Look through history with Picture-history.com, a site that features some of the most beautiful scans of historically significant and captivating photographs available.  The site’s goal is to contain “the World’s most extensive collection of historical photographs,” a lofty goal, but one that apparently is attainable based on the amazing images they’ve already scanned and posted.  Picture-history.com is replete with history’s crowing moments and influential characters, but also details the difficult times through the faces of those who lived them.  It is arranged by theme and has excellent searchable terms (e.g. “Sitting Bear, Arikara man, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front") that make navigation a snap.  Of particular attention are the nearly 800 photos of Civil War generals including Major General Jefferson C. Davis, President of the Confederacy; General Robert E. Lee, Commanding General of the Confederate Army; Lieutenant General Ulyesses S. Grant, Commanding General of the U. S. Army; Major General George B. McLellan, Commanding General of the Army of the Potomac; and notables Pickett, Sherman, Custer, Howard, Hooker, Burnside, and Hunt.  Of course, there are also large sections on Lincoln right up to and including his assassination, and the section dedicated to defining moments is also a must view.

http://www.picture-history.com/

There are also some sites dedicated to the art of Photoshopping, editing a photo for effect, often times for humor.  Although there are many different photo editing packages, Adobe Photoshop is arguably the most popular.

Fark.com is primarily a news site that features regular Photoshop contests that draw hundreds of entries.  Ranging in quality from crude to very good, the emphasis at Fark is on humor and speed.  Users who subscribe to Fark’s service can post their creations before a contest is announced to the general public and thus have the advantage of posting their creations near the top.  Often times a posting may contain little more than the addition of text to a standard photo image or may contain references to popular contests of the past, referred to as cliches.  However, some of the regular posters freature talented work and most contests contain some very funny entries.  Fark is recommended for the novice to advanced Photoshopper.

Worth1000.com is a pure Photoshop contest site.  The singular focus of the site is reflected in the quality of the entries to each contest which range in quality from good to down-right amazing.  Worth1000 gives advance notice of contests and hides all submissions until a contest is closed to eliminate rush jobs and thievery.  Not every entry is a winner, but the cream certainly rises to the top at Worth1000.  There is also an excellent section containing tutorials developed by its members to help hone your Photoshop skills and take your creations to the next level.  Worth1000 is well worth a visit, but you may want to perfect your skills a little before submitting to the contests.

A while back, I talked about Foundphotos at 10Eastern.com which contains some interesting photos accidentally shared with the world through some file sharing sites.  There are also plenty of sites that contain interesting photos shared purposely.

Flickr is a great site for photographers to post their images for the world to see.  Each photo is linked by tags, a searchable description, date of posting, and author.  Most photos can be downloaded in a variety of sizes and may contain notes that can be activated by hovering over the photo.  Users are encouraged to register and leave comments.  If you’re looking to become a better photographer, this can be a great way to pick up professional-quality advice.

Zingfu, the digital world’s answer to the carnival cutout of “The Strong Man”, contains a library of funny and interesting photo backgrounds.  You can put your friends on the cover of a magazine, in a popular movie, on a motivational poster, next to a celebrity, or in dozens of other funny situations.  The site is laid out like a Chinese food menu and features a fortune cookie in the lower corner that changes its saying on each visit.  It’s worth a visit even if you don’t own a digital camera.