national geographic 50 best photographs

Sub-Saharan Mali by Joanna B. Pinneo / National Geographic

Blowing sand from a dry lake bed clings to Tinalbaraka walet Mohamed's eight-month-old daughter, Isah, as mother and children sleep on a sun-baked afternoon in Mali.

Airliner in Flight by Bruce Dale / National Geographic

A 23-second exposure in a camera mounted in the tail of a Lockheed TriStar jet captures the lights of the airport runway and the city beyond.

Kalahari Lion by Chris Johns / National Geographic

A lion patrols the dry Nossob riverbed, center of a vast refuge for big game.Here South Africa’s Kalahari Gemsbok National Park is joined by a fenceless border with Botswana’s larger Gemsbok National Park, representing an African trend toward transnational parks allowing wildlife free rein in their natural ecosystem.

House of Doves, Uxmal, Mexico by Simon Norfolk / National Geographic

Uxmal's House of Doves, with its ornate roof combs, was built in the ninth century.

Redwoods by Michael "Nick" Nichols / National Geographic

At least 1,500 years old, a 300-foot titan in California's Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park has the most complex crown scientists have mapped.

Summer in Paris by David Alan Harvey / National Geographic

It's summer in Paris, and school is out. Close friends celebrate with a cruise down the Seine.

River Dolphins by Kevin Schafer / National Geographic

River dolphins navigating the Amazon Basin’s tea-colored brew of silt and rotting vegetation seem to glow orange. Out of water they’re pale gray, with some marked in pink. Called botos here in Brazil, they use high-frequency sonar clicks to build a 3-D echogram of their dark world.

Henry Gray, Rancher by William Albert Allard / National Geographic

Cattle rancher Henry Gray exhibits the self-reliance and independence typical of the American West.

Reindeer in Russia by Dean Conger / National Geographic

Reindeer cross the Siberian snow near Oymyakon, in the U.S.S.R. A young girl atop one of the animals herds them forward toward her family's tent and a break for food and rest.

Titanic by Emory Kristof / National Geographic

With 10,000 watts of light and cutting-edge submersible technology, the Titanic comes to life from two and a half miles beneath the ocean's surface.

Mount Rex, Antarctic Peninsula by Will Steger / National Geographic

A lunch break allows rest and conversation for the multinational team of explorers who crossed Antarctica in 1989, covering 3,700 miles in seven months.

Toxic Smoke, Nigeria by Ed Kashi / National Geographic

Navigating through toxic smoke from burning tires, Paulinous Uko carries a goat to be butchered in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Toxic smoke from tire fires—used to loosen the skin of animals.

Women in Afghanistan by Lynsey Addario / National Geographic

A woman and her pregnant daughter—ready to give birth at any moment—wait quietly on a mountainside in Afghanistan. I saw two women on the side of the mountain, in burkas and without a man. In Afghanistan you seldom see an unaccompanied woman. Noor Nisa, about 18, was pregnant; her water had just broken. Her husband, whose first wife had died during childbirth, was determined to get Noor Nisa to the hospital in Faizabad, a four-hour drive from their village in Badakhshan Province. His borrowed car broke down, so he went to find another vehicle. I ended up taking Noor Nisa, her mother, and her husband to the hospital, where she delivered a baby girl. My interpreter, who is a doctor, and I were on a mission to photograph maternal health and mortality issues, only to find the entire story waiting for us along a dusty Afghan road.

The Hadza by Martin Schoeller / National Geographic

Nija, a Hadza boy about eight years old, sat for his portrait in a makeshift tent-studio in northern Tanzania.

Seven Pears by Sam Abell / National Geographic

Seven pears occupy a Moscow windowsill, catching the light of the afternoon sun.

Russian Children by Gerd Ludwig / National Geographic

Eight children with terminal-limb deficiencies represent dozens with the same birth defect whose homes are clustered in a few Moscow neighborhoods contaminated by industrial pollution.

Still Waters by Brian Skerry / National Geographic

A thresher shark meets death in a gill net in Mexico’s Gulf of California.

Virunga Gorilla Massacre by Brent Stirton / National Geographic

Grieving villagers carry Senkwekwe, a 500-pound silverback, from Virunga Park on July 24, 2007.

Kuwait Oil Fire by Steve McCurry / National Geographic

Camels search for untainted shrubs and water in the burning oil fields of southern Kuwait.

Ibiza Disco by David Alan Harvey / National Geographic

Dancers frolic in waist-high bubbles at a disco called Amnesia on the island of Ibiza, Spain.

Mecca by Thomas J. Abercrombie / National Geographic

A quarter million Muslims jam Haram Mosque in the holy city of Mecca to pay homage to Allah. Those in the center (blurred in this time exposure) circle the black-draped Kaaba, most sacred of Islamic shrines. Muslims believe the Prophet Abraham—like Muhammad a messenger of God—and his son Ishmael built the first structure here.

Mirror Image by Paul Nicklen / National Geographic

His image mirrored in icy water, a polar bear travels submerged—a tactic often used to surprise prey.

Windsor Castle by James L. Stanfield / National Geographic

Rolling through the snow, Prince Philip take his four-in hand carriage our for an early morning drive

Monsoon by Steve McCurry / National Geographic

Women in northern India seek shelter from the winds of a premonsoon dust storm. McCurry once said, ‘You can’t get hung up on what you think your “real” destination is. The journey is just as important.’ The evidence of his attitude was amply realized when McCurry was driving along a highway in Rajasthan, India. He was stopped by a dust storm and he captured the moment a group of workers were protecting each other from the choking dust.

Jack Colson Family by Jodi Cobb / National Geographic

Jack Colson finds a quiet moment, even surrounded by family, in his home.

Child’s Grief in Peru by William Albert Allard / National Geographic

A child’s grief all but overwhelms him moments after a hit-and-run taxicab rounded a blind curve and killed six of his sheep near Puno, Peru

Deadly Beauty by Paul Nicklen / National Geographic

A female leopard seal attempts to feed photographer Paul Nicklen a live penguin chick.

Jane Goodall by Michael “Nick” Nichols / National Geographic

A chimp reaches out to Jane Goodall.The touch-- an exquisite moment for Jane Goodall-- came when a chipanzee she had never seen before reached out his hand to her. Jou Jou, a full-grown chimpanz ee had been caged alone for years in the Brazzaville Zoo. He is desparate for contact with other living beings.

Nansen’s Ghost by Børge Ousland / National Geographic

A young polar bear eyes an unfamiliar green tent.

ReiNdoki Elephant by Michael “Nick” Nichols / National Geographic

A forest elephant stages a mock charge in the Central African Republic.

Afghan Girl by Steve McCurry / National Geographic

Haunting eyes and a tattered garment tell the plight of a girl who fled her native Afghanistan for a refugee camp in Pakistan. When he wandered into an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan in December 1984, National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry captured one of the most famous portraits the world had ever seen. The Afghan girl with the haunting green eyes captivated everyone. That captivation proved, once again, the power of photography to open eyes—and hearts and minds—with a single image.

Afghan Woman With Goldfinches by Thomas J. Abercrombie / National Geographic

Completely covered by a traditional chadri, an Afghan woman balances caged goldfinches she purchased at a market in Kabul.

Tales From the Bog by Robert Clark / National Geographic

Tollund Man was hanged with a leather cord, perhaps as a human sacrifice, and remained suspended and preserved in a Danish peat bog for some 2,300 years.

Nevada Cowboy by William Albert Allard / National Geographic

Cowboy Stan Kendall sits alone at a Mountain City, Nevada, bar.

Rainy Streets of Broadway by Jodi Cobb / National Geographic

Steam billows up from the rainy streets of Broadway, the spine of Manhattan.

Branding Day by Sam Abell / National Geographic

Montana cowboys brand and castrate their livestock—a familiar yearly ritual in cattle country.

Basque Children by William Albert Allard / National Geographic

Two children run home on a quiet road at twilight in the mountainous Basque countryside.

South Dakota Tornado by Carsten Peter / National Geographic

A tornado slices across a road in Manchester, South Dakota, snapping fences and power lines in its path.

Brutal Fight by Mitsuaki Iwago / National Geographic

After a brutal fight, a Serengeti lion crushes the skull of another male that dared to challenge a member of the victor’s pride.

Australia Drought by Amy Toensing / National Geographic

Dust blows across the parched land—once cattle pasture—of Australian rancher Simon Booth.

Mbuti Pygmies by Randy Olson / National Geographic

A leaf skewered by a stick covers a Bantu boy’s mouth to ensure his silence during a ritual dance that is part of a five-month-long passage into manhood for Mbuti Pygmies.

Dan’s Cave by Wes C. Skiles / National Geographic

The Cascade Room, some 80 feet beneath the surface, leads divers deeper into Dan’s Cave on Abaco Island.

Guatemala Plane Crash by Robert Madden / National Geographic

A plane delivering aid to earthquake victims is caught in fierce crosswinds and crashes into a pickup truck near Sanarate, Guatemala.

White Wolf by Jim Brandenburg / National Geographic

A white wolf—the alpha male—bounds across ice floes, patrolling the threshold of his territory near his den.

Sea Lions by David Doubilet / National Geographic

Swimming playfully along Australia’s southern coast, near Spencer Gulf, sea lions are always on guard against great white sharks.

Laysan Albatross Chick by David Liittschwager | Contents of Stomach by Susan Middleton

Contents of laysan albatross chick stomach.

Camels by Chris Johns / National Geographic

Scorching sun casts long shadows as camels cross the salt flats of Lake Assal, Djibouti.

Egret Headdress by Randy Olson/ National Geographic

A hunter uses an egret headdress as a decoy to stalk birds along the Indus River.Bird hunters crouch in the Indus River just outside Mohenjo daro, Pakistan. They tie their pet birds to the hoops in the river to bring in other birds and they wear a hand crafted mask from one of their former prey. When the birds land they crouch in the water, wiggle their heads so it looks like they are just one bird swimming up to another bird and then they grab their prey with their bare hands.

Sulawesi Women by James Nachtwey/ National Geographic

Facing the dawn, women of the An-Nadzir commune begin Islam’s Feast of the Sacrifice, which celebrates the Koran’s account of God sparing the prophet Ismail. As the sun rises, their prayers join those raised by a chorus of Indonesia’s Muslims, fundamentalist and moderate alike: “Allah akbar.” God is great.

Dead Sea Before Sunset by Paolo Pellegrin / National Geographic

Girls from a West Bank village take one last dip in the salty waters of the Dead Sea before sunset.

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