National Geographic Photos of the Day (January | February | March | April)
JANUARY 3, 2014
Knot an Owl
Photograph by Mauro Mozzarelli, National Geographic Your Shot
A camouflaged gray owl protects its nest in this Your Shot picture chosen for the Daily Dozen roundup of editors' favorites.
JANUARY 4, 2014
Into the Swarm
Photograph by Michele Martinelli, National Geographic Your Shot
Oppression, interaction, collaboration. In the life cycle of nature nothing is lost, but the coexistence of different species is sometimes difficult. In Madagascar there periodically recurs the archaic antagonism between man and the migratory locust, in a circle of life where the two species [compete] for space and food for their survival. Here inside the heavy bag there are in fact locusts that the man caught during the day.
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.
JANUARY 10, 2014
Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, National Geographic
Skeletons of Russian thistle, better known as tumbleweed, pile up in a yard in Lancaster, California.
JANUARY 11, 2014
Searching for Signals
Photograph by John Stanmeyer, National Geographic
Impoverished African migrants crowd the night shore of Djibouti city, trying to capture inexpensive cell signals from neighboring Somalia—a tenuous link to relatives abroad. For more than 60,000 years our species has been relying on such intimate social connections to spread across the Earth.
JANUARY 16, 2014
Charges Ahead
Photograph by Julie Fletcher
"I cannot describe the eerie feeling I had when I walked in on this scene," writes Julie Fletcher of this photo, which received an honorable mention in the Places category of the 2013 National Geographic Photo Contest.
"I followed a massive storm front for several hundred kilometers hoping to capture something special, but this blew my mind. The surreal milky green water is a natural phenomenon caused by electromagnetic activity from the lightning hitting the water's surface. There was no rain where I was and not much wind either, but in the distance the sky was charged and angry, subjecting its wrath [to] the graveyard of dead trees in this normally very dry lakebed. I was able to capture a series of unique images, this being one of the best."
JANUARY 17, 2014
Winter Layers
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic
Having gorged on salmon to lay on fat for hibernation, a grizzly wears a coat of ice in Canada's Yukon.
See more pictures from the February 2014 feature story “Yukon: Canada’s Wild West.”
JANUARY 18, 2014
Going Solo
Photograph by Jimmy Chin, National Geographic
Determined to finish a new route, superclimber Alex Honnold dangles from an overhang on Oman's Musandam Peninsula. After pushing as far as possible on the rock, a deepwater solo climber simply lets go.
JANUARY 22, 2014
Backcountry Blue
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic
Canada's Yukon backcountry hides sublime surprises, such as Azure Lake in the rugged Ogilvie Mountains. Glacial meltwater laden with fine sediment lends the lake its namesake color.
See more pictures from the February 2014 feature story “Yukon: Canada’s Wild West.”
JANUARY 26, 2014
Hungary Birds
Photograph by Réka Zsimon
“On a good day in the field, a birder might see a flock of birds,” writes photographer Réka Zsimon of this photo of great egrets in the tidal area of the Danube in Hungary. The image received an honorable mention in the Nature category of the 2013 National Geographic Photo Contest.
FEBRUARY 1, 2014
Reflecting the Ages
Photograph by Paul Weeks, National Geographic Your Shot
"While in Beijing last year, my travel buddy and I stumbled out of our hotel around 5 a.m. and began walking in search of a location to shoot the sunrise," writes Your Shot contributor Paul Weeks. "After a few miles we discovered this great reflective angle along one of the long corners of the Forbidden City's outer walls. I'm not sure why it's called that, seeing as you can get inside for just a few yuan, but I do know that this structure is very old. Built in the 1400s, it has seen many people come and go at this very location."
FEBRUARY 4, 2014
A Winter Walk
Photograph by Marisela Murcia Navarro, National Geographic Your Shot
While walking in the countryside "enjoying the air, sounds, and colors of winter," Your Shot contributor Marisela Murcia Navarro suddenly caught this sight. "I stopped and felt that nature had given me a gift," she says. A native of Spain, Murcia had been visiting her father's region of Manchuela in Castile-La Mancha and, during long walks with camera in hand, found "scenes that seemed out of the pages of a story."
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
Shades of Red
Photograph by Caruso Furyk, National Geographic Your Shot
Umbrellas shade novice monks at a pagoda in Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma). "It was a fine day, with sunny weather," writes Caruso Furyk, who submitted this picture to our Your Shot community.
FEBRUARY 24, 2014
Study Hall
Photograph by Tian-yu Xiong, National Geographic Your Shot
"As a local born and raised in Beijing, I love to capture the historical moments that arise in the capital city," says Your Shot contributor Tian-yu Xiong. "This photograph was taken in the National Library of China, which resides in the middle of Haidian, also known as the educational district of Beijing. As I was wandering the hallways of the library I noticed the astonishing view and repetitive lines present in the architecture. The massive amount of people reading books and studying quietly with electronic devices by their sides also drew my attention to this stunning moment."
FEBRUARY 28, 2014
Through a Glass, Colorfully
Photograph by Ivan Lesica, National Geographic Your Shot
"I love walking around my beloved New York City armed with my camera, looking for different and interesting subjects to photograph," says Your Shot member Ivan Lesica. "On this day, I was walking over the Williamsburg Bridge that connects Brooklyn with Manhattan. Halfway over the bridge I noticed a handmade wooden box painted in bright yellow, with openings in the front and back. I looked through it and noticed that the inside walls were covered with pieces of white, orange, and blue glass." Lesica noticed the reflection of the Empire State Building in some of the pieces and took the picture through the opening in the box. "It's my favorite shot of New York City to date."
MARCH 14, 2014
Morning Catch
Photograph by Ly Hoang Long, National Geographic Your Shot
"Along the Cua Dai riverbanks, there are hundreds of fishing nets spread here and there," says Your Shot memberLy Hoang Long, whose picture was featured in the Daily Dozen. "This kind of fishing is quite simple—a ten-square-meter net is stretched using four sticks of bamboo and wood, [then] at night, the fishermen dip their nets under the stream and drop some powder bait on the surface. In the early morning, they just raise the nets and collect the fish inside."
To get closer to the nets, Ly hired a sampan to be taken through the water and shot with a long lens.
MARCH 16, 2014
The Past in the Present
Photograph by Anastasiia Shikina, National Geographic Your Shot
"One day my friends and I went on a trip to the Ivangorod fortress, which is located on the border with Estonia,” says Your Shot contributor Anastasiia Shikina.
"I was walking [some] distance from the fortress, and these empty churches drew my attention. The general impression from this place is unforgettable—traces of past centuries in the present.
"From time to time I use materials [I find] nearby, such as paper or glass, to get more interesting pictures. In this case, I [had] found a piece of broken bottle. It was a rainy day, so there were a lot of raindrops on the glass. I held the glass close to my camera lens and got this shot.”
MARCH 29, 2014
Île Europa Atoll
Photograph by Thomas Peschak, National Geographic
Few divers ever explore the reefs around the Île Europa atoll, which lies in a stretch of the Mozambique Channel known for its massive eddies, productive nutrient upwellings, meandering currents—and spectacular surf.
APRIL 11, 2014
Spring Quiver
Photograph by Robyn Gael Ellsworth, National Geographic Your Shot
"I had been at a park with my grandchildren, and while they played I noticed this unusual flower in a spring patch," says Robyn Gael Ellsworth, a member of our Your Shot community who was photographing in Laguna Hills, California. "The colors were bright and contrasting. I shot it from a few different angles, but its shape was best defined by taking it from above to show off its arrow-like details."
APRIL 12, 2014
Agra Hall
Photograph by Marco Parenti, National Geographic Your Shot
“It was a rainy day when I visited the Taj Mahal last year,” says Your Shot contributor Marco Parenti. “During my walk to the monument, I noticed this long arcade with a cart at the end. The perspective offered by the sequence of the pillars precisely zooming right onto the cart’s wheel was amazing. The ochre tone was highlighted by the grayish light of the day. [It was] just perfect—everything seemed to be there just waiting for my shot!”
APRIL 21, 2014
Bonne Bay Drift
Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic
A lion’s mane jellyfish drifts in Bonne Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The species can grow to eight feet across.
Years of overfishing, warming waters, and possible offshore drilling cause concern for the health of the gulf's ecosystem.
APRIL 23, 2014
Rock of Ages
Photograph by Nicholas Roemmelt
After a heavy thunderstorm, a small pond grants a mirror reflection of a hiker at the Wave, the most famous landform in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona and Utah. Says Nicholas Roemmelt, who submitted this picture to the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest, it was "a calm and solemn place on a perfect day."
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
APRIL 28, 2014
Island in the Sky
Photograph by Shane Kalyn
"There is an ethereal, otherworldly feeling to this photograph, as this little island in the middle of Tumuch Lake in northern British Columbia appears as if it's floating in the clouds," says Shane Kalyn, who submitted this photo to the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. "To bring us back to Earth, a fish has left a ripple in the water on the left-hand side of the shot. The scene was amazing to witness, let alone be lucky enough to photograph—totally the right place at the right time."
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
APRIL 30, 2014
Rings of Fire
Photograph by William Kerdoncuff
"[This is] the main attraction on the beaches of Kho Phi Phi, Thailand, at night," says William Kerdoncuff, who submitted this picture to the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. "A lot of bars hire young people to put on fire shows to attract tourists."
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
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