Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel , National Geographic
To know Kykuit, said William Welles Bosworth, who designed its gardens, one must experience late evening when all is peacefully eloquent."
Watch a time-lapse sequence of a night-blooming water lily » Go behind the scenes in a Q&A with Diane Cook and Len Jenshel »
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel , National Geographic
To know Kykuit, said William Welles Bosworth, who designed its gardens, one must experience late evening when all is peacefully eloquent."
Watch a time-lapse sequence of a night-blooming water lily » Go behind the scenes in a Q&A with Diane Cook and Len Jenshel »
Photograph by Evgenia Arbugaeva, National Geographic
Siberian hunter Slava Dolbaev uses a spear to dig out a corkscrewed mammoth tusk from a coastal ice cliff. Prying loose a single tusk can take hours, even days. Tusk hunters often leave colored beads or silver jewelry as offerings to local spirits.
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Photograph by Paolo Pellegrin
Hunting down groceries in poorly stocked markets, like this butcher shop in central Havana, is a daily challenge. Cubans receive ration books that secure staples like rice, beans, and oil at low prices. But it s not enough to live on.
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Photograph by Paul Nicklen , National Geographic
Kayaks crowd Three Sisters Springs, where people and manatees maintain a controversial coexistence. To reach the warm water they need to survive winter, manatees often must run a gantlet of kayakers and snorkelers eager to interact with the marine mammals.
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Photograph by George Steinmetz , National Geographic
Tight clusters of traditional mud-brick-and-palm houses have stood for centuries in Ghadames, a pre-Roman oasis town in the Sahara. Rooftop walkways allowed women to move freely, concealed from men s view.
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Photograph by Matthieu Paley, National Geographic
After a hailstorm, nomadic Kyrgyz girls venture outside their mud hut beside the Aksu River in a remote part of Afghanistan. The nomads sometimes stop here for a few weeks between migratory seasons if grass for their herds is too scarce at the summer or winter camps.
Travel back in time to a 1950 article on the Wakhan corridor » See pictures of Afghanistan »
Photograph by Charlie Hamilton James, National Geographic
A female Eurasian otter searches for prey in a river in western England. An otter's eyes become more convex underwater, the better to see fish.
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Photograph by Paolo Pellegrin
The century-old stone wall of the Malecón, Havana's famous oceanside esplanade, shields the city imperfectly from the battering of roiling seas. On calmer nights people come out to stroll on the street.
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Photograph by Carolyn Drake , National Geographic
A novice shaman makes an offering of milk to the spirits at her initiation outside the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.
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Photograph by Paul Nicklen , National Geographic
Life is safer at the colony, where predators are few and company is close.
Watch a video of the penguins in action » Learn more about the shoot in a Q&A; with Paul Nicklen »
Photograph by Mattieu Paley, National Geographic
Blanket-draped yaks hunker down outside a young Kyrgyz couple's yurt on the eve of a summer trading journey. Made of interlaced poles covered with felt, these portable homes are packed up and reassembled for seasonal migration. Wooden doors are imported to the treeless plateau from lower altitudes.
Travel back in time to a 1950 article on the Wakhan corridor » See pictures of Afghanistan »
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel , National Geographic
In Japan the nighttime viewing of cherry blossoms in spring, like these at Kyoto s Hirano Shrine, is a special event. "The cherries' only fault: the crowds that gather when they bloom," wrote Saigyo, a 12th-century poet.
Watch a time-lapse sequence of a night-blooming water lily » Go behind the scenes in a Q&A with Diane Cook and Len Jenshel » Download cherry blossom wallpapers »
Photograph by Paul Nicklen , National Geographic
Propeller scars mark this manatee graphic evidence of a too-close encounter with a boat. About one in four of Florida's 360 manatee deaths in 2012 resulted from collisions. Slow-speed zones help, but some boaters resent the restrictions.
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Photograph by Joe McNally, National Geographic
With eight arms spanning less than a yard, a German MikroKopter provides a stable camera platform for under $5,000.
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Photograph by Michael Melford , National Geographic
The Brandywine River powered American industry in the 19th century. Walker's textile mill joins many others that dot the riverbanks. Upstream, the DuPont Company made gunpowder; other mills produced everything from paper to snuff.
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Photograph by Mark Thiessen , National Geographic
Methane is bubbling from lakes all over the warming Arctic. Here ecologist Katey Walter Anthony (at right) ignites a large bubble that was trapped by the fall freeze then freed by an ice pick.
See how fuel is broken from rock » Learn about the great shale rush » Find out more about Emerging Explorer Katey Walter Anthony »
Photograph by Tim Laman , National Geographic
Constantly trailed by his own flying saucers, a king bird of paradise clings to a vine in the New Guinea rain forest. His vivid colors and bizarre tail feathers evolved from millennia of competition for female favor.
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Photograph by Carolyn Drake , National Geographic
The peaks of Burkhan Rock rise like twin spires from Siberia s Lake Baikal, the world s largest body of fresh water. People across Asia believe that spirits associated with Baikal live in this rocky outcropping on Olkhon Island, destination of a steady stream of pilgrims.
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Photograph by Christian Ziegler , National Geographic
Tranquil and protective, Zoe cuddles Zizu after nursing him. Male bonobos, unlike chimps, do not form same-sex coalitions to achieve power; from infancy to adulthood, a boy s best friend is his mother.
Learn about a paradise for bonobos from Christian Ziegler » Watch a video of bonobos » Explore the range of the bonobos »
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel , National Geographic
A fete like this, in the sumptuous gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte, marked the beginning of the end for owner Nicolas Fouquet in 1661. Louis XIV came, saw, and coveted; he confiscated the property and imprisoned Fouquet.
Watch a time-lapse sequence of a night-blooming water lily » Go behind the scenes in a Q&A with Diane Cook and Len Jenschel »
Photograph by Mark Thiessen , National Geographic
The first clear ice of fall on an Alaskan lake captures methane that all summer long has bubbled from the bottom mud. In spring it will be released into the air. As permafrost melts, new lakes are forming all around the Arctic.
See an interactive graphic of breaking fuel from rock » See pictures of nature's amazing patterns »
Photograph by Tim Laman , National Geographic
The noisy night monkey (Aotus vociferans) is one of ten confirmed monkey species that live in Ecuador's Yasuní National Park, one of the world's wildest places.
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Photograph by Paolo Pellegrin
Gazans swim in the Mediterranean Sea at sunset. An Israeli naval blockade to stop smuggling of arms and other goods into the Gaza Strip the heart of Palestinian resistance also restricts Gazans to within three nautical miles of shore. But the sea is one place where they have an open horizon.
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Photograph by Mattias Klum , National Geographic
The element of surprise gives this rhino viper in Cameroon an edge over prey. Quick-kill venom finishes the job. Vipers provide valuable toxins, including those used in drugs for hypertension and heart disease and to control bleeding during surgery.
Photograph by George Steinmetz , National Geographic
Libyans enjoy a visit to Sabratah's ancient Roman theater, one of Africa's largest.
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Photograph by Paul Nicklen , National Geographic
Preparing to launch from the sea to the sea ice, an emperor penguin reaches maximum speed.
Paul Nicklen awarded first place in World Press Photo contest » Learn the story behind the shoot » Watch a behind-the-scenes video »
Photograph by Matthieu Paley, National Geographic
Kyrgyz herders adore their cell phones, which they acquire by trading and keep charged with solar-powered car batteries. Though useless for communication cellular service doesn't reach the isolated plateau the gadgets are used to play music and take photos.
Travel back in time to a 1950 article on the Wakhan corridor » See pictures of Afghanistan »
Photograph by Steve Winter , National Geographic
From the bromeliads, ferns, and orchids that cover a kapok tree 160 feet above the forest floor to the jaguars that prowl below, Ecuador 's Yasuní National Park is home to countless plant and animal species. All of them now face threats from oil development.
Watch a behind-the-scenes video from the shoot » See pictures of tropical rain forests »
Photograph by Carolyn Drake , National Geographic
A stone mound, or ovoo, in Mongolia marks a place where spirits are said to have appeared; respectful travelers circle it three times.
See Carolyn Drake's photographs of the Uygurs » Take a visual tour of Mongolia »
Photograph by George Steinmetz , National Geographic
Kasim Abdu Salaam Habib, 39, opens his lovingly decorated 600-year-old home to foreign tourists in Ghadames in western Libya . The house needs repairs, and visitors are scarce these days. But Habib is optimistic. "I want to see Libya as a democracy," he says.
Go behind the scenes in a Q&A with George Steinmetz » See pictures from the Arab Spring »
