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 .

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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 .

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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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