Best of November 2017
In far northern Xinjiang, China, herders guide camels, sheep, and cattle to new pastures, where they'll graze during the summer months. Summer in the area is warm, but very dry.
Photograph by Songge CuiMorning commuters wait for their train at a stop in North Brabant, Netherlands. "It was like a silent movie," says Your Shot photographer Takeshi Ishizaki. "People were appearing from the mist very quietly and disappearing into it again."
Photograph by Takeshi IshizakiA traveller stands in a cave inside Vatnajökull, a glacier in Iceland. The glacier, once used for a location in Game of Thrones, is larger than the state of Delaware.
Photograph by 宏仁 江, National Geographic Your ShotA herd of zebras stampede toward the Mara River in Kenya's Rift Valley. "The Great Migration is considered one of the Wonders of The World," says Your Shot photographer Jonas Stenqvist. "I got to see it in all its chaotic glory last year."
Photograph by Jonas StenqvistIn a displacement camp in northern Iraq, refugee children are delighted by visiting clowns. The entertainers are Danish and Swedish, and form a humanitarian collective called Clowns 4 Care, which travels to crisis areas around the world.
Photograph by Claire ThomasYour Shot photographer Michael O'Neill photographed this crab, which is about the size of a silver dollar, while blackwater diving late at night, while far offshore from Palm Beach, Florida. "When I plunge into the pitch black ocean, I feel like an untethered astronaut on a space walk, except I have a scuba tank on my back and an underwater camera," he says. To get this picture, he coupled a flash with a slow shutter, illustrating the crab's movement.
Photograph by Michael O'neillMen hitch a ride on the back of a train in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dhaka has a population of more than 8.5 million people, and clocks in at the 4th most densely populated city in the world.
Photograph by Miro MayYour Shot photographer Mac So took this portrait of a sheep's eye at the Sapporo Maruyama Zoo in Hokkaido, Japan. Sheep have horizontal pupils, and eyes on the sides of their heads. This combination allows them a greater range of vision, to tell when a predator may be sneaking up.
Photograph by Mac SoThe Al Qudra oases are manmade lakes approximately a 30-minute drive from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The lakes are home to desert wildlife, and upwards of 100 different species of birds.
Photograph by Ghadir ShaarAn apprentice geisha, called a maiko, waits in a doorway in Kyoto's teahouse district of Gion. Maiko train in the arts of traditional entertainment for up to five years, becoming a full-fledged geisha around the age of 20.
Photograph by Peter StewartA surfer exits a beach cave into the open ocean off Piha Beach, New Zealand. "This shortcut allows the surfers to land directly in the line-up without paddling through all the waves," explains Your Shot photographer Yohan Dumortier. "This spot is also known to be very dangerous due to unpredictable currents."
Photograph by Yohan Dumortier"I wanted to photograph the rare blue morph species of arctic fox in its harsh winter environment," says Your Shot photographer Sonalini Khetrapal. "To photograph these miraculously tough animals, I went to the uninhabited Hornstrandir Nature Reserve in northern Iceland. I captured my dream image as she stared straight at me, making fleeting eye contact, while we both braced ourselves against the roaring winds."
Photograph by Sonalini KhetrapalThe Chinese municipality of Chongqing is home to some 30 million people in southwest China. With more than 100 days of fog a year, Chongqing is nicknamed Fog City—and appropriately, its sister city in the United States is Seattle.
Photograph by Alexander KaunasA fisherman catches his dinner on frozen Lake Beyşehir in Turkey. Your Shot photographer Seyit Konyali says that last winter, the lake was frozen for two months.
Photograph by Seyit KonyaliA cheetah yawns while lounging in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Cheetahs have gone extinct in three eastern African countries, and are listed as "vulnerable" in Tanzania. Threats to their survival include poaching, habitat loss, and a high rate of cheetah cub mortality.
Photograph by Mohammed AlNaserIn Takayama, Japan, an annual tradition involves a temporary bridge and a lot of handheld fireworks. The festival happens every August 9th, and asks for a year of happiness and good fortune.
Photograph by Naomi Sugitani"In 2015 I was travelling in Central Mongolia, and I saw this little cowboy playing around with a cute calf," says Your Shot photographer José Vílchez. "He was very happy to pose for the photo; I am not so sure about the calf!"
Photograph by José VílchezEvery November 5th, the British celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night. It commemorates the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when an attempt to blow up the House of Lords was foiled. Celebrations include bonfires and fireworks, and the biggest celebration of all happens in the town of Lewes, shown here.
Photograph by Kelly BecktaA clownfish hides within a sea anemone in the waters off Indonesia. Clownfish always make their homes in anemones, and the species share a mutually beneficial, or symbiotic, relationship. The anemone's stinging tentacles ward off fish that predate on clownfish. In return, the clownfish cleans the anemone, and its waste provides nutrients for the anemone.
Photograph by Gregory PiperAn elderly woman in Myanmar is one of the last of her tribe to have intricate facial tattoos. "The tribes first began to ink their faces as a way of disfiguring their beauty, to make themselves unattractive in hopes that by doing so, they could avoid being kidnapped or chosen as concubines by the Burmese kings," explains Your Shot photographer Han Lin Teh. "The process of the facial tattooing is extremely painful, especially on the tender eyelid areas, and dangerous, as some even died of infection. It has been outlawed since 1960s."
Photograph by Han Lin TehYour Shot photographer Reuben Teo was getting dressed one morning in Pyongyang, North Korea, when he noticed the misty sunrise from his window. "The calmness and tranquility of the city is a big contrast to the tensions that we often hear in the outside world and the mainstream media,' he says. "The feeling of waking up and seeing North Korea outside my window is very surreal but amazing at the same time."
Photograph by Reuben TeoA climber stands atop the jagged peak of the Täschhorn in the Swiss Alps. Your Shot photographer Ben Tibbetts was in the same group that climbed the 4,500-metre (14,734-foot) tall mountain. "We set off under a fine starry sky, but before it even got light it started snowing... making for a long day out."
Photograph by Ben Tibbetts, National Geographic Your ShotEvery year, Kenya's Lake Bogoria receives an influx of tourists between late August and early October. But the visitors aren't people—they're flamingos. Hundreds of thousands of lesser flamingos flock to the low waters of Lake Bogoria before the rainy season begins. During that period, the area is home to the largest flock of lesser flamingos in the world.
Photograph by Teong Lin NgPassengers ride in the backseat of a taxi through Tokyo one summer night. "So many lights, people, but I feel little bit of solitude," reflects Your Shot photographer Akinori Koseki. "In the car, there are people who will never meet again."
Photograph by Akinori KosekiTwo farmers work in their corn field on Cape Verde, off the western coast of Africa. Rain is a rare occurrence on these islands, so when Hurricane Fred brought heavy rains in 2015, it boosted crop growth and refilled rivers.
Photograph by Roger SerrasqueiroOn a rainy day in the rainforest of Agumbe, India, a green vine snake reacts to what it perceives to be a threat. "They are very hard to spot because they blend into their habitat, usually bushy vegetation," says Your Shot photographer Vinod Nicholas. "When they feel threatened they puff up giving them a green white checkered appearance."
Photograph by Vinod NicholasWomen in traditional dress dance in the streets of Yatsuo, Toyama, Japan, a town approximately 300 miles southwest of Tokyo. Every year, Yatsuo hosts a three-day harvest festival called Kaze no Bon. Held at night, the festival features both male and female dancers wearing kimonos and hats, and performing to music.
Photograph by Eiichi YoshiokaMist surrounds the jagged edges of flysch on the Basque Coast in Spain. Flysch alternates thin and coarse layers of sediment, making for a dramatic landscape. But Your Shot photographer Fran Llano writes that the view is more than just aesthetic, it's informational. "Layer by layer," he says, "the rocks offer a unique vision of the geological features of this area, creating a rocky book full of information."
Photograph by Fran LlanoA shepherd in Beyşehir, Turkey, bottle-feeds a lamb after its mother died. He will have to continue doing so, as the lamb refused to bond with the nursing sheep to the right. He wears a kepenek, a traditional shepherd's cloak made out of felt, that covers him from shoulder to ankle.
Photograph by Seyit KonyaliSunlight shines into the water as a diver swims in a cenote in Mexico. "It's an amazing and unique experience in the life of a underwater photographer," says Your Shot photographer Fabrice Guerin. "The mysticism, beauty, and exuberance of these underwater landscapes make me feel like I discovered another world."
Photograph by Fabrice GuérinThe Akashi Kaikyō Bridge connects Awaji Island to Honshu, the largest Japanese island. The bridge is almost 2.5 miles long, and approximately 23,000 cars cross it each day.
Photograph by Tomoshi HaraA farmer loads his oxen into a truck in the small Italian town of Montanesi. It's the day of the Festival of San Rocco, the patron saint of the town. There will be food, music, and celebration, as well as a small parade that includes the oxen carrying an enormous crucifix.
Photograph by Andy MoorNear the town of Kalambaka, Greece, six Eastern Orthodox monasteries are built on top of a series of tall rock formations called the Meteora. Pictured here is the Roussanou Monastery, which was founded sometime in the mid-16th century. Today, a small group of nuns resides there.
Photograph by Veselin AtanasovWhile photographing in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, Your Shot photographer Sonalini Khetrapal came across a group of cheetahs feasting on a springbok. "It was fascinating to watch the brothers intermittently embrace each other and lick the blood off each other’s faces while the mother kept guard," she says. "This photograph captures the harshness of the wild and yet softens us to witness the strong bond between the brothers."
Photograph by Sonalini KhetrapalYour Shot photographer Øyvind Blomstereng says he waited for years to get this photo in his hometown of Trondheim, Norway. "There was a full moon and low pressure outside the coastline of my part of Norway," he explains. "Normally there is a distance from the wharves to the river ... not this morning."
Photograph by Øyvind BlomsterengWhile driving through Northern California, Your Shot photographer Josh Heidebrecht experienced a moment of photographic serendipity after he and his friend pulled over to see what they could find in the grove. "While searching, a squirrel briefly chattered above me, causing me to look straight up," he remembers. "Luckily I had my wide-angle lens with me so I could capture this perspective of the partially burnt redwoods towering above us in an eerie silence."
Photograph by Josh HeidebrechtSince 1983, Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, has thrown a Mermaid Parade as a celebration of the start of summer. More than 1,500 people dress in elaborate, artistic costumes, traveling through the neighbourhood and along the boardwalk. In this photograph, a participant poses for a portrait.
Photograph by Matías GonzálezIn the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, a freediver swims near an artificial reef shaped like an elephant. As coral reefs around the world are threatened, artificial reefs can be a boon to the underwater ecosystem, and an artistic take on one provides added enjoyment to underwater enthusiasts.
Photograph by Guillaume BihetNenet children pose for a photo in rural Russia. The Nenet people are indigenous nomads who live near the Arctic. Your Shot photographer Kamil Nureev says that every year, the Nenet children go away to boarding schools, "and every time they dream they will come back home."
Photograph by Kamil NureevIn India, women working in a brick kiln are covered with dust. As urbanisation in India yields more buildings, the demand for bricks is high. Workers often face harrowing conditions, 18-hour days, and low pay.
Photograph by Tejal MewarFrom above, this neighbourhood in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, looks cheery and peaceful. But on the ground, it's a different story, says Your Shot photographer Tan Diep Bao. The area, called, Black Water Hamlet was originally inhabited by immigrant workers who built stilt houses on the canals. "It has now become a slum with an extremely bad environment," says Tan Diep Bao. "These canals are increasingly polluted with waste."
Photograph by Tan Diep BaoAt the Martin Mere Wetland Centre in Burscough, UK, a Chilean flamingo stops to eat. In conservation efforts, the centre works with zoos all across England and Ireland to breed and care for healthy flamingos.
Photograph by Ivan Vidakovic