Photographer William Karl Valentine grew up visiting the Pasadena Police Department, where his father was a reserve police officer. When Valentine enrolled at Arizona State University to study photography, he decided that his first project would be a documentation of the police department.

Over the course of four years at ASU, Valentine logged over 1,000 hours shadowing officers in the department, photographing every major operation and event that he was there to witness. What has resulted is a fantastic time capsule of what it was like to be police officer in an LA suburb when the Drug War was on full blast.

Valentine shared a number of photos with us here, but you can check out the rest at his website.

At the time Valentine began his photo project in 1984, Pasadena was extremely dangerous. Valentine was given the chance to document officers like Officer Bill Walton, seen here, because he was well-known around the department due to his father.

Growing up, Valentine would visit the station while his father did paperwork. This is a view of the "report writing room," where much of that paperwork was done.

Valentine continued the project any time he went home for holiday breaks. During the summers, he worked as a reserve officer in the department’s photo lab. This helped him gain trust with the officers, who gave him “almost unlimited access” to the department, he says.

Valentine’s Day is only a week away, which means people around the country are scrambling to order flowers.

We spoke with floral expert Nic Faitos of New York’s Starbright Floral Design about price point, what to buy, and buds to consider.

Since he's been in the business for over 20 years, he shared his top tips every guy should know before buying Valentine’s Day flowers. 

Don’t buy red roses

“What I tell people is to try and keep it a little more interesting than just the traditional dozen roses,” Faitos told us. “Price-wise, roses go through the roof.”

Roses are notoriously marked up on Valentine’s Day when demand is high. In some places, the cost of a single long-stemmed red rose will surge by as much as 100%.

You’d be better off ordering different flowers that are in season, such as Lilies, Chrysanthemums, and Amaryllis. Flowers in peak season will not only arrive fresher, but they’ll last longer, too.

“A dozen roses is something that’s expected. You can think a little more creatively and get a better and bigger arrangement for your dollar if you do things a little bit differently,” Faitos said.

Know your price point

If you want to buy quality flowers for delivery to your date’s office or apartment (and not just show up with some supermarket bouquet), Faitos said to expect to spend over $50.

“As a rule of thumb, if you want something delivered to your sweetheart’s office or her home, expect to spend over $50,” Faitos said. “A florist can’t do a good job if they aren't making a profit. You know you’re going to get something nice — really nice — in the range of $50 to $100.”

But don’t equate budget with beauty. “I’ve seen some of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen made with flowers cost a very small amount of money and some of the tackiest things cost a ton,” Faitos told us. “There are so many options in flowers that no matter what your budget or price point, you can have something pretty and meaningful.”

Don’t order from a big, online retailer 

Because we’re all tech-savvy now, many of us will turn to huge online flower conglomerates to buy bouquets, but Faitos warned us against these couriers. 

“My personal least-favorite way to buy flowers is where they arrive in a box from an overnight courier,” he said. “The vendor who sells them to you has no control over the temperature or the travel conditions — no control over the environment."

"What they actually put in the box that is sent out to you is completely different from what you see when you open the box," he added.

You’re better off looking for a reputable florist in your area that delivers (most will have websites too if ordering over the phone seems too daunting). This will ensure your flowers are of the absolute best quality.

Consider shelf life and durability 

Don’t just rely on how pretty the flowers look. Ask your florist or do some research on how long the flowers will last and how durable they are. 

Your date may love Lily of the Valley or the Juliet Rose, but if it arrives damaged, they won’t be able to appreciate it. Same with flowers with a short shelf life — the longer the blooms last, the longer your Valentine will think of you.

If you’re in doubt, choose flowers that are in season since they’ll be fresher.

Pick flowers that reflect your date’s personality 

At the end of the day, pick flowers that remind you of your Valentine and not what’s fashionable.

“Flowers are flowers and it comes down to personal taste,” Faitos told us. “The important thing is to make sure they’re fresh and clean and designed very sharply.”

If you’re at a loss for what to get, talk to your florist about your significant other’s personality. Someone who likes the outdoors will probably prefer a different kind of flower and arrangement than the indoor city slicker.

SEE ALSO: 25 thoughtful Valentine's Day gifts under $50

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NOW WATCH: How To Make A Bouquet Of Bacon Roses For Valentine's Day

From regal campuses to touted alumni, many boarding schools exude prestige.

We recently published a list of the most elite boarding schools in the US.

To come up with this list, we examined each school’s endowment, acceptance rate, and average SAT score. We used data from BoardingSchoolReview.com. Data that was unavailable on BoardingSchoolReview.com was taken from the schools’ websites or from Niche.

You can see the full list of schools here, and check out the top 25 below: 

SEE ALSO: What it's like to attend the most elite boarding school in America

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The 2015 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is now on sale. It features lots of familiar faces, like Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge, and Emily Ratajkowski. Readers also get the chance to meet some fresh faces making their first appearances in the popular magazine.

We sat down with one of the rookies, Hailey Clauson, a 19-year-old veteran of the high-fashion world who makes her SI debut in the new issue.

Produced by Graham Flanagan

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It's estimated that 30.6 million students in the US get their lunches in the school cafeteria versus bringing it from home. And that's a problem: It's been found that students who eat school lunches are at a higher risk for being an unhealthy weight.

While new standards are in place, schools have had a difficult time putting the guidelines to use.

These problems drove Sweetgreen, the rapidly growing chain of salad restaurants that's making a quite a buzz, to start its Sweetgreen in Schools initiative. "School cafeterias are one of the biggest areas of opportunity that exist in the battle against childhood obesity," the group said.

To get a better sense of how unhealthy food given to US schoolchildren really is, Sweetgreen researched what a school lunch looked like in eight other countries. The differences will surprise you.

US: fried popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, fruit cup, chocolate-chip cookie

France: steak, carrots, green beans, cheese, fresh fruit

Ukraine: mashed potatoes with sausage, borscht, cabbage, syrniki (dessert pancake)

A custom-built mansion in the ultra-exclusive millionaire's enclave of Palm Beach just listed for $47 million.

British businessman Lord Anthony Jacobs built the house after he bought the property in 1995 for $4.15 million and bulldozed the existing house, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In its place, he built a 13,000-square-foot monument to Mediterranean architecture.

Paulette and Dana Koch of the Corcoran Group have the listing.

Welcome to the waterfront mansion at 100 Casa Bendita in Palm Beach, Florida. It boasts an impressive 200 feet of ocean frontage.

As you enter the mansion, the Mediterranean-styling is immediately apparent.

Spectacularly ornate fountains, stone archways, and wrought iron gates greet you.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means many are beginning to plan their dates. 

To help you plan a perfect trip to New York City (or just an extravagant staycation), our friends at Hotels.com have compiled a list of the most romantic hotels in the city. 

From an ultra-modern hotel in the Upper East Side to a gothic-style hotel across from Central Park, here are the most romantic places to stay this Valentine’s Day. 

20. The Bryant Park Hotel

 Rooms from $225 per night. 

19. The Michelangelo Hotel

Rooms from $209 per night. 

18. The London NYC

Rooms from $249 per night. 

On Saturday, The New York Times released a fantastic investigation into the influx of foreign wealth in the New York City luxury real estate market.

Looking at more than 200 limited-liability corporations (LLCs) and trusts, The Times's Louise Story and Stephanie Saul attempted to unravel who exactly lived in the Time Warner Center and other "Billionaires' Row" highrises.

The report took 13 people an entire year to put together, which they did by "searching business and court records from more than 20 countries, interviewing dozens of people with close knowledge of the complex, examining hundreds of property records and connecting the dots from lawyers or relatives named on deeds to the actual buyers," the reporters wrote.

That alone should put into perspective how slippery real estate LLCs and trusts have become. Thanks to these types of shell companies and the lack of incentive to regulate them, luxury real estate has never been more secretive.

Take for example One57, home to the city’s first apartment to sell for over $100 million. Of the 27 units that have been sold so far, over half of them are owned by LLCs and trusts to maintain the owners’ privacy.

This is happening elsewhere in Midtown, too. According to The Times, Bloomberg Tower is 57% owned by LLCs or trusts, The Plaza's ownership is 69% such arrangements, the Time Warner Center is at 64%, and 15 Central Park West is at 58%.

At some of these residences, only a third of the owners actually live there at any one time, the Times reports.

These secretive ownership arrangements are not limited to the glossy penthouses of Manhattan. According to data from First American Data Tree that The Times analyzed, 44% of sales over $5 million in the US were to shell companies. 

The fact that the world’s 1% are using real estate purchases as their own private bank accounts is nothing new. New York’s real estate in particular is a prime option because it leads to such stable returns.

But what The Times points out in its investigation is that these secretive purchases can allow corrupt officials and billionaires to keep their assets hidden away from victims and foreign governments.

Even if you were to somehow pin down a name associated with an owner (or their relatives or lawyers), the fact remains that trusts and LLCs can transfer ownership without any real estate record. Many of the sales are also in cash, according to The Times, so there are no mortgage statements or public documents.

Though there have been a few attempts to make real estate ownership more transparent, the main argument against doing so is that it could hurt the economy. If these wealthy individuals didn’t feel safe buying property in America, they would just spend their money elsewhere.

The hope in New York is that despite rising rents, a homeless crisis, and a lack of affordable units, the money from these multi-million penthouses and pieds-à-terre will eventually trickle down.

And in the meantime, luxury buildings will continue to rise and court the mega-wealthy from around the world. 

“I don’t see some kind of global effort to stop all this because the money’s too good,” said David M. Crane, a Syracuse University law professor, told The Times. 

Check out the full, must-read article here.

SEE ALSO: Inside One57, where New York's most expensive penthouse just sold for a record-breaking $100 million

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Traditional time-lapses are constrained by the idea that there is a single universal clock. In the spirit of Einstein's relativity theory, layer-lapses assign distinct clocks to any number of objects or regions in a scene. Each of these clocks may start at any point in time, and tick at any rate. The result is a visual time dilation effect known as layer-lapse.

Video courtesy of Julian Tybra

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When Todd Masonis and his partner sold their startup to Comcast in 2008 for a rumored sum between $150 and $170 million, he took a "fun year."

Masonis, a Stanford grad, excavated a Roman fort in England, biked across Scotland, and toured family-run chocolate factories in France.

It was in France where something clicked for the serial entrepreneur. He returned to the US and cofounded Dandelion Chocolate, a small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolate maker in — where else — a garage.

Step inside Dandelion Chocolate, located at 740 Valencia St., in San Francisco's Mission District, to see how Masonis and his team are disrupting the sweets industry.

The smell of freshly shelled cacao nibs, grinding in a metal vat for 72 hours, hits you upon entering Dandelion Chocolate, part café, part chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. It’s hard to imagine cofounder Todd Masonis can get anything done here.

“I eat chocolate every day,” Masonis told Business Insider when we first met in October. He’s a modern-day Willy Wonka who dreams of disrupting the chocolate industry through small-batch production and simple ingredients.

Masonis is no stranger to the startup space. After graduating from Stanford in 2001 with a degree in symbolic systems, he and friend Cameron Ring set out to make something new. They launched Plaxo, an online address-book service, with serial entrepreneur Sean Parker.

The jig is up: we now know that the secret to Kim Kardashian's great selfies is great lighting.

On Sunday, The Hollywood Reporter's executive editor Matthew Belloni caught Kim Kardashian using selfie lights on her iPhone. The accessory enabled her take great photos in the dimly lit hall during the Grammys.

If you want to take high-quality selfies like Kim Kardashian, you can use her simple but effective trick with a LuMee's iPhone case.

The LuMee case is designed with a ring of lights, which softly illuminate your face so that your selfies will be top notch.

(Bonus points: this phone case can double as a flashlight.)

iPhone 6 Plus: $44.95; iPhone 6: $44.95; iPhone 5s/5: $39.95

SEE ALSO: 7 Of The Best Coffee Makers Around

SEE ALSO: Make smooth coffee and espresso without bitterness using the AeroPress

SEE ALSO: Not all drones are expensive: grab this awesome nano drone for $35 [40% Off]

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NOW WATCH: What Happened When A Bunch Of Young Boys Were Told To Hit A Girl

China is one of the most visited countries in the world, with over 55 million visitors each year.

It's a top attraction for its rich history; its incredible monuments, temples, and towers; and its varied yet beautiful landscape. 

From gambling in opulent Macau to riding camels through the northern Gobi Desert, here are 38 places travelers should visit in China. 

Go back in time and observe the distinct architecture of the 900-year-old village of Hongcun.

Eat peking duck in Beijing. Da Dong Duck Roast is a famous spot for the iconic dish.

Slide down the Great Wall of China on the 5,184-foot-long toboggan run, which departs from a section of the wall in Mutianyu.

Business Insider and General Assembly have partnered to bring you a chance to win a trip to everyone’s favorite tech festival in Austin, TX this March, SXSW. We'll cover the flight and festival passes for you and a friend, provide VIP access to private events and parties, and set you up in exclusive 1-on-1 meetings with entrepreneurs & influencers from the tech and music scene. Enter by February 22, 2015.

One Lucky Winner And A Friend Will Receive:

One lucky winner and a friend will receive:

• Round-trip airfare to Austin, TX this March 13 - March 17
• Four nights of accommodations in downtown Austin and a boozy gift bag from Drizly to greet you
• Two Festival Badges
• VIP access to the third annual Lunar Kaleidoscope party on 14 March, hosted by General Assembly & Splash
• Two VIP passes to the full-day ff Massive Party on 15 March
• Coffee meetings with hand-picked startup founders and industry influencers
• Exclusive seats at a private dinner with influential entrepreneurs from NYC, SF, & LA
• $1,000 Uber credit to ride in style around the city
• Free access to all GA Educational Programs at SXSW

Enter to win here

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NOW WATCH: What Happened When A Bunch Of Young Boys Were Told To Hit A Girl

Brandon Stanton, the photographer behind the wildly popular "Humans of New York" project, helped raise $1 million for a middle school in Brownsville, Brooklyn when he posted this photo of sixth-grader Vidal Chastanet.

Stanton, who photographs and interviews people he sees around New York City, ran into Chastanet when he was walking around Brownville, which has the highest crime rate in the city. Chastanet, a sixth grader at Mott Hall Bridges Academy, said his school principal had played a major influence in his life.

Stanton posted the photo and interview to his "Humans of New York" Facebook page, which has more than 12.1 million likes. In just a few weeks, Chastanet's picture has racked up more than 1 million likes.

The meeting and reaction inspired Stanton to meet Chastanet's school principal, Nadia Lopez. He helped the school set up an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to send the sixth-grade class on a trip to Harvard. 

The campaign went viral, raising more than $1.25 million. 

Chastanet also caught President Obama's eye. The 13-year-old and his principal were invited to the White House last week, where they met with Obama. The President shared who had influenced him the most, as well as what had been his biggest disappointments in life.

Stanton chronicled the meeting on "Humans of New York."

And you can watch the White House's video of the meeting here.

SEE ALSO: The Person Behind 'Humans Of New York' Raised Nearly $1 Million After This Photo Went Completely Viral

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NOW WATCH: This 9-year-old makes $1 million a year opening toys

The people of Chongqing, China are smoking meats like bacon and sausage despite there being an official ban on the activity. According to local news reports, authorities in the city joined forces to stop the production of the traditional smoked food in the city because it contributes to air pollution.

Despite this ban, many residents have continued the long-lasting tradition of enjoying smoked meat dishes with their families during the winter, in celebration of the most important annual festival in China.

Produced by Jason Gaines. Video courtesy of Associated Press.

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It's Carnival, and Venice is flooding.

To celebrate Carnival, Venetians and visitors from all over the world don elaborate costumes and masks and attend celebrations all over the Italian city. 

Only this year, they're trudging through flooded streets. 

Approximately 18% of Venice's historic center was under water on Sunday, according to the International Business Times. 

The annual celebration will run until February 17th.

St. Mark's Square is completely covered in water.

But people still traipse through the busy square.

And life still goes on as usual.

Uh oh. Valentine's Day is nearly upon us, and you totally dropped the ball. Don't even bother calling for a dinner reservation because every place in town is booked up.

But fear not: with a bit of creativity, and a lot of conviction, you can still save the day.

For inspiration, we came up with 10 emergency Valentine's Day backup plans. Good luck.

Buy a dinner reservation.

If you totally forgot to make dinner plans, and you're hopeless in the kitchen, you may have to fork it out and purchase somebody else's reservation.

Fortunately, there are several apps for that, including Resy, Killer Rezzy, and Zurvu.

Prices vary.

Hire a private chef.

If you'd rather stay in (but not look cheap), try renting a private chef for the night. Download the Kitchensurfing app and find local professional chefs around the country. In New York, you can order a Valentine's Day brunch or dinner for $150.

Here are some other NYC-based options:

• Postmates' Chefs on Demand: $200 for a 6 pm or 9 pm dinner.
• Big City Chefs: $425 for a romantic dinner for 2.
• New York Personal Chefs: $425 for a four-course Valentine's Day dinner for two.

Go ice skating in VIP style.

At the rink at New York City's Rockefeller Center, you can call ahead of time or go online and pay to skip the lines with "VIP" tickets. There are different time slots throughout today and you can see their availability online.

Pay $60 per person for 90 minutes of skating.

The winners of the 2014 International Photography Contest for Kids have been announced, and the winnings photos are awesome.

The contest, conducted in partnership with National Geographic Kids magazine, saw more than 16,000 entries from around the world. Four photos were selected as first-place winners, including a grand-prize winner, in four categories, and four were selected as runners-up.

Entrants had to be between ages 6 and 14 to be eligible for the competition.

Overall winner Grace Chung will receive a National Geographic Costa Rica family adventure. First-place winners get a digital camera, a memory card, and assorted National Geographic kids' books. National Geographic shared the winners' photos with us here.

Second place: "Weird But True" category, taken by 12-year-old American Jack Girton.

First place: "Weird, But True" category, taken by 14-year-old Olivia Bertie from the UK.

Second place: "Wild Vacations" category, taken by 12-year-old Mihail Nikolaev Kamenov from Bulgaria.

Business Insider is growing its e-commerce team, and we're looking for a writer with a passion for finding the best deals and products and an ability to share his or her excitement with readers in clear, compelling copy.

The ideal candidate is a conversational writer who's confident and careful when reviewing products, and can describe the pros and cons of any given item with conviction.

Commerce content includes everything from awesome deals on must-have products to unique items and gadgets that are new to market. These are the things you’d want to tell your friends about. You will have the opportunity to pursue your own coverage areas, as well as build an editorial calendar to support major retail events (think Cyber Monday).

Business Insider generates revenue when readers buy products through our site. You’ll be coming on board to help us build out this program, and along the way, be part of a new enterprise focused on adding value for readers. The program debuted in 2014 to great success, selling tens of thousands of products ranging from drones to clothes.

If you have experience in product journalism and are passionate about covering deals, gadgets, style sales, e-commerce sites and more, this is your dream job. Join our e-commerce team and help build an exciting new coverage area. 

Responsibilities:

• Write deal round-ups and make product recommendations, following the Business Insider voice and style guide
• Research clothes, grooming products, accessories, household items, gadgets, and other things that are worth readers' time and money
• Source exclusive deals from retailers with the help of our business team
• Take feedback from readers to improve existing recommendations and generate new ideas
• Promote your stories on social networks
• Track your posts in affiliate analytics

Qualifications:

• Writing experience and a desire to find the best deals and products around the web
• An understanding of Business Insider’s audience and writing style
• A huge interest in shopping for great products, finding good deals, and taking advantage of coupon codes
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Google Drive and Analytics
• Flawless grammar, spelling, and usage
• Basic understanding of Photoshop and HTML (more than basic is a plus)

APPLY HERE: Please include a resume; links to your social profiles, and a cover letter that details two products you think are great for Business Insider’s readers.

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NOW WATCH: What Happened When A Bunch Of Young Boys Were Told To Hit A Girl

Americans are crazy about pizza. So much so, we even dedicated an entire day to it — National Pizza Day.

In celebration of this important holiday, the editors at Zagat shared the best pizza joints in 11 big cities around the US. 

From Dallas to New York to Seattle, here are some epically delicious pies. 

AUSTIN: The Backspace

507 San Jacinto St.

Food: 25

The thin-crust pizzas at this casual Austin staple have locals coming back thanks to its delicious sauce and heavy-handed toppings.

The happy hour is a great deal too, with half off antipasti, beer, and wines by the glass.

BOSTON: Galleria Umberto

289 Hanover St.

Food: 27

This hole-in-the-wall pizza joint is only open until they sell out. So get there early (the lines go fast), and order a Sicilian-style pie with sides of arancini and panzarotti, which are light and non-greasy.

Just remember — this North End hidden gem is cash only.

CHICAGO: Pequod's Pizza

2207 N. Clybourn Ave.

Food: 26

If you make a pilgrimage to this low-key Lincoln Park joint (or its original location in Morton Grove), be sure to treat yourself to their signature pan pizza with a caramelized crust.  

Don't worry if you can't make it there, they also deliver.