Coraz n del Fuego

Photograph by Andrew Shepard , National Geographic Your Shot

Wanting to get a closer look at Fuego, a highly active volcano in Guatemala, Your Shot member Andrew Shepard hiked the adjacent Acatenango Volcano and camped near the summit. Under the moonlight I set my tripod up just outside the tent, and at around 1:30 a.m. we awoke to the rumbling of the ground and the sound of a breath-stealing explosion, Shepard writes. I scrambled to the camera just in time [to] capture a moonlit and lava-covered Fuego as it put on this beautiful display of activity and power."

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Spiritual Niche

Photograph by Yann H ., National Geographic Your Shot

Construction vehicles work the ground at the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang in Henan Province, China. Situated along both banks of the Yi River, the site s numerous caves and niches house thousands of Buddhist statues carved from the stone cliffs. Longmen s works including nearly 3,000 inscriptions were carved during the late Northern Wei and early Tang dynasties, with the earliest carvings dating to the late fifth century.

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Caught on Camera

Photograph by Drew Rush, National Geographic

A camera trap near Yellowstone National Park catches a grizzly bear stealing whitebark pine nuts from a squirrel s cache. The nuts are an important food for the bears, a threatened species.

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All the Fish in the Sea

Photograph by Jeff Hester , National Geographic Your Shot

Your Shot member Jeff Hester was drawn to make this image because, he says, I believe this is what our oceans should look like. But Cabo Pulmo, a marine park off Mexico s Baja California peninsula, hasn't always been this way. In 1995, [the] park was established by local citizens to counteract depleted reef fishes and marine life due to overfishing, he says. Today, the biomass is booming, and the ecosystem is returning to a healthy state. For this particular image, I wanted to show some scale ... so I had my wife, seen in the foreground, swim ahead of me.

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Top of the Ladder

Photograph by Adam Schierberg , National Geographic Your Shot

Cincinnati Fire Department recruits participate in a morning drill. The assignment? Climb to the top of a hundred-foot aerial ladder. Your Shot member Adam Schierberg, also a firefighter, positioned himself at the top of a drill tower to get this shot. My intention was to capture the intensity of the climb by taking a vertical approach that also captured [the] anxiously awaiting candidates, he writes.

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Deer Hide

Photograph by Jeremy Baker , National Geographic Your Shot

This situation happened to come to fruition due to my five-year-old's love of the outdoors, says Your Shot member Jeremy Baker, who captured this shot in Minot, North Dakota. Baker s son had asked to go for a drive to look for wildlife to photograph. [While] driving down a secluded dirt road ... I noticed a doe moving through the dried up sunflowers, trying to hide from me. I turned off my truck and used the window as a tripod and snapped away, as she was curious enough to show me her vulnerable side.

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Grueling Coursework

Photograph by Lynsey Addario, National Geographic

Policemen in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh are put through a grueling commando course at the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College, in Kanker. In India s mineral-rich jungles, Maoist militants called Naxalites have found a foothold through violence and extortion. Chhattisgarh is among two states with the worst record of Naxalite violence.

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Against the Wind

Photograph by Dominic Roy , National Geographic Your Shot

A snowy owl appears to fight against the elements during extreme weather conditions near Quebec City, Canada. I knew that many snowy owls were in the area, writes Your Shot member Dominic Roy, but it s not always easy to find them.

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Character Development

Photograph by Patrick Quinn , National Geographic Your Shot

Amateur opera singers transform themselves into their characters before a performance in China. They all have day jobs and are extremely busy, but they have a passion for Hainan Opera, writes Patrick Quinn, who submitted this picture to the recent Your Shot assignment Transitions: As the World Turns . [This is] where they paint on masks and become someone else.

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Lines in the Sand

Photograph by Cezary Filew , National Geographic Your Shot

The Pan American Highway cuts a modern path past some of Peru s ancient Nasca lines, here captured from a Cessna by Your Shot member Cezary Filew. For Filew, the mysterious lines and figures called geoglyphs have been a draw since childhood. I am scared of flying, but this time ... I had to overcome it to see what I came for.

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Sacred Feathers

Photograph by Marco Vernaschi

In Argentina s Jujuy Province, the Suris, also known as Samilantes, are a cultural group within the Quechua community. This woman is Bel n Cruz. Her feathered costume represents the nandu, or rhea, sacred bird of the Suris. Photographer Marco Vernaschi s Biophilia Foundation looks to help indigenous groups preserve their cultural heritage by developing their own local economy through native products.

Vernaschi s pictures are featured in the April 2015 issue of National Geographic magazine. His series, Bitter Harvest, is also featured on our photography blog, Proof .

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Bushfire Season

Photograph by Pierre Destribats, National Geographic Your Shot

Lightning on a stormy evening near Port Hedland, Western Australia, ignites bushfires that send up an orange glow. A common threat to safety in the province during summer months, bushfires can start without warning and move quickly through vast areas.

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Fearless Symmetry

Photograph by Souvik Kundu , National Geographic Your Shot

It s a rare and privileged experience to witness the interaction of tiger cubs in the wild, says Souvik Kundu, a member of our Your Shot photo community. After learning that a tigress had given birth to cubs in India s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Kundu visited the sanctuary a number of times to photograph the family. On this day his group was treated to an unforgettable display of tender bonding, with the cubs engaged in several bouts of play-fighting under the watchful eyes of the mother.

Souvik Kundu s image was recently featured in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Pandarama

Photograph by Marco Mattiussi, National Geographic Your Shot

In China to photograph the life of the giant panda and its environment, Your Shot member Marco Mattiussi obtained special permission to visit areas with captive-raised pandas that had been released into the wild. For this shot I was ... [in] the right place at the right time: It was rainy and foggy, very wet weather, and the panda decided to climb a beautiful tree in front of me.

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Crabbing a Ride

Photograph by Nancy Leigh , National Geographic Your Shot

"The setting was very eerie, writes Your Shot member Nancy Leigh. In the darkness [of] an overcast early morning, there was a large gathering of black juvenile iguanas on the rocks of Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island in the Gal pagos. While completely surrounded by iguanas, Leigh spotted a bright-red Sally Lightfoot crab climbing onto one of the lizards. It was a delicate balance ... acting fast to capture the moment while respecting their space and not disturbing either animal," she says.

Leigh s image was recently featured in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Evening Snowfall

Photograph by Haruka Iwasaki , National Geographic Your Shot

When I arrived at the Blue Pond in Biei in Hokkaido, Japan, a lot of snow had fallen and the wind was blowing strongly, writes Your Shot member Haruka Iwasaki . The moment the light that illuminates the pond was reflected in the snow, I witnessed a fantastic spectacle.

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Self-Portrait at Reata Pass

Photograph by Andrei Stoica , National Geographic Your Shot

Your Shot member Andrei Stoica used the sun and an Arizona landscape to create this self-portrait for a recent community assignment. It wasn t that different from using dyes to create pictographs, writes Stoica, who calls his image a sungraph.

Stoica s image recently appeared in the Your Shot assignment The Faceless Portrait .

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The Twins

Photograph by Fabrice Guerin , National Geographic Your Shot

Every year, a sardine run occurs in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, says Your Shot member Fabrice Guerin , who adds that this is when it s possible to spot the fastest fish in the ocean the sailfish hunting fish shoals. They drill the balls of terrified fish, offering us a stunning show, he writes. When I saw these two sailfish going toward the sardines against the sun, I shot as quickly as possible.

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

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Worth the Wait

Photograph by Takashi Nakagawa , National Geographic Your Shot

A beautiful and active aurora appeared the day after a storm had passed over Iceland, writes Takashi Nakagawa , a member of our Your Shot community. Iceland is not an ideal place to watch the aurora because the weather in winter is mostly cloudy. I waited at J kuls rl n glacier lagoon for three days to photograph the aurora [at] this amazing place. This was a perfect night. I ll never forget this moment.

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Group Flight

Photograph by Navtej Singh , National Geographic Your Shot

Lying on important flyways, the wetlands of Gujarat, India, are thronged by millions of birds migrating south in winter, writes Your Shot member Navtej Singh , who captured this scene while taking aerial shots of the port town of Jamnagar. As I flew over the flamingoes, the birds took flight. It was an unbelievable sight, and I was right above them to capture the magnificent event.

Singh s image was recently featured in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Fox on the Rocks

Photograph by Irina C. , National Geographic Your Shot

Lingering at a lookout in Chile s Torres del Paine National Park, Your Shot member Irina C. spotted this fox entering the scene. It navigated very confidently among the rocks, moving small ones with its paws and picking up food scraps dropped by tourists during the day, she writes. I thought it was genius: Instead of wasting energy and time hunting for mice, this fox had it all figured out.

Irina C. s image recently appeared in Your Shot s Daily Dozen .

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Parade Rest

Photograph by Sara Lewkowicz, National Geographic

In Teotitl n del Valle, Mexico, a group of unmarried young women and girls gather in front of Preciosa Sangre de Cristo Church after marching in a calenda (parade) for La Fiesta de la Preciosa Sangre. During the parade, the young women wear traditional Zapotec clothing and walk while carrying canastas (baskets) with images of the saints on their heads.

Hear more about Sara Lewkowicz s experience interning for National Geographic on Proof .

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Grooming the Young

Photograph by Masanobu Oka , National Geographic Your Shot

A snow monkey grooms a youngster while soaking in a hot spring at the Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. When I visited, about 30 monkeys were in the hot spring, writes Your Shot member Masanobu Oka . I realized that the mother was taking care of her kid just like a human. I watched them for a while before capturing the baby as it opened its eyes.

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Rocket Land

Photograph by Kevin Kunstadt

Strobe rockets light up the night sky in Mason City, Iowa. Mason City is home to the Iowa Thunderstorm, the Pyrotechnics Guild International s small fireworks convention.

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The Pitcher and the Carpenter

Photograph by Christian Ziegler

The fanged pitcher plant and the carpenter ant (seen here in Borneo) have a mutualistic relationship: While the plant s pitcher stem provides a home for small ant colonies of up to 30 individuals, the ants keep the chemistry of the pitcher s liquid balanced by removing large insects that have found their way inside. If the insects were to rot in the liquid, it would spoil.

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Hellenic Cadets

Photograph by Alex Majoli, National Geographic

Cadets from the Hellenic Military Academy tour the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Degraded by pollution, the ancient temple to the goddess Athena atop the Acropolis is being restored.

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Light in Winter

Photograph by David Stoker , National Geographic Your Shot

Predawn sunlight strikes the South Rim of Arizona s Grand Canyon in this picture submitted to the recent Your Shot assignment First Light . A cold winter storm had passed through the region the day prior, writes photographer David Stoker . I had driven to the Grand Canyon in anticipation of the storm. I remember the morning being particularly cold as I hiked along the rim awaiting the arrival of the sun. The skies were still overcast, but a small break in the clouds allowed a single ray of sunlight to shine through, illuminating a small portion of the butte below.

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

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Catch of the Day

Photograph by Yoh Fong Chan , National Geographic Your Shot

The polar bears were usually playing, sleeping, and sometimes nursing, writes Your Shot member Yoh Fong Chan of observing the bears in Kaktovik, Alaska. They were hanging out near the shore during this time of the year, waiting for the sea to freeze before they could go out hunting for seals. On this very rare occasion, this bear came proudly from the horizon with its catch of the day. Chan, who had long dreamed of photographing polar bears in the wild, says patience and endurance were important. It was bitterly cold out there. As with most wildlife photography, hours were spent observing and waiting to capture that one special moment.

Chan's image was recently featured in Your Shot's Daily Dozen .

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Mixed Roots

Photograph by Felipe Jacome

The mangroves of the Cayapas Mataje Mangrove Reserve in northwestern Ecuador are the tallest in the world. The area is home to many Afro-Ecuadorian communities who rely on gathering black cockles that can be found in the mud of the mangroves and sold as a culinary delicacy. Picking shells is a tremendously arduous task, as concheros have to crouch down for hours in knee-deep mud.

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High-Foraging Chamois

Photograph by Stefano Unterthiner, National Geographic

Springtime is when high-foraging chamois give birth; there are now about 8,000 in Italy s Gran Paradiso National Park.

Get the story of how Stefano Unterthiner fell in love with photography as a teenager in Gran Paradiso National Park.

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Icesheet #4727

Photograph by Murray Fredericks, National Geographic

A constellation of orbs, rings, and halos hangs above the Greenland ice sheet in this picture by Murray Fredericks, who spent months photographing the island s remote beauty. The optical phenomena seen here occur when ice crystals suspended by powerful winds called piteraqs refract sunlight.

ICESHEET #4727, 22 AND 46 HALO, TANGENT ARC, PARRY ARC, CIRCUMZENITHAL ARC, AND PARHELIC CIRCLE

Read more about what it s like to photograph nothing on Proof .

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