National Geographic Foto of the Day

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Three Sisters Springs, Florida

March 28, 2013

[h=2]Three Sisters Springs, Florida
[/h] Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Features
Kayaks crowd Three Sisters Springs, where people and manatees maintain a controversial coexistence. To reach the warm water they need to survive winter, manatees often must run a gantlet of kayakers and snorkelers eager to interact with the marine mammals.

 

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Butcher Shop, Havana

March 29, 2013

Butcher Shop, Havana


Photograph by Paolo Pellegrin
This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Features
Hunting down groceries in poorly stocked markets, like this butcher shop in central Havana, is a daily challenge. Cubans receive ration books that secure staples like rice, beans, and oil at low prices. But it’s not enough to live o

 

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Mammoth Tusk Hunter, Siberia

March 30, 2013

[h=2]Mammoth Tusk Hunter, Siberia
[/h] Photograph by Evgenia Arbugaeva, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Features
Siberian hunter Slava Dolbaev uses a spear to dig out a corkscrewed mammoth tusk from a coastal ice cliff. Prying loose a single tusk can take hours, even days. Tusk hunters often leave colored beads or silver jewelry as offerings to local spirits.

 

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Kykuit Gardens, New York

March 31, 2013

[h=2]Kykuit Gardens, New York
[/h] Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Features
To know Kykuit, said William Welles Bosworth, who designed its gardens, “one must experience  … late evening when all is peacefully eloquent."

 

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Monte Perdido, Spain

April 1, 2013

[h=2]Monte Perdido, Spain
[/h] Photograph by Maxime Daviron, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
The north face of Monte Perdido in the Spanish Pyrenees. The mountain was masked by the clouds for three days, revealing the glacier occasionally. It was really cold and there was a strong wind; the ambience was very impressive. It reminded me of the world of Tolkien. This place could have been the abode of some ancient gods or giant dragons.

 

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Deer, Czech Republic

April 2, 2013

[h=2]Deer, Czech Republic
[/h] Photograph by Veronika Kolev, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
I was walking in the field, taking pictures of the winter landscape, when suddenly several deer, frightened by me, jumped out of the nearby bushes and fled. I managed quickly to change the program of my camera and took some panning pictures. Šumava National Park, Czech Republic.

 

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Zebras, Serengeti

April 4, 2013

[h=2]Zebras, Serengeti
[/h] Photograph by Giulio Zanni, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Image taken in the Serengeti in Tanzania during the migration period. Zebras and wildebeest were gathering on the edge of the river, waiting for the right moment to cross.

 

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Lightning, New Mexico

April 5, 2013

[h=2]Lightning, New Mexico
[/h] Photograph by Carsten Peter, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
A ground fire ignited by a lightning storm near Elephant Butte, New Mexico, paints the horizon with brown smoke. At right, another cloud-to-ground strike flashes through a shaft of rain.

 

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Butterfly and Rhododendron

April 8, 2013

[h=2]Butterfly and Rhododendron
[/h] Photograph by Julia Baverstock, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
This beautiful rare butterfly was on a rhododendron bush in my grandfather's garden, Dartmoor, Devon.

 

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Las Pozas, Mexico

April 9, 2013

[h=2]Las Pozas, Mexico
[/h] Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
When a freak freeze killed the orchid collection on his Mexican estate, English eccentric Edward James created Las Pozas, a garden with surreal follies like the concrete Bamboo Palace—durable and immune to the vagaries of weather.

 

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Owl and Mouse, Minnesota

April 10, 2013

[h=2]Owl and Mouse, Minnesota
[/h] Photograph by Tom Samuelson, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Great gray owls come south from Canada into Minnesota during the winter to find food. This owl was on the north shore of Lake Superior, just south of Two Harbors, Minnesota. We happened to find him as the sun was setting, and in the evening light, we were able to be in a position to see an owl that was hunting when a mouse came out, and the owl was quick to pounce and pick up an evening meal.

 

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Milky Way, New Zealand

April 11, 2013

[h=2]Milky Way, New Zealand
[/h] Photograph by Stefan Mutch, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
This was taken on the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin, New Zealand. I was hoping to capture some aurora activity. There was no aurora that night, but there was high humidity, so the light from the city was reflected over the entire sky, even though we were well away from the city. Instead of the usual gold or orange glow, the sky took on a red hue that was clearly visible to the naked eye.

 

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Sheep, Afghanistan

April 12, 2013

[h=2]Sheep, Afghanistan
[/h] Photograph by Matthieu Paley, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
In this high, barren valley called Little Pamir, survival depends on livestock. Red-robed Kyrgyz girls corral sheep for milking, while dung dries atop the walls for use as fuel. The sheep, along with goats, yaks, and camels, provide milk, meat, and wool and even serve as currency: One lamb buys 110 pounds of flour.

 

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Swans, Prague

April 14, 2013

[h=2]Swans, Prague
[/h] Photograph by Jaromir Chalabala, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Swans on the Vltava River in Prague

 

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Manta Ray and Snorkeler, Australia

April 15, 2013

[h=2]Manta Ray and Snorkeler, Australia
[/h] Photograph by Violeta Jahnel, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
A snorkeler appreciates the beauty of a giant manta ray in Ningaloo Reef, off Australia’s west coast.

 

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Trees in Snow

April 16, 2013

[h=2]Trees in Snow
[/h] Photograph by John Lucic, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
The wind was blowing at 90 kilometers (56 miles) an hour. Snow was traveling horizontally and hitting the trees face on. It left a nice imprint on them.

 

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Kykuit Gardens, New York

April 17, 2013

[h=2]Kykuit Gardens, New York
[/h] Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
The gardens of Kykuit, at the Rockefeller estate in Sleepy Hollow, New York, were planned for day or night display. A row of lindens leads to the perfection of the Temple of Aphrodite.

 

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Funnel Cloud, Minnesota

April 18, 2013

[h=2]Funnel Cloud, Minnesota
[/h] Photograph by Mitch Dobrowner
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Northfield, Minnesota
Born in a bruising supercell, a funnel cloud looms beyond a cornfield.

 

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Chicken Farm, Pennsylvania

April 19, 2013

[h=2]Chicken Farm, Pennsylvania
[/h] Photograph by Peter Essick, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Chickens provide the fertilizer on this Pennsylvania farm. The mobile coops are relocated daily to distribute manure evenly so that it won’t drain into the Chesapeake Bay.

 

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Sunrise, Badlands National Park

April 22, 2013

[h=2]Sunrise, Badlands National Park
[/h] Photograph by Dan Dady, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Sunrise near Yellow Mounds, Badlands National Park

 

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Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains

April 23, 2013

[h=2]Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains
[/h] Photograph by Christopher Ewing, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
This was taken in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains in Cades Cove on Sparks Lane in October 2012. I went to the cove in hopes of a lot of fog, a little disappointed there wasn't that much. But walking down the lane as the sun came up, the light all photographers dream about showed itself.

 

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Wolf, Denali National Park

April 24, 2013

[h=2]Wolf, Denali National Park
[/h] Photograph by Brian Montalbo, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
I photographed this wolf hunting snowshoe hares in Denali National Park. He stopped only for a second and I captured two shots. This is one of them.

 

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Mesa Arch, Canyonlands

April 25, 2013

[h=2]Mesa Arch, Canyonlands
[/h] Photograph by Chris Carvalho, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Mesa Arch in Utah's Canyonlands National Park is one of the finest places for a photographer to start the day. This 4x5 negative was exposed with an old lens, a 121mm Schneider Super Angulon. It was a favorite of Ansel Adams. While an excellent optic for its time, it only had single-layer coating and was subject to more flare than modern lenses. In this instance, it created a starburst pattern with rainbow streaks that add greatly to the character of the image.

 

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Farmhouse, Delaware

April 28, 2013

[h=2]Farmhouse, Delaware
[/h] Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Painter Andrew Wyeth kept a secret studio a few miles from this Woodlawn farmhouse, creating works of art inspired by the surrounding landscape until his death in 2009. Some of his paintings evoke similar wintry scenes.

 

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Blenny, Red Sea

April 29, 2013

[h=2]Blenny, Red Sea
[/h] Photograph by Dmitry Marchenko, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Small blenny fish hiding in a coral hole, Red Sea, Egypt