When it comes to nature, National Geographic has the photographers to cover the subject with beauty, grace, dignity, even levity, and a sense of pride. Photographs that tell the story in a way that requires the reader to linger with image to capture all the stories the photographer is expressing.
When people ask me what makes a Photo of the Day—a curated look at photography around National Geographic—my answer is simple: I have to want to spend time with the picture, and whether full of complex detail or exquisitely simple, it has to stand on its own. The photos I choose are meant to be a glimpse of our world in a moment in time, some captured as a result of meticulous planning and research on assignment for National Geographic magazine, others happy finds from keen eyes tuned to daily life and travels from our Your Shot community. The photographers behind the lens represent a wide range of skill levels, from professional to aspirational, but each has a visual story to tell. Below are a selection of reader favorites from the month of March. —Alexa Keefe
Fishermen with nets silhouetted against the sky could be seen as something of a cliché. But the layering, the texture of the worn net, and the moment captured above by Your Shot photographer Ly Hoang Long along the banks of the Cua Dai river in Vietnam make this a personal favorite of mine.
Colors—and layers of color—are a visual treat in this photograph of Laguna Colorada in Bolivia. The sprinkling of flamingos and the ripples of the water are the details that make this image come together.
The silhouetted shapes in varying shades of gray lend a delicate quality to this photograph of a hammerhead shark swimming among fish in the Galápagos, almost giving the feeling of looking through layers of printed silk. The choice to present this scene in black and white is what makes the photograph sing.
This moment has all of the makings of a monster movie—a steely-eyed predator coming out of the depths to swoop up its prey. And I will admit, the drama of seeing this Atlantic bluefin tuna in action is what first took my breath away. Reading about Brian Skerry’s experience swimming with these giants of the sea, however, my interest deepened as I came to understand what magnificent creatures these are.
More snow. Or as those of us who are in D.C. for cherry blossom season might imagine—a flurry of petals. For me though, the storybook quality of the boatman oaring up to this small shop in the backwaters of Dal Lake in India trumps seasonal fatigue.
Your Shot photographer Jeff Oftedahl was on a guided tour of Pyongyang, North Korea, when he took this shot from the top of a monument overlooking Kim Il Sung Square. Of the scene, Oftedahl says, “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.” My thoughts exactly.
This bat is cute. Covered in pollen this bat is even cuter. This is not, however, what photographer Merlin Tuttle was concerned with when he set out to show the symbiotic relationship between this nectar-seeking bat and the flower of the blue mahoe tree. Using a portable studio, Tuttle brings one more example of nature’s intelligence to our eyes.
Your Shot photographer Tariq Sawyer was spending time with Kazakh nomads in Mongolia when he captured this shot of a sheepherder taking his flock out in an early spring blizzard. What could well have been an unfinished snap as the action rushed by was instead a well-framed moment. Seeing the fully completed thought—the flock, the shepherd, and the mountains beyond—we are able to rush out with them.
To educate, entertain, and inspire each and every day. Three new posts daily. Sample the Picture of the Day to whet your appetite, or feast on the Best Of‘ if you’re hungry Every Friday the Sifter publishes the Shirk Report. A weekly collection of the: - 25 funniest images - 10 most interesting articles - 5 most entertaining videos
SAN GIULIO ISLAND, ITALY Photograph by Luca Casartelli In this lovely capture by Luca Casartelli, we see Isola San Giulio (or San Giulio Island) on Lake Orta, in the region of Piedmont in northwestern Italy. The island measures 275 metres (902 feet) long by 140 metres (459 feet) wide. The most famous… Read More »
THE MULTIPLE EXPOSURE BLOOD MOON Photograph by NASA/JSC From open prairie land on the 1625-acre Johnson Space Center site, a Johnson Space Center photographer took this multi-frame composite image of the so-called “Blood Moon” lunar eclipse in the early hours of April 15. The eclipse is a phenomenon that occurs when the… Read More »
:D Photograph by Yathin S Krishnappa According to photographer Yathin S Krishnappa, this is a Namaqua chameleon in threat display in the Namib desert in Namibia. The chameleon was in the middle of a highway and was approached to be moved off the road. The chameleon then changed its color to black… Read More »
WHEN AXE MEETS WOOD Photograph by RAFAEL HERNANDEZ Website | Blog | Prints available Photographer Rafael Hernandez recently submitted this perfectly timed photo to reddit’s I Took a Picture subreddit. In the comments he explains that it took him nine tries to get the effect he was looking for (the photo above… Read More »
BLUE HOUR IN BRUGES Photograph by Arcalino / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 In this stunning capture by Arcalino, we see the city of Bruges at ‘blue hour’, as seen from Rozenhoedkaai street. Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It… Read More »
A SATELLITE VIEW OF EARTH ON EARTH DAY Satellite Image by NASA NOAA’s GOES-East satellite captured this stunning view of the Americas on Earth Day, April 22, 2014 at 11:45 UTC/7:45 a.m. EDT. The data from GOES-East was made into an image by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight… Read More »
FOREST GREEN Photograph via Met5anvartija on reddit Seen here is a beautiful forest in Jyväskylä, Finland. Jyväskylä is a city and municipality in Central Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is the largest city in Central Finland and on the Finnish Lakeland with a population of 134,802. The… Read More »
THE SUPERCELL Photograph by RYAN SHEPARD Facebook | Twitter | 500px In this dramatic capture by Ryan Shepard, we see a supercell thunderstorm never Ovid, Colorado on 28 May 2013. A supercell is a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Of the four… Read More »
JUST AN OWL STANDING ON ONE FOOT Photograph by Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes In this candid photo we see a burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) near Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, standing on one leg. The photo was selected as Wikimedia Commons’ Picture of the Day for 19 February 2014. The Burrowing Owl is found… Read More »
RAINSTORM AT THE TAJ Photograph by CHETAN KARKHANIS Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Flickr In this beautiful capture by Chetan Karkhanis, we see a sun-soaked rainstorm at the world-famous Taj Mahal. As Chetan explains on Flickr: “This is the view of the Taj Mahal from the top of the… Read More »
THE BLOOD MOON Photograph by NASA Ames Research Center/Brian Day The United States was in a prime orbital position and time of day to view the eclipse on April 15, 2014. Depending on local weather conditions (it was cloudy and overcast for many), the public got a spectacular view looking into the… Read More »
THE CALYPSO PASS U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brandon Shapiro Two U.S. Air Force Thunderbird F-16 Fighting Falcons execute a precision acrobat technique known as a Calypso Pass for a crowd March 23, 2014, at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. The Thunderbirds performed for more than 185,000 during the… Read More »
PREPARE FOR LANDING Photograph by apiratenamedbob on reddit Seen here is the small runway/airport known as the Farrenberg aerodrome (FAR1). It sits atop a hill of the same name in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany. You can see the tiny airport and runway on Google Maps by entering the following coordinates: 48°23’8.49″N… Read More »
THE HIMALAYAN DOG WANDERER Photograph by SEBASTIAN WAHLHUETTER Website | Facebook | Twitter | 500px | Prints Available During a trek through the Himalayan outback, photographer Sebastian Wahlhuetter noticed a dog that had started following his group. As he recalls in a blog post: “This dog just appeared out of nowhere and… Read More »
A VOLCANIC ERUPTION SEEN FROM A SPACE SHUTTLE Photograph by NASA In this incredible capture taken on 30 September 1994, we see a major eruption of Klyuchevskaya Sopka as seen by the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour (mission: STS-68). The eruption cloud reached 60,000 feet above sea level and the winds… Read More »
LARGER THAN LIFE Photograph by not_focused on reddit This year’s NCAA March Madness tournament held the semifinals and championship game at AT&T Stadium (colloquially referred to as Jerry’s World), the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Completed on May 27, 2009 at a cost of $1.3 billion, the stadium features one of… Read More »
THE ODD COUPLE Photograph by LASSI RAUTIAINEN/WILD FINLAND Website | Wild Finland on Facebook | Lassi Rautiainen on Facebook In this remarkable capture by Lassi Rautiainen we see an unlikely friendship between a bear and a wolf. The two were spotted in the wilderness of Northern Finland where Rautiainen organizes wilderness trips… Read More »
CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN KYOTO Photograph by T. KIYA on Flickr For three weeks starting from the vernal equinox (around March 20), cherry blossoms in Kyoto (known as sakura in Japan) begin to bloom. The annual event is wildly popular in Japan as people flock to popular blooming locations all over the country.… Read More »
THE ANCIENT WINDMILLS OF KINDERDIJK Photograph by DAVID KNOPFLER Kinderdijk is a village in the Netherlands, in the province South Holland, about 15 km east of Rotterdam. The village is situated in a polder (a low-lying tract of land enclosed by dikes), at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To… Read More »
EIGHT HOURS OF TAKEOFFS AT LAX Photograph by MIKE KELLEY Website | Facebook | Flickr | Prints available In this incredible composite image by architectural photographer Mike Kelley, we see every departure from LAX’s South Complex over an eight hour period. In a detailed blog post, Kelley explains: I spent about 16…
To educate, entertain, and inspire each and every day. Three new posts daily. Sample the Picture of the Day to whet your appetite, or feast on the Best Of‘ if you’re hungry Every Friday the Sifter publishes the Shirk Report. A weekly collection of the: - 25 funniest images - 10 most interesting articles - 5 most entertaining videos
At the end of every quarter the Sifter highlights the top 25 ‘Pictures of the Day‘, culminating in an epic Top 100 at the end of the year (check out the ‘Top 100 POTDs for 2013‘!). It’s hard to believe we’re already 1/4 of the way through 2014. I can’t wait to see what… Read More »
SPRING EQUINOX IN CHICAGO Photograph by niXerKG on Flickr In this perfectly timed photo we see the setting sun in Chicago during Spring Equinox on 20 March 2014. Taken by Flickr user niXerKG, who dubbed the photo Chicagohenge, he says you can see the setting/rising sun in the streets of Chicago that… Read More »
THE 3D CROSSWALK Photographer Unknown via madbutcher on reddit I couldn’t find much information about the artists but this 3D crosswalk street art was done somewhere in Kyrgyzstan. There was a work in progress photo on a Russian forum but no additional info. Either way it looks great and makes for a… Read More »
SCHLEGEIS LAKE, AUSTRIA Photographer Unknown via l0v4 on reddit Located in the Zillertal valley underneath the famous Olperer mountain hut, is the beautiful Schlegeis Lake in Tyrol, Austria. Like Zillergründl, Stillup, Durlassboden and Gmünd; Schlegeis is one of the five artificial lakes in the Zillertal valley. According to the official tourism site… Read More »
WARHOL REVISITED Photograph by LINDSEY WOHLMAN Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Artist and photographer Lindsey Wohlman reimagines Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s Soup Cans in a Kickstarter funded project entitled, Warhol Soup Cans Naked & Unlabeled. The artist is half-way through the project as Warhol’s original piece featured 32 soup cans.… Read More »
LONG EXPOSURE KEYBOARD ZOOM Photograph by LUKE STAFF Website | Flickr How cool is this! Photographer Luke Staff took a long exposure of his backlit keyboard while slowly zooming in and this was the result. Luke posted the image to reddit back in December of 2013. In the comments Luke explains how… Read More »
THE ROAD TO THE STARS Photograph by NASA via Lloyd B. Eldred/galtham.org In this amazing aerial photograph by NASA, we see the rollout of space shuttle Atlantis to the launching pad on 4 September 2008. STS-125 was the fifth and final space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). After… Read More »
PANTHERA PARDUS Photograph by Dwi Rahmaputra Judha Flickr | Twitter | 500px In this beautiful capture by Dwi Rahmaputra Judha, we see a leopard (Panthera pardus) laying by the water. The leopard is a member of the Felidae family with a wide range in some parts of Africa and tropical Asia, from… Read More »
GENERAL SHERMAN Photograph by World Wide Gifts General Sherman is a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in California. By volume, it is the largest known living single stem tree on Earth. [source] General Sherman isn’t the tallest known living tree on Earth (that distinction… Read More »
RECREATING A CLASSIC Photograph by Press Association via Anders_65 on reddit Workers at the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, UK; celebrated the completion of a new $30 million dollar roller coaster called The Smiler by recreating the iconic Lunch atop a Skyscraper photo from over 80 years ago. While it’s not… Read More »
THE STACKED HOUSE HOTEL IN ZAANDAM Photograph by Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam Seen here is the funky façade of Inntel Hotel, located directly outside the train station in Zaandam, a town in the Netherlands located about 12 minutes from Amsterdam’s city centre. The structure is built up from a varied stacking of… Read More »
SUNRISE OVER MOUNT BROMO Photograph by GUILLAUME BURET 500px | Tumblr In this sunrise capture by Guillaume Buret, we see the famous Mount Bromo in East Java, Indonesia. The active volcano has an elevation of 2,329 meters (7,641 ft) and is a popular tourist attraction in East Java. The volcano is situated… Read More »
THAM LOD CAVE, THAILAND Photograph by DREW HOPPER Website | Facebook | Google+ | Twitter | 500px | Prints available In this beautiful capture by Drew Hopper, we see Tham Lod Cave, located in the Pang Mahpa district of Mae Hong Son, Thailand. According to Hopper, the natural limestone cave’s main feature… Read More »
SIDEWALK ASTRONOMY Photograph by piranhasaurusTex on reddit How cool is this! Spotted at a parking lot in Houston, Texas (Memorial Drive and Dairy Ashford Road) was this guy with a ‘Dobsonian‘ telescope and a sign that reads: This is a telescope. Come take a look at Jupiter. Free According to Wikipedia:… Read More »
COLIN POWELL’S 60-YEAR-OLD SELFIE Photograph via Colin Powell on Facebook For Throwback Thursday, Colin Powell shared a self-proclaimed 60-year-old selfie on his Facebook page. He even called out Ellen DeGeneres! “Throwback Thursday – I was doing selfies 60 years before you Facebook folks. Eat your heart out Ellen!” The picture quickly… Read More »
WHAT A DUST STORM FROM A PLANE LOOKS LIKE Photograph by RYAN SCOTT via @RaiderTex52 on Twitter This incredible dust storm (haboob) was spotted on 11 March 2014 just northwest of Amarillo, Texas from an airplane flying at approximately 38,000 ft. The amazing capture was taken by Ryan Scott who let his… Read More »
STORM THE BEACH Photograph by JEFF SMALLWOOD Website | Flickr | Google+ | Facebook | 500px | Twitter | Prints In this fantastic capture by Jeff Smallwood we see a massive storm cloud rolling into Daytona Beach, Florida. The city lies about 51 miles (82.1 km) northeast of Orlando, 86 miles (138.4… Read More »
THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA FROM KFC Photograph by houstonau on reddit Here we see the iconic Pyramids of Giza from the inside of a nearby KFC. Unless you’ve visited Egypt, many people may not realize just how close the archaeological site is to the surrounding city. Check out the aerial view below… Read More »
THE MAST WALK Photograph by ALEX THOMSON RACING Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube Solo round the world yachtsman Alex Thomson recently performed a daring feat on board his high-speed yacht. Dubbed the ‘mast walk‘, Thomson climbed up the 30-meter high mast of the moving vessel, taking a moment to enjoy… Read More »
OESCHINEN LAKE, SWITZERLAND Photograph by STEFFEN SAUDER Located in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland is the beautiful Oeschinen Lake. The lake is situated at an elevation of 1,578 metres (5,177 ft), has a surface area of 1.1147 square kilometres (0.4304 sq mi) and its maximum depth is 56 metres (184 ft). Oeschinen is fed… Read More »
I WANT TO FLY AWAY Photograph by LOTUS CARROLL Website | Facebook | Google+ | Flickr | Prints Available Taken at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, this lovely photograph by Lotus Carroll conjures up memories of Lenny Kravitz’s hit song Fly Away (for me at least). I love the yellow… Read More »
A TEN YEAR OLD CAN OF DRIED INK FROM ABOVE Photograph by scruffycoxendale on reddit Reddit user scruffycoxendale took this fascinating top-down view of a can of dried ink that he says has been sitting on the shelf of his print shop for a decade. He goes on to mention that the… Read More »
HALLSTATT VILLAGE, AUSTRIA Photograph by DANNY XEERO 500px | Facebook | Flickr Photographer Danny Xeero took this beautiful shot of the picturesque Hallstatt Village in Austria. Nestled between the edge of Hallstätter See (a lake) and the towering Dachstein mountains, Austria’s oldest and possibly most photographed village is something like a mirage… Read More »
CHICAGO REFLECTED IN LAKE MICHIGAN FROM AN AIRPLANE Photograph by MARK HERSCH Twitter | LinkedIn Taken from his window seat (with his iPhone) as he approached O’Hare, amateur photographer Mark Hersch captured this incredible photo that shows the famous Chicago skyline reflected in Lake Michigan below, just as the sun sets above.… Read More »
THE MOST RETWEETED PHOTO OF ALL TIME Photograph via Ellen DeGeneres (taken by Bradley Cooper) Step aside Barack Obama. Before last night’s Academy Awards group shot above, this tweet by Barack Obama (6 Nov 2012) was the most retweeted photo of all time with 781,514 retweets. That record was completely obliterated last… Read More »