, hallucinogenic display of fluorescent colour in the night sky, delivered an awesome display across Australia and New Zealand last night. They were captured as far north as Kiama, just a 100 km south of Sydney.

Normally, you would need to head further south in Tasmania on the rare occasions it occurs. Everyone Down Under has their fingers crossed it will continue tonight.

This latest light show above the South Pole is the result of an explosion on the sun, specifically this last Sunday, which fired a shower of magnetised atomic particles towards earth. They started hitting our atmosphere, around 100km above the planet, last night, producing one of the best displays of the phenomenon in years.

Red and green comes from oxygen, while nitrogen gives the more purple hues.

From scientists to amateur astronomers and night owls, there were some spectacular images captured and shared on social media. Here are some of them loveliest.

NASA captured nature’s celebration of St Patrick’s Day from space.

Rudi put together this exquisite time lapse, taken in Kiama, just 100km south of Sydney

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The film and video industry will never look the same, thanks to drones. Commercial use of drones is now prohibited, but there are signs that regulatory changes may be coming soon. The FAA has just granted exemptions to six filmmaking companies to use drones equipped with cameras.

Drone videos are already changing the way we see things.

"I think that drones are the most amazing innovation that cinema has seen since probably the Steadicam," director and photographer Randy Scott Slavin tells Business Insider.

While many people look at drones as a loud and expensive hobby, professional filmmakers like Slavin are using their drones to capture video from a unique perspective. After his aerial footage of New York City went viral, Slavin was inspired to launch the New York City Drone Film Festival, to celebrate the stunning works of countless other drone videographers.

"This is not a hobby anymore. This is a profession," Parker Gyokeres of Propellerheads Aerial Photography tells us. "This is a professional skill set that has taken us years to develop."

Produced by Will Wei. Additional camera by Alana Kakoyiannis and Justin Gmoser. 

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Any iconic image of the universe you can think of was probably taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Take the Eagle Nebula, for example, which is shown below. What you might not realize is that this spectacular, colored photograph was originally black and white. Now, the experts at NASA have shown how they, quite literally, color the universe by working from Hubble's world of black-and-white.

Stars, like our sun, start off as nothing more than tiny balls of gas and dust that then grow big and bright within dense clouds, like inside of the Eagle Nebula, which Hubble first photographed in 1995.

The photo itself was so spectacular that NASA gave it a name referring to the stellar formation hidden within: "Pillars of Creation." But this picture didn't start off as the colorful masterpiece you see above.

Originally, Hubble snaps multiple pictures of an object in different wavelengths that show up in arresting black and white, shown below. Experts then use colored filters to tease out the final product.

How do you go from black and white to awe-inspiring color? That's where Photoshop comes in. 

Zolt Levay, of the Imaging Team at the Space Telescope Science Institute that runs Hubble, showed National Geographic how he transforms these images.

The red, green, and blue filters he uses on (shown on the right in the GIF), represent different elements that are part of the nebula's chemical make-up. Here, red indicates the presence of sulfur, green is for oxygen, and blue represents hydrogen — the most abundant element in the universe.

The reason Levay uses the colors he does is because each element glows at different wavelengths, which scientists determine in labs here on Earth.

If you take a tube of pure hydrogen gas, for example, and excite the atoms so they release light, the tube will glow blue because that's the color in which hydrogen radiates most strongly. Below is an example of the colors certain gases, including Helium and Neon, release:

After layering one filtered image atop the other, the final colorful image gives astronomers an idea of where and how much of each of these elements are in the nebula.

"It's pure science that's driving the colors," Levay explains in a video by National Geographic. Each of the three colors that Levay uses in his example represents elements that exist both here on Earth and in space.

For more examples of transformed Hubble images check out Hubble's Toolbox.

Watch the full video from National Geographic below:

READ MORE: There's more to this beautiful space image than meets the eye

SEE ALSO: These stunning Hubble images show us the secrets of the universe

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The culture of hip-hop began in New York City in the 1970s. Encompassing rap, deejaying, "b-boying" or breakdancing, and graffiti art, hip-hop has become a hugely influential art form.

The Museum of the City of New York is celebrating New York City's central place in that history in its current exhibit "Hip-Hop Revolution," featuring more than 80 photographs of 1970s and '80s hip-hop by photographers Janette Beckman, Joe Conzo, and Martha Cooper.

The Museum has shared a number of the photos with us here, and you can check out more by visiting their website or heading to the museum.

DJ Tony Tone, left, was a founding member of the Cold Crush Brothers, a Bronx hip-hop group that formed in 1979. DJ Kool Herc, right, is often credited as the starting point of hip-hop. Herc pioneered the use of hard funk and Latin percussion records in deejaying, which formed the basis of hip-hop.

DJ Charlie Chase was a founding member of the Cold Crush Brothers. He is credited with making Latinos a force in the Bronx hip-hop scene. Here he is performing at Norman Thomas High School in Manhattan.

Almighty Kay Gee began as a break-dancer before joining the Cold Crush Brothers in 1979. This is Kay Gee performing with the group at Harlem World.

Jerry Dee Lewis, or JDL, was also a member of the Cold Crush Brothers.

JDL, right, and Grandmaster Caz, another member of the Cold Crush Brothers, perform at Club Negril. Grandmaster Caz now hosts Hush Hip-Hop Tours in New York City.

Charlie Ahearn, second from left, is an American film director who rose to prominence documenting hip-hop culture in New York City in the '70s. This is Ahearn shooting Wild Style, a 1983 film about hip-hop at the time.

Chuck D. helped form the politically and socially conscious rap group Public Enemy. He's one of the most influential MCs.

Before his years on VH1 reality shows, Flavor Flav became famous as a member of Public Enemy. He's known for popularizing the role of the hype man, whose job is to excite the crowd with call-and-responses.

Eric B & Rakim have been called "the most influential DJ/MC combo in contemporary pop music, period," by Tom Terrell of NPR. They hail from Queens and Long Island, New York, respectively.

LL Cool J started out in 1984 recording for Def Jam Records. His deejay at the time was Cut Creator, seen on LLCool J's right. The other two are E-Love and B-Rock.

Queen Latifah made her name as one of hip-hop's premier female emcees, rapping about issues like domestic violence, harassment, and relationships.

Salt-N-Pepa is a hip-hop trio from Queens. They were one of the first all-female rap groups.

EPMD is one of the longest-running groups in hip-hop, staying active for the majority of their 29 years of existence. Made up of Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith, the group hails from Brentwood, New York.

Rammellzee, left, was a visual artist, graffiti writer, and hip-hop musician. He was one of the original hip-hop artists in the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy was a graffiti artist and musician who became well known as the first host of Yo! MTV Raps. Rammellzee died in 2010.

Afrika Bambaata is a deejay from the South Bronx. He is known as the Godfather of hip-hop and electro-funk. He also formed the hip-hop awareness group the Universal Zulu Nation.

Big Daddy Kane began his career as a member of the Juice Crew. Rolling Stone called him "a master wordsmith of rap's late-golden age and a huge influence on a generation of MCs."

KRS-One, left, and Scott La Rock both began as members of Boogie Down Productions. After the release of their first album, Scott La Rock was killed. KRS-One continued the group.

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Business Insider is hiring a photographer/photo coordinator to join our Visual Features team. Our team is expanding and we are looking for individuals who are excited to grow with it. If you consider yourself a photojournalist, love telling stories through images, and are obsessed with both photography and writing about photography, this is the job for you.

In this position, you will:

• find, pitch, and photograph your own stories locally as well as farther afield. You will also photograph stories as assigned by the visual features editor. The best candidates should have strong knowledge of and experience with digital cameras.
• work with our photo agencies (Reuters, AP, Getty, others), as well as other resources, to create posts and slideshows utilizing their vast resources.
• survey the site throughout the day to find already created posts and expand upon them with more and better images.
• assist in any other photography and visual-related work necessary for the website.

This job requires familiarity with Photoshop, a passion for all things photography, and strong writing and communication skills. 

Interested? Submit your resume and a cover letter HERE. Including a link to your portfolio in the cover letter is optional but recommended. 

Please note: This job requires that you work full-time from our Manhattan headquarters. Business Insider offers competitive compensation packages complete with benefits. 

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NOW WATCH: What I Learned By Taking A Photo Of Myself Each Day For The Last 5 Years

For Above The Clouds & Undulating Hills, the latest installment of his ongoing AIR photo series, Vincent LaForet, who in the past showed us Las Vegas from 10,800' in the air, uses his cutting-edge stabilized camera system to capture aerial snapshots of San Francisco from 7,200 feet above ground. "Flying over San Francisco is daunting," he writes in a blog post. "Unlike New York City and Vegas that have clear borders, this is a city that never seems to end. And I frankly think I've only scratched the surface so far." 

Alongside the release of AIR's third installment, LaForet has announced a book in which you'll be able to check out all of his glowing skylines. Grab it on presale here, soar over San Francisco in more of LaForet's transfixing images below, then go behind the scenes of the photoshoot: 

The full set of Vincent's photos of San Francisco can be seen here on Storehouse. You can also sign up to pre-order a book on Vincent’s Air series, or sign up to be notified when Air comes to your city. 

SEE ALSO: Incredible aerial photographs of New York City taken at an astounding height

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NOW WATCH: Scientists finally figured out how to land on a comet going 35,000 mph

The European Space Agency may never have had the glamor of the Apollo missions or space shuttle launches, but they've quietly launched some of the most advanced Earth observation satellites around.

The ESA's Envistat satellite was the largest Earth observation satellite ever built.

Since 2002, it has circled the Earth, collecting invaluable information on our environment and the advancing danger of climate change. Contact with Envistat was suddenly lost in April 2012, but the wealth of information it collected remains.

Every week, the European Space Agency releases a new satellite image taken by Envistat and other Earth-observation satellites launched by ESA and other space agencies. They show incredible places on Earth, from the Sahara Desert to volcanoes in the Congo, in ways we've never seen before.

Clouds sweep across the North Sea in this image from Envistat. Denmark is on the lower right corner and Norway is in the upper center.

This is the Amazon River in the heart of northern Brazil's rainforest. Vegetation has been colored with shades of pink — the darker the color, the denser the vegetation.

This photo of Northern China shows the Yellow River flowing into the Yellow Sea. Beijing and Tanjing are shaded circles in the top-center part of the photo.

Come aboard»

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NOW WATCH: The 8 essential items you need in your car

In the predawn hours of March 3, 2015, one of Chile's most active volcanoes exploded to life. Thousands of people evacuated from within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius of Villarrica.

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired the top image on February 22, 2015, prior to the main eruption. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on the EO-1 satellite captured the second image on March 5. A large volume of volcanic material ejected during the eruption is apparent on the mountain's eastern side.

Activity at Villarrica had been increasing through much of February, made evident by a rise in seismicity, crater incandescenece, and explosions, according to reports from Chile's National Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) (posted in English by the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program).

A faint layer of ash is apparent on the volcano's flanks.

Just prior to the March 3 eruption, geophysicist Jeffrey Johnson and his family prepared to evacuate their home in Pucón, Chile, about 17 kilometers (11 miles) northwest of the volcano.

However, the eruption slowed after just 30 minutes. Johnson watched the fire fountain subside and then resumed his work analyzing low-frequency sounds captured by dozens of microphones placed on and near the mountain.

It's too soon to say what the sounds from the fire fountain and ensuing lahar will reveal. Johnson and students from Boise State are analyzing the data and they continue to monitor the volcano.

In the meantime, Johnson provided the photographs above, which show the transformation from unsullied glaciers just before the March 3 eruption (top) to slopes covered with tephra.

CHECK OUT: A decade of observing Earth from space has given us these breathtaking views

SEE ALSO: Iconic Hubble images are actually black-and-white

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NOW WATCH: Watch Incredible Footage Of Explorers Descending Into An Active Volcano

There's a perpetual air of mystery surrounding the abandoned buildings of the world.

Intrepid photographers like Hans van Vrouwerf aim to clear that mystery. They explore the rotting, decaying buildings left to the wild for decades so you don't have to.

Netherlands-based ban Vrouwerf has explored dozens of abandoned buildings all across Europe and shared with us a few of his favorite shots of asylums, factories, churches, and more left to the elements.

In an interview with Curbed, he explains a bit about his technique and experience photographing the buildings.

Hans shared his photos with us, along with the captions, which are in his own words. For more of his photography, check out his website. 

Netherlands-based photographer Hans van Vrouwerf searches all over Europe for decaying buildings to photograph.

According to his interview with Curbed, he finds the buildings by going through old news articles and finding the sites on Google Maps.

He's traveled from France to Poland and all across Europe in search of these abandoned buildings.

Business Insider is hiring a Photo Essay Editor to join our Visual Features team. We are very excited about expanding our photo coverage and our burgeoning photo team and we are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic about the opportunity to help grow it with us. If you love telling stories through images and are obsessed with both photography and writing about photography, this is the job for you.

The photo essay editor will:

• search for the best and most interesting photo essays, obtain permissions, interview photographers if necessary, and create dynamic articles and slideshows about the work. Ideal candidates will come with ample resources for both finding such stories online and out in the field, as well as experience working with image rights.
• find, pitch, and oversee coverage of visuals-heavy stories in the New York area and globally by using commissioned photographers, as well as taking original photos. Ideal candidates should have knowledge of working photographers and the communication skills to relay creative direction to them.
• assist with editing pieces and managing a small but growing team of photojournalists.

This job requires familiarity with Photoshop, a passion for all things photography, and strong writing and communication skills. The ideal candidate would have 2-5 years full time experience in a photo related field and multiple writing samples to provide. 

Interested? Submit your resume and a cover letter HERE. Including a link to your portfolio in the cover letter is optional but recommended. 

Please note: This job requires that you work full-time from our Manhattan headquarters. Business Insider offers competitive compensation packages complete with benefits. 

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NOW WATCH: What I Learned By Taking A Photo Of Myself Each Day For The Last 5 Years

Photographer Dieter Klein doesn't seem to be an automobile aficionado or a gearhead of any kind. So what draws Klein to travel Europe and the United States, exploring the forests and deserts with a camera in hand, searching for vintage cars that have been parked for good and left to rot? 

"More than an interest in the cars themselves, I was struck by the impact of this extraordinary process of transformation," Klein told Business Insider.

Dieter's images of automobile graveyards, places where abandoned cars slowly decay, show both the staying power of these classic cruisers and the strength of the nature around it, engulfing the machines and returning them back to the earth.

His photos have recently been compiled into a book, titled "Forest Punk," for sale now. Klein shared a selection of images and the stories behind them with us.

Klein discovered his unusual subject of choice by coincidence, he told Business Insider. He was on a trip to France when he happened upon an aging pickup truck parked and left for years in some bushes.

"It was about 80 years old and had been standing there undisturbed for a good 40 years," he said. "By that time it had pretty well been reclaimed by nature."

Klein says he wasn't much of a car person to be begin with, but the ruin piqued an interest. "The contradiction of nature and this man-made machinery to be left alone for decades in such impressive scenery left a strange impression on me," he said.