30 compelling photographs discovered in the Nat Geo archives

Spring has sprung in the Northern Hemisphere: Temperatures are rising, trees are sprouting, flowers are blossoming. 

For many, spring is a celebration of change. When curating this month’s selection, I looked for the essence of spring, picking images that show the joy of rebirth, fresh air, and vibrant colors.    

One of my favorite images, by photographer Paul Zahl, depicts a brightly colored Costa Rican variable harlequin toad perched on a plant. Today, the tiny frog is listed as critically endangered due to environmental changes caused by climate change. (The rediscovery of an "extinct" toad offers hope amid an amphibian apocalypse.) 

I chose Jim Richardson’s photo of Kansas’s vast, lush Flint Hills—one of the last places in North America where tallgrass prairie survives—to celebrate Earth Day. 

In Michael “Nick” Nichols’ image of a nursery in Nairobi, Kenya, elephants orphaned by poachers playfully vie for a bottle of formula. They’ll eventually be returned to the wild—signaling a hope for the future.