National Geographic reader pics

I am so gravitated to this spot on the Oregon coast, called Thor's Well. Water shoots straight up this hole and waves come crashing in on either side of you. It's a dangerous, adrenaline-pumping experience. Tides were particularly dangerous this day. In fact, the risk became a reality when a big wave came in and knocked me and my camera down. I was in full waders, but I was no match for the force of the surf. Lucky for me I just scuffed my knee and there was no equipment damage. (Photo and caption Courtesy Majeed Badizadegan / National Geographic Your Shot)

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On a walk through a northeastern Borneo rain forest a rattling noise caught my attention—there he sat, an amazingly green lizard munching on his crunchy red-black beetle snack ... What a lucky moment in colors only nature can bring up! (Photo and caption Courtesy Martin Winter / National Geographic Your Shot)

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While on safari in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, we followed this leopard looking for dinner. (Photo and caption Courtesy Sharon Haeger / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Around my cabin are a lot of ground squirrels and chipmunks. I always have pecans or peanuts in my pocket to feed them. One afternoon, I found them exploring my pockets in a pair of jeans drying on the clothesline! (Photo and caption Courtesy Betsy Seeton / National Geographic Your Shot)

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I found this beautiful whitetail doe unexpectedly down the Centerpoint Trail in the Buffalo River Area of Arkansas. She was standing there like this in the sun and didn't even care that I was there. It's interesting to note that in the 1920s the deer population in Arkansas had diminished to only around 200 but thanks to conservation efforts by the state the population is now estimated to be about a million, making a meeting like this more possible. (Photo and caption Courtesy Jeff Rose / National Geographic Your Shot)

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We were lucky enough to witness some very early auroras over the Abisko Mountain Lodge on March 1. The skies were clear with only wispy clouds interfering come nighttime. As soon as the stars started to appear the aurora showed her face. She was off and on all night but nothing compared to the early show! These aurorae were the result of a coronal wind stream that arrived at Earth on February 28. It caused geomagnetic storms that lasted for a few days. (We were lucky enough to witness some very early auroras over the Abisko Mountain Lodge on March 1. The skies were clear with only wispy clouds interfering come nighttime. As soon as the stars started to appear the aurora showed her face. She was off and on all night but nothing compared to the early show! These aurorae were the result of a coronal wind stream that arrived at Earth on February 28. It caused geomagnetic storms that lasted for a few days. (Photo and caption Courtesy Natalia Robba / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Sally Lightfoot crab, Galápagos Islands, 2011 (Photo and caption Courtesy Fulya Pirim / National Geographic Your Shot)

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As we approach a leopard seal resting on an ice floe near Danco Island, Antarctica, he wakes up to remind us we are visitors to his world—a world where he sets his own rules. (Photo and caption Courtesy Kellie Netherwood / National Geographic Your Shot)

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With temperature swings of nearly 60ºF over several days, cold arctic air moves in over Ely, Minnesota. Toss a ladle of hot water into the frigid air and the water vaporizes instantly. A wonderful dance of physics and nature. Photograph taken on South Farm Lake on the edges of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. (Photo and caption Courtesy Layne Kennedy / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Touchdown. (Photo and caption Courtesy Raymond Pregent / National Geographic Your Shot)

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After a long absence from black-and-white photography because of the difficulty of this type of photography and its impact on myself, now I go back to the most beautiful category of photography, in my opinion, through this snapshot of London Tower Bridge. (Photo and caption Courtesy Mostafa Hamad / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Many owls and eagles stay captive at the Mountsberg Conservation area in Ontario, Canada. This snowy owl is a majestic animal to watch, so silent and stealth. Such beautiful feathers and wide open eyes create a serious mood and fierce look. (Photo and caption Courtesy Patrick Marcoux / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Dolphins cruising along our whale watching boat in the Monterey Bay. Taken February 15, 2013. (Photo and caption Courtesy Kate Cummings / National Geographic Your Shot)

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At Audubon Park Zoo in New Orleans, this young orangutan entertained a spellbound crowd for a half hour as he peeked from under his paper-bag umbrella and made cute faces. (Photo and caption Courtesy Jerry Whitten / National Geographic Your Shot)

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For years I have been chasing this photo of a guanaco jumping a fence. Finally got in in January 2013. What is peculiar is that these animals just come to the fence, stop and spring over it. You would expect them to run as a horse does to jump over an obstacle. Photo taken in Torres del Paine, Chile. (Photo and caption Courtesy Jose Hernandez / National Geographic Your Shot)

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When you are almost on top of the Alps, you have stars so close that you think you can touch them. At Gornergrat you have the most amazing view not only by day, but also by night, when the scenery will give you the feeling that you are part of the universe and its beauty. (Photo and caption Courtesy Robert Hradil / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Last week I was walking in the field, taking pictures of the winter landscape, when suddenly several deer frightened of me, jumped out of nearby bushes, and fled. I managed quickly to change the program of my camera and took some panning pictures. (Photo and caption Courtesy Veronika Kolev / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Random garbage tips are a big problem here in Sabah but they are also a great source of wildlife. This long-tailed macaque enjoys munching on a coconut shell. (Photo and caption Courtesy Sarah Lim / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Look at me! (Photo and caption Courtesy Duy Le Do / National Geographic Your Shot)

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As a bird trainer at the National Aviary I get to work around a wide variety of captive birds, but I find very few as visually stunning as the white-cheeked turaco. Turaco flight feathers contain a red, copper-based pigment called turacin, and it is found nowhere else in the animal kingdom. It is most visible in flight, while the wings are spread. I was fortunate to catch this turaco at an opportune time, exposing its beautiful pigmented feathers. (Photo and caption Courtesy Michael Faix / National Geographic Your Shot)

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A black-necked stilt practices its yoga moves. (Photo and caption Courtesy Emily Bristor / National Geographic Your Shot)

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This is a photograph of a common langur (monkey) from India. This shot portrays the anger of one langur toward another over food. (Photo and caption Courtesy Chaitanya Solanki / National Geographic Your Shot)

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The north face of the Monte Perdido, in the Spanish Pyrenees. The mountain was masked by the clouds during three days, revealing the glacier occasionally ... It was really cold and there was a strong wind, the ambiance was very impressive. It reminded me of the world of Tolkien, Arda, with the Middle Earth and the Undying Lands. This place could have been the abode of some ancient gods or giant dragons. (Photo and caption Courtesy Maxime Daviron / National Geographic Your Shot)

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On a Monday morning, I visited Richmond Park in London, where I witnessed the spectacular roaring, barking and clashing of antlers between rival stags in an effort to attract hinds. It makes me wonder how different yet similar they are to us, the human beings, to achieve the same purpose. (Photo and caption Courtesy Venus Loi / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Wild red-eyed tree frog in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica. (Photo and caption Courtesy Megan Lorenz / National Geographic Your Shot)

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A couple of Colorado Rocky Mountain chipmunks out on a limb enjoying life. (Photo and caption Courtesy Betsy Seeton / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Humpback whales gather every year in Mexico's Revillagigedo Archipelago. Mothers give birth to young while males arrive to mate. This mother and newborn calf allowed an inspiring interaction with divers and snorkelers. The mother calmly hovered at 40 feet while the baby played. In this image the baby mouthed the mother's ventral side. (Photo and caption Courtesy David Valencia / National Geographic Your Shot)

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I took this shot on a recent trip to Kenya and Tanzania while we were stopped admiring a number of giraffes. Many had oxpeckers on and about them and I noticed this one with four lined up evenly spaced. I took the shot just before they moved and broke the symmetry. (Photo and caption Courtesy Claudio Bacinello / National Geographic Your Shot)

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The New Holland honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. (Photo and caption Courtesy Gordon Fellows / National Geographic Your Shot)

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A lone climber scales a sheer ice cliff in Ouray, Colorado, during the annual Ice Festival climbing competition. (Photo and caption Courtesy Garret Suhrie / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Common kestrels were fighting for prey, this species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. It was an amazing sighting as both fought for prey for a few seconds. (Photo and caption Courtesy Jineesh Mallishery / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Mist in the forest. (Photo and caption Courtesy Denny Ch Pratama / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Chac Mool, one of the most beautiful cave systems in the world, is found in southern Mexico, in the heart of the Mayan world. This is the entrance to the realms of the Mayan underworld. (Photo and caption Courtesy Anuar Patjane / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Mother on a mission and nothing else matters. (Photo and caption Courtesy Zoran Milutinovic / National Geographic Your Shot)

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A male bufflehead (Latin name: Bucephala albeola) is captured as he dives under the water, tail up. This photograph was taken in a small pond in the park near my house in Colorado, in late fall. The shot is taken from a very low angle, with the camera lens a couple inches above the water surface. The yellow background is a reflection from the dry grasses surrounding the pond, and the blue color is a reflection from the sky. (Photo and caption Courtesy Verdon Tomajko / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Starting from La Clusaz ski resort, it is easy to move in neighboring hanging valleys to have great steep runs in good, powdery snow. Here, after a few descents at the resort, we moved away to find good snow and a bit of wind on the ridges. The picture was made while I was breaking trail in a strong wind, but when we reached the ridge and passed over to the other side it was really peaceful and the powder was great for skiing! (Photo and caption Courtesy Bastien Dupuy / National Geographic Your Shot)

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The male apogon, taken with a brood of eggs. It lasts 10 to 15 days. During this period it doesn’t feed, coming to the hatching of the eggs completely exhausted. (Photo and caption Courtesy Davide Lopresti / National Geographic Your Shot)

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South Luanga N.P., Zambia, 2011. Most lion kills occur at night, many times in the thickets. We witnessed a group of 20 lions take down an African buffalo in the afternoon and out from the thicket. Two prides had joined up, the Kaingo and Mwamba prides. There were 12 females and 8 young males. The pursuit and kill took over 20 minutes. As the African food chain worked its wonder, very little was left of the massive animal in 36 hours. (Photo and caption Courtesy Jim Edwards / National Geographic Your Shot)

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I spotted this young opossum behind a tree some distance from the trail. The forest floor was covered by newly fallen, very crisp leaves. As I approached the youngster, she turned to look for the source of the advancing racket. She gazed straight at the loud oaf who disrupted her peace. She had the most spectacularly red nose. Did my stealthy approach cause her to smile? (Photo and caption Courtesy Madeline Poster / National Geographic Your Shot)

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A warehouse caught fire in the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago last month. As the firemen doused it in water, it froze against the building, encasing it in thick ice. (Photo and caption Courtesy Reuben Wu / National Geographic Your Shot)

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A pair of great egrets battle over ownership of a good fishing spot in a South Carolina salt marsh during low tide. (Photo and caption Courtesy Phil Lanoue / National Geographic Your Shot)

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The lighthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan, has become an ice sculpture. Yesterday (January 26, 2013), after a day of cloudy skies, there was a break in the clouds just above the horizon to the west. As the sun slipped below the the bank of clouds the ice-covered lighthouse came alive in hues of pink. This was one of the most stunning natural wonders I've ever seen. (Photo and caption Courtesy Lisa Rundell / National Geographic Your Shot)

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A few friends and I were driving the Alaska Highway when we saw this moose head sticking out of the ice on Muncho Lake, so we grabbed some rope and with help from people on the highway we were able to pull the moose out. Good thing I had my Nikon to capture the moment. (Photo and caption Courtesy Chris Gale / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Two young male elephants greet each other with a brief moment of mock sparring in Kenya near the Masai Mara. They were from the same herd, obviously familiar with one another, and not mature enough to have been forced from the group. Teenagers. (Photo and caption Courtesy Edward Hilsmeyer / National Geographic Your Shot)

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In the Okefenokee Swamp, this alligator spent several hours attempting to crack the shell of this turtle. It eventually grew bored and the turtle walked away. (Photo and caption Courtesy Patrick Castleberry / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Group of king penguins walking out of the water in Fortuna Bay, South Georgia. (Photo and caption Courtesy Cedric Favero / National Geographic Your Shot)

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This picture was taken on Paynes Prairie Preserve near Gainesville, Florida. The great blue heron, absorbed in trying to swallow the fish, wasn't the least bit concerned about the lurking alligator. Finally after downing the fish, the heron moved on to a safer place. (Photo and caption Courtesy Frederick Ross / National Geographic Your Shot)

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During a recent expedition offshore from Oahu, this blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) charged through a ball of baitfish directly at the dome port on my camera. I was very fortunate to spend a full 30 minutes in the water with these beautiful animals that day. The ocean is awesome! (Photo and caption Courtesy Jeffrey Milisen / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Took this shot from the Panchet Dam in Jharkhand, India. (Photo and caption Courtesy Himadri Chakraborty / National Geographic Your Shot)

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Kitten wants everything at once. This was an accidental shot of a stray kitten sitting on a wall with its back to the evening sun. It wasn't yawning as we might think. It kept its mouth open for quite sometime. (Photo and caption Courtesy Marcus Sam / National Geographic Your Shot)

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