Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Situ Gunung, Indonesia

Situ Gunung, Indonesia

Photograph by Hardi Budi, Your Shot

Taken at a lake named Situ Gunung in Indonesia

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot .)

Monday, May 30, 2011

Flamenco Dancer, Seville

Flamenco Dancer, Seville

Photograph by Steve Shpall , My Shot

Flamenco dancer, Seville, Spain

(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot .)

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Surfing, Indonesia

Surfing, Indonesia

Photograph by Firstiawan Yuliandri, Your Shot

A traditional Indonesian boat passes behind a surfer doing some aerial action.

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot .)

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Ocean Cruise, Mexico

Ocean Cruise, Mexico

Photograph by Fang Guo , My Shot

I took a cruise trip to Mexico , and I have never been so impressed by the ocean.

(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot .)

Friday, May 27, 2011

Alpine Climbers, Aiguille du Midi

Alpine Climbers, Aiguille du Midi

Photograph by Thomas Woolrych, My Shot

I captured these adventurers after a warm and toasty ride up to the Aiguille du Midi (in the French Alps) on the T l ph rique to 3,842 meters. I was short on breath just walking around on the platforms of the station (the buildings are like something out of a James Bond film, perched on the edge of a gut-wrenching void), and these guys had climbed up!

(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot .)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Inishowen, Ireland

Inishowen, Ireland

Photograph by Dave Johnston, Your Shot

Morning sun touches the hills and sand dunes of Inishowen, Ireland .

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot .)

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Namaqua Chameleon, Namibia

Namaqua Chameleon, Namibia

Photograph by Frans Lanting, National Geographic

The markings of a Namaqua chameleon match the sand in Namibia's Sperrgebiet National Park, confusing predators.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Nuns, Colombia

Nuns, Colombia

Photograph by Russell Schnitzer, Your Shot

While exploring Cartagena, Colombia 's Central District, I caught this scene outside one of the colorful city's parochial schools.

(This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot .)

Explore tours of a lifetime in Central and South America »

Monday, May 23, 2011

Old Town, Sydney

Old Town, Sydney

Photograph by Chris Buhlmann , My Shot

Old Town Sydney, Australia, at very early dawn. This was shot from the roof of a hotel. I used a fisheye lens to capture from the street below the view of the harbor with the famous Sydney Opera House.

(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot .)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Sailboats, Turag River, Bangladesh

Sailboats, Turag River, Bangladesh

Photograph by Dick Durrance II

Graceful as butterflies, boats glide past rice fields on the meandering Turag River near Dacca, Bangladesh. Hundreds of watery highways interlace the heartland of this low-lying South Asian country.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Bangladesh—Hope Nourishes a New Nation," September 1972, National Geographic magazine)

Canyonland Grotto, Utah

Canyonland Grotto, Utah

Photograph by Walter Meayers Edwards

A vaulted grotto with a skylight shelters the ruins of cliff dwellings. The Anasazi, or Ancient Ones, tilled corn in the valley below and retreated to the heights at night. Whether fleeing enemies or a prolonged and widespread drought, they disappeared from Utah by about 1300. This canyon, near Salt Creek in Utah's Canyonlands National Park, also shows evidence of disastrous flash floods at that time. Visitors today know the huge alcove as Paul Bunyan's Potty.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Canyonlands, Realm of Rock and the Far Horizon," July 1971, National Geographic magazine)

Statue of Christ of the Abyss, Florida

Statue of Christ of the Abyss, Florida

Photograph by Bates Littlehales

Softly aglow in sea-washed sunlight, Christ of the Abyss stands 30 feet (9 meters) down in the Atlantic in Florida's John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Visitors to the sanctuary don masks and fins or view the sea life through the glass bottoms of tour boats.

(Photo shot on assignment for "The Lower Keys, Florida's 'Out Islands,'" January 1971, National Geographic magazine)

Tree Frog Tadpoles, Costa Rica

Tree Frog Tadpoles, Costa Rica

Photograph by Paul A. Zahl

Within days of being deposited on a leaf overhanging a stream, tree frog eggs grow into recognizable tadpoles. Bulbous yolk sacs provide nourishment. As the wrigglers develop, the gelatinous outer membrane decomposes, perhaps triggered by a chemical change in the tadpoles. One by one, they slide off to a life of their own in the water.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Nature's Living, Jumping Jewels," July 1973, National Geographic magazine)

Bioluminescent Organisms, Japan

Bioluminescent Organisms, Japan

Photograph by Paul A. Zahl

The transparent shells of tiny Cypridina hilgendorfii, found in the coastal waters and sands of Japan, hold a creature that emits a luminous blue substance when disturbed. During World War II, the Japanese harvested these creatures for soldiers to use when reading maps and messages at night.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Nature's Night Lights—Probing the Secrets of Bioluminescence," July 1971, National Geographic magazine)

Chateau Gaillard, Les Andelys, France

Chateau Gaillard, Les Andelys, France

Photograph by David L. Arnold

A symbol of long-ago battles, Chateau Gaillard lies in ruins near the town of Les Andelys, France. It was built by Richard the Lion-Hearted—King of England and Duke of Normandy—as a strategic redoubt against the king of France. In 1204 French soldiers storming the castle broke England's grip on Normandy.

(Photo shot on assignment for "The Civilizing Seine," April 1982, National Geographic magazine)

Rock Carvings, Petra, Jordan

Rock Carvings, Petra, Jordan

Photograph by Jodi Cobb

Hidden at the end of a long ravine, the buildings of Petra, Jordan, were carved into sandstone cliffs by the Nabataeans around 312 B.C. After annexation by the Romans in A.D. 106, the city—once a hub of commerce—became less important as trade routes developed along the Red Sea and Nile River. Petra is now protected as a World Heritage site.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Jordan: Kingdom in the Middle," February 1984, National Geographic magazine)

F-105 Fighters, Hawaii

F-105 Fighters, Hawaii

Photograph by Albert Moldvay

A haze of smoke veils the silver snouts of the "Flying Tigers," an F-105 squadron which, at the time of this 1965 photo, was on temporary duty at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. Flight crews used black-powder charges to start each jet's powerful engine.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Of Planes and Men—U.S. Air Force Wages Cold War and Hot," September 1965, National Geographic magazine)

Islanders Crabbing at Night, Samana Cay, Bahamas

Islanders Crabbing at Night, Samana Cay, Bahamas

Photograph by James L. Stanfield

Islanders, on a seasonal visit to uninhabited Samana Cay in the eastern Bahamas, crab by torchwood light at a point probably seen by Christopher Columbus's fleet on October 12, 1492. Columbus visited five islands in the Bahamas before reaching Cuba.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Where Columbus Found the New World," November 1986, National Geographic magazine)

Castle Near Kilgarvan, Ireland

Castle Near Kilgarvan, Ireland

Photograph by Sam Abell

The green countryside of County Kerry, Ireland, slowly reclaims a castle near the village of Kilgarvan. Taking its present name from the Irish Cill Garbháin, or Church of St. Garbhan, Kilgarvan rests on the banks of the Roughty River, which flows into Kenmare Bay.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Ireland on Fast-Forward," September 1994, National Geographic magazine)

Shrimp Hiding in Sand, Florida

Shrimp Hiding in Sand, Florida

Photograph by Robert F. Sisson

Shunning light, a pink shrimp buries itself in aquarium sand except for its feelers and golf-ball eyes. To avoid predators, they'll burrow even deeper, leaving only a tiny hole for breathing.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Shrimp Nursery—Science Explores New Ways to Farm the Sea," May 1965, National Geographic magazine)

Underwater Sculpture Park, Grenada

Underwater Sculpture Park, Grenada

Photograph by Jason deCaires Taylor, My Shot

Underwater sculpture park in Grenada , West Indies

(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot .)

Mandrill, Central Africa

Mandrill, Central Africa

Photograph by Michael Nichols

A mandrill, tethered on a rope in central Africa, reaches for the camera. These colorful primates are threatened. They are often hunted as bushmeat, and many Africans consider them to be a delicacy. Mandrills are feeling the squeeze of spreading agriculture and human settlement—both are shrinking their rain forest homeland.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Clearing," March 2001, National Geographic magazine)

Fire-Walking Ceremony, Viti Levu Island, Republic of Fiji

Fire-Walking Ceremony, Viti Levu Island, Republic of Fiji

Photograph by James L. Stanfield

The body is transcended and the soul is made pure by mortification of the flesh—including piercings with these needles—in the annual Hindu fire-walking ceremony on Viti Levu Island in Fiji. Fire walkers prepare with fasting, prayer, and bathing in the ocean. At their temple, they may walk over hot coals several times in thanks for blessings of health and long life from the fire goddess Draupathi.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Two Worlds of Fiji," October 1995, National Geographic magazine)

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Oil Refinery, Ras Tanurah, Saudi Arabia

Oil Refinery, Ras Tanurah, Saudi Arabia

Photograph by Thomas J. Abercrombie

Gas flares fire the night at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanurah refinery, north of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Each day sparkling towers here produce more than half a million barrels of refined petroleum, the largest output of any refinery in the Middle East.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Saudi Arabia—Beyond the Sands of Mecca," January 1966, National Geographic magazine)

Lion in Tree, Zambezi River, Zambia

Lion in Tree, Zambezi River, Zambia

Photograph by Chris Johns

A female lion claims her spot in a tree near the Zambezi River in Zambia. Female lions are the primary hunters in each family group, or pride. They often work together to prey upon antelopes, zebras, wildebeests, and other large animals of the open grasslands. Many of these animals are faster than lions, so teamwork pays off.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Down the Zambezi," October 1997, National Geographic magazine)

Synchronized Swimmers, Laguna Hills, California

Synchronized Swimmers, Laguna Hills, California

Photograph by Karen Kasmauski

Submerged ballerinas rehearse for their annual show at Leisure World in Laguna Hills, California. Activities like line dancing, lawn bowling, and computer classes make retirement communities increasingly popular among people with decades of free time to fill.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Aging—New Answers to Old Questions," November 1997, National Geographic magazine)

Fishermen at Night, Micronesia

Fishermen at Night, Micronesia

Photograph by David Boyer

Fiery torches of palm fronds light up the night near the Caroline Islands as men in outrigger canoes wait with long-handled nets to scoop flying fish in midair. The jumping fish are attracted by light.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Micronesia—The Americanization of Eden," May 1967, National Geographic magazine)

Grazing Bison, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma

Grazing Bison, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma

Photograph by George F. Mobley

Stately American bison graze beneath gold-lined clouds in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Established in 1905, the refuge now shelters roughly 600 bison. Excess animals are sold live at public auction every October.

(Photo shot on assignment for the National Geographic book The Great Southwest, 1980)

Bubble Eye Goldfish, United States

Bubble Eye Goldfish, United States

Photograph by Paul A. Zahl

Oriental apparition, the extraordinary bubble eye wears marble-size, fluid-filled eye sacs like water wings. The breed is only one in a gallery of bizarre variations of the common goldfish. Developed over ten centuries by Oriental breeders, this living art of the East today attracts growing numbers of Western aquarists.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Those Outlandish Goldfish!" April 1973, National Geographic magazine)

Dock and Palm Trees, Tahiti

Dock and Palm Trees, Tahiti

Photograph by Jodi Cobb

A dock juts out to a small palm island, surrounded by the jewel-blue waters of Tahiti. Tahiti is just one of 118 islands and atolls that make up French Polynesia, a semi-autonomous territory of France. With its claim here and on other Pacific territories, France is the second largest presence (after the United States) in the Pacific.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Charting a New Course—French Polynesia," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)

Desert of Death, Afghanistan

Desert of Death, Afghanistan

Photograph by Thomas J. Abercrombie

Like drifting clouds, hilltops mirrored in a mirage appear to float behind a Land-Rover. The illusion is created by heat waves shimmering in 120-degree (49-degree-Celsius) temperatures of the Dasht-i-Margo—Afghanistan's so-called "Desert of Death."

(Photo shot on assignment for "Afghanistan—Crossroad of Conquerors," September 1968, National Geographic magazine)

Downtown Suva, Viti Levu Island, Republic of Fiji

Downtown Suva, Viti Levu Island, Republic of Fiji

Photograph by James L. Stanfield

The largest city between Honolulu and Auckland, Suva—the capital of the Republic of Fiji—dazzles with cosmopolitan offices, shops, and entertainment. With 180,000 residents in its metropolitan area, the city wraps around a superb deepwater harbor on Viti Levu island. By sea and air, Fiji serves as a hub linking Pacific nations.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Two Worlds of Fiji," October 1995, National Geographic magazine)

Cliff Divers, Mazatlan, Mexico

Cliff Divers, Mazatlan, Mexico

Photograph by W.E. Garrett

A daring diver times his plunge with an incoming wave as he plummets from a cliff in Mazatlan, Mexico. When the surf surges in, 12 feet (3.7 meters) of water lies below; outgoing seas leave half that depth.

(Photo shot on assignment for "South to Mexico City," August 1968, National Geographic magazine)

Panda Yawning, Kunming, China

Panda Yawning, Kunming, China

Photograph by Jodi Cobb

A giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) yawns in its enclosure at the Yuantong Zoo in Kunming, China. Wild pandas live only in remote, mountainous regions in central China. These high forests of bamboo (their primary food) are cool and wet—just as pandas like it.

(Photo shot on assignment for the National Geographic book Journey into China, 1982)

Diver in Coral Garden, Dominica Island, Caribbean Sea

Diver in Coral Garden, Dominica Island, Caribbean Sea

Photograph by Bruce Dale

Off Scotts Head, Dominica Island, a sunken garden of sponges and coral rewards a visitor, part of a growing stream of divers discovering Dominica's marine life. With one of the most vibrant underwater ecosystems in the Caribbean, Dominica offers scuba divers aquarium-clear water with visibility that can reach 100 feet (30 meters).

(Photo shot on assignment for "Dominica," June 1990, National Geographic magazine)

Northern Lights, Trapper Creek, Alaska

Northern Lights, Trapper Creek, Alaska

Photograph by Thomas J. Abercrombie

Spectacular sky shows brighten the long winter nights for Alaska's year-round residents. This display of northern lights sets the horizon aglow at Trapper Creek. Stars of the Big Dipper, upper left, wheeling through the December sky, show as streaks in this ten-minute exposure. Residents of the region witness dozens of auroras yearly; those in the Point Barrow area farther north see as many as a hundred.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Nomad in Alaska's Outback," April 1969, National Geographic magazine)

Petrohué Falls, Chile

Petrohué Falls, Chile

Photograph by George F. Mobley

The gentle falls of the Petrohué River frame the graceful slopes of Osorno Volcano, part of the Andes Mountain. The scene is but one memorable view within Chile's Vicente Perez Rosales National Park.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Chile, Republic on a Shoestring," October 1973, National Geographic magazine)

Velvet Worms, Hamburg, Germany

Velvet Worms, Hamburg, Germany

Photograph by O. Louis Mazzatenta

These intertwined velvet worms, or onychophorans, are living fossils, holdovers of the Cambrian explosion of life-forms that occurred about 530 million years ago. Velvet worms became land dwellers some 250 million years ago but survive today only in dark, moist habitats such as the leaf litter in Costa Rican forests. These worms were photographed at the University of Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Explosion of Life: The Cambrian Period," October 1993, National Geographic magazine)

Pool in Marble Canyon, Arizona

Pool in Marble Canyon, Arizona

Photograph by Walter Meayers Edwards

Beyond the roar of the Colorado River, a pool of silence. Discovering this hushed limestone sanctuary at Shinumo Wash in Arizona's Marble Canyon, members of a National Geographic expedition christened it Silver Grotto.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Retracing John Wesley Powell's Historic Voyage Down the Grand Canyon," May 1969, National Geographic magazine)

Alligator, Florida Everglades

Alligator, Florida Everglades

Photograph by Chris Johns

Despite 70-odd teeth and a notoriously nasty bite, a female alligator in Florida's Everglades National Park demonstrates a delicate touch when the time comes for her eggs to hatch. Gently grasping an egg in her mouth, she rolls it on her tongue, feeling for signs of life. If she senses something stirring, she cracks the egg open, then tilts her head forward to let the baby emerge.

(Photo shot on assignment for "Everglades: Dying for Help," April 1994, National Geographic magazine)

View Atop City Hall, Dresden, Germany

View Atop City Hall, Dresden, Germany

Photograph by Gordon W. Gahan

Statues look down on the rebuilt inner city of Dresden from atop City Hall. The medieval city lost tens of thousands of citizens and nearly every building to heavy Anglo-American bombing near the end of World War II. The restored Church of the Cross stands at left of center.

(Photo shot on assignment for "East Germany—The Struggle to Succeed," September 1974, National Geographic magazine)

Boy Wearing Face Paint, Kolkata (Calcutta), India

Boy Wearing Face Paint, Kolkata (Calcutta), India

Photograph by Pinaki Ranjan Majumdar

This little boy has put on makeup for a folk dance. —Caption by Pinaki Ranjan Majumdar

This photo is from My Shot . Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.

Potala at Dawn, Tibet

Potala at Dawn, Tibet

Photograph by Randy Krieger

This is my favorite picture from Tibet. I had scouted this shot out the previous evening, but when I returned before dawn there were fires burning up on the stupa I had planned to shoot from. Not understanding what was happening, I climbed up anyway and learned the local people come out every Wednesday to pray for the Dalai Lama's return. They burn grasses and spices they buy down on the street. While the sun never came out properly to light the palace, this shot has far more. —Caption by Randy Krieger

This photo is from My Shot . Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.

Waterfall, Selangor, Malaysia

Waterfall, Selangor, Malaysia

Photograph by Dashuki Mohd

These three kids were enjoying a cool dip at a manmade waterfall in Kemensah village, Selangor, Malaysia. —Caption by Dashuki Mohd

This photo is from My Shot . Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.

Cold Water Surfing, Iceland

Cold Water Surfing, Iceland

Photograph by Chris Burkard

On Iceland 's west coast, surfer and photographer Chris Burkard captured surfer Keith Malloy heading toward the river mouth of Vatnajokull glacier. According to Burkard, Malloy a veteran of cold water surfing said that the water on this day was the coldest he had ever been in.

Read an interview with Burkard on capturing the perfect surf shot.

Seal, Adventure Aquarium

Seal, Adventure Aquarium

Photograph by John Baum

A serene moment from the New Jersey Adventure Aquarium

This photo is from My Shot . Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.

Birds in Flight, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Birds in Flight, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Photograph by Abbie Jebson

This shot of a gathering of herring, lesser, and greater black-backed gulls was taken on the beautiful island of Skokholm off the coast of Pembrokeshire. —Caption by Abbie Jebson

This photo is from the 2008 International Photography Contest . See photo galleries, play jigsaw puzzles, and download wallpaper of images from more than 105,000 submissions.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Zebra, Tanzania

Zebra, Tanzania

Photograph by Giedo van der Zwan

We were taking shots in the southwest of Serengeti, Tanzania. This location is known as Hidden Valley and was full of animals from the great migration.

This pregnant zebra came out of the dust for a second to take a look at me. She was the perfect poser! Head straight, ears up, legs in line, tail accentuating her curving body while the herd in the background created the perfect stage of dust! —Caption by Giedo van der Zwan

This photo is from My Shot . Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.

Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India

Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India

Photograph by Greg Vore

This photo was taken during the 2007 Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. This was during the sadhus' procession to the Sangam to bathe on Mauni Amavasya, the new moon for the saints. It was very early in the morning, and there was a thick fog that added an even greater sense of magic and mystery to this ritual. —Caption by Greg Vore

This photo is from the 2008 International Photography Contest . See photo galleries, play jigsaw puzzles, and download wallpaper of images from more than 105,000 submissions.

Birds Fighting, Rondeau Provincial Park, Canada

Birds Fighting, Rondeau Provincial Park, Canada

Photograph by Martin Lukasiewicz

Taken at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, this image shows a fight between a redheaded woodpecker and a yellow-shafted northern flicker over a nest hole. The redheaded woodpeckers tried to chase away the intruding flickers but after this encounter, the fight was over. The flicker managed to grab the redheaded by its tongue and force it all the way down to the ground. Both birds spiraled while falling to the ground. It must have been painful as the redheaded gave up after this clash. —Caption by Martin Lukasiewicz

This photo is from My Shot . Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.