Glacial Place

Photograph by Snehal Gaikwad , National Geographic Your Shot

"Mountaineering and ice climbing are among my greatest thrills they give me the feeling of working with nature to push myself beyond the limits," says Your Shot contributor Snehal "Neil" Gaikwad . "Being a mathematician, I am scientifically and philosophically attracted to this aerial photograph, captured during an adventure trip to the Mendenhall Glacier, near Juneau, Alaska. While the helicopter was cutting through fog and wind, I was patiently waiting for the best visibility and this aha! moment."

This photo was recently featured in the Your Shot Daily Dozen .

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Laguna Colorada

Photograph by Dharshana Jagoda , National Geographic Your Shot

"I was traveling in South America last year, and one of the last places I visited was Uyuni in Bolivia, which is famous for its salt flats," says Your Shot member Dharshana Jagoda . "There was a stop at Laguna Colorada on our tour, which made up for the disappointment of being at the salt flats months ahead of the rainy season (too early to see the reflections produced by rain on the flats). I first saw the lake from quite a distance and didn't see the flamingos, only the contrast of the red water against the crystallized minerals. This photo was taken on my way back from the base of the lake."

Jagoda's picture recently appeared in the Your Shot Daily Dozen .

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Girl's World

Photograph by Gina Waga , National Geographic Your Shot

"I captured this moment of my daughter's reckless abandon in a suburban playground in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia," says Gina Waga , a member of National Geographic Your Shot whose picture was recently featured in the Daily Dozen . "I chose an evening during a specific time of year, when the sunset would be enhanced by the smoke from the local canefires, creating the stunning, merging colors."

Waga says a lower-angle composition captured her daughter's silhouette perfectly. "It was then up to timing: teaching her how to position herself, pushing her on the swing, then getting back to the perfect spot in the overgrown grass to capture a moment of simplicity and beauty in a child's life."

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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le Europa Atoll

Photograph by Thomas Peschak, National Geographic

Few divers ever explore the reefs around the le Europa atoll, which lies in a stretch of the Mozambique Channel known for its massive eddies, productive nutrient upwellings, meandering currents and spectacular surf.

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Break Time

Photograph by Karine Gabrielian , National Geographic Your Shot

"This photo was taken at the break wall at Marina del Rey in southern California," says Your Shot member Karine Gabrielian . "It's a hot spot for brown pelicans, seagulls, and other birds. The excretion patterns that cover the rocks of the break wall create the impression of artwork. The scenery changes every minute: You see birds landing, taking off, thinking, relaxing, and talking to each other."

Gabrielian, whose picture was a recent Daily Dozen selection, says one can spend hours watching the birds. "It's impossible to resist the temptation to take hundreds of photos, even if you're not a professional photographer. Since I'm not a professional, I didn't use any specific technique knowingly. I just put into it lots of emotions and feelings."

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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A Walk About Paris

Photograph by Oliver Kremer , National Geographic Your Shot

While preparing for a tough business week in Paris, IT professional Oliver Kremer decided to take a walk through the city for a boost of energy. "On the Pont Alexandre III, I rested for a while watching the Eiffel Tower cast this fantastic light on the foggy sky. I couldn't stop watching it." It took more than an hour to capture the photo at the precise time that the tower's lights pointed toward the sculptures on the bridge.

For Kremer, it was a life-changing moment. "I've quit my well-paid job to start all over and create a photography business, hoping that I'm able to make a living for my family and me. One of the first things I did was to pull out this very special photograph from my archives and share it with the community it was the ignition for the move I made."

Kremer's picture was one of 19 selected for the final story in the I Heart My City 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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Deserted Palms

Photograph by Bill Brewer , National Geographic Your Shot

"This group of palms was planted as part of a planned real estate project in Lucerne Valley, a small town in the California desert," says Your Shot member Bill Brewer . "The development failed and years later these dead palms remain. I've shot this group of palms a few times, but never at night. [The night I shot this] I was returning home after shooting along old Route 66 and had driven up on these old friends. The palms were lit by a combination of moonlight and a streetlight. The artificial lighting gives the palms a weird glamour."

Brewer's picture was recently selected for the Your Shot 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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See Through

Photograph by Hugh Turvey

British artist and photographer Hugh Turvey uses x-ray technology to create what he calls Xograms, a fusion of visible light and x-ray imagery. Here, he captures a swimming goldfish.

Turvey's work was recently featured on our Proof blog »

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En Fuego

Photograph by Diego Fabriccio Diaz Palomo , National Geographic Your Shot

"I was standing at the top of Guatemala's Acatenango Volcano watching the stars and the city lights from almost 4,000 meters above sea level," says Your Shot contributor Diego Fabriccio Diaz Palomo , a native of Guatemala who climbs the volcano every year. "That was when the Fuego Volcano literally exploded. I start running with a friend for probably half a mile to get to the right spot to shoot the lava. I almost fell down the cliff because I had to be in a really complicated spot to get the right composition."

Diaz Palomo took two long-exposure photos at 90 seconds each. At second 87 of the second shot, lightning appeared in a far cloud on the horizon. "I was without words," he says. "It was indescribable."

Diaz Palomo's picture was published in the recent Moment assignment on Your 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.

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The Other Underground

Photograph by Mike Deere , National Geographic Your Shot

"I've long held a fascination with unseen spaces, and when I first heard about the vast number of lost rivers in London, it really piqued my interest," says Your Shot contributor Mike Deere , whose photo was selected for the Daily Dozen . "While researching, I came across a very small subculture with similar interests to my own, a small band of curious individuals excited to see the hidden depths that exist so close to our everyday lives but remain all but forgotten."

Deere captured this photo at the junction between the River Westbourne, which was assimilated into the London sewer network during its construction in the 19th century, and the Ranelagh Storm Relief Sewer.

"With lighting options very limited in the narrow, pitch-black tunnels, I opted for backlighting to highlight the shape of the space and the texture of the Victorian brickwork," Deere says.

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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Atoll Tale

Photograph by Thomas Peschak, National Geographic

Young Gal pagos sharks found around tropical oceanic reefs worldwide nose the camera in the lagoon of the Bassas da India atoll. A protected home for the sharks, Bassas is one of two tiny French territories tucked between Madagascar and southern Africa. The other, le Europa, is a vital breeding area for endangered green turtles.

Thomas Peschak talks about photographing sharks »

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Row Up

Photograph by Maqsood Bhat , National Geographic Your Shot

"On the first day of snowfall in the Kashmir valley this year, I decided to survey life on the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar early in the morning," says Your Shot contributor Maqsood Bhat . "While rowing my boat in the backwaters of the lake, I suddenly saw a little shop toward which a man was rowing his boat for some purchases. It was the only shop around, and it seemed to me that everyone was dependent on that little market for their supplies."

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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Seeing Reds

Photograph by Daniel Zvereff

Tombstone Territorial Park in Canada s Yukon Territory is photographed using Kodak aerochrome infrared film. Originally intended for aerial photography to indicate areas of vegetation in surveys and to find camouflaged military encampments, this infrared-sensitive, false-color reversal film turns plant life a majestic red or purple hue while nonplant life often renders in gray or blue.

Photographer Daniel Zvereff made this image as part of a project documenting the changing landscapes of the Arctic, which was featured recently on our photography blog Proof .

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Spring Herd

Photograph by Tariq Sawyer , National Geographic Your Shot

"I traveled to the Altay Mountains in Mongolia to photograph the Kazakh nomads known for their eagle-hunting traditions," says Your Shot contributor Tariq Sawyer , whose picture was recently discussed in Your Shot's new Weekly Wrap feature.

"This photo was taken on the first morning I spent with the nomads. Waking up to experience a harsh spring blizzard, I respected the family s resilience to the subzero temperatures and freezing winds as they continued their daily routine.

"After completing the morning chores, the family went to tend their herd. As the nomad opened the gate of the pen I saw the sheep forming an orderly charge toward the mountains on the horizon. I went ahead to frame the shot and waited for the nomad, who was frantically herding the sheep, to come into the frame. Just as he appeared the sheep had aligned with the landscape and it all came together."

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.

Listen to Your Shot editors discuss their favorite images in the Weekly Wrap »

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Eyes on the Heavens

Photograph by Dave Yoder, National Geographic

Light from the setting sun dances on antennas forming part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), high in Chile s Atacama Desert. The world's largest and costliest ground-based telescope, ALMA was officially inaugurated in 2013 and has already delivered on expectations, allowing researchers to peer at 26 distant galaxies showing bursts of star formation.

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Deer Sight

Photograph by Moricz Csaba , National Geographic Your Shot

Roe deer, found throughout Europe, approach the edge of a forest in Bajzattanya, Hungary, near the village of L nya on the Ukrainian border. Your Shot member Moricz Csaba had finished a day's shooting of landscape photos when the deer appeared. "I knew where they were going," Csaba says, "so I only had to wait for the right moment."

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 Past in the Present

Photograph by Anastasiia Shikina , National Geographic Your Shot

"One day my friends and I went on a trip to the Ivangorod fortress, which is located on the border with Estonia, says Your Shot contributor Anastasiia Shikina .

"I was walking [some] distance from the fortress, and these empty churches drew my attention. The general impression from this place is unforgettable traces of past centuries in the present.

"From time to time I use materials [I find] nearby, such as paper or glass, to get more interesting pictures. In this case, I [had] found a piece of broken bottle. It was a rainy day, so there were a lot of raindrops on the glass. I held the glass close to my camera lens 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.

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A Movable Feast

Photograph by Merlin Tuttle, National Geographic

A pollen-gilded bat (Phyllonycteris poeyi) emerging from a flower of the blue mahoe tree (Talipariti elatum) demonstrates the carrying capacity of fur. This bat lives in eastern Cuba in a colony more than one million strong a pollinating powerhouse.

For this shot, which appeared in a March 2014 National Geographic story on nectar-seeking bats, the feeder seen here was mist-netted as it approached the flower and released into photographer Merlin Tuttle s portable studio. A set of blue mahoe branches and a flower indistinguishable from those where the bat was netted were placed in the studio. After setting up a camera and flashes, we simply waited for the bat to come to the flower, Tuttle says.

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Morning Catch

Photograph by Ly Hoang Long , National Geographic Your Shot

"Along the Cua Dai riverbanks, there are hundreds of fishing nets spread here and there," says Your Shot member Ly Hoang Long , whose picture was featured in the Daily Dozen . "This kind of fishing is quite simple a ten-square-meter net is stretched using four sticks of bamboo and wood, [then] at night, the fishermen dip their nets under the stream and drop some powder bait on the surface. In the early morning, they just raise the nets and collect the fish inside."

To get closer to the nets, Ly hired a sampan to be taken through the water and shot with a long lens.

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.

Listen to our editors talk about this photo on the Weekly Wrap »

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Te Wahipounamu

Photograph by Michael Melford

Ice Age remnants of crystalline rock dot the coast north of Haast in southwestern New Zealand. The country s Te Wahipounamu World Heritage area is a window on Gondwana the supercontinent that fractured into today s Southern Hemisphere landmasses.

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A Fox Tale

Photograph by Bjorn Anders Nymoen , National Geographic Your Shot

"I was in Svalbard staying in an old trappers' cabin," writes Your Shot contributor Bjorn Anders Nymoen . "I was on my way to go out fishing in a nearby lake when I suddenly got this follower. I had forgotten my wide-angle lens back in the cabin, and after a while he was actually too close. I wanted to catch the colors of the flowers and take advantage of my 300mm lens, so I lay down on the ground to get a nice depth of view."

Nymoen, whose shot was a Daily Dozen selection, has been working with Arctic wildlife for 20 years. "I'm still fascinated when animals just pop up while you're changing a lens, charging batteries, and so on. Everything is unpredictable, and that's what I love about the Arctic."

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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Wave of Industry

Photograph by John K. Goodman , National Geographic Your Shot

"A lone surfer returns from the sea, bathed in the sodium light of an onshore industrial site," writes Your Shot member John Goodman of this picture, a Daily Dozen selection. Goodman, who spends a fair amount of time at this spot just north of Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles, says he enjoys photographing surfers in their element.

"This shot was somewhat different for me because I usually shoot surfers in action, riding the waves," he says. "But the overcast conditions made for an unusually uniform cool, blue dusk that evening, which was complemented by the orange sodium lights. Once I saw that, it was just a matter of patient waiting until one of the last surfers out of the water entered the frame on his way home."

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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Fading Gray

Photograph by Erika Larsen, National Geographic

Horses forever changed life on the Great Plains, and for Native Americans today, they endure as an emblem of tradition and a source of pride, pageantry, and healing. Here, Zoda, whose name means gray in Hidatsa, serves in a youth wellness program in North Dakota.

Erika Larsen's portraits of Native Americans and their horses » Watch "People of the Horse: Special Bond" »

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Lone Shark

Photograph by Denis Nezhentsev , National Geographic Your Shot

Your Shot member Denis Nezhentsev captured this underwater scene, a recent Daily Dozen selection, during a dive safari near Wolf Island in the Gal pagos. "The main purpose of the shoot was hammerhead sharks and stingrays," he says. "I first went into the big cloud of small fish, and then there was a pack of hammerhead sharks circling me. I could only hope they were satiated and took the 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.

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The Square

Photograph by Jeff Oftedahl , National Geographic Your Shot

The largest square in North Korea, the giant Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang is an expansive urban space used for massive collective exercises, including mass dances, parades, and demonstrations of loyalty to the leaders of the country whose portraits watch over the space, says Jeff Oftedahl , a member our Your Shot community.

Everything is highly structured in North Korea one can only go where the guides allow. On this particular day we were visiting a monument overlooking the square, which was a sight to behold. Everything is built to be impressive and to position the leadership over the people, and the people walking under the illuminated photographs really emphasized this point. I zoomed in to fill the frame with the square, showing how tiny the people truly are in comparison.

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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Royal Crest

Photograph by Andrew Snyder , National Geographic Your Shot

For the last three years, I have spent my summers conducting biodiversity surveys with a team of other biologists and research assistants in the rain forests of Guyana, says Your Shot contributor Andrew Snyder , whose picture was featured in the Daily Dozen. For our bird surveys, we set up a series of mist nets through the understory, and this Amazonian royal flycatcher was one of the birds caught [over the] summer. From previous experience, I knew that this species typically puts on its remarkable crest displays when handled, so while the team was taking their necessary measurements, I was able to make this photograph.

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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Holy Water

Photograph by Giancarlo Zuccarone , National Geographic Your Shot

Pushkar Lake is situated in the heart of town, says Your Shot member Giancarlo Zuccarone , who submitted this photo to the I Heart My City assignment. The waters of this lake possess a spiritual quality for Hindu people. Many Hindu pilgrims come here from every part of India every day. Zuccarone had been spending the day shooting portraits of sadhus and decided to capture the atmosphere around the sacred lake. I remember the sky was clear and the sun shone on everything a moment of a lifetime.

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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La Payunia

Photograph by Albert Claveria , National Geographic Your Shot

"La Payunia is a vast region located in the department of Malarg e, south of the province of Mendoza in Argentina, says Albert Claveria , a member of National Geographic Your Shot. This place is considered one of the most extensive volcanic fields in South America. The volcanological diversity makes the region a paradise for experts.

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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Breaking the Ice

Photograph by Wesley Thomas Wong , National Geographic Your Shot

I was looking for people pulling ice out of the frozen Songhua River, and I walked for about five miles alone on the river before I spotted this team working the ice, says Your Shot contributor Wesley Thomas Wong , who has been working on a project about ice workers in Harbin, China, for four years.

I made several trips to various ice festival sites under construction in and around Harbin. I wanted to find out where these guys were getting these huge blocks of ice for construction material, and I learned that all of it came from one place the river.

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.

Browse more picks from Your Shot's Daily Dozen »

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Pursued

Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic

A voracious predator, the bluefin tuna feeds mainly on small fish, crustaceans, and squid. But it too is pursued relentlessly as the human appetite for its flesh continues to grow.

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Native Stand

Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic

In the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage area, stands of rimu trees, a type of conifer found only in New Zealand, are a signature of Gondwana, the supercontinent that fragmented into the landmasses of today s Southern Hemisphere.

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