Best of January 2019

In Yuanyang, China, the sunrise reflects off the waters of rice terraces. Since rice requires irrigation, growing it in a terrace formation helps prevent erosion and soil run-off.

An intrepid climber makes his way over the Grand Tsingy in Madagascar. "In Malagasy, 'tsingy' means 'where one cannot walk barefoot.' And that's no joke," explains Your Shot photographer Marsel van Oosten. "This is the world's largest forest of limestone needles. The incredibly sharp limestone formations can cut through equipment and flesh easily, which makes traversing them extremely difficult."

A mother humpback whale and her calf swim off the coast of Greenland. Humpback whales are protected in the area, visiting the Arctic waters every summer.

A young white rhino waits, blindfolded and partially drugged after a long journey from South Africa, to be released into the wild in Botswana as part of efforts to rebuild Botswana's lost rhino populations. Botswana is saving rhinos from poaching hotspots in neighbouring countries and translocating them to re-establish the populations of rhinos it lost to poaching by 1992.

"The man in this photograph introduced himself as 'Tweety' to Your Shot photographer Adam Schluter, explaining that he's cared for the pigeons on this block of Coney Island, New York, for 50 years. "I asked him to stand up for a picture," says Schluter. "When he did, they all swirled around him for the perfect photograph."

A bold adventurer walks a high-line in Yosemite National Park. High-liners learn to walk the rope, called a slackline, a few inches off the ground, then gradually increase the height until they can safely take on thrills such as this.

In Ontario's Presqu'ile Provincial Park, a lesser yellowlegs forages for insects or small fish in shallow waters. The meal will bolster its strength to migrate to South America for the winter.

A group of boys warm up before their flag football game in Irvine, California. Your Shot photographer Lisa Hu Chen is the mother of one of the boys, and she says this shot, taken before the game even started, ended up being her favorite of the day.

Your Shot photographer Leighton Lum encountered this young humpback whale while diving in Tonga. "It was amazing to see this wild animal so free and playful without a care in the world!" he remembers. "We spent over an hour with this curious calf and she even followed us back to the boat wanting to play some more."

A kermode bear, also known as a spirit bear, looks for salmon in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest. Drought has kept the river levels low, meaning the salmon kermode bears depend on are unable to make their usual migrations.

A worker rakes piles of salt at the Hon Khoi Salt Field in Vietnam. The workers are usually middle-aged women, and they wear rubber gloves and conical hats to protect themselves from the harsh salt and sun while tending to the salt.

A man looks up from his book in Naples, Italy. The city is one of the oldest communities in the world, dating back thousands of years.

North Korean soldiers stand guard at the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. The guards are arranged in such a way that if one of them tries to cross the border, the others intervene and execute him.

A hiker explores an ice cave in Iceland. The cave is in Vatnajökull glacier, the largest glacier in Europe.

On the coast of Hon Yen, Vietnam, low tide is the time to see exquisite corals and sea life. Unfortunately, environmental factors threaten the coast, making the underwater ecosystem more vulnerable.

A young boy inspects a lizard he captured while playing in the Arkansas Ozarks. "It's been a good summer for lizards," says his mom, Your Shot photographer Terra Fondriest. "We have babies everywhere!"

A lone giraffe pauses under the shade of an acacia tree in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. Acacia trees provide the giraffe's favourite meals; the animal's prehensile tongue and long neck help them take advantage of the leaves that no other animals can reach.

A young girl with albinism hangs laundry outside of her home in Lilongwe, Malawi. Superstition around albinism is common, with traditional doctors selling organs from people with albinism at an exorbitant price.

A dramatic morning sky frames snow-covered trees in the Krkonoše mountain range of Poland. The mountains are on the border with the Czech Republic, with national parks designated in both countries.

Arab Israelis enjoy a day on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the holiday Eid al-Adha. The day is one of holiest in the Muslim faith, often marked with prayers, feasting, and charitable donations.

A dusty tornado touches down in Colorado. Tornadoes can form and move with little to no warning, making storm photography a unique challenge.

In the town of Rock, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a young boy stops to smell the sunflowers. The farm only recently began allowing visitors to come see the flowers, which will eventually be harvested for oil and bird seed.

In Qurayyat, Saudi Arabia, a person works at a salt flat. Created when salt water flows into a shallow lake and then evaporates, salt flats yield hundreds of bags of salt a day.

Your Shot photographer Yaron Schmid captured this moment while in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. "The best moment was when three young cubs started playing and biting their mother’s tail—like kittens playing with yarn," he says. "I can't remember a time I laughed so hard!"

Workers are strapped in 130 metres (400 feet) above the ground so they can install LED lights on the side of this building in Hanoi, Vietnam. Completing the task for 30 stories will take about a week.

A girl poses with her horse during a photo workshop in the Netherlands.

To capture this picture of gannets fighting over fish, Your Shot photographer Sally Hinton placed her camera in an underwater housing and then lowered it over the side of her boat. She watched the birds and when they dived into the water, she snapped the picture, without seeing what the final result might look like.

Two magpie tanagers have the look of an intense conversation in the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. The noisy birds are social creatures, often present in pairs and groups.

More than 40,000 people live and study at the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in China. The academy started in 1980, with just a few people meeting in the founder's home.