Blenny Blind PHOTOGRAPH BY DAN LUBLINSKI, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT A seaweed blenny—a small and usually bottom-dwelling fish recognizable by the branchlike cirri above its eyes—watches from the safety of its hiding spot. This underwater image was taken off the coast of Brazil and submitted by Your Shot community member Dan Lublinski.
“A Magical Night” PHOTOGRAPH BY SATU JUVONEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT In Finland, a scattering of trees draped in heavy snow crosses the landscape, and the northern lights toss ribbons of color across the sky. This image was shared by Your Shot member Satu Javonen, who writes, “[It was] a magical night in Lapland.
Photograph by Peet J. van Eeden, National Geographic Your Shot Looking at this underwater gem, I feel as if I could as easily be looking at the surface of a volcanic landscape, rather than a sea star. The texture and color are amazing.
Photograph by Tiplea Remus, National Geographic Your Shot The composition and perspective work together very well in this photograph of a funeral ceremony in Romania. I like how the delicate flowers so neatly placed on the tombstones mirror the crowd of people, the specks of color echoed in the clothes of the mourners.
Photograph by Mauro Mozzarelli, National Geographic Your Shot Owls are naturally photogenic but I like finding examples where the composition and mood make the difference between something I’ve seen before and something that catches my eye anew. The grumpy expression of this nesting Great Grey owl peering out of the tree hollow makes the shot for me.
Photograph by Robin Moore, National Geographic Your Shot The low-angled perspective creates a visual illusion of scale that makes me do a double-take, but what I like most is how this accentuates the beautiful line of the rhino—an immovable hulk among the grasses of Kenya’s Laikipia Plains.
Photograph by Shahnewaz Karim, National Geographic Your Shot A newlywed bride in her bright orange kurta, frozen in a shaft of light on a train platform in Dhaka, Bangladesh, evokes a feeling of embarking on a new adventure, being on the precipice of a new life. It is a moment of anticipation and beauty.
Photograph by Julie Fletcher, honorable mention winner, 2013 National Geographic Photo Contest The dramatic colors of water and sky aside, the barren landscape of Lake Menindee in New South Wales, Australia, makes a perfect setting for an electrical storm. The branches of the trees mirror the jagged bolts of lightning—and give the impression they have been through this before.
Photograph by Jimmy Chin, National Geographic The chiseled body of the climber clinging barehanded to the rock creates an arresting visual tension in this photograph from the February 2014 National Geographic story “Impossible Rock.” Knowing there is water below should he lose his grip is comforting but makes the moment no less vivid.
Photograph by Christian Nesset, National Geographic Your Shot I love seeing the pulse of life cozily tucked away between the sleeping mountains of Sunndalsøra, Norway. Energy and serenity come together here in a pleasing way.
Photograph by Réka Zsimon, honorable mention winner, 2013 National Geographic Photo Contest The ghostly blur of these egrets in flight above the rest of the flock below creates a scene of ethereal beauty. Gorgeous.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID STOKER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT I had driven to the Grand Canyon in anticipation of the storm,” writes Your Shot member David Stoker of the above photograph. “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.” The drama of this image, one of several chosen for the Your Shot First Light assignment, feels like a fitting start to this round-up of my favorite images from last month’s Photo of the Day.
Sacred Feathers PHOTOGRAPH BY MARCO VERNASCHI Photographer Marco Vernaschi’s project “Biophilia” draws attention to Argentina’s indigenous cultures by photographing people in traditional dress and costumes. The woman photographed here is named Belén Cruz. She is a Suri, also known as Samilantes—a cultural group within the Quechua community. Cruz’s feathered costume represents the nandu, or rhea, sacred bird of the Suris. This portrait was one of several featured in the April issue of National Geographic magazine.
Black and white Panda At the end of 2014, I had the opportunity to visit a special place in China (thanks to a governmental permit) where people grow up these animals and reintroduce them in the nature. I stayed one week there in order to take some shots about the life of these lovely bears.
All the Fish in the Sea PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF HESTER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT “I was drawn to make this image because ideally, I believe this is what our oceans should look like. But Cabo Pulmo hasn’t always been this way,” writes Your Shot member Jeff Hester. “In 1995, a marine park was established by local citizens to counteract depleted reef fishes and marine life due to overfishing,” he explains. “Today, the biomass is booming, and the ecosystem is returning to a healthy state. For this particular image, I wanted to show some scale of the situation so I had my wife (seen in the foreground) swim ahead of me.”
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.”
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.” I imagine this is what being inside a snow globe would be like.
Not as It A-Piers PHOTOGRAPH BY STEPHANE COUTURE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT Your Shot member Stephane Couture wanted to capture a new perspective on a familiar subject: this pier in Venice Beach, California, here shot from above on a five-second exposure while illuminated by the headlights of a car. “My idea was to frame it with the shoreline to create this cross between the organic lines of the waves and the sand [and] the sharp, man-made lines of the pier,” he writes. “I love the double take viewers do when encountering this image for the first time. It usually takes a few seconds for them to really understand what they are seeing.”
