Celebrate the Your Shot community with these striking photos

An emu chick hatches at the Wild Rose Emu Ranch in Hamilton, Montana. Your Shot photographer Pam Voth waited for hours, watching the chick work on coming out of its shell.“What surprised me was the delicate, tiny little whistling call it made as it was hatching,“ she remembers. “In the wild, this chick's whistle would have been answered by the male on the nest.”

“Peter Esegon, one of the primary rhino caretakers relaxes with Najin and Fatu as the sun sets at Ol Pejeta conservancy in Central Kenya,“ writes Your Shot photographer Justin Mott. “This is part of a long-term personal project titled Kindred Guardians documenting people around the world who dedicate their lives to helping animals in need.“

Your Shot photographer Nachum Weiss documented a Nubian ibex mother as she shows affection to her calf in the Negev desert near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel.

Your Shot photographer Matt Pycroft was making a documentary about Bedouin people in Wadi Rum, Jordan, when a man drove by with a camel in the back of his truck. Matt recounts: “'What's wrong with her?' we asked, pointing at the camel. 'Nothing,' he replied, laughing. 'I'm taking her to town. She has a date.' He winked and smiled, rolled up his window, and drove on.“

“A happy student celebrates his degree in front of a waiting delegation of parents and friends,” writes Your Shot photographer Lars Brundin. “It was a routine assignment that became something else. I sat down near the fence and was very afraid that the student who ran would not see me. At the last moment he turned off and continued his honour.” Brundin later learned that the student is soccer player, Mattias Svanberg, who is now a professional with the Italian team, Bologna.

 

Your Shot photographer Ab Rashid made this portrait of a bride in Khulna, Bangladesh. Bengali brides wear red to symbolise love and prosperity.

In the small town of El Rocío, in Andalusia, Spain, an annual pilgrimage takes place on the second day of Pentecost. Hundreds of thousands of people from across Spain travel, often on horseback, to worship a small wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. As the tradition dates back to the 1700s, pilgrims usually wear traditional dress for the journey and celebration.

A climber adjusts her grip on the side of Zinalrothorn, one of the peaks of the Swiss Alps. Behind her you can see the Matterhorn, one of the most famous mountains in the world.

“On the coast of the Sinai desert is a small village called Dahab, where the famous Blue Hole is located in the Red Sea. An international community of free divers plunges into the deep, diving on one breath up to depths of 93 meters,” writes Your Shot photographer Wendy Timmermans. “Several times a year I co-organise competitions in this amazing place. This picture shows athlete Heike Schwerdtner on the final part of her ascent accompanied by safety free drivers and judges, and with spectators awaiting on the surface.”

Your Shot photographer Uryadnikov Sergey made this image of a great white shark while it breached.

Your Shot photographer Giel Sweertvaegher captured this scene of a pair of Swiss F-18 jets as they fly over Greece.

Two pilots land a plane at the Amsterdam airport. Your Shot photographer Martijn Kort is the pilot on the left. He fixed his camera at the back of the cockpit and set a timer, leaving him and his copilot to work in tandem and land the plane.

“This trip inspired me to make a point of capturing aerial images every trip I take. I also learned that you don’t need a magical sky for beauty to present itself,” writes Your Shot photographer Kathleen Dolmatch. “I was in a helicopter looking south on Central Park West which divides architecture and Central Park a day before my 27th birthday — the flight was my birthday gift.”

“An uplifting moment while going down an escalator,” writes Your Shot photographer Hon Hoang, who made this frame in Busan, South Korea.

“I was following a group of klipspringers at Kokerboomkloof in the Richtersveld National Park just after sunrise,” writes Your Shot photographer Basson Van Zyl. “The low angle of the morning sun and the gigantic rocks created the perfect beams of light which created this scene. A once in a lifetime shot!”

“Morning light along the Merced River in Yosemite Valley,” writes Your Shot photographer Hannah Mattner. “Fall colours and the stillness of the water created the most tranquil and vibrant experience.”

“While photographing the Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone National Park from a hill across the spring,” writes YourShotPhotographer Douglas Palmer, “a solitary bison appeared and started to walk slowly across the basin.”

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!"

“With everything, practice makes perfect. That couldn’t be more evident than when fishing for salmon atop Brooks Falls in Alaska,” writes Your Shot photographer Taylor Albright. “This brown bear was attempting to snag one mid-air, but his timing was a bit early causing the salmon to land like a slap across its face.”

“During a late-night hike through the Chocoan lowlands of Ecuador,” writes Your Shot photographer Matthijs Hollanders, “we came across a three-toed sloth close to the ground who was willing to pose for some quick photos.”

“I took this photo of an adolescent humpback whale in the South Pacific, several miles off the coast of Tongatapu, Tona. I captured this as a split-shot with half my dome port submerged, and the other above the surface. This playful whale came right up to me and looked directly into my eyes as the tip of his rostrum glistened in the afternoon sun,” writes Your Shot photographer David Edgar. “Looking closely, you can see Loni, our expert skipper, lining up a surface shot of this incredible encounter from the roof of our dive boat.”

“Arakurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture has become more popular year by year for both foreign and Japanese tourists because one can see the five-storied pagoda, Mt. Fuji, and cherry blossom symbolizing Japan at the same time.” writes Your Shot photographer Takashi Nakazawa. “It is very crowded when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. When you see this scene once, your image of Mt Fuji will change.”

While photographing in Abu Dhabi, Your Shot photographer Khalid Al Hammadi captured this image of his friend looking out towards the UAW Towers in the distance. “I chose to capture my friend in this place, to reflect the Emirati’s contemplations and visions,” writes Hammadi. “Presenting the culture in the past, the present and the future of Abu Dhabi in one frame and being witnessed by the entire world." This photo was featured in Your Shot’s Best of 2018. To see more, go to the link in our profile.

 

“For hundreds of years, Catalans have been mastering the building of castells, human castles or towers. And today it is more popular and safer than ever,” writes Your Shot photographer Mika-Pekka Markkanen. “Castells are often part of the many festivals held in Catalan villages, and there’s even more happenings and competitions for building them. Here in this photo taken in Vic, the group Sagals d’Osona is trying an eight-level high tower with four castellers per level.”

“We can’t all be on top, but those that are can’t do it without the ones at the bottom,” writes Your Shot photographer Matthew Phillis. “Castells is an incredible cultural event [that requires] teamwork, sweat, skill, strength, and so much more. Everyone has their place, this man’s job is to plug a gap and reinforce the base of the tower, allowing the castell to become eight, nine, or even ten stories high. This cultural event was made a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2010.”

“I'm always looking for new angles and perspectives,“ says Your Shot photographer Rodney Bursiel. While photographing pro surfer Donavon Frankenreiter in Fiji, they decided to get clever. “Makes you look twice,“ Bursiel says.

In Sierra Leone, Bombali Amputee Football Association team captain Mohamad intercepts the ball mid-flight, showing off athleticism and resilience. “The decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone was witness to horrifying deliberate amputations by rebel forces,“ explains Your Shot photographer Chris Parkes. “Out of this grew amputee communities and amputee football teams.“

“The last bodybuilding champion of the USSR and the former president of the Bodybuilding Federation Kirill Dubkov has drastically changed his career,” writes Your Shot photographer Anton Dotsenko. “Currently, Kirill is busy with breeding one of the rarest dog breeds - Alaskan Malamutes. Kirill says that this new pastime of his is not different from going to the gym to meet his own needs: it is the source of happiness and enjoyment. Breeding them in a natural environment makes them healthier and lets them live longer.”

“Julie is a wildlife carer in Melbourne and has spent four years fostering grey-headed flying foxes (also known as fruit bats), orphaned after their mums were killed by powerlines or caught in backyard fruit tree netting and barbed wire,“ writes Your Shot photographer Doug Gimesy. “She bottle-feeds them six times a day, moisturises their wings with baby lotion and keeps them stimulated with kids’ toys. In the wild, the mother bats would lick them clean, but she draws the line at that.“

 

Local beekeepers in the Arkansas Ozarks remove honey from hives scattered around their property. "The Usrey brothers learned beekeeping from their father," says Your Shot photographer Terra Fondriest. "He’s kept bees most of their lives, but his health can’t keep up with it anymore, so the boys do the hive work now."

Your Shot photographer James Brown photographed STS-125 Space Shuttle Atlantis launching on May 11, 2009 for the final Hubble servicing mission. He made this photograph with a remote camera on the back side of the launch pad.

“[My daughter] Sophia still wants to fly to the moon. Since astronaut training is many years away, we decided to travel 2,600 miles from home to the place on Earth that feels similar to the moon’s surface. Her sister Clara joined her. Together they will explore many places in preparation for the final journey,” writes Your Shot photographer Juan Osorio. “This image was taken at Meteor Crater in Arizona, nearly a mile wide and deep enough to fit the Washington Monument. From the 1960s until today, NASA has used it to prepare astronauts for crater terrain.”

“I saw a man getting ready to dive in the cool water on a hot sunny day. My mind wanted to do the same, to dive and feel the warmth of the water and cool myself. But I was holding my camera and it was not possible. So, I captured that moment and suddenly without getting in the water, I felt refreshed,” writes Your Shot photographer Rajendra Bilaskar. “At that moment, I realized sometimes our happiness can be found in other’s happiness, and that’s what I do capturing other’s happy moments. It makes me happy. After all, that is what a photographer’s heart is all about.”

“This photograph features women of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities. Wearing absolutely no makeup and in outfits styled to match the tone of their skin, the women will combat unhealthy beauty standards by celebrating their so-called ‘flaws,’ proving that beauty is no one color, size, or shape, and that true empowerment is much deeper than the skin,” writes Your Shot photographer Briana Gardener. “Posing together, these women will celebrate the strength that lies in community and the power that lies in unity.” This shoot was part of the Her Place Is In community; styled by Michelle Singelton.

Your Shot photographer Megan Loeks made this portrait of her son as he took his last chemotherapy after three years of treatment for leukemia.

“There is a real heart shaped road at the border between Austria and Slovenia,” writes Your Shot photographer A. Kadar. “It’s a small road within a winery and the owner says when the road was built, the workers drank so much that they made the road curvy and ended up as a heart shape. True or not, a nice dinner with local specialties, a glass of wine made from the grapes on the hill and a long exposure made my evening unforgettable.”