Best of May 2019

Utah's Monument Valley can be seen from miles away on Route 163. The stone structures are famous icons of the Wild West, often appearing in movies, art, and video games.

"A team of scientists, cave surveyors and photographers explores a previously unentered glacier cave within crater of Mt. St. Helens," explains Your Shot photographer Eric Guth. "Mapped, surveyed and explored for the first time in June of 2014, the team mapped nearly a mile of previously unexplored passages and galleries, standing in awe, at this moment, at the beauty they had discovered lying just beneath the surface of the only advancing glacier in the low 48 states, Crater Glacier."

Your Shot photographer F. Dilek Uyar revisits this photo from Lake Karagöl, Turkey, when life gets hectic. "That lake is like a piece from heaven," she says. "It makes my soul peaceful."

In the Cayman Islands, a tarpon cuts through a school of fish, eating a few at a time in each bite. Tarpons can grow up to 8 feet long, and can tip the scales at 240 pounds.

A herd of vicuñas crosses the road in Catamarca, Argentina. The vicuña is related to the alpaca, and its warm wool is highly valuable and closely protected.

In Assam, India, a couple receives a traditional ritual called a Nuoni during their wedding. "First the mother of the bride applies oil, curd and a paste of maah-halodhi (urad lentils and turmeric) to the bride or groom followed by other elder ladies of the family," says Your Shot photographer Lonav Bharali. "Then the water is poured over them to wash away the pastes."

A sailboat stands out against the white canvas of an iceberg. "The peacefulness and beauty of a moment like was well worth being out on a sailboat for hours in Disko Bay in Greenland," says Your Shot photographer Kati Seiffer. "I've never felt more relaxed."

Vancouver, British Columbia, peeks above a foggy winter night. "Photographers often rush to Cypress Mountain for a high vantage point above the dense fog," says Your Shot photographer Spencer Finlay. "I have been there many times only to find the fog too thick resulting in the whole city being covered and not visible. On this January night, I was pleasantly surprised to see the iconic Lions Gate Bridge and the recognisable Vancouver skyline rising out of the illuminated blanket of fog."

"Woke up around 5:00 am to capture this spectacular sunrise on The Rock, a famous little restaurant house perched on a rock by the sea," says Your Shot photographer Xan White of this scene in Zanzibar, Tanzania. "A few boats bring you there in the evening by high tide, when the rock is surrounded by water, to get to the restaurant. After the meal, later in the evening when the tide gets low, you can simply walk back home."

Tens of thousands of cranes migrate to the Hula Valley in Israel, where they'll spend the winter. To keep the cranes from destroying local farmers' crops, the Israeli government feeds the birds up to eight tons of corn every day.

When it opened in 2016, King Power MahaNakhon was the tallest skyscraper in Thailand. In a marriage of eras, it stands behind the brightly lit Grand Palace, built in 1782.

In Canada's Wapusk National Park, a mother polar bear keeps her cubs warm in frigid February temperatures. The park protects a region where many polar bears raise their young each year.

"While on our last morning game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, we came across several dozen Cape Buffalo grazing and enjoying mud baths near the Munge River track," says Your Shot photographer Rick Carlson. "The early light was fairly good when we observed several oxpeckers feasting on parasites attacking the buffalo. One of the Yellow-billed Oxpeckers climbed on the nose of an accommodating buff and remained motionless for several seconds."

A BASE jumper flings himself off the Trident du Tacul in France. A parachute will slow his descent before landing almost the equivalent of 80 stories below.

"Warning calls of spotted deer and grey langur showed us that some predator was near by, but we couldn't find it," says Your Shot photographer Ramachandiran Govindaraj. "After some time we realized that she was watching us carefully from the bushes."

"I'm sitting in the observer's seat of an A319, enjoying a smooth colourful approach into Guayaquil airport," says Your Shot photographer Santiago Borja. "The city lights match the cockpit lights perfectly and we're just seconds from touchdown."

"In her father's shop in Bushnell, Nebraska, she watches over a newborn calf that had a difficult delivery," says Your Shot photographer Cerrina S. "The way she cradled his head with her hands was so tender and gentle. It was obvious it came from a place of love."

Wave Rock in Hyden, Australia, is a natural rock formation that draws tens of thousands of visitors a year.

The Up Helly Aa festival takes place every year in the Shetland islands, just to the north of Scotland. "Dating from the 19th century," explains Your Shot photographer Laurence Norah, "the festival involves a parade of 1,000 torch bearing men through the town, culminating in the burning of he Viking longship, which is then followed by a night of dancing, drinking and merriment which lasts well into the following day. This was the moment the torches were thrown into the Viking longship by the 1,000 strong marchers."

Evening traffic on the Črni Kal Viaduct in Slovenia cuts through a rare winter fog. The bridge is the longest in Slovenia, stretching more than half a mile.

"This is not a snow-capped mountain," says Your Shot photographer Hu Qing. Rather, the wind has whipped sand dunes in and around China's Pamir Mountains, feats of nature that are constantly changing. To capture this image at night, Hu used a long exposure of two minutes.

In Saudi Arabia, a month-long festival culminates in a camel procession that is part parade, part beauty pageant. This photograph, taken by drone, captures the owners and judges as they drive alongside the camels, making their crtitiques. The most beautiful camels are often worth more than $300,000.

Your Shot photographer Martha Tully spotted this fawn while going out to take care of her chickens one morning. "She laid quietly and motionlessly before me as I stayed back a distance," she remembers. "The only thing that seemed to move were her bright beautiful blue eyes which were watching me."

People celebrating Holi in Calcutta, India, get blasted with coloured powder. The festival is famous for its vibrant colors-- fitting, as it is meant to celebrate the arrival of spring.

A couple lights candles as an offering to Buddha in a limestone cave near Mawlamyine, Myanmar. Candles are a common offering in Buddhism, representing gratitude for the light of its teachings.

A salmon farm off the coast of Norway glows under the dancing lights of the aurora borealis. Your Shot photographer Arvids Baranovs used a slow shutter speed of 15 seconds to capture this mystical shot.

A family of wolves shares a heated moment. Wolves fight to establish dominance, but a less dominant wolf may also start a play fight to decrease tensions in the pack.

Your Shot photographer Daniele Monfredini got special permission to take this photograph from the 29th floor of an apartment building in Shanghai, China. From this vantage point, you can see the layers of roads that wrap around the city-- affectionately known as The Big Hug.

"I like images that trick the spectators, create an illusion," says Your Shot photographer Olga Gridina. This portrait of twins is part of her series entitled "Born to Carry the Flame."