-
Lightning at Huntington Beach, Ohio
Photograph by James Larkin
While at Huntington Beach in Bay Village, Ohio, I saw a storm approaching fast out of the north. I got lucky and was in the right place at the right time. Within a minute of this shot, the storm unleashed its fury on the beach. It was a great day.
This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot. Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.
-
Toad River Valley, Canada
Photograph by Michael Christopher Brown
Like curtains drawn across the landscape, the walls of the Toad River Valley yield to untracked forests and pure lakes in northeastern British Columbia. Years of compromise and careful planning defined the enormous Muskwa-Kechika Management Area here, where competing interests—from miners to outfitters, preservationists, and native peoples—coexist in delicate balance.
See more photographs from the November 2008 feature story "Northern Giant."
-
Snoqualmie Falls, Washington
Photograph by Bill Hinton
Sunrise filtering through the rising mist at the base of the falls. A perfect moment. Snoqualmie Falls, Washington 30 miles east of Seattle
This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic magazine.
-
Grizzly Bear Cubs
Photograph by Oliver Klink
Grizzly cubs are unpredictable. At one moment they look at you with their intrigued eyes, and suddenly run away scared by unknown behavior. These two seven-month-old cubs thought that holding hands would make the danger disappear.
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2008 International Photo Contest. Solve puzzles, and download wallpaper.
-
Antelope Canyon, Arizona
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
Sunlight sneaks through a crevice in Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona.
-
Santa Monica Shore
Photograph by Steve Sieren
The low tide uncovered this vibrant sea moss in the rocky shores just north of Los Angeles in the Santa Monica Mountains.
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2008 International Photo Contest. Solve puzzles, and download wallpaper.
-
Polar Bear and Cubs, Svalbard, Norway
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
In a far north without ice, a mother bear could be stranded a long way from good hunting, struggling to feed herself and her cubs. This snow-free scene near Kapp Fanshawe (Cape Fanshawe) offers a glimpse of what may be the Arctic's rockier future.
See more photographs from the April 2009 feature story "Northern Giant."
-
Rock Fort, India
Photograph by David Lazar
This photo is taken at the top of the 83-meter-high Rock Fort—the only outcrop in the otherwise flat land of the city of Trichy in Tamil Nadu, India. I awoke for the climb at sunrise, in order to capture the colours from the sun radiating over the hazy city. Looking back down, we see one of many decorative Hindu temples in the area of the Rock Fort.
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2008 International Photo Contest. Solve puzzles, and download wallpaper.
-
Whale Shark
Photograph by Brian Skerry
The sweeping color of sea and sky, blue is a common thread in nature, seen in the cerulean of a whale shark (pictured here), the indigo of a stormy night, and the cobalt of a peacock's feathers. Over the centuries, the hue has come to represent calm, cold, mysticism, and sadness.
-
Arctic Rainbow
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
A rainbow is reflected in Arctic icy waters in Canada's Foxe Basin. Data from submarines suggest that Arctic sea ice has thinned by 40 percent in the past 30 years. As more water is exposed, the upper ocean absorbs more sunshine, speeding up the decline.
-
Owachomo Bridge at Night, Utah
Photograph by Jim Richardson
A starry night gleams above Owachomo Bridge in Utah's Natural Bridges National Monument—named the first Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). "Here you see something forgotten," says ranger Scott Ryan, "and reconnect with the sky."
See more photographs from the November 2008 feature story "Our Vanishing Night."
-
Swan on the River Avon
Photograph by Jason Wickens
Captured one morning along the River Avon, this beautiful swan was cleaning itself before stretching its wings in a classic pose. The early morning sun rays add to the surreal image as they burn away the river mist.
This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic magazine.
-
King Penguins Swimming
Photograph by Stefano Unterthiner
A feeding party streams back to shore after several days at sea. Their orange markings, long, slender bills, and hefty, three-foot-long bodies distinguish them as king penguins. With bellies full of small fish, they will regurgitate a portion for waiting chicks.
See more photographs from the September 2009 feature story "Every Bird a King."
-
Porcupine Mountains Waterfall, Michigan
Photograph by Gowtham
This is the result of a ten-second exposure on a breezy evening from a suspension bridge in Upper Michigan's Porcupine Mountains. Thankfully, no one was around the bridge to induce camera shake. At the end of it all, it was very, very satisfying and yes, ten seconds—often a minuscule amount of time in our daily standards—did feel like eternity.
This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic magazine.
-
Mexican Gray Wolf
Photograph by Joel Sartore; photographed at the Wild Canid Survival and Research Center, Eureka, Missouri
Still on shaky ground, the Mexican gray wolf, an endangered subspecies, is slowly increasing in number in Arizona and New Mexico, thanks to captive breeding.
See more photographs from the January 2009 feature story "Last One."
-
Bottlenose Dolphins in Surf
Photograph by Andrew Wong
Dolphins are known to jump out the back of big waves as they break against the shores. This pod of bottlenose dolphins was leisurely surfing in the waves as the offshore wind blew against the incoming waves, creating an atmosphere that was most unique and magical. At a place called Waterfall Bluff in the Transkei, South Africa.
See winners' galleries, solve puzzles, and download wallpaper from the 2008 International Photo Contest.
-
Havasu Creek Waterfall, Arizona
Photograph by Suzanne Mathia
Nestled 3,000 feet [900 meters] deep into Havasu Canyon lies the land of the Havasupai. The native Indians are named for the area, the people of the Blue Green. The area is known around the world for its blue waters and spectacular waterfalls. Havasu Creek, a year-round stream with incredible aquamarine water, flows by the village and descends another 1,400 feet [425 meters], passing over five waterfalls. Navajo Falls is the most secluded and is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot. Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.
-
Frog on Lily Pad
Photograph by James P. Blair
A green frog sits atop a large lily pad in the waters of Atchafalaya Delta. Although this croaker is a bayou-dweller, its species thrives as far north as Canada.
-
Shenandoah Moon
Photograph by Raymond Gehman
The moon rises over Big Meadows on an autumn evening in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park. Some 450 families in the Blue Ridge Mountains were relocated when the park was created in the 1930s.
-
Lightning, Superstition Mountains
Photograph by Robert Quinn
A thunderstorm strikes over the foothills of the Superstition Mountains in central Arizona.
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2008 International Photo Contest. Solve puzzles, and download wallpaper. -
African Elephant, Tanzania
Photograph by Chris Johns
An African elephant crosses the lush green of Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater.
From the National Geographic book National Geographic Image Collection.
-
Gray Reef Sharks, Kingman Reef
Photograph by Brian Skerry
Gray reef sharks and red snappers hover above a patch of table coral, waiting for prey fish to emerge. "They go after everything that moves," observed Enric Sala, a marine ecologist on Spain's National Council for Scientific Research and a National Geographic fellow. Because of their abundance and the resulting competition for food, the sharks and snappers at Kingman Reef, Sala said, "are always on the verge of hunger." Kingman Reef is part of a chain of Pacific atolls and islands (called the Line Islands) that straddles the Equator south of Hawaii.
See more photographs from the July 2008 feature story "Kingman Reef."
-
Blue Iceberg
Photograph by Maria Stenzel
Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) ride out high surf on blue-ice icebergs near Candlemas Island in the South Sandwich Islands. Safe for the moment from predaceous leopard seals, chinstrap penguins are the second most abundant species in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic.
Related Galleries
Browse Photo of the Day Images
Advertisement
-
Jane Goodall
Over the course of 50 years Jane has witnessed the lives of three generations of chimpanzees.
-
Explorer Moment
Ed Viesturs shares an early morning view from Everest.
Nat Geo Photo Workshops
Special Offers
-
National Geographic
Subscribe to National Geographic magazine and save. Print and digital editions available.
