“They call it a town where time stands still. Maybe it is because the clocks here don’t measure time - they measure radiation levels.”

Fascinating account of a journey by Elena Filatova to the Chernobyl reactor with many chilling photos here. More on the Chernobyl disaster here.

If you don’t have any decent graphics software, you can use this nice online tool to give your photos rounded edges. You can adjust the curve radius and background colour. www.roundpic.com.

On Microsoft’s research site you can view photos several gigapixels in size, allowing incredible zoom levels (browser plugin required). Another high definition example here (this one uses Flash).

Impressive collection of computer desktop wallpaper images from photographer Mike Swanson here.

This famous photograph was taken by Stuart Franklin during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The anonymous man stood in front of the advancing tanks bringing them to a halt. He then climbed onto the lead tank and spoke to the driver, before crowd members pulled him away. There are conflicting stories of the mans identity and his fate after the incident which was also caught on film. Franklin won a World Press Award for the photograph.

Photograph by Stuart Franklin

Photography hobbyist Hamad Darwish was commissioned by Microsoft to take desktop wallpaper photos for inclusion with Windows Vista. Here you can download a complete set including those that didn’t make it into the operating system. The “Aurora” image chosen as the default was created by Vista graphics designer Jenny Lam. Article here.

The Windows XP default wallpaper “Bliss” showing green hillside with blue sky and clouds was photographed by Charles O’Rear, contributor to National Geographic Magazine. The shot was taken at Napa Valley, California.

Photograph by Charles O’Rear

Large collection of Beatles photos from 1964 to 1969 here.

Convert a photo into Polaroid style at www.instantizer.com.

Turn your photo into a magazine cover at www.magmypic.com.

This photo of Che Guevara taken in 1960 was described as “the most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century” by the Maryland Institute College of Art. Taken by Alberto Korda at a funeral service for the victims of the La Coubre explosion, the image has become one of the most reproduced and merchandised in the world, and a universal symbol of revolution and rebellion. Korda himself never made any money from the photo. Its story is here.

The original photo, copyright the Korda Estate