As a graphic designer the fate of my work is directly linked to the images I have at my disposal. Great imagery is very powerful, it has the capacity to surprise, horrify, inspire and disgust. Below are my favourite images of all time. This sample of images is drawn from photography, 3D renderings and digitally enhanced photos.

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Sugarpine:

Unfortunately, I don’t have any information about this image, except for the title Sugarpine. This is one of my favourite images for obvious reasons, the Milky Way Galaxy is stunningly visible due to a long exposure by the photographer. It is possible that this image has been digitally manipulated but it is impossible to be certain.

UPDATE: Thanks to Kadir (who directed me to the source), I’ve located the original photographer. His photos can be viewed here: http://www.astrophoto.com.

The Pale Blue Dot:

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken in 1990 by Voyager 1 from a record distance of 6.1 billion kilometres (3.7 billion miles). The image illustrates the insignificance of Earth against the overwhelming vastness of space.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany.

Man On The Moon

This is one of the most icon images of all tme, Buzz Aldrin poses on the Moon as Neil Armstrong captures his own reflection in the visor.

Sharkwater

This image was taken by Rob Stewart, director of Sharkwater, a documentary about the declining population of shark populations all over the world. The message behind the film is very somber but the imagery is breath taking.

Digital Blasphemy

This image was created by Ryan Bliss of Digital Blasphemy. Digital Blasphemy offers some of the most stunning desktop backgrounds you can find online. This particular image graced my desktop for almost two years while I was a student at the Lethbridge College.

Child & Vulture

This is the most disturbing photo in my list, however, it is extremely powerful. The small staving child is slowly crawling towards a feeding centre as the vulture patiently waits for her to die. The photographer Kevin Carter snapped this photo in 1993 in Sudan. The experience had a severe impact on Carter, and three months after this photo was taken he committed suicide.

Earthrise

A photograph of the Earth taken by astronaut William Anders in 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission. It has been called “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.

Guerrillero Heroico

Guerrillero Heroico is an iconic photo of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara taken by Alberto Korda on March 5, 1960, in Havana, Cuba. It is the most reprinted image in the history of photography. Interestingly, Alberto Korda claimed no payment for his picture. A modified version of the portrait through the decades was also reproduced on a range of different media, though Korda never asked for royalties.

Hubble Deep Field

The Hubble Deep Field is an image of a small region in the constellation Ursa Major, constructed from a series of observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. What is interesting about this photograph is that the area was thought to be empty but after a ten day exposure this image appeared. The HDF displayed over 10,000 points of light, each point being an entire galaxy containing billion of stars.

The Clash – London Calling

The photograph of Paul Simonon smashing his Fender Precision Bass at The Palladium in New York City on 21 September 1979 is one of the most icon images in rock and roll. Pennie Smith, who photographed the band for the album, originally did not want the photograph to be used. She thought that it was too out of focus, but Strummer and graphic designer Ray Lowry thought it would make a good album cover. In 2002, Smith’s photograph was named the best rock and roll photograph of all time by Q magazine^.