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Animals Illuminated by the Sun The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment when the trailing edge of the Sun’s disk disappears below the horizon in the west. There are few things in nature as photogenic as the sky at sunset, especially animals. The rich bright gold, pink and orange colors make unusually beautiful pictures of animals illuminated by the sun. Source The Top 50 'Pictures of the Day' for 2011 Every day at 5pm the Sifter posts the Picture of the Day. Below you will find a collection of the Sifter’s Top 50 from 2011. It’s hard to imagine the year is almost over, time seems to fly faster each successive year so it’s fun to take a moment and look back at the year that was. Click any of the pictures below to be taken to the individual post to learn more about the photographer and picture taken. Enjoy and stay sifty my friends!

San Francisco: Beautiful Photography by Brandon Doran & Ciel Bleu Media - StumbleUpon These incredible images are by Brandon Doran, United States, and used here with his permission. Thank you, Brandon! ~ Laura iceland » one big photo Random photo Submit your photo Stumble Thru Most Amazing Clouds You’ll Ever See top galleries Fenhuan – One of the Ten Most Beautiful Towns in China By Saif on March 12, 2011 Fenhuan considered one of the 10 most beautiful cities in China. The city was founded during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). 25 Incredibly Detailed Black And White Portraits of the Homeless by Lee Jeffries Lee Jeffries career began as a sports photographer, capturing the beautiful game of football in Manchester. Then a chance meeting with a homeless woman living in the streets of London changed his life forever. He has since dedicated himself to capturing gripping portraits of the disenfranchised.

The Top 25 Photo Galleries of 2011 Dec 29, 2011 Below you will find a collection of the Sifter’s top 25 galleries posted in 2011. Often the most popular posts on the site, the galleries not only take our readers around the world, but back in time as well. Some galleries even show us the farthest reaching points of the Cosmos and the thriving microscopic world invisible to the human eye. Click any image or title to be taken to the original post, enjoy! And see ya’ll in 2012.

Animals' Eyes Up Close Husky Suren Manvelyan, is a bit of a jack of all trades. He has a PhD in Theoretical Physics specializing in Quantum Chaos but has recently turned his attention to photographing the amazing detailed landscapes of eyes.