Licorne
As a reader pointed out, this is not a picture from Canopus, but from the Licorne shot.
It has been fired at 18.30 on July 3, 1970, and yielded 914 kilotons, quite less than Canopus, but still impressive and dreadful.
Although this picture, like many of the series, is a work of the French Army (as far as I know) this is an original scan from a hardcopy I posess, and processed to remove dust and scratches.
A strange view on such paradise-like landscapes.
Dugg : digg.com/offbeat_news/Beautiful_Image_of_French_Nuclear_T...
Reddited : reddit.com/info/2zf6d/details
And thank you for your comments, they're appreciated :)
Comments and faves
romainguy, cad3nas_0_o, klick2klick, VolaVale, and 1653 other people added this photo to their favorites.
momighty (73 months ago | reply)
wow! it's pretty horrifying.
VolaVale (72 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called INSOPPORTABILE!.......I CAN'T TOLERATE!, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
very impressive!
Poe ♪ (72 months ago | reply)
amazing image. It is beautiful and horible at the same time.
johnny_p (72 months ago | reply)
The french army certainly have a sense of drama! Look how they have lined all the blasts up and then setting it off at night for such a contrasting image. Really does look like the end of the world
Pierre J. (72 months ago | reply)
I think this picture has been taken from a specifically designed bunker with a sloped wall and 6 meters-thick glass panels. This bunker can be seen on the INA ( www.ina.fr ) archives. I also think that this picture must have been taken with a fairly high shutter speed considering the extreme brightness of such an exlosion, which probably explains the strong contrast here.
As for the drama, a nuclear explosion is a thing words can hardly describe for sure.
fusion-of-horizons (71 months ago | reply)
like in the end of Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" we should sing:
"We'll meet again,
don't know where,
don't know when..."
panzerwaffen43 [deleted] (69 months ago | reply)
Surreal Photo!
Shiratski (68 months ago | reply)
Wow! Last photo from this photographer ;) ?
TADK (68 months ago | reply)
horrifying beauty.
perfect picture.
D.H. Parks (68 months ago | reply)
Oh man. I saw this photo once when I was a kid, but could never find it again. Thank you!
Katchlight Photography (68 months ago | reply)
"is a work of the French Army (as far as I know) this is an original scan from a hardcopy I posess"
In other words - you have no legal standing to scan the image and post on the web. Nice.
Pierre J. (68 months ago | reply)
What kind of ecological legal standing did the French army have to detonate fissile material in the Pacific Ocean ? Posting such a picture doesn't harm anything or anyone as far as I know.
FreeTube (68 months ago | reply)
"Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
m3mn0n (68 months ago | reply)
And that, folks, is why I'm never visiting Tahiti.
Tim Eyles (68 months ago | reply)
Amazing.
travelsheep2004 (68 months ago | reply)
it IS the end of the world. for them.
mpancha (68 months ago | reply)
horrifyingly beautiful
Jordan Perr (68 months ago | reply)
That is quite an amazing scene. I wonder if the army did any image processing back then ;)
Aetas Serenus (68 months ago | reply)
Wow....
*ade (68 months ago | reply)
looks fairly dangerous then...
Shaah.in (68 months ago | reply)
Ozone Layer is destroyed by a lot of nuclear tests, specially around the South Pole, by these so called super powers.
>> "very impressive!"
Yes, very, but global warming effects will be even more impressive. Just wait for the impressive waves of water too.
mijori (68 months ago | reply)
Extraordinary how total destruction can be so beautiful. A glimpse into the mind of a megalomaniac ...
Dan Zeta (68 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called I, Witness (Global Photojournalism), and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Klksn (68 months ago | reply)
The Halo Ring is so real!
Ben Jacob is moving to flickr/benjacob [deleted] (68 months ago | reply)
Is that real ? :P
Any way < nice shot nice colours
ZeNaLieN (68 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called WoRLD WiDe WoW, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
DarthMaltball (68 months ago | reply)
I've got a poster of this. You can buy one here:
www.allposters.com/-sp/Hydrogen-Bomb-Posters_ i914499_.htm
Pierre J. (68 months ago | reply)
It is sad they don't have the other three of the series though, nor the Rhea shot.
novicegamer113 [deleted] (68 months ago | reply)
Can you process this more to get rid of the white dust and scratches? it takes away from it when the background is black.
shenxy (68 months ago | reply)
amazing!
allen.huang [deleted] (68 months ago | reply)
This is amazing!
Wilgar (68 months ago | reply)
Oh
My
Gosh!
--
Seen in Fire Shots (?)
armedchicksrule [deleted] (68 months ago | reply)
Beautiful. What Detroit needs to return it to its glory days.
Asen Todorov (68 months ago | reply)
unbelivable, but what a shame to detonate those bombs on this piece of paradise :((
Brian O'Mahony (68 months ago | reply)
That's scary...and thought of what we can do with technology...
I'm an admin for a group called One Hundred Thousand Club (100,000 Photostream Views), and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
...and please feel free to join the group and add some of your best or favourite shots. Thanx.
Seen in Views 100 000 (?)
unicorn 81 (68 months ago | reply)
terrific, dreadful fascination.
to be a horrific sight.
jacilluch (68 months ago | reply)
el miedo y el horror pueden ser hermosos !!!!!
Michel Balzer (68 months ago | reply)
Wow, great picture!
(seen on fffound
Band Aid (67 months ago | reply)
This photo is da bomb!
Quotato (67 months ago | reply)
Fantastic and Frightening....
Reminds me of the lyrics from an old Johnny Cash song:
"I fell into a burning ring of fire
went down down down
till the flames got higher"
malfunctioningloser [deleted] (67 months ago | reply)
Are these real or were they just made by the French Army to convey what it would look like? Probably a stupid question...
The Cydonian (67 months ago | reply)
Et je devienne Mort, destructeur de mondes.
trautmann_f (67 months ago | reply)
First time for me color vison of this terrific explosion
☆ Fotologica (67 months ago | reply)
Great photos
Pinxel Labz http://www.pinxel.cl (67 months ago | reply)
Brigiooo
gchfx13 (67 months ago | reply)
Incredible work
Mr. Theklan (67 months ago | reply)
impressive
Javi Vte Rejas (67 months ago | reply)
impresionante O_O
Goldemberg Fonseca [deleted] (67 months ago | reply)
It´s impressive but scaring!!!
Alaric_Bacasis (67 months ago | reply)
Maca, la foto.
Una altra zona arrassada per vàries decades.