George Lawrence used aerial kites to photograph San Francisco after the devastating 1906 earthquake. His photographs appeared in newspapers around the world and generated more than $15,000 for the photographer.

Below is a high resolution GigaPixel scan from the original 4 foot wide photograph. Well, technically it’s only a measly 11,709 x 4,716 resolution - translating to only .55 gigapixels, but we’ll let it slide since this is for posterity’s sake and all that.

For those of you who are unaware, San Francisco experienced a devastating earthquake in 1906 which started fires that burned uncontrollably and essentially destroyed the entire city.
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In case you’ve been living under a rock, my father’s country of birth (Greece) has massive fires raging all around Athens which have killed 63 people in just the last few days. Now, I don’t want anyone to take any of the comments I’m about to make the wrong way. I love Greece, and the Greek people. We are family.

But being that the ancient Greeks invented democracy, I’m going to exercise a little free speech here and tell you a few reasons I have little sympathy for the problems now being faced.
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You say you’re sick of those tiny little Maglite’s excuse for illumination, and the Surefires just aren’t cutting it for you anymore? Well, perhaps its time you stepped up and got yourself a real man’s flashlight!

What makes this flashlight so powerful? A few things. First, there’s some batteries. And not just a few, but 12 1.2V NiMH (rechargable) batteries capable of sustained 10 amp draws. They’re in a nice, heavy duty battery carrier that can withstand the load as well.
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