In for a Treat

Photograph by Florian Kuster , National Geographic Your Shot

This beautiful, coppery-headed emerald hummingbird had been dancing with this amazing flower in the Costa Rican highlands, writes Your Shot member Florian Kuster. His attitude, colors, and plumage were just sublime. One can see all the details of even the smallest feather despite the fast movement of the bird s wings.

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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Svan Rider

Photograph by Aaron Huey, National Geographic

Centuries-old defensive towers loom over remote villages in the Svaneti region of Georgia s Caucasus Mountains. Svans in the collection of villages that make up Ushguli a World Heritage site hold on to deep traditions. Horses still provide reliable transport throughout the largely roadless region.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Withered

Photograph by Matsuura Tomoya , National Geographic Your Shot

I live in a typical Japanese town and often go for a walk at dusk, writes Matsuura Tomoya, a member of our Your Shot community. On my walking route, there are small plants that nobody ever takes any notice of growing in the cracks of the asphalt road. Tomoya picked up some of the withered plants and used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to capture this image.

There is even more magnificent nature existing in each small part of what we often think of as nature, and a life-and-death drama is repeatedly played out there, he writes.

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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

On Faith

Photograph by Peter Essick, National Geographic

In California s Central Valley, water in wildlife refuges is down by around 30 percent. Here, migratory geese on their journey north congregate on the Faith Ranch near the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, one of the Central Valley s few scraps of native wildlife habitat.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Call of the Wild

Photograph by Linda Porter , National Geographic Your Shot

A lioness roars a warning to her cubs in Kenya s Masai Mara National Reserve. She was perched on a hill right on the side of the dirt road, writes Your Shot member Linda Porter , who captured the picture on an evening game drive. On an opposite hill were three young male lions, which sometimes kill cubs. Our guide knew this lioness had three young cubs that were were out of sight and hidden. We observed her for over an hour as she continued to call out to her cubs, warning them of the potential danger that lurked across the way. Unlike most of our children, these cubs were extremely obedient and remained hidden.

Porter 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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Net Collection

Photograph by Binh Pham , National Geographic Your Shot

Fishing nets are collected on a beach near Da Nang, Vietnam. Located on the central Vietnamese coast, the city of Da Nang is a gateway to popular beaches, the World Heritage sites of Hoi An and My Son, and the Marble Mountains.

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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Hollow Greeting

Photograph by Karthik Vilwanathan , National Geographic Your Shot

An owl peers from a tree hollow in Northumberland, United Kingdom. After unlucky weather derailed a trip to see puffins on the Farne Islands, Your Shot member Karthik Vilwanathan drove with a friend around a nearby woodland area, hoping to see birds of prey. This time we were lucky, he writes. I saw this little owl pop its head out a few times from the tree, so I waited patiently, and 20 minutes later I captured this image.

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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Blessed Beast

Photograph by Aaron Huey, National Geographic

Traditions endure in the Svaneti region, high in Georgia s Caucasus Mountains. Here, a bull with candles on its horns is blessed at a tenth-century church near the town of Mestia before being sacrificed for a February feast dating from pre-Christian times.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Hay Kids

Photograph by Malgorzata Walkowska , National Geographic Your Shot

A road trip to Poland s Masurian Lake District included this moment of summertime joy for the traveling family of Your Shot member Malgorzata Walkowska . Being impressed with the beauty of the landscape, we decided to make a stop by this field of hay bales and take some nature shots, writes Walkowska. Before I knew it, my niece who trains in gymnastics was happily jumping from one bale to another, presenting her skills.

Walkowska 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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Color Me Sad

Photograph by Nicolas Le Boulanger , National Geographic Your Shot

When Your Shot member Nicolas Le Boulanger sees his friend s pet chameleon, housed in a terrarium, he can t help thinking that it's in the wrong place, even if it s loved. I wanted to [relate] the confusion that this animal seems to feel as it is separated from its natural environment, he writes. His look seems to call for help.

Le Boulanger s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Not Your Average Pet .

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Hazy Arizona

Photograph by Peter Essick, National Geographic

The American West faces persistent drought, whether or not relief comes this winter. The population of the Phoenix area (Sun City is pictured here) grew four times larger between 1970 and 2010. The Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile-long system of canals and pipelines, carries Colorado River water through the desert to the Phoenix metro area.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Wishful Thinking

Photograph by Sherry Zhao , National Geographic Your Shot

The sky transformed itself into a splendid and surreal sea of lanterns carrying all kinds of wishes, writes Your Shot member Sherry Zhao of the scene at the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Here, a couple makes a wish before releasing a lantern into the night sky. This enchanted moment is truly embedded in my memory, Zhao writes. I m glad I was fast enough to lie down on the ground and capture the serene moment between this young couple, who drew my attention with their sincere expressions before sending out the lantern, sending up hope.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Frozen

Photograph by Felix Inden , National Geographic Your Shot

Hunched like an animal in repose, a large piece of ice catches the light at Breidamerkursandur, a black-sand beach in southeastern Iceland. Just after sunrise, Your Shot member Felix Inden had left behind a portion of the beach crowded with photo tours. I just wanted to be alone and look at those waves, patterns, and ice, he writes. This particular piece caught his eye quickly as he walked down the beach. Somehow I felt that we were friends and called him Luigi.

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

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Blowing in the Wind

Photograph by Marc Ressang , National Geographic Your Shot

Paper prayers flutter on the wind near the village of Maniganggo in China s Sichuan Province. Your Shot member Marc Ressang was attending a seven-day horse-racing festival in the region. Before the races started, the visitors went up a sacred hilltop to throw their prayers in the air, he writes. I used my 16-35mm lens to achieve a wide shot, positioning myself a bit farther down the hill and facing the wind so the prayers would fly in my direction to fill up the frame.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Autumn Portrait

Photograph by Regina , National Geographic Your Shot

A forested park is suffused with the golden glow of autumn in the northern European country of Lithuania. Bordering the eastern Baltic Sea, the country s landscape consists of gently rolling plains and extensive forests.

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

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Spirits of Westminster

Photograph by Valerios Theofanidis , National Geographic Your Shot

I remember that cold, foggy February morning it was 7 a.m. when I arrived at Westminster Bridge, writes Valerios Theofanidis , a member of our Your Shot community. In modern times, the thick fog in Britain is less frequent, so when it comes many photographers try to catch the moment. Theofanidis did a series of shots and walked along the north and south embankments before returning to the bridge when the sun had risen higher. Its ambient light created fantastic, surreal views of the bridge and the Houses of Parliament. Walking people looked like spirits.

Theofanidis'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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Red Fish, Blue Fish

Photograph by Tracey Jennings , National Geographic Your Shot

While traveling in Central America, Your Shot member Tracey Jennings dove in the waters off Costa Rica s Cocos Island, a 36-hour sail from the mainland. On this particular dive, at a site called Dirty Rock, I was mesmerized both by how remote and how beautiful the volcanic scenery was, Jennings writes. As we swam along, I looked up and noticed a school of horse-eye jacks spilling over the rock like a waterfall.

Jennings s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Show Me Your Wilderness .

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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Flame Trees

Photograph by Christine Garner , National Geographic Your Shot

A wildfire rages at the Saskatchewan River Crossing in Canada s Jasper National Park. Your Shot member Christine Garner was vacationing in the park when a sharp turn in the road revealed the blaze. I was so shocked to see a fire of this magnitude, she writes.

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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Key to Survival

Photograph by Matthieu Paley, National Geographic

The Kyrgyz of the Pamir Mountains in northern Afghanistan live at a high altitude where no crops grow. Survival depends on the animals that they milk, butcher, and barter.

Here, Ayeem Khan wears boots borrowed from her father and the red veil of an unmarried Kyrgyz girl, to be traded for a white one when she weds. Twice a day she milks the family s yaks; some milk curd will be dried for use in winter, when yaks give less.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Savoring Chance

Photograph by Cedric Favero , National Geographic Your Shot

Terraced salt pans dip into the Sacred Valley north of Cusco, Peru. Your Shot member Cedric Favero wanted to give an idea of the dimension of the site, called the Salinas de Maras. The few workers on-site were too far away or kneeling, he writes. I moved around looking for someone and found this worker walking on the edges of the ponds. I waited until he reached this larger pond, where his silhouette would be detached from the background.

Favero 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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

On the Line

Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic

An underwater paradise in the remote Pacific Ocean that includes the sea around the southern Line Islands (Caroline Island is seen here) will be protected thanks in part to National Geographic s Pristine Seas project. Led by Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala , the project is an ongoing effort to document and conserve what s left of the planet s least spoiled marine environments.

See a map of all Pristine Seas expeditions and learn more about the initiative »

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Big and Little Dipper

Photograph by Marco Mattiussi , National Geographic Your Shot

Fortunately for Your Shot member Marco Mattiussi , the bears on Russia s Kamchatka Peninsula were busy eating salmon during the week he spent in a small wooden house in the wilderness frontier. You had to be very careful, he writes. It s a dangerous place to meet a grizzly because they re not used to humans.

To get this shot, Mattiussi spent several hours lying on the shore of Kurile Lake during the ascent of salmon. The little bear seemed to enjoy holding its head under the water. Its mother was very protective. She didn t lose sight of her cub for even a second.

Mattiussi 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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Stark Beauty

Photograph by Paul C. Glasser , National Geographic Your Shot

It s only after it has died and shed its needles that the stark beauty and grace of the whitebark pine s sinuous, twisting limbs is revealed, writes Paul C. Glasser , a member of our Your Shot community. The endangered conifer, hardy enough to withstand heavy snows and high winter winds, is found at high altitudes in western North America. Glasser captured this picture from the north side of Oregon s Mount Hood. The hills were bathed in smoke from the many fires burning across Oregon.

Glasser s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Show Me Your Wilderness .

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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Soldiering Through

Photograph by Joey Jdm , National Geographic Your Shot

Soldiers of the U.S. Army s Fourth Stryker Brigade Combat Team return to their home duty station at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State after a nine-month tour in Afghanistan.

Your Shot contributor Joey Jdm , a member of the unit, had always wanted to take a photo from this angle inside a C-17 transport plane. When I finally got the chance, I asked one of the crew if I could take some photos, he writes. I wasn t a photographer for the unit I just had my camera at the time and couldn t resist capturing the moment of a lifetime.

Jdm 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.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument

Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic

Soaptree yuccas soak up morning light in southern New Mexico s Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. President Barack Obama created this newest national monument in May. I am not finished, he said. I m searching for more opportunities.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Stopover Flight

Photograph by John S. , National Geographic Your Shot

Thousands of semipalmated sandpipers come in for a landing to feed on the shores of the Bay of Fundy before a long migratory leg to South America. Your Shot member John S. captured the sight during a holiday on the coast of New Brunswick, Canada, seizing the opportunity to shoot pictures for the Show Me Your Wilderness assignment.

It took me two trips to the shoreline and a number of attempts to obtain the image I wanted, he writes. It was meant to emphasize the incredible number of birds, their sense of freedom, and the sheer power of nature.

John S. s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Show Me Your Wilderness .

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Rogue Weather

Photograph by Catie Prechtel , National Geographic Your Shot

As the smoke from the Oregon Gulch Fire began rolling into the Rogue Valley of southern Oregon, I decided to get a closer look at the enormous pyrocumulonimbus cloud that was rapidly filling the sky, writes Catie Prechtel , a member of our Your Shot community. There were so many forms within the smoke-tinted cloud that it was difficult to pick a single area to photograph, but what repeatedly caught my attention was this curling curtain of cloud that appeared to be releasing sheets of precipitation. Using my telephoto lens, I was able to capture both the looming shape of the cloud and its eerie glow.

Prechtel s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Show Me Your Wilderness .

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Pooled Together

Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic

Blacktip sharks, bluefin trevallies, and twinspot snappers (foreground) ever watchful for a potential meal throng a shallow passage into the lagoon of Millennium Island in the southern Line Islands, a pristine Pacific archipelago. Top predators like these are a defining feature of the world s healthiest coral reefs.

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

A Grand Flyover

Photograph by Jassen T. , National Geographic Your Shot

Sunrise at Yellowstone National Park finds steam rising from the surface of the Grand Prismatic Spring, the park s largest hot spring. Your Shot member Jassen T. overcame high winds and turbulence to capture the view while piloting a plane at 11,000 feet. This incredible place is not only remote, but flying over high terrain is dangerous, he writes. Trying to get the right angle without people on the walkway while trying to maintain the right altitude and attitude also made things complicated. While flying, I remember thinking to myself that I didn't want to leave. There are just not enough words to describe magic.

Jassen T.'s picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

See vintage pictures of Yellowstone »

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)

Cold Encounter

Photograph by Nicolas Le Boulanger , National Geographic Your Shot

Hoarfrost settles on a moor along the border of Espace Rambouillet, a wildlife reserve near Paris, France, that s home to deer like this stag and other wildlife. Having heard noises on the moor one day, Your Shot member Nicolas Le Boulanger returned early the following morning to see the author of these sounds. He had just arrived at the path when the deer appeared. It literally jumped up in front of me as if to block access to its secret garden, Le Boulanger writes. We watched each other for five minutes, and I took hundreds of photos, but many of the others were missed due to the hoarfrost on the subject, my own shivers, and the rising morning mist that blurred the perspective.

Le Boulanger's picture recently appeared in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

Download Wallpaper (1600 x 1200 pixels)