Photography, exploration, and soccer aren’t all that different. Hear me out: They all have the power to bring us together under one common passion. Our eyes can be lost in the details of a moment frozen in time from our cameras just as they can be lost in the graceful transitions across a field. This week, with the opening games of the Women’s World Cup happening in France as the National Geographic Explorers Festival is happening here in Washington, D.C., I’m reminded of how our passions unite us across the globe and here on our Your Shot photo community. These connections were running through my mind as I curated the best photos of the week.

When I read Mikaela Gregory’s