Falls in Autumn

Photograph by Vedrana Tafra , National Geographic Your Shot

Dispersing fog and a moment of sunshine bring the falls and foliage of Croatia s Plitvice Lakes National Park into view on an early autumn morning. The country s oldest and largest national park, Plitvice boasts more than plunging waterfalls: Its 16 terraced lakes, formed by natural travertine dams, change color throughout the day, and its abundant wildlife includes 261 species of birds.

Vedrana Tafra s image was recently featured in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Pronking Springbok

Photograph by Charles Jorgensen , National Geographic Your Shot

I was on vacation in an area of South Africa where springbok are quite common, and I had a goal of capturing this behavior, called pronking, writes Charles Jorgensen , a member of our Your Shot community. On a self-drive safari in Mountain Zebra National Park, we found a plateau that attracted many herds of springbok, among other animals. After a few failed attempts at getting the shot, I came across a small herd. They started running, and one of them started to pronk, jumping to amazing heights. I fired away and managed to capture this animal in its acrobatic display.

Jorgensen s image recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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The Pinnacle

Photograph by Chris Prescott , National Geographic Your Shot

We were near the summit of Sgurr Dearg, [also called] the Inaccessible Pinnacle, a famous feature of the Cuillin Ridge on Scotland s Isle of Skye, shooting a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of ' The Ridge , writes Chris Prescott of the Cut Media short film featuring trials cyclist Danny MacAskill.

MacAskill grew up on Skye and wanted to make a film that showed off the beauty of the island. A traverse of the full Cuillin Ridge is considered one of the classic mountaineering challenges in the U.K. The film was shot over two weeks and meant transporting a lot of filming equipment onto the ridge every day. Fortunately we were very lucky with the weather!

The shoot on the Inaccessible Pinnacle was one of the key moments of the film and meant a 3 a.m. start in order to get the best light and catch the cloud inversion. This was taken at around 6 a.m. in the middle of summer, and the sun was still low in the sky. I used the shadow of the pinnacle to block the sun and create the halo effect around Danny. It was taken handheld using a 17mm lens and a graduated neutral density filter.

Prescott s image recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Behind the Adventure .

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Winter Lodgings

Photograph by John Warner , National Geographic Your Shot

A solitary beaver pauses at dawn on its way home from a night of chewing off tree branches, newly within reach under the weight of freshly fallen snow. Your Shot member John Warner explains that the beaver, a mate, and two kits appeared late in the fall on Montana s Lake Elmo and hastily built a lodge before the winter freeze.

Warner s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment First Light .

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Berlin s Reichstag

Photograph by Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic

Berlin, the imposing power city at the heart of Europe s 20th-century tragedy, is learning to live with its troubled inheritance. Here, a central glass dome symbolizes transparency in the 1894 parliament building, the Reichstag, damaged in World War II and restored by British architect Norman Foster in the 1990s.

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Burmese Day

Photograph by Alexandros Tsoutis , National Geographic Your Shot

While walking the mountain villages between Kalaw and Inle Lake in Myanmar (Burma), Your Shot member Alexandros Tsoutis woke early one morning to find this scene. The foggy, exotic landscape gave me the opportunity to experience the beautiful sunrise hues while locals were making their way to the farms, he writes.

Tsoutis's picture was recently featured in the Your Shot assignment First Light .

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Winter White

Photograph by Stefano Unterthiner, National Geographic

Among the wildlife inhabiting Italy s Gran Paradiso National Park are ibex, chamois, red foxes, and ermines such as the one shown here wearing its white winter coat (its spring and summer coat is reddish brown).

Learn about how Stefano Unterthiner's love of photography developed in Gran Paradiso National Park on Proof .

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Tyrolean Night

Photograph by Torsten Muehlbacher , National Geographic Your Shot

Moonlight floods snow-covered peaks in this high-altitude selfie captured in the Tyrolean Alps. I put my camera on a 25-second exposure and myself on a 25-second do not move, writes Muehlbacher , a member of our Your Shot community. Muehlbacher s headlamp provided additional lighting.

Muehlbacher s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Behind the Adventure .

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Flashes of Summer

Photograph by David Liittschwager, National Geographic

Fireflies flash and streak through a Tennessee summer night, putting on a spectacular light show to seduce prospective mates. The summertime ritual is one of the most familiar examples of bioluminescence on land.

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Monumental Storm

Photograph by Emma Rogers , National Geographic Your Shot

While touring Arizona s Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Your Shot member Emma Rogers and her partner were undeterred from a day of sightseeing by the stormy weather sweeping the landscape. Here, a mass of thunderclouds hovers above the Mitten Buttes, a scene made more dramatic by a bolt of lightning. While it was a lucky shot, writes Rogers, I feel like it perfectly captured the atmosphere of the day.

Rogers s image recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Spring Fed

Photograph by Ryan Nelson , National Geographic Your Shot

The winter season is when some manatees find sanctuary from the chilly Gulf of Mexico by migrating to the freshwater springs of Kings Bay in Crystal River, Florida, writes Ryan Nelson , a member of our Your Shot community. [A] colder than normal morning created a good opportunity to observe these peaceful giants seeking refuge. The ambient light was perfect for catching the rays of sunlight ... [and] the fallen palm stump, natural lighting, and two animals feeding set the perfect stage.

Nelson s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment First Light .

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House of Sand

Photograph by Romain Veillon , National Geographic Your Shot

In the abandoned diamond-mining town of Pomona on the Namibian coast, sand devours buildings like this one, a house on a hill outside the main village. I was amazed by what I saw inside, the purity of the sand that was untouched for years, maybe decades, writes Your Shot member Romain Veillon , who was shooting Pomona and nearby Kolmanskop for a photography project. This picture always makes me wonder about the story of the people who used to live there and what they were thinking when they were looking at this incredible view.

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Inside the Drop

Photograph by Gus Schiavon , National Geographic Your Shot

As a professional canyoning photographer ... I had seen and taken plenty of shots from the top or bottom of a waterfall but never from the inside of one, writes Gus Schiavon , who submitted this photo to a recent Your Shot assignment. Here, a canyoneer begins descending the Campuhan waterfall in Bali, Indonesia s Kerenkali canyon.

Getting in position for the shot involved using a secondary belay and my own rope, rappelling until I was slightly behind the waterfall s flow, carefully securing myself, finding good foot balance, and, most importantly, using a special waterproof cover for my camera while keeping the front element clear from water spray, which would have ruined the shot.

Schiavon s picture recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment Behind the Adventure .

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Sheep Family Portrait

Photograph by Cameron Zegers , National Geographic Your Shot

While I was driving through a sheep farm near Waiuku, New Zealand, these four sheep stopped grazing to watch me watch them, writes Your Shot member Cameron Zegers . To achieve this shot, I waited for the sheep in the back to walk into the frame. Luckily, it stopped in the perfect place, and the result looked like a well-posed family portrait.

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After the Rain

Photograph by Guy Nesher , National Geographic Your Shot

It rained during the second evening of our jeep tour of the Bolivian salt desert, writes Your Shot member Guy Nesher . The next day we discovered that the ground had turned into an almost perfect mirror due to a thin layer of water that accumulated on it overnight. It was breathtaking. Initially I tried to shoot the empty desert, but the lack of any distinct features made the photos quite boring. I soon realized that my best bet was the other jeeps traveling beside us.

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

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Sunset Walk

Photograph by Terry Allen , National Geographic Your Shot

I ve long had a romance with wildlife and admired the work done by Marlice van Vuuren and her husband at the N/a an ku s Foundation in Windhoek, Namibia, especially in the area of cheetah conservation, writes Terry Allen , who shared this picture with our Your Shot community. Marlice hand-raised an orphan cheetah as part of her conservation efforts and enjoys educating visitors by providing the opportunity to walk with her and her cheetah. At the end of a sunset walk, [they] were interacting at the top of a small rise. I took several shots to get just the right positioning of both heads, conveying the great trust between the two.

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

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Snow Bird

Photograph by P. Vaudry , National Geographic Your Shot

During a milder February day in Alberta, Canada, Your Shot member P. Vaudry went for a hike along the Bow River in Fish Creek Provincial Park. While walking through Hull s Wood, I noticed this northern flicker in a tree. I approached, and the flicker remained still. To me, [it] was thoroughly enjoying the warmth of the sun, so much so that it didn t seem to notice that I was there.

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

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The 'Do' Seller

Photograph by Ly Hoang Long , National Geographic Your Shot

After the harvest, farmers in the village of Tat Vien in Vietnam s Hung Yen Province spend their spare time knitting do, writes Your Shot member Ly Hoang Long . It may be the simplest way to catch fish: Put some bait inside, and after a few hours pick them up and just collect the fish, eels, and crabs. Here, a man sells the bamboo traps from his bicycle.

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Arcadian Oasis

Photograph by Stefano Unterthiner, National Geographic

A placid pond high in the Graian Alps mirrors the snow-crowned peaks of Italy s Gran Paradiso National Park the oldest protected area in a country known more for culture than for conservation.

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Title Fight

Photograph by Andy Skillen , National Geographic Your Shot

Late afternoon was when we happened upon a large pride of lions resting on a dam wall in Phinda, South Africa, writes Your Shot member Andy Skillen of his encounter at the private game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal Province. Although the adults had not yet decided to stir for their evening activities, two of the cubs took it upon themselves to get some sparring practice in and fought a wide-ranging bout for around half an hour, burning off all that excess adolescent energy.

Skillen's picture was recently featured in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Sunset on the Grand Canal

Photograph by Osamah Alajmi , National Geographic Your Shot

A gondola floats through the waters of Venice s famed Grand Canal at sunset. Venice's gondolas are painted black in accordance with a 17th-century law preventing nobles from competing for the most elaborate boat.

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Arabian Sight

Photograph by Glenn Jacobs , National Geographic Your Shot

This Arabian mare was photographed in Dhashur, which is in the desert on the west bank of the Nile, not too far south of Cairo, writes Glenn Jacobs , a member of our Your Shot photo community. Because of the light, we waited until sunset to give this mare her temporary freedom. She was very much in tune with her handler, and he was able to guide her to the spot I had in mind for this shot. [It] was wide open, without any fence. The mare, though, always returned to her handler, which was a nice sight to behold.

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

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Tawny Frogmouths

Photograph by Malcolm C. , National Geographic Your Shot

Tawny frogmouths gaze intensely from their perch on a golden shower tree in Queensland, Australia. Your Shot member Malcolm C. had noticed the tree on arrival in the small seaside village of Woodgate on the province s southern coast. The birds, local residents of a large deck, had taken refuge in the tree during New Year s celebrations. Being wary creatures, they watched my every movement, so I was able to get good eye contact for just about every shot, he writes. In this shot they appear to be smiling, but the 'smile' is them panting, trying to keep cool."

Malcolm C. s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Home on the Water

Photograph by George Steinmetz, National Geographic

Some 2,100 miles of canals built over the past century to drain the Florida Everglades empty into the Atlantic Ocean. Higher seas have already allowed salt water to flow inland through the canals. Gates now keep out most salt water, and massive pumps, including on the Miami River, keep canals from overflowing by pushing excess rainwater out to the ocean. Given just two feet of sea-level rise, more than 80 percent of the gates will no longer work. In Biscayne Bay the Venetian Causeway connects Miami Beach to Miami by way of the six man-made Venetian Islands, which epitomize waterfront living. The canals have made developments at the edge of the swampland possible in places like west Palm Beach County (pictured here).

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Trunk Show

Photograph by Ashwati Vipin , National Geographic Your Shot

I ve had a keen interest in wildlife from the time I was a little kid feeding the neighborhood elephant lots of bananas and plums at my grandma's place in Haridwar, India, writes Your Shot member Ashwati Vipin , who captured this tussling pair at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi National Park, Kenya. The trust rescues and rehabilitates orphaned elephants and rhinos. [They] held a short event where they brought out their resident elephants and discussed their history, feeding habits, and the state of elephant conservation. Meanwhile, the elephants went about playing and feeding. I knew I could not miss this opportunity to photograph [these two].

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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Turkish Air

Photograph by Francois Nadeau , National Geographic Your Shot

You cannot go to Cappadocia without taking a trip in a hot-air balloon and making some pictures it's a must! writes photographer Francois Nadeau . Most of the photographers were taking shots of the sunrise, the landscape, etc. But I was also attracted to what was under me the patterns, the little villages. So while I was taking pictures of other balloons and the sunrise and filming at the same time, I was keeping an eye under me for the best shot."

Nadeau s picture recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen

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Ursa Minors

Photograph by Fudulu Catalin , National Geographic Your Shot

In Bucharest for the holidays, boys from Romania s Moldova region participate in a tradition called ursul, dressing as bears to go caroling in the streets. The custom is rare and occurs between Christmas Day and New Year s Eve, writes Fudulu Catalin , who shared this picture with our Your Shot photo community. This image was taken downtown, where I photographed people facing the first snow. I heard the music of singers, who were accompanied by whistles and drum beats, and I went in [their] direction.

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

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Snow Fall

Photograph by Stefano Unterthiner, National Geographic

Late winter snow cascades down the rocky slopes of Valsavarenche valley in Italy s Gran Paradiso National Park. Ruinous avalanches are rare in Gran Paradiso, but in 2008 one destroyed several houses in two park villages.

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