Morning Reflection

Photograph by Noushad PT , National Geographic Your Shot

While on a stroll with friends one morning in a village near the Nilambur forest in Kerala, India, Your Shot member Noushad PT noticed the sun streaming through the coconut trees, creating a reflection in the flooded paddy. I found an opportunity for a perfect black-and-white composition, he writes. I added a human element, prioritized the reflection, created symmetry, kept the sky aside and captured it.

Noushad PT's picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Star Bright

Photograph by Melanie Huff , National Geographic Your Shot

I came across this sea shell and noticed the delicate patterns when I held it up to the light, writes Your Shot member Melanie Huff , who made this photograph in Humble, Texas. I quickly decided that it would make a unique abstract, so I took it home and placed a lamp behind it and snapped a few shots."

Huff's picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Unsolved Mystery

Photograph by Fikry Botros , National Geographic Your Shot

While strolling in a historic neighborhood in Cuenca, Ecuador, Your Shot member Fikry Botros noticed this outsize accessory lying near an old hat factory. Then, he writes, I noticed a building nearby with this beautiful old yellow wall and a half-open door. I outfitted my daughter with the hat and asked her to pretend as if she were waiting for someone at the entrance of the house. To add mystery, I metered the light on the yellow wall to make the inside of the house dark, and I made sure that the hat completely hid her face. Is she waiting? Is she hiding? Is she guarding the house? Who is she? Why this hat?

Botros s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Artists Cave

Photograph by Stephen Alvarez, National Geographic

Perched near Africa s southern tip, Blombos Cave has yielded some of the earliest evidence of symbolic expression, including shell beads, engraved ocher, and ocher-processing kits that are 100,000 years old.

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Spruced Up

Photograph by Pete McBride

Evergreen trees populate the Maroon Bells Wilderness in Colorado s White River National Forest. Photographer Pete McBride argues that management of U.S. wilderness areas including the introduction of plant and animal species to balance ecosystems keeps these large swaths of land from being truly wild.

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Wedding Colors

Photograph by Robin Hammond, National Geographic

In Nigeria it s common to ask guests to wear color-coordinated outfits, called aso ebi, at social events, such as this wedding at the Yoruba Tennis Club in Lagos.

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Winter Hues

Photograph by Sajad Rafeeq , National Geographic Your Shot

Photographing on a foggy morning near Pampore, India, Your Shot member Sajad Rafeeq waited half an hour for a passing train to complete his composition. I had reached a village and a few kids guided me to a canal, Rafeeq writes. It s surrounded by poplar trees on both sides, and as soon as I reached it, I saw their beautiful symmetry and also spotted the railway bridge. I framed the composition while having in mind the train that had yet to come.

Rafeeq s picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Scattered Snow

Photograph by Horst Bierau , National Geographic Your Shot

This photo was taken on a chilly morning in the Austrian Alps during our ski holiday, writes Your Shot member Horst Bierau . I was about to clear the car of the freshly fallen snow from the night before and head off to the slopes when I noticed the tiny ice crystals on the car s windowpane. The dark inside of the car cabin provided the perfect background for this motif.

Bierau s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Macro .

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Evening Commute

Photograph by Robin Hammond, National Geographic

The entrepreneurial fervor of the Nigerian capital of Lagos has made that country s economy the most vibrant in Africa. Here, vans crowd into Idumota Market on Lagos Island to pick up workers returning home to the mainland, where most Lagosians live.

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Sunlit Cenote

Photograph by Terry Steeley , National Geographic Your Shot

Timed right, diving a cenote can be a truly magical experience, hugely rewarding and unlike most other scuba adventures, writes Terry Steeley , a member of our Your Shot community who dove on Mexico s Yucat n Peninsula. I had dived many times at the Taj Mahal cenote, but today was different: Navigating my way through the tunnels to Bill s Hole provided a real treat. The intimately lit cavern layered against energetically dancing light beams was breathtaking. Indeed, a very special dive.

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Incoming Flight

Photograph by Klaus Nigge, National Geographic

Two bald eagles aim for the same post in Alaska s Aleutian Islands. According to Klaus Nigge, who wrote the January 2015 National Geographic story First Bird, the one that lands first in such squabbles usually vacates the perch in order to avoid being raked by the incoming bird s open talons.

Hear photographer Klaus Nigge speak about photographing bald eagles on Proof .

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Double Vision

Photograph by St phane Scotto , National Geographic Your Shot

Kayakers navigate a watery fairway on the Bay of Arcachon in southwestern France. Your Shot member St phane Scotto was shooting aerial images from an ultralight motorized plane while the subject of a TV segment about his work on the bay. The tide was changing, and I saw these two kayaks, he writes. [The scene] looked like an iris in which clouds were reflected."

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'Pine Needles

Photograph by Heather Allen , National Geographic Your Shot

The lines of the quills were perfect, forming a Fibonacci curl from the nose right to the end of the quill, writes Your Shot member Heather Allen of this porcupine photographed on the Oregon coast. I just loved the light hitting the top quills, setting off its face. The final [bit of] luck was that he lifted his head and looked right at me.

Allen s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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From the Top

Photograph by Hendra Gunawan , National Geographic Your Shot

Sulphur streaks the rocky, lake-filled Ijen crater in East Java, Indonesia. Your Shot member Hendra Gunawan captured this shot after climbing to the crater in the early hours of the morning. I went to the top, he says, and found a beauty I cannot write in words.

Gunawan's picture was recently published in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Salar de Uyuni Sunrise

Photograph by Hideki Mizuta , National Geographic Your Shot

No wind, no sound it was a very calm morning, writes Hideki Mizuta , a member of our Your Shot community who captured this image at Bolivia s Salar de Uyuni. I joined a sunrise tour at 2 a.m., first seeing a star-filled sky, and then early in the morning, around 5 a.m., this scene appeared through the window of the car. I ran out in a hurry. It was an amazing view that I couldn t put into words. I thought, I want this scene all to myself, and walked away from people and took this photo in absolute silence.

Mizuta s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Ashura in Bijar

Photograph by , National Geographic Your Shot

Shiite Muslims in Bijar, Iran, mourn during the first ten days of the Islamic month of Muharram, the first month of the lunar-based Islamic calendar. On the tenth day, or Ashura, Shiites commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of Muhammad.

s picture was featured in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Air Traffic

Photograph by Takashi , National Geographic Your Shot

Paragliders stipple the sky above Japan s Mount Fuji in this picture by Your Shot member Takashi , who writes: I was shooting from behind the takeoff field so as not to get in the way. I [waited for] the moment when many paragliders gathered in the direction of the mountain and got this shot.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

See our Long Lens feature on Takashi's love affair with Mount Fuji .

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Horses in the Highlands

Photograph by Charlotte Goss , National Geographic Your Shot

A great cloud of dust formed in the distance as we drove through the deserted Icelandic highlands, writes Your Shot member Charlotte Goss . We stopped the car and seized our cameras as the herd of Icelandic horses sped toward us. They watched us as we watched them, each of us surprised by the others presence. It was over in seconds, yet forever frozen with a single click.

Goss's picture appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

See Your Shot photos of Icelandic horses .

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Twin Peaks

Photograph by Artur Stanisz , National Geographic Your Shot

Emerging from behind a snowstorm, morning sunlight strikes the distinctive double peaks of Mount Asgard on Baffin Island in Canada s Nunavut Territory. Your Shot member Artur Stanisz spent two weeks on a solo expedition to the island, hiking 124 miles across the Arctic landscape. He captured this photo in Auyuittuq National Park. I had hiked across the Turner Glacier, where I set up my camp and spent the next few days exploring the area and looking for the best photo compositions, he writes. On this particular morning, the weather changing from snowstorm to clear sky created a spectacular light show.

Stanisz's picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Between Takes

Photograph by Roark Nelson , National Geographic Your Shot

Dancers get into position before a photo shoot at the Walla Walla Dance Company in Washington State. I wanted to document the direction that the teachers gave the dancers, writes Roark Nelson , a member of our Your Shot community. With ballet, the photo can have perfect lighting and composition, but the dancers also need to have perfect form.

Nelson's picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Misty Mandalay

Photograph by Toshi Miyamoto , National Geographic Your Shot

It was freezing cold for southern California, writes Your Shot member Toshi Miyamoto , who attempted to keep his triplets entertained while awaiting the inevitable beauty of sunset over a beach shrouded in mist. He had been driving with his wife and children along Mandalay Beach in Oxnard when he saw the scene s potential. I knew that day s sunset was going to be a special one. We had an amazing time playing there.

Miyamoto's picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Sky Dive

Photograph by Matthew Trabold , National Geographic Your Shot

A member of the University of Miami diving team is captured mid-arc against a partly cloudy South Florida sky. Your Shot member Matthew Trabold , a student photographer at the university s newspaper, chose the event for his first assignment. One of the great things about shooting in Miami is that you can almost always count on incredible clouds rolling in at some time during the day, he writes. I wanted to capture the contrast between the diver and the clouds, as well as emphasize the incredible height of the diving platform.

Trabold s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Fiery Flyby

Photograph by Baldur Sveinsson , National Geographic Your Shot

Every Icelander has watched this from the day that the earthquakes under the B r arbunga volcano on the Vatnaj kull glacier started, writes Your Shot member Baldur Sveinsson , a retired teacher who s been photographing aircraft for the past 40 years, the most exciting part of which, he says, is photographing from another aircraft. A pilot friend of mine wanted to have a look at the eruption, which is about an hour from Reykjav k. We weren t able to find any other aircraft to accompany us but decided to go anyway, as there are almost always some in the vicinity for sightseeing. We found one doing its passes from north to south. It s at least 300 meters [984 feet] in front of the lava spout.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

Watch: Iceland's volcanoes from above and below »

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Layered Land

Photograph by John Stanmeyer, National Geographic

Youths explore Roman ruins at Samaria-Sebaste, a West Bank archaeological site divided between Israeli and Palestinian control. A forum and a temple to Augustus remain from the pre-Christian Roman city.

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Gray Langur at Rest

Photograph by Hemin Patel , National Geographic Your Shot

I was in my college parking lot, and this monkey appeared on this tree in front of me, writes Hemin Patel , a member of our Your Shot community who captured this photo in Anand, Gujarat, India. The sunlight was coming through when I saw it. It was wonderful.

Patel s picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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The Lookout

Photograph by Chris Martin , National Geographic Your Shot

After losing their kill to a huge gathering of vultures, these cheetahs took time out to rest from their hunting exertions and survey the surrounding plains for their second attempt at a feed, writes Your Shot member Chris Martin , who describes this photo as the last in a series captured on a summer morning at South Africa s Sabi Sand Reserve. It was spellbinding to watch the cats both attempt to feed and fend off the unwanted attention of the vultures that began to mass in increasing numbers and advance on their prize. Sensing the battle was lost, the cheetahs moved on, and their elevated position gave me the opportunity to compose my next shots at eye level, giving a much more powerful composition."

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Floating Season

Photograph by Nhiem Hoang , National Geographic Your Shot

During the floating season on the Mekong Delta, wild water lilies grow in the rice fields now covered by water, writes Your Shot member Nhiem Hoang . They become a traditional food, processed into special dishes such as salad and sour soup with fish. Hoang travels to the region each year to photograph what many consider its most beautiful season. I saw this situation happening from the road while riding my motorbike alongside the Vinh Te Canal. I was lucky that day because it had just stopped raining and the woman and her boat appeared in the right place. First I used a telephoto lens but felt dissatisfied, so I tried to cross a muddy yard to fill the action using my superwide 16mm, with different shooting angles from high to low. Finally, I got the shot I expected."

Hoang s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Night Falls

Photograph by Phil Hawkins , National Geographic Your Shot

Though most photographers leave Yosemite National Park s Tunnel View overlook when the direct light of sunset has disappeared, Your Shot member Phil Hawkins usually stays for another hour to see how the light evolves. On this occasion I happened to notice a slight glow in the mist hugging the valley floor and wondered how this would look in a timed exposure, he writes. So I drilled in on an area of activity and simply left the shutter open for about ten minutes, and this image is the result.

Hawkins s picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Fair Day s End

Photograph by Aman Chotani , National Geographic Your Shot

Camels make their way over dusty terrain at the close of the annual Pushkar Fair in Rajasthan, India. There were hundreds of them, writes Aman Chotani , a member of our Your Shot community. I started following them and managed to get this shot.

Chotani s picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Bodybuilders

Photograph by Adhi Prayoga , National Geographic Your Shot

Ants build a bridge with their bodies to reach food on a higher branch in Mataram, Indonesia. I often observe and take pictures of ants when the sun rises in order to [capture] their activity in a beautiful light, writes Your Shot member Adhi Prayoga . I was lucky to get a moment of cooperation.

Prayoga s picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Lofty Frosts

Photograph by Eduard Gutescu , National Geographic Your Shot

Frost settles over the village of Pe tera, Romania, in this picture by Your Shot member Eduard Gutescu .

Gutescu s picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Dearly Beloved

Photograph by Bartek Olszewski , National Geographic Your Shot

I was so lucky, says Your Shot member Bartek Olszewski , who found this scene on entering London s Richmond Park on a July day. He began taking as many pictures as he could of the rutting stags. It only lasted a few seconds, he says. I love to watch and track red deer, finding them and enjoying their natural behavior. I have my camera in my hands at all times when I m going out to take pictures. Always be ready wildlife is unpredictable, so it can surprise you at any time.

Olszewski s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Bird Bank

Photograph by Vincent J. Musi, National Geographic

Thousands of brown pelicans find a safe place to nest on South Carolina s Deveaux Bank, one of the largest pelican rookeries on the Atlantic coast. The isolated, shape-shifting island is free of raccoons and other predators that eat eggs and chicks.

Vincent J. Musi recounts the humorous tale of a story eight years in the making on our Photography blog, Proof .

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On the Voltino Road

Photograph by Fulvio Morelli , National Geographic Your Shot

The Voltino is a place near Grosseto in Tuscany, Italy, writes Your Shot member Fulvio Morelli . The road to get there crosses cultivated fields and then coasts along the River Ombrone. It s the place I usually go to shoot a naturalistic photo, usually of birds or dragonflies or bugs.

When I arrived there were a lot of clouds and no wind, and the light was soft the sun was behind the clouds. My first thought when I saw the scene was, This is a beautiful black-and-white landscape."

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Monkeying Around

Photograph by Francisco Mignorance, National Geographic

In Morocco s Middle Atlas mountains, a Barbary macaque pauses for a snack after a bout of playing with other young members of the troop. Macaques eat anything: seeds, grass, young leaves, berries, even mealworms and reptiles.

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The Children s Place

Photograph by Masami Murooka , National Geographic Your Shot

Looking like playfully scattered confetti, children sled a snowy hill in Shizukuishi, Japan. Your Shot member Masami Murooka calls it an extraordinary playground, which emerged at the side of a large festival s parking lot. Anyone trying to photograph only the festival would never notice this place, Murooka writes.

Murooka s picture was featured in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Swimmer, Portugal

Photograph by Peter Essick, National Geographic

Windowpane clear and bracingly cold, the Homem River and other swimming spots draw thousands of visitors to Peneda-Ger s on summer weekends. The seasonal invasion challenges the park's year-round residents and wildlife.

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Seal Dive

Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak, National Geographic

Southern Africa has some of the world s richest waters. But debate swirls over how to sustain these seas and the fishing communities that depend on them. Here, a fur seal surfs Atlantic swells off Cape Town. To conserve sea life around the city s coastline, a marine protected area (MPA) one of 23 in South Africa was created in 2004.

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Spiritual Scale

Photograph by Kavya Reddy , National Geographic Your Shot

Thiksey Gompa, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery known for its resemblance to Lhasa s Potala Palace, sits at 11,800 feet in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh, India. The 12-story complex houses temples, a nunnery, and Buddhist artwork, including a 40-foot statue of Maitreya, or the future Buddha.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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More Than Everest

Photograph by Aaron Huey, National Geographic

For the Sherpas of Nepal, the years spent working on Mount Everest are fraught with danger. Some Sherpa families in the Everest region send their children to live with relatives in Kathmandu so they can attend schools there. The parents hope the next generation won t have to risk their lives working on the mountain.

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Home to Roost

Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak, National Geographic

Gulls, gannets, and penguins are neighbors on Mercury Island, near the Diamond Coast of Namibia. The country s first marine protected area aims to reduce human disturbance and increase natural abundance around Mercury and ten other islands along 250 miles of coastline.

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Sky Light

Photograph by Emma Blythman , National Geographic Your Shot

Viewed from a remote ecolodge, the aurora borealis unfurls over a snowy plain in Canada s Northwest Territories. Having always had a love of the stars, I moved to the lodge to see the aurora and to learn to live off the land, writes Your Shot member Emma Blythman . Each night, after learning how to hunt and collecting wood, I would camp out by candlelight at the igloo, set up my camera, and watch the aurora dance above my head for hours. Magical.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Morning Glory

Photograph by Todd Klassy , National Geographic Your Shot

Many photographers prefer to photograph the world as the sun goes down, writes Your Shot member Todd Klassy . Me, I prefer the peacefulness of the morning light. After a night of heavy snow, Klassy made sure to get up before snow plows had a chance to alter the clean white landscape in rural Green County, Wisconsin. Fortunately, the sun painted the horizon a beautiful pinkish hue, and it provided a nice background for this minimalist scene, he writes. Unfortunately, the snow plow driver was up earlier than me and cleared the road before I had a chance to photograph it without the black strip of asphalt.

Klassy s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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The Bagualero Way

Photograph by Tom s Munita, National Geographic

In the wilds of Patagonia, cowboys called bagualeros pit themselves against the meanest livestock on the planet. Here, bagueleros pause in their search for cattle on Antonio Varas Peninsula, in Chilean Patagonia. Few choose the bagualero way. It s a beautiful life but a tough one, says Sebasti n Garc a Iglesias (at far left).

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Flight of Locusts

Photograph by Michele Martinelli , National Geographic Your Shot

A dense swarm of locusts obscures a view of fields in Madagascar. Most destructive in sustenance farming regions of Africa, locust swarms devastate crops and can cause major agricultural damage, as well as famine and starvation.

Martinelli s picture was recently published in Your Shot's Unexpected Discoveries assignment.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Ballooning Kindness

Photograph by Giorgio Lulli , National Geographic Your Shot

Your Shot member Giorgio Lulli came across a charity event by chance one Sunday in the main square of his hometown of Bologna, Italy. People had responded generously to the charity call, and the big square was almost totally covered with balloons, he writes. This shot was taken with the camera practically at ground level, with framing from bottom upwards.

Lulli s picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Wild Wetland

Photograph by Vincent J. Musi, National Geographic

Water fresh, brackish, and salt is the lifeblood of South Carolina s ACE Basin. Along the Combahee River, wetlands veined with tidal creeks are nurseries for fish and feeding grounds for birds. Visitors in boats often spy bald eagles.

Vincent J. Musi recounts the humorous tale of a story eight years in the making on our Photography blog, Proof .

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Funny Face

Photograph by Brian Callaway , National Geographic Your Shot

The gaye holud is a traditional Bengali wedding ceremony in which the bride and groom are presented with fish dressed as the couple, writes Your Shot member Brian Callaway , who captured this photo in the town of Mamallapuram, on the east coast of India. Amit and Sofi have an amazing sense of humor and started playing and posing with the fish after their gaye holud. It didn t take too long before I saw that if they held the fish up to their faces, the eyes of the fish would match their own. For me, the photo perfectly captures this cultural part of their wedding, their fun/spontaneous personalities, and, more importantly, how much fun they were having. It's also their favorite photo.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot . Check out the new and improved website, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

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Shores of Durban

Photograph by Juan Pinnick , National Geographic Your Shot

What drew me to this situation were the tempestuous tides and moody skies, writes Juan Pinnick , a member of our Your Shot community. Using a large aperture and a relatively slow shutter speed, Pinnick waited for the waves to crash in front of him while also breaking in the background at this site near the resort village of Umhlanga Rocks in Durban, South Africa. This was a shoot I had been looking forward to for months, he writes.

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Hanging On

Photograph by Valtteri Murto , National Geographic Your Shot

I m an airline pilot interested in both urban decay and aviation history, writes Your Shot member Valtteri Murto , who captured this picture during a day off spent photographing parts of Brooklyn. I came to Floyd Bennett Field out of pure curiosity, and after noticing these hangars, I just couldn t keep myself away, he writes. Though it was a sunny day in March, recent rains had left large puddles that caught reflections like this one. I had to dodge falling pieces of aluminium plating, Murto adds. The hangars are in a state of serious decay, and roof panels and debris were blown across by gusty wind.

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