NASA ASTER’s Satellite Image Gallery

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument is one of NASA’s five Earth-observing instruments. Launched on December 18, 1999, on the Terra satellite, ASTER “images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet” by capturing high-resolution (15 to 90 square meters per pixel) images of the Earth. Since then, more than 2.95 million images were captured. The content “ranges from massive scars across the Oklahoma landscape from an EF-5 tornado and the devastating aftermath of flooding in Pakistan, to volcanic eruptions in Iceland and wildfires in California”. Users can view a fraction of the images from this website, while the rest can be accessed from a series of different tools provided.

Creative Vix Free Stock Images

Creative Vix provides free stock images for design. Users can browse the images by categories. Creative Vix also provides other design resources such as tips, tricks and trends.

Tookapic Stock Photos

Tookapic was launched as a platform to help users to “develop a habit of daily photo taking in a fun and addictive way”. The habit is gamified where users will be awarded with points and badges. Users are also able to share their images for reuse. The stock photos section of the website presents the pictures shared by the community. As of November 2015, there are more than 14,000 stock photos uploaded with 66% free for download. Users can search or browse by different categories.

SpaceX Photos Flickr

Founded in 2002, SpaceX is an American company that “manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft”. Their Flickr account shares photographs of their rocket launches and space missions.

The U.S. National Archives Flickr

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or National Archives is a “record keeper” of the United States Federal government. Besides contributions from the National Archives, the Flickr account contains photographs from the National Archives and the federal photography project called Project DOCUMERICA (1971 – 1977). The project was initiated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to capture the environmental problems and achievements of that era.

DesignerPics.com

DesignerPics.com is developed by Jeshu John, a web designer and developer based in Kochi, Southern India. Users can search by keywords or browse by categories.

Project Apollo Archive (Flickr)

The Project Apollo Archive was first created in 1999 by Kipp Teague. It contains photographs pertaining to the historic manned lunar landing program – Apollo. According to Teague, the archive is “a re-presentation of the public domain NASA-provided Apollo mission imagery as it was originally provided in its raw, high-resolution and unprocessed form by the Johnson Space Center on DVD-R and including from the center’s Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth web site”. All digital images are scanned from the original photographs taken by Hasselblad cameras.

Divvy Pixel Free Public Domain Images

Divvy Pixel curates public domain images from various sources. Images provided on their main site and online galleries are on public domain and can be used personally or commercially. Users can browse and download the images individually or all at once.

Picjumbo

Picjumbo is developed by photographer, Viktor Hanacek. Users can search by keywords or browse by different categories.

Photogen

Photogen provides free high-resolution photographs for download and reuse. Users can search by keywords or browse by categories.

Texturegen

Texturegen provides free high-resolution textures and backgrounds. As of September 2015, there are more than 1,100 textures available. Users can search by keywords or browse by categories.

Pixabay

Pixabay is a photo community that provides images on public domain. The site contains curated images contributed by photographers around the world. As of September 2015, there are more than 470,000 photographs, vectors and illustrations. Users can search by keywords or browse by various categories.

LIFE Photo Archive

The LIFE Photo Archive is a comprehensive archive of photographs and etchings that are produced or owned by the defunct LIFE Magazine, dating back to the 1750s. Captured by LIFE photographers and photo journalists like Alfred Eisenstaedt and Margaret Bourke-White, the photographs documented important events in the world, evolution of fashion and lifestyles and the lives of celebrities and everyday people. According to Google, most of the photographs have never been published. Started in 2008, users can search for millions of images from the LIFE archive, which contains about 10 million photographs. Users can do a keyword search by adding “source:life” to any Google image search. For example, “vietnam war source:life”. Alternatively, users may browse by different categories.

MMT Photos

Developed by Brooklyn-based interface and experience designer, Jeffrey Betts, MMT is a site that contains high-resolution photos on public domain. Users can search by keyword or browse by different categories.

NASA’s Earth Observatory Images

As part of the EOS Project Science Office located at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the mission of the Earth Observatory is “to share with the public the images, stories, and discoveries about the environment, Earth systems, and climate that emerge from NASA research, including its satellite missions, in-the-field research, and models”. Users can do a keyword search or browse images by different categories. Users can also generate images of global maps to explore key parts of the Earth’s climate system. The images are based on data provided by the NASA satellites.

Split Shire

Developed by Italian photographer and graphic designer, Daniel Nanescu, Split Shire provides copyright-free photographs for designers, bloggers, social marketeers and commercial companies. Users can search or browse images by categories.

Free Nature Stock

Built by web designer and developer, Adrian Pelletier, Free Nature Stock provides free public domain images that focus on nature. The site is updated with a new photo daily. Users can search or browse the images through the Archive.

PLiXS Image Database

Founded by a startup based in Switzerland, PLiXS is a database of free high resolution images. As of August 2015, there are close to 3,400 images, contributed by photographers around the world. Users can search or filter their search by photo filters and categories.

Herman Miller Images

Herman Miller is an American furniture design firm and among the first to produce modern furniture. Working together with designers George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, the company produced some of the classics in industrial design. Their website provides a library of images, which contains Herman Miller’s white sweep environments, and detailed product photography and renderings. Users can search or browse by different categories. The website also provides other design resources, such as materials, 3D renderings and product downloads.

Skitterphoto

Skitterphoto provides photographs that are taken by three photographers based in Groningen, The Netherlands. Since the platform launched in 2014, a photo is uploaded every single day. Users can search or browse by categories.