Sunsets on sleeper trains to window cleaning on a rock face: these are your pictures of the week

Each week, our editors choose stunning photos submitted by members of Your Shot, National Geographic's photo community.

Published 24 Mar 2019, 08:26 GMT

"A lotus weaver in her rustic workshop at Paw Khon floating village," writes Your Shot photographer Mangalika Ghosh. "This is one of the last few communities who practice the unique technique to extract strong textile threads from lotus stems. They can produce 20 meters of threads per day and finally after a tie-dye technique the coloured threads are used for weaving."

Photograph by Mangalika Ghosh, National Geographic Your Shot

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This week I was thrilled to see so many different views of the world right here from my desk at National Geographic —scenes that I may never get to see firsthand. I’m always humbled by the Your Shot photo community sharing the world with us through their eyes.

When I first saw Rachel Mataira’s photograph of a person holding their hands in the sunlight, I was immediately intrigued by the details in their clothing and body language, even though I couldn’t see the entire scene surrounding them. Then I read her caption. My heart sank as I learned that this photo was from a gathering in New Zealand following the mass shooting in Christchurch. Photographs don’t always have to be spectacles to tell a story. Little details that intrigue us can sometimes have the ability to tell a much larger story.

Photography is fascinating in that way. It has the power to evoke emotion in the audience while simultaneously leaving us wanting to know more. We witness just a speck of time in a photo, but we can craft an entire narrative within those four corners of the frame. We can learn so much from just one moment.

I’m grateful for everything the Your Shot community shares with us, from the flowers in their backyards and their worldwide travels to the personal stories they are experiencing in real time. As always, I look forward to what I’ll be learning through the community next week.

Associate Photo Editor Kristen McNicholas looks at daily uploads from Your Shot, starting each day by sifting through thousands of photographs. This series is a selection of her favorites from the past week.