Photo of the Day

petroglyphs in Colorado
January 20, 2014

Petroglyphs by Night

"Imagine if we could speak to the earliest Americans," writes Your Shot contributor Joseph Thomas, who submitted this picture to the Imagine If assignment. "In a way, they are speaking to us. Photographing these petroglyphs inspires a sense of communion with the ancients who created them, a spiritual connection that reaches back through the ages. Three o'clock in the morning brought the moon into perfect position to illuminate the scene. The cactus was lit by a flashlight with an orange filter."

The moonlit sky and the rock wall create striking planes of color that neatly divide the image. The creative use of an orange filter gives the photo a nice pop of color while balancing the petroglyph on the other side of the frame. —Monica C. Corcoran, managing editor, Your Shot

This photo and caption were 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.

Photograph by Joseph Thomas, National Geographic Your Shot

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