MOUNTAINS -- After seeing this stunning display of photo technology, I'll never be able to squat in the woods without wondering if somebody's taking my picture from a perch a mile away. 

Click the link below and zoom in, for example, on the amazing detail of the sprawling Mount Everest Base Camp.

 2B-pixel photo lets you explore Mount Everest online

Exploring the pinnacles and crevices of Mount Everest is now possible without ever climbing it, thanks to a 2 billion pixel photograph that filmmaker and climate-change activist David Breashears released online. He took 400 images of the world's highest mountain in the spring, combining them to create a panorama that lets viewers zoom in on everything from a camper washing his face at the base to the mountain's icefall. "I find things I've never noticed before, especially on how climate change is affecting the mountain," said Breashears, whose GlacierWorks site shows how climate change is affecting the Himalayas. The Guardian (London)