Experience the world through the eyes of National Geographic photographers.
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Video by @stephenwilkes. Lake Bogoria, in Kenya, Africa is one of the largest feeding areas for the lesser known Flamingos. We traveled here to document their epic migration, as part of a new “Day to Night” series for National Geographic. Using a drone, I observed thousands of Lesser Flamingos gathering in colonies, creating small pink islands within the lake. From above these clusters of flamingos look like giant lily pads. Flamingos find safety in numbers, so isolating themselves this way helps to protect them from predators, especially the Marabou Stork. You can see this and more behind the scenes video @natgeomuseum exhibition, “Transcend the Passage of Time in ‘Day to Night: In the Field with Stephen Wilkes’, through April 30, 2018. Please see the “Day to Night” photographs which are part of a story, “The Journeys of Migratory Birds, coming out in the March issue of National Geographic magazine. Please follow me @stephenwilkes to see more images from my bird migration series and to learn more about my process in creating these images, please check out my TED talk link in my bio. #lakebogoria #kenya #africa #birdmigration #lesserflamingo #flamingo #aerial #flight #nature #daytonight #natgeomuseum #natgeo
Photo by @GerdLudwig . Ivan and his wife have come home to their village near Chernobyl. It’s 40 roughly years ago that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant went first online, but it’s reactor #4 blew up in 1986 after operators botched a safety test. Of all manmade environmental catastrophes in human history, Chernobyl is considered to have caused the most lasting impact. Approximately 350,000 people were forced to evacuate after the explosion. But, disaster be damned, a couple of hundred elderly people have retuned. At first Ukrainian officials discouraged them, but they soon turned a blind eye, allowing them “to live out their lives on a contaminated soil instead of dying of a broken heart in anonymous city suburbs”. Recently, Ukraine’s minister of ecology announced that his country is talking to a multinational energy company about constructing a giant solar park inside the contaminated Exclusion Zone around the ill-fated reactor. Since my first visit in 1993, I have been documenting the aftermath of accident in dramatic photographs – the failed reactor, the contamination to the land, and the countless victims in the fallout regions, leading to my book and iPad app ‘The Long Shadow of Chernobyl’. @thephotosociety @natgeocreative #Chernobyl #Ukraine #returnee #radiation #contamination #disaster #nuclear #Exclusionzone
Photograph by George Steinmetz @geosteinmetz
Barefoot explorers wade through the jungle-stained waters of Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil. From above it looked like a strange painting of a muscled body. And when I landed my #paraglider, it was a chance roll up my pants and cool off in the shallow tobacco-colored water. To see a larger view of the area and the multi-colored lakes that form, visit and follow @geosteinmetz
Photo- @andy_bardon /// The mountains, basins, and valleys of the U.S. Northern Rockies have received a few feet of snow in the last week. Skiers have been taking it in stride, bundling up, and getting outside. Pictured here, a local mountain man named Neil grins ear to ear after skiing his favorite stash of fresh snow. Please follow @andy_bardon for more adventures from around the globe.
Video by @joelsartore |
This federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker was admitted to Florida Wildlife Care, Inc. in Gainesville, Florida as a fledgling with a severe infection after suffering a foot and lower leg amputation in the wild. After months of treatment, recovery and evaluation for long term captivity, he will be placed at a facility to be used for education. This little guy will soon have a permanent home at the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center in Freeport, Florida, where he will serve as an ambassador for this species and the conservation and protection of the longleaf pine ecosystem.
To see a portrait of this bird, follow @joelsartore!
Photo by @TimLaman. Blue Bird-of-Paradise male in his upside-down display pose. This is just one of the amazing 39 species of Birds-of-Paradise you can see images and videos of and learn more about if you visit my exhibit, now open in Chicago at the Chicago Academy of Science’s Nature Museum! Sponsored by @NatGeo and #CornellLabofOrnithology. Check it out if you are in the Chicago area any time up to June 10! See “naturemuseum.org” for details. The exhibit includes my best bird-of-paradise images, videos, and many fun interactive elements and behind-the-scenes stories about my long term project on Birds-of-Paradise with Ed Scholes of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Follow me @TimLaman to see more of my best wild bird images throughout this special “#YearoftheBird”. @BirdsofParadiseProject, #PapuaNewGuinea, #BirdsofParadise, #Birds-of-Paradise, @NatGeoCreative, @ThePhotoSociety.
Photo by @shonephoto (Robbie Shone) - In silhouette, Dr. Marc Luetscher assesses the potential for finding the illusive cryogenic calcite crystals (CCC’s) hiding inside this giant ice formation inside Eisriesenwelt Eishöhle, Werfen (South Salzburg) in Austria. Mountain regions respond sensitively to climate change. Taking advantage of Alpine caves, a team of scientists led by Swiss Paleoclimatologist Dr. Marc Luetscher from the Swiss Institute for Speleology and Karst Studies (SISKA), is working to understand how permafrost has evolved through time. Ice caves form through a combination of snow intrusion and/or congelation of water infiltrating a karst system. Often up to several centuries old, the climate record of this ice remains largely under-studied. Today we are also able to tell if a cave was an ice cave in the past. This is achieved by looking for cryogenic cave calcites. These form when water enters a cave, and freezes and turns to ice. In this process, the water becomes progressively enriched in ions to the point that it becomes super-saturated and precipitates calcite. @natgeocreative
Photo by @hammond_robin for @onedayinmyworld
"The last sign said that we were crazy people – it was not correct. We are not marked by this ugly name now. I feel equal, I am no longer ashamed by the name of the institution.” Darko lived in the “Home for the Insane” until its name and mission were changed to provide support for beneficiaries living independently in apartments. Now it is called 'Centre for People Like Us’. Darko has lived in psychiatric institutions since the age of 11. Soon, with the support of ‘Centre for People Like Us’ he will move into his own home. He will still receive support, but will live independently.
Rehabilitation cannot take place behind the high walls of an institution. In four years, 172 out of 200 people have moved from ‘Home for the Insane’ in Osijek, Croatia, into apartments. Staff have trained to serve as assistants in the community. For many beneficiaries it is the first time they’ve experienced true freedom. This facility in Osijek is the only one out of 26 in the country to implement the UN convention to deinstitutionalize.
#inmyworld is designed to expose the challenges faced by people living with mental health issues and give them the chance to be seen, heard and valued. @witness_change is a nonprofit that aims to improve life for excluded groups by amplifying their stories. This project was funded in part through a grant from @opensocietyfoundations. To see more or to share your own mental health story please follow @OneDayInMyWorld
Photo by @cristinamittermeier // Can you guess what is wrong with this penguin? We spent a month in Antarctica on assignment for @natgeo and it was not until the second week that I realized we had not seen snow once. Every day, however, we experienced several hours of incessant rain. As temperatures warm in Antarctica, the weather regime is changing from snow to rain. In the past, the penguin colony would be covered in snow but now, it is a large, muddy mess. Baby penguins are covered in fluffy down and they can easily preen themselves when it snows. When they get muddy and wet, their down loses its insulation ability and as temperatures drop at night, they become hypothermic and die.
As the debate on weather or not to protect the Antarctic Peninsula starts to play out, I hope that the members of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), who will be voting on this issue are inspired to protect it for all humanity.
#Followme at @cristinamittermeier and follow the conversation at @Sea_legacy
Video by @stephenwilkes. This past Sunday, 2/18/18 was World Whale Day. While the day has passed I couldn’t let it go without sharing my loop view of the majestic Robson Bight. I had the opportunity to photograph a Day to Night at the Bight in 2016. I was enchanted with the beauty of the Bight which is a sanctuary for Orca Whales. Each year the whales return to the protected habitat famous for its whale rubbing beaches. Pods of Orcas come to rub themselves on the barnacle-encrusted rocks, pebbles and gravel seafloor at Robson Bight. It’s quite exciting to see a killer whale in the wild breaking the surface and shooting spurts of mist from its blowhole. I photographed at Robson Bight for almost 30 hours I listened to the whales and became entranced with their individual sounds which we recorded and you can hear in this loop view. Thank you to CETUS Research and Conservation Society for helping to make this photograph possible. I hope you all enjoy the sounds and beauty of Robson Bight. To see more of my work please visit me @stephenwilkes. #robsonbight #canada #cetus #vancouverisland #daytonight #britishcolumbia #orca #humpbackwhale #killerwhale
Photo by @FransLanting You’re looking at the outcome of albatross love—a gaggle of black-browed chicks, which have a long way to go before they can lift their wings and become the supreme flyers sailors have admired for centuries. They’re plump from the fish and squid oil they get fed and they’re all sitting on mud nests built by their parents, which are maintained and added onto year after year. They turn into pedestals over time. After the young birds fledge, they will roam the open ocean for several years without coming back to shore, but eventually the survivors return to the island where they are born to seek mates. And then the cycle of life continues for the lucky ones. Follow me @FransLanting and @ChristineEckstrom to see the amazing courtship rituals of albatrosses that culminates in these fluffy chicks. And learn what is threatening their lives.
@thephotosociety @natgeocreative @birdlife_insta @rspb_love_nature @plasticpollutes #Albatross #Seabird #naturelovers #ocean #wildlifephotography #Birdphotography #YearoftheBird
Photo by @coryrichards // Captured #withGalaxy S8, produced with @samsungmobileusa // Sukri, a Sri Lankan butcher, stands in his stall during a lull in traffic. Meat consumption in Sri Lanka, as with many places, is influenced by religious belief, namely the consumption of beef and pork. Because rice is the staple component of the Sri Lankan diet, used most commonly in curries, meat plays a vital role in the intake of protein. Meat consumption habits are changing slowly however, shifting away from fresh and frozen meats like those sold by Sukri, in favor of processed meat products. This is likely due to socio-economic shifts and nutritional awareness. Regardless, the shift is making stalls like his harder and harder to maintain.
Couchsurfing stories / photo by @gabrielegalimbertiphoto /// Bangkok, Thailand - Take two Thais, a man and a woman. Dress them up '70s style, with square tortoiseshell glasses, bell-bottom trousers, flowered shirts, hot pants. Now add long hair and moves reminiscent of Austin Powers, and you've got the best of the surreal music group S.O.D. (Simple of Detail). They’re Mary Jane and Tom Hom, the only rock-solid couple who aren't a couple at all. They live and work together. He's a photographer and she's the stylist in charge of his sets. A while ago, they also joined forces to create S.O.D., which has grown into a real phenomenon on the national music scene. The first time I saw them was at one of their shows, a blend of concert and cabaret performed for an audience of hundreds of adoring fans, not to mention the cameras of a national TV crew. I found them more or less by chance. I had stumbled across Tom’s picture on the couchsurfing site and hadn't been able to resist finding out who he was. He and Mary belong to that category of couchsurfers who can't actually host visitors (usually because their homes aren't big enough or because they live with people who don't relish the idea of strangers coming and going), instead offering travelers their time. And what a time we had! I saw two fantastic concerts, where I felt like I'd either traveled a few decades back in time or ended up on a movie set. One was in a very large venue in front of a shopping mall, while the other was in a small club reserved for diehard fans. Tom and Mary's role in S.O.D. is mostly to sing, but their choreography is coordinated and it's exhilarating to watch them dance. Other 3 people make up the other members of the group. Dinner with the whole band after the show was a series of absurd conversations. Neither Tom nor Mary speak much English and so the others attempted to translate for us, the level of hilarity rising with every round of beer. Tom and Mary are a perfect example of the numerous possibilities that couchsurfing offers. Without it, I'd never have met them or been able to take this photo #couchsurfing #travel #sharingeconomy #bangkok #thailand #music #rockband #hospitality
photo by: @renaeffendiphoto (Rena Effendi) // For about three dollars, you can rent time at this privately owned medieval wooden washing machine in Sârbi, Maramureş, where people gather to clean household rugs the traditional way - with surging river water. Follow me here @renaeffendiphoto for more human interest stories. #tradition #village #romania #work #washing #dailylife #culture #women
photo by @vincentjmusi
Sisters, 2018 Henney is 4 years old and and Pippa just 5 months. It looks pretty calm and serene here, further evidence that photographs don’t always reveal the truth. And in deference to the overwhelming interest in breeds, these two are German Shorthaired Pointers. I’ve spent much of the last 11 years photographing everything from honeybees to elephants and settled in recently with a personal project photographing the character and beauty of dogs. To see more dogs during my #yearofthedog journey go to @vincentjmusi
Photo by @argonautphoto (Aaron Huey). Portrait of a pilgrim at the shrine of the Sufi scholar, mystic, poet, and saint Shah Abdul Latif Bittai in the village of Bhit Shah in the Sindh, Pakistan. Pilgrims like this often have no belongings and live off the donated food at the shrine, where they read and pray and sing day and night, sleeping on the marble floors or amongst centuries old graves outside the shrine. To see more of this Sufi series follow @argonautphoto!
Photograph by David Chancellor @chancellordavid - sunrise with these ladies this morning. A herd of over 200 camels in bomas made by the Somali herders from acacia trees to defend against lion - northern Kenya - to see more of my work and projects follow me here @natgeo @thephotosociety and @chancellordavid #camel #kenya #nothernkenya #conserving #conservation #lion #nopoaching @ewasolions
Photo by @pedromcbride // A Grand, icy layer cake of time and water. I’m honored to share stories about this remarkable National Park tonight and tomorrow in Portland, OR for @natgeo live @grandcanyontrust and the @freshwatertrust. For those in the area, come learn about our public lands and freshwater. To find more speaking events, go to @pedromcbride. #grandcanyon #winter #publiclands #gratitude
Video by @ronan_donovan // Children playfully careen down a slide in the Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda. I'm here with a team from National Geographic PhotoCamp @ngphotocamp funded by the National Geographic Society @insidenatgeo to hold a photo workshop for refugees at what has become the largest refugee settlement in the world. Created in August 2016, Bidi Bidi has grown to nearly 300,000 South Sudanese refugees who've fled violent civil war in their newly created country.
Hop on over to @ngphotocamp to see one of the student's photos from this slide and followin along this week with the rest of the team as we post student's work and stories from the field. @ljohnphoto @ronan_donovan @brackjon @kirstenelstner @noralorek @halima_asijo @bullen_chol #ngphotocamp #natgeo
Photo @ladzinski / A silhouetted #andeanCondor preparing for take off in #TorresDelPaine National Park. By the combination of weight and height, this Condor is the largest flying bird in the world and one of the worlds longest living birds, with a lifespan into the 70’s. Their territory encompasses nearly the entire west coast of South America and can be found at elevations from sea level to over 16,000ft.
Photo by @hammond_robin for @onedayinmyworld
Branka has schizophrenia. She spent 12 years in a psychiatric institution after her legal capacity was taken from her. In 2014 she was allowed to leave and move into an apartment in Osijek, Croatia. She moved in with her partner, who she met in the institution, Drazenko. He spent 13 years in an institution. Drazenko says “The best thing about living in the apartment is that I have the freedom to come and go as I like, I don’t have to report to anyone.” Branka adds “It was not a good place for recovery because you feel like you were in chains. It’s better to be hungry and free than full and chained.” Since leaving the institution neither of them have had an episode that required intervention from a psychiatrist. In this picture they prepare their daily medication.
In four years, 172 out of 200 people have moved from ‘Home for the Insane’ in Osijek, Croatia, into apartments. Staff have trained to serve as assistants in the community. For many beneficiaries it is the first time they’ve experienced true freedom. This facility in Osijek is the only one out of 26 in the country to implement the UN convention to deinstitutionalize.
#inmyworld is designed to expose the challenges faced by people living with mental health issues and give them the chance to be seen, heard and valued. @witness_change is a nonprofit that aims to improve life for excluded groups by amplifying their stories. To see more or to share your own mental health story please follow @onedayinmyworld
Photograph by George Steinmetz
The terraced rice fields of #Yuanyang are the world’s largest, and cover over 1000M of vertical terrain. They were carved out of the mountains by the local #Hani minority group, who still plant and harvest them by hand. The area was designated a #UNESCOworldheritage site in 2008, but even so this ancient landscape has started to change. Now 10-20% of the terraces are dry and uncultivated, as young people are choosing a more modern way of life than their parents. I was honored last week when this picture won an award from @worldpressphoto for contemporary issues, an encouraging sign that global #foodsecurity is being taken seriously. To see more, check out the 2.2018 edition of @natgeo, and follow @geosteinmetz
Video by @joelsartore | During moonlit nights, off the coasts of southern Japan, Brazil and Argentina, you might get lucky enough to see a flower hat jelly like this one emit fluorescent lights from its tentacles. These invertebrates have no brain, heart or real eyes and yet, incredibly, they are predatory animals. To hunt, these jellies will hide amongst the seagrass, waiting for an unsuspecting fish to swim by. By stinging their prey with their venomous tentacles, they’re able to subdue it and will consume entire fish at a time. While a sting from this jelly will definitely hurt and likely leave a rash, it is not fatal to humans.
This flower hat jelly was photographed at @AquariumPacific, where they are displayed under moonlight conditions to highlight their fluorescence.
For a portrait of this beautiful jelly, follow @joelsartore.
Photo by @renan_ozturk
The moment before the storm atop Cerro Colorado, Patagonia. Climbing here not only revealed not only incredible route potential but more insight into the complex Patagonia conservation story. To get to the cliff we enlisted the help of Domingo, a Gaucho whose family owns the surrounding land at the base. He grew up herding sheep here - “when I was 11 my father had me spend 3 months living up at the base of the rocks to tend the sheep living in the cave previously occupied by the Tehuelche Native tribes”. Laying on his sheep skin mat he looked incredulously at us, our drones and junk-show of climbing/camera gear. I don’t speak spanish, so I gathered a few tidbits of info from @andresbozzolo but overall I sensed the conflict going on inside of him. Due to the conservation work this place is on the verge of becoming a National Park and it became illegal to kill foxes and puma, and with those populations surging and killing the flock it became impossible to keep the family sheep tradition alive. ~
The future of this place is probably some kind of advanced sustainable eco-tourism (like @tompkins_conservation has done in Parque Patagonia), something Domingo can’t quite grasp yet. I’m sure in the moment he hoped it didn’t mean more gringos like me taking his photo. His culture even though it’s non-native and originated from the spanish in the 1600’s has evolved into something beautiful, something of its own.
It’s a similar struggle all over the planet. How do we move forward and do the right thing for these wild places while educating and helping those who already have the deepest connection to the land?
We didn’t see Domingo again since the horses went down the hill before we finished climbing. We hiked away as he lounged with his nephew on the soft grass by a natural spring. “I had a way of whistling to the dogs and could control the entire herd. My nephew never learned to whistle, he has a cell phone and other work...” ~
With @chrisburkard @jamesqmartin @_ryanhill_
Photo by @BrianSkerry.
Happy #PresidentsDay: Former US President Barack Obama explores the waters off Midway Atoll on September 1st, 2016, days after he created the world's largest marine protected area by expanded the boundaries of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The President went snorkeling here to see firsthand the valuable and fragile marine ecosystems in US waters. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was first designated by President George W. Bush.
Several national monuments designated by US presidents on land have been dramatically reduced in size by the current administration and marine national monuments are currently being reviewed for reduction in size or elimination.
Scientists have stated that in order to have a healthy ocean and a healthy planet, at least 40% of Earth’s oceans should be protected from damaging practices such as overfishing and mining. Currently only about 3% of the ocean is protected. Every other breath that humans take comes from the sea, as more than 50% of the oxygen needed for life is generated by the ocean. The creation of marine reserves has also been proven to help protect against the damaging effects of climate change. Conserving precious marine habitats then, is necessary for our own healthy future.
With only about 3% of oceans currently protected, we have a long way to go, but these conservation efforts are substantial steps of towards progress. Photographed on assignment for @NatGeo.
To see more underwater photography, and to learn more about the cobservation of our oceans, follow me - @BrianSkerry - on Instagram.
#onassignment #natgeo #underwaterphotography #travelphoto #obama #president #conservation #preservation #photooftheday #instagood #follow #travel #midway #president
Photo by @shonephoto (Robbie Shone) - Mountain regions respond sensitively to climate change. Taking advantage of Alpine caves, a team of scientists led by Swiss Paleoclimatologist Dr. Marc Luetscher from the Swiss Institute for Speleology and Karst Studies (SISKA), is working to understand how permafrost has evolved through time. Ice caves form through a combination of snow intrusion and/or congelation of water infiltrating a karst system. Often up to several centuries old, the climate record of this ice remains largely under-studied. Today we are also able to tell if a cave was an ice cave in the past. This is achieved by looking for cryogenic cave calcites. These form when water enters a cave, and freezes and turns to ice. In this process, the water becomes progressively enriched in ions to the point that it becomes super-saturated and precipitates calcite. Here we see an ice filled gallery inside Eisriesenwelt Eishöhle, Werfen (South Salzburg), Austria. @natgeocreative