Photograph by Paul Nicklen
A snorkeling tourist floats in a cenote called Las Calaveras the skulls near Tulum. Local Maya got their drinking water here until about 30 years ago, when divers found bones. Archaeologists have recorded the remains of more than a hundred people, usually shrouded by the water s primordial darkness.
Nicklen was one of 44 photographers we interviewed for our video portrait series The Photographers on Photography. Watch an intro to the series on Proof. »
Photograph by Beverly Joubert
A leopard sits in an ancient baobab tree in Botswana's Okavango Delta, a seasonal oasis for wild things above and below the water's surface.
Joubert is one of 11 photographers featured in our "Women of Vision" exhibit. See more pictures from the exhibit and hear from the curators on Proof .
See our gallery Then and Now: Jouberts »
Photograph by Erlend Haarberg
Western Norway s fjords like N r yfjorden, northeast of Bergen and a UNESCO World Heritage site look like fingers of the sea intruding into the land. But they are also receptacles for fresh water pouring off the peaks and ridges that surround them.
See how the coast of Norway may be the most complex land edge on the planet »
Photograph by David Doubilet
A threespot damselfish swims near a trio of pink anemonefish in Papua New Guinea s Kimbe Bay.
Doubilet was one of 44 photographers we interviewed for our video portrait series The Photographers on Photography. Watch an intro to the series on Proof. »
Photograph by James Balog
Destined to melt, an 800-pound chunk of ice glows in moonlight on a wintry Icelandic beach. The ice washed up in a lagoon formed by a receding glacier. Photographer James Balog calls such pieces ice diamonds, finding beauty as well as tragedy in disappearing glaciers.
Watch an interview with James Balog from our video portrait series The Photographers on Photography »
Photograph by Amy Toensing
Australia's Aboriginals make up less than 3 percent of the population, and their traditional lifestyle is disappearing. Almost. In the homelands the ancient ways live on. Here, dancing lasted for hours at a burial of returned remains in Yinangarndua in the Northern Territory.
Toensing was one of 44 photographers we interviewed for our video portrait series The Photographers on Photography. Watch an intro to the series on Proof. »
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel
A garland of nature crowns Chicago's City Hall, softening the hard edges of a town famous for steel and stone and lowering summer temperatures on the roof.
Cook is one of 11 photographers featured in our "Women of Vision" exhibit. See more pictures from the exhibit and hear from the curators on Proof .
Watch Cook and Jenshel explore colorful gardens at night »
Photograph by Abelardo Morell
With the ground beneath his feet as a canvas, photographer Abelardo Morell uses the camera obscura technique focusing light through a small opening onto a dark surface to inspire fresh appreciation for America's national parks.
Watch an interview with Abelardo Morell from our video portrait series The Photographers on Photography » Learn how to make your own room-size camera obscura »
Photograph by Christian Ziegler
A cassowary peers through foliage in northeast Queensland, Australia. Females like this one can weigh 160 pounds. No one knows what the casque on her head is for, but it could be a sexual ornament.
Watch photographer Christian Ziegler and writer Olivia Judson follow their noses to find cassowaries »
Photograph by Matthieu Paley
Kyrgyz men seek shelter in a shepherd s cave during their annual journey from their mountainous homeland in remote Afghanistan to the nearest trading village in Pakistan, an icy, five-day trek. They will barter livestock, wool, and dairy products for everything from tea to television sets.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at Paley in the field on assignment for National Geographic »
Photograph by Orsolya Haarberg
Still water and the setting sun create a painterly backdrop for a stand of Scotch pines on the island of Sula one of the many ice-scraped, sea-sculpted, barely peopled places that together create Norway s sublime shore.
Photograph by David Guttenfelder
Children mobilized for the annual mass games in Pyongyang, North Korea, act as pixels to portray a happy patriot in uniform.
See a gallery of Guttenfelder's Instagram pictures from North Korea »
Photograph by Lynsey Addario
In the tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, environmental protection is one of the "four pillars of Gross National Happiness," along with sustainable development, cultural preservation, and good governance. A high entry fee for visitors keeps idyllic places like this eastern forest through which Kunzang Choden sets off with her nine-month-old baby to visit family free from crowds of backpackers.
Addario is one of 11 photographers featured in our "Women of Vision" exhibit. See more pictures from the exhibit and hear from the curators on Proof .
Photograph by David Doubilet
Sharp bellied and nearly flat, razorfish swim in perfect formation as they rush for cover among the branches of a red sea whip. Says Doubilet: It s gratifying to see that wonders still abound in Kimbe Bay.
See our collection of underwater pictures from past Photos of the Day »
Photograph by Michael Nichols
For male Serengeti lions like Hildur and C-Boy, teamwork is essential. Here, Hildur shakes the rain from his mane. He and C-Boy work together to retain control over two prides: the Vumbi, consisting of five adult lionesses, and Simba East, a pride now also with five.
Photograph by Cory Richards
Suspended from an anchor in the rock hundreds of feet above the ice and snow, Mike Libecki hauls himself up a granite tower in Antarctica's remote Queen Maud Land.
Our Your Shot community celebrates the power of photography every day, and we're inviting you to go on assignment to capture change with photo editor Sadie Quarrier and National Geographic photographer Cory Richards.
Before the assignment ends, watch our live Google+ Hangout on October 16 at 1 p.m. EST (5 p.m. UTC) with Sadie and Cory to learn what photography means to them and how you can get involved with Your Shot.
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
A pyramid 90 feet tall and a platform adorned with a feathered serpent s head testify to the former glory of Chich n Itz , now a popular tourist destination. This once powerful city was built in about the ninth century, likely aligned with four sacred cenotes and with the sun s seasonal movements.
Nicklen was one of 44 photographers we interviewed for our video portrait series The Photographers on Photography. Watch an intro to the series on Proof. »
Photograph by Melissa Farlow
An alligator walks in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia.
See photos of alligators and crocodiles » Get tips on photographing wildlife »
Photograph by James Balog
Solid turns to liquid as a 15-story iceberg erodes in the warming seas of the North Atlantic.
Watch James Balog on Disappearing Glaciers »
Photograph by Jim Richardson
A thunderstorm halts haying as farmers watch the sky.
See photos of extreme weather » Get tips on photographing weather »
Photograph by Michael Nichols
Dusk is a busy time for the Vumbi pride. As the moon rises, the lionesses rouse themselves from their afternoon naps, tussle in the grass, and set out on the evening hunt. Nichols made this photo using natural light; soon after, he switched to infrared.
Photograph by Abelardo Morell
Morell, recently retired as a professor of photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, created this image of the Golden Gate Bridge using a camera obscura and the ground as a canvas.
Watch Abelardo Morell on Capturing Dreams » Learn how to make your own room-size camera obscura »
Photograph by Peter Essick
Fertilizer runoff causes toxic algal blooms. This one covered a third of Lake Erie in 2011.
See pictures of Life in Color: Green » Get tips on finding the right point of view »
Photograph by David Guttenfelder
A military guide leads a tour to the mystical Mount Paektu. It was here, official lore says, that Kim Il Sung fought for independence from Japanese occupiers in the 1930s.
Get tips on photographing people when you travel »
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Twin three-month-old red pandas (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) huddle together at the Lincoln Children's Zoo. Sartore photographed the pair as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species.
"Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."
Read our interview with Joel Sartore about his Photo Ark project » Get tips on photographing wildlife »
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Sartore photographed this female Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana) at the Omaha Zoo as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species.
"Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."
Read our interview with Joel Sartore about his Photo Ark project » Get tips on using flash »
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Four-month-old Asha (Hope in Hindi) will stick close to its mother for up to two years. In zoos and in the wild, this rhino species is growing in numbers.
Sartore photographed the rhinoceroses as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."
Read our interview with Joel Sartore about his Photo Ark project » Get tips on photographing nature »
Photograph by Joel Sartore
This Major Mitchell's cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri), also known as Leadbeater's cockatoo or pink cockatoo, lives at Parrots in Paradise, a bird attraction in Glass House Mountains, Queensland, Australia.
Sartore photographed the cockatoo as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."
Read our interview with Joel Sartore about his Photo Ark project » Get tips on photographing wildlife »
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) pose at Ocean Park Hong Kong.
Sartore photographed the monkeys as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. Animals with "Dr. Seuss looks," like these Chinese primates, bring visitors and research money to zoos, Sartore says.
Read our interview with Joel Sartore about his Photo Ark project » Get tips on using flash »
Photograph by Joel Sartore
A female African elephant (Loxodonta africana) curls her trunk at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado.
Sartore photographed the elephant as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."
Read our interview with Joel Sartore about his Photo Ark project » Get tips on photographing nature »
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Rescued as a kitten after being abandoned in the wild by its mother in 2007, Calusa, nicknamed "Lucy," is one of no more than 165 surviving Florida panthers.
Sartore photographed Lucy as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."
Read our interview with Joel Sartore about his Photo Ark project » Get tips on photographing wildlife »
