Citroen, Vietnam

Photograph by Loren Klein

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos
French Citroen car in the beautiful mountain town of Dalat, Vietnam
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. Have photos of your own travels you would like to submit? Enter today!

Orda Cave, Russia

Photograph by Viktor Lyagushkin

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos
A diver swims through Orda Cave in Russia.
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. Have photos of your own travels you would like to submit? Enter today!

Musicians, New Orleans

Photograph by Robert Davies

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos
On our last walk around the French Quarter before heading home we came across this band setting up on Royal Street. We were able to hear a few songs and snap a few shots before rushing off to the airport.
This photo and caption were submitted to the 2013 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. Have photos of your own travels you would like to submit? Enter today!

Bathers, India

Photograph by Santu Mondal, National Geographic Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel Photos
This shot was taken from a bridge. I found them bathing in the Mayurakshi River in West Bengal, India.
This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Check out the new and improved website, where you can share and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

Crinoid, New Caledonia

Photograph by Rodolphe Holler, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
My home is Tahiti and I am a dive guide working on board private megayachts, joining my clients anywhere in the world for unique dive experiences. I was cruising New Caledonia with one of my clients, around the small Loyalty island of Ouvea. While we were diving over a beautiful untouched reef, I noticed this crinoid in the distance because of its unusual colors. When I got closer, I realized the high photo potential of this beautiful creature. Sea feathers are quite common around New Caledonia, but it was the only time I had come across this amazing, colorful specimen. —Rodolphe Holler

Berlin, Germany

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots

I was waiting for the train at Schlesisches Tor station in Kreuzberg, a predominantly Turkish neighborhood in Berlin, when I noticed people passing by below the train platform. I aimed my camera down at the cobblestones and waited a while for some interesting action. I must have shot 30 stills before this woman came walking through the frame. I missed my train but got this shot. —Gunnar Heidar

Mount Errigal, Ireland

Photograph by Derek Smyth, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
While en route to another photo assignment I was drawn to this perfect reflection of Mount Errigal in the clear still water of Dunlewey Lough. I quickly set up my tripod and worked on getting this composition using the small bushes to break up the foreground. Mount Errigal is in County Donegal, Ireland. —Derek Smyth
This photo was submitted to Your Shot. Check out the new and improved website, where you can share and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

Patagonia, Chile

 

Photograph by Feliciano Ripa, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
I took this photo in Villa O'Higgins, a remote town in southern Chile, during my bicycle trip through Patagonia. I arrived at this place after I had been riding my bicycle for two weeks. At the end of an exhausting day I went for a stroll and came across a lookout. As a storm was developing, I saw a beam of light breaking through the clouds. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was a peaceful and magical moment. —Feliciano Ripa
This photo was submitted to Your Shot. Check out the new and improved website, where you can share and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

Red Fox, Canada

Photograph by Todd Mintz, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
Heading to the Canadian Arctic on the shores of the Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada, I had one day in Churchill before we would catch a small plane to the remote cabins on the tundra to photograph polar bears. A friend and I borrowed a local truck and toured around the Churchill area looking at the historic sites and watching for polar bears. As we drove past the massive grain terminal I spotted this hybrid red fox hunting among the piping. He paused, very comfortable with our presence, and posed for me—as interested in us as we were in it. —Todd Mintz

Surfer, Australia

Photograph by Alex Coppel, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
During my summer holidays I spend a few weeks at a beach house on the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia. I am a professional photographer but have a real love affair with underwater imagery, so I look forward to this time of year. Instead of shooting the surfers above the water on the waves I would allow them to fly past me underwater, just to see them passing through the wave as it breaks. Sometimes they come a little too close …

Sadhu, India

Photograph by Massimiliano Sticca, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
This photo of a sadhu was taken in Allahabad at Maha Kumbh Mela 2013. I was walking along a road in Kumbh when I saw the bike and sadhu near the tent. I stopped walking and waited. The sadhu left the tent and went near the motorbike. I took a step forward to get closer to the subject (I was taking the photo with a 14-24mm very wide optic) and I took the photo. The sadhu realized what happened only when the photo was taken, maybe for the best since I was able to catch his expression in a better way.
After I took the photo, he asked me to come closer to show him the pictures. I did that and he blessed me. It was a nice experience. I prefer to shoot people only after interacting. Just in a few cases, like with the sadhu and motorbike, I preferred to shoot without asking. —Massimiliano Sticca

Tokai Forest, South Africa

Photograph by Penny R. Robartes, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
I woke up early to go take some photos of a haunted mansion in Tokai in Cape Town. I got lost down a dirt road of sorts and noticed how gorgeous the heavy mist looked as it hung low over Tokai forest. I went into the forest and was taking photographs when I saw a crow in the tree about to take off, so I aimed my camera to where I thought the crow would fly and captured it when it came into my frame. —Penny R. Robartes

Canal, Venice

Photograph by Wilmot David, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
The bridges and canals of Venice at first light. The alleyways and canals can be a photographer's dream. As morning light arrived before the hustle and bustle of the crowds, I captured the colors and reflections of this enchanting city near Campo Santa Maria Formosa. —Wilmot David

Garden, Cape Town

Photograph by Albena Willuweit, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
What inspired me to take this photograph was the light. As an artist (and enthusiastic photographer) I have always been fascinated by the warm, golden, late-afternoon light. During the spontaneous moment when I took the photograph, the light was reflecting off the surface of the lush plants and the water droplets (from the irrigation system), causing everything to shimmer. I chose a high shutter speed and a low angle of view, isolating the plants and water droplets against the plain, dark background of the tarred road.
The photo was taken in my home’s backyard, Cape Town, South Africa. —Albena Willuweit

Penguin, South Georgia Island

Photograph by Max Seigal, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
It was 5 a.m. and we had just landed on the shore of South Georgia to catch the sunrise. It was cloudy and overcast, which presented the perfect opportunity for me to shoot some long exposures. At first I experimented with standing out in the water and photographing the crashing waves contrasted with the penguins on shore, but the waves were moving my tripod too much to get a stable shot. I realized I would need to be on shore, where I could get a steady shot, but I still wanted to include the water in my photo. I looked over and saw this lone penguin just at the water's edge. I quickly aimed and took this long-exposure shot, and moments after the shutter clicked the penguin looked up and walked off. Even though the sky didn't glow orange that morning due to overcast conditions, I still walked away very pleased with shooting in wonderful conditions that allowed me to capture this image. —Max Seigal

Sunset, South Africa

Photograph by Giampiero Torello, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
In the southern summer of 2012, I spent some weeks for work in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, together with my wife, and we used to take long walks on the beaches around the city in our spare time. One evening we came to a beach called Maitland, a large stretch of sand dunes.
I took a few photographs of the beach while a light wind was moving the sand and the sky was getting cloudy. Gradually the sea and the sky became first gray and then brown before the sun went down. It lasted just a few minutes, but luckily I had not yet finished the battery of my smartphone! I did nothing to this photograph; I was surprised myself but the sunset really looked like this. —Giampiero Torello

Houses, Mexico

 

 

Photograph by Oscar Ruiz, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
A few years ago when I was working as a helicopter pilot for a local radio station, we were required to fly around all of Mexico City chasing news and traffic. I remember flying up to the highway that connects Mexico City with the neighboring state of Puebla, and on my way back this housing complex that seemed to go on forever caught my attention. I decided to circle around to observe from up close what I later found out was the recently built San Buenaventura complex, which is located in Ixtapaluca, on the eastern outskirts of Mexico City.
The exceptional afternoon sun reflecting those thousands of recently painted small homes just looked so beautiful, and the lower I flew the better the angle, so I just got out my camera, opened the sliding window on my Bell helicopter, and snapped a couple of shots. —Oscar Ruiz

Shelf Cloud, Saskatchewan

Photograph by Gunjan Sinha, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
The day began as any other storm-chasing day in the Canadian Prairies. My girlfriend and I followed this particular storm from its birth and observed as it formed this gorgeous shelf structure eight hours later, at the end of the day. The photo was taken just southeast of Fillmore, Saskatchewan, along Highway 33. I used my Pentax K200D camera with f/5.6, 1/200-second exposure and a basic 55mm lens to capture this unforgettable moment. —Gunjan Sinha

Winter, Bulgaria

Photograph by Juliano Miteff, My Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
This is a landscape that I see every day from my terrace in Varna. This is an old playground. I love the silence and quiet that's created by the snow. In other seasons, it is not so beautiful, because kids no longer play there, and it's a little sad. —Juliano Miteff

Great Egret, Florida

 

Photograph by Carol Kay, Your Shot

This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
This great white egret is often found at this spot on Tampa's beautiful Hillsborough River. It was almost sunset, and we were just taking our kayaks out of the water at the Trout Creek Park boat dock. When I looked up and saw the bird directly across the river in front of this massive old bald cypress, I saw the "perfect" shot and grabbed my camera, a Nikon digital D80. The bluish cast to the water is partly due to the sun having gone almost down and pollen floating on the surface. —Carol Kay
(This photo was submitted to Your Shot.)