23 Classic Nat Geo Images, From a Flamboyance of Flamingos to the Northern Lights

Trapped air bubbles form on the surface of still water in a small moorland in the Sachsenwald Forest near Hamburg, Germany. Jan Erik Waider's image shows the natural patterns of green and yellow, as well as varying textures, created by the algae and aquatic plants sitting just beneath the translucent bubbles. These patterns are shaped by growth, decay, and changing conditions in the water.
On the SurfaceTrapped air bubbles form on the surface of still water in a small moorland in the Sachsenwald Forest near Hamburg, Germany. Jan Erik Waider's image shows the natural patterns of green and yellow, as well as varying textures, created by the algae and aquatic plants sitting just beneath the translucent bubbles. These patterns are shaped by growth, decay, and changing conditions in the water.
Jan Erik Waider
Photos curated byNational Geographic's Photography Department
Captions written byYasmine Maggio
Published September 8, 2026

Swampy trapped air bubbles. A burst of color in the Nebraska night sky. A baby seal's first dip in the ocean. Check out some of the pictures featured in our Photo of the Day.

Four women with head coverings play basketball on a court.
On the CourtMembers of Jeddah United, the first Saudi sports league to include athletes of both genders, practice basketball. The company was founded in 2003 by Lina Khaled Almaeena and is training academy and sports league for both basketball and soccer. Photographer Lynsey Addario has spent more than a decade documenting the life of women in Saudi Arabia. “I want people to learn—to have a better sense of what Saudi women’s lives are,” she told National Geographic in 2016. “I hope people walk away with a different perspective.”
Lynsey Addario, Nat Geo Image Collection
A green, pink, and purple evening sky sits behind an old wooden house in the middle of a field.
Amidst the GlowThe northern lights shine behind an abandoned homestead near Crawford, Nebraska. The light display can sometimes be seen in the Nebraska Panhandle, but only during strong geomagnetic storms, which happen just a few times a year. Also known as aurora borealis, the northern lights result from the collision of the sun's ions with gas atoms in Earth's atmosphere, which then releases particles of light in different colors.
Erik Johnson
A steam locomotive train moves through an oil refinery, with a city skyline in the background.
All AboardThe Union Pacific No. 4014, also known as "Big Boy," passes through an oil refinery in Commerce City, Colorado. The model is the world's largest operating steam locomotive. In 1941, 25 Big Boys were built to haul heavy equipment during World War II. Of the eight remaining trains, the 4014 is the only one in use, making occasional trips around the country. Its most recent journey celebrated America's 250th anniversary.
Alex Burke
An arm holds out a pigeon with vibrant, multicolored wings.
Ready for Take OffErislandy is a Cuban pigeon racer known throughout Old Havana for dyeing his birds like the one pictured here in fluorescent colors. The sport, known as colombofilia, has grown in popularity on the island. Photographer Carlos Jaramillo met Erislandy just after discovering he was not of Cuban heritage as he had always believed; his photo project, Picadero, not only documents pigeon racing in Cuba, but also his budding relationship with Erislandy in this time of reckoning with his cultural identity.
Carlos Jaramillo
A red parrot hangs from a tree.
In the TropicsA scarlet macaw (Ara macao) hangs from a tree in Tikal National Park, Guatemala. The bird is native to subtropical rainforests across Central and South America and is classified as endangered due to various threats, including the illegal wildlife trade. While the average lifespan of a scarlet macaw in the wild is between 40 and 50 years, they can live up to 75 years in captivity. In 2014, National Geographic reported on the relocation efforts of Mexican scarlet macaws in order to save them from poachers.
Wesley Colvin
A person walks through a market wearing a beige hat and colorful clothing.
Life in ColorA local Aymara woman walks through the urban market, known as 16 de Julio, in El Alto, Bolivia. The city is considered one of the highest in the world, sitting at an altitude of more than 13,000 feet. The Indigenous Aymara people have lived in the Andes for thousands of years, and currently make up a majority of Bolivia's highland population.
Forrest Walker
Overhead view of a colony of flamingos flying over a body of shallow brown water.
Birds of a FeatherA flamboyance of flamingos flying over Lake Logipi in northern Kenya. Lake Logipi has become a refuge for the country's millions of flamingos, with more accounts of active breeding in 2025 and 2026, likely due to stable water levels. Photographer Alexander Ley captured their flight from the opening of a doorless helicopter, with the natural patterns of the lake's shallow water, algae, and mineral-rich shoreline forming a striking backdrop.
Alexander Ley
Dozens of hot air balloons fly over a vast, sandy excavation site.
Up in the AirDozens of hot-air balloons filled with tourists fly over the vast Theban Necropolis near Luxor, Egypt. Thebes was the capital of Egypt during parts of the Middle Kingdom (2040 to 1750 B.C.) and New Kingdom (1550 to 1070 B.C). Today, it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site where ancient Egyptian civilization lives on via the thousands of tombs and burials continuously uncovered by archaeologists.
András Zoltai
A church with a grass-covered roof sits in a grassy area surrounded by crosses.
One With the EarthIceland's grassy landscape envelops the Hofskirkja church in Fagurhólsmýri. The church was built in 1884 and is one of six constructed in this style, with the earthen enclosure naturally cooling the space in the summer and warming it in the winter. Photographer Flip Twogood has a fondness for Iceland's churches. "They all have such a unique aesthetic, and this one was incredible with the grass-covered roof and crosses in the ground," he tells National Geographic.
Flip Twogood
A masked person sits on a red floor sweeper, with greenery and high rises in the background.
Garden CityOriginally nicknamed the Garden City of India for its farms and parks, Bengaluru has been transformed by the tech industry into the country’s version of Silicon Valley. National Geographic Explorer Sayan Hazra photographed this recently designed pocket of native plants in the growing metropolis as part of his project documenting green spaces in urban areas. “The cultivating, planting, watering, fertilizing, and pruning” of these gardens, Hazra says, goes largely unnoticed by most residents. But this invisible choreography supports an essential source of biodiversity and calm in the booming city.
This photo is featured in the "In Focus" series in the August 2026 issue of National Geographic.
Sayan Hazra
The orange beak of a pelican opens up to catch a transparent eel.
Fresh CatchA variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor) hunts a young European eel (Anguilla anguilla) on Muriwai Beach near Auckland, New Zealand. Juvenile European eels are called glass eels due to their translucent nature. Because the species is considered critically endangered, Europe has banned exports of European eels—which in turn led to a rise in the trafficking of American eels, as National Geographic reported in 2017.
Simon Runting
Two grey seals huddling together in water.
Peas in a PodIn the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), these month-old elephant seals take one of their first dips in the ocean. Photographer Matty Smith was there to document the moment the mothers depart this famous breeding ground and return to the South Atlantic, leaving hundreds of babies, newly weaned, to fend for themselves. “The pups were super friendly, trying to climb on me, trying to climb on my camera,” Smith says. These playful pups live off their blubber reserves until they learn to swim and start hunting for fish.
This photo is featured in the "In Focus" series in the August 2026 issue of National Geographic.
Matty Smith
Packaged snacks like the shelves of a grocery store.
Snacks GaloreRows of colorful snacks and dried foods fill the shelves of an Aji Ichiban store in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Francesca Forquet snapped this photo in December 2012, as she became acquainted with the city—"its density, its complexity, and the constant feeling of not knowing what I would find around the next corner," she tells National Geographic. At the time, the local snack chain had over a hundred locations. The loss of tourist traffic during the pandemic led to the closure of all Aji Ichiban locations in the city 10 years later.
Francesca Forquet
An older man in a gray-and-white striped shirt and jeans holds hands with a younger man in a yellow hat, black shirt, scarf, and jeans. A small dog sits in front of them.
Father and SonIn his workshop in Malta, Mario Pandolfino, a 76-year-old toymaker and inventor, poses with his son, Matthew, 41, an artist and set designer. Photographer Valery Poshtarov made this portrait as part of a series he calls Father and Son. He’s traveled to 15 countries, asking his subjects to hold hands, something they may not have done in decades. “I’m giving them this safe space,” he says, “to build or rebuild a connection.”
This photo is featured in the "In Focus" series in the August 2026 issue of National Geographic.
Valery Poshtarov
A hand guides a praying mantis toward a wild flower.
A Helping HandAlong the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskill Mountains of New York, a hand guides a praying mantis toward a wild carrot flower. "I'm always looking for gentleness and sensitivity when I photograph," Grade Solomon tells National Geographic. "I think those qualities can be easy to overlook, especially within a landscape that feels vast or dramatic. The small gesture between my friend and the mantis became the detail I wanted to hold onto."
Grade Solomon
A horse eating grass next to the legs of two people in khaki pants and white shirts, with one of them wearing black knee-high riding boots.
The Horseback RidersTwo horseback riders prepare for the "Just Jumpers Horse Show" at the Three County Fair in Northampton, Massachusetts. The event is the oldest continuously operating agricultural fair in the United States and sees thousands of attendees annually. The fair hosts several horse competitions, including the New England Morgan Horse Show, where visitors can watch everything from carriage driving to ranch work.
Nat Segebre
A large school of fish swims together underwater with a larger striped fish swimming nearby.
Bait BallNear Baja California in Mexico, a group of striped marlins corral hundreds of smaller fish into a dense formation known as a bait ball, before feasting on their prey. Photographer Brooke Pyke used her underwater camera to capture “these majestic, agile hunters” as they chased the fish to the surface, she says, much like dogs herding sheep. As the marlins took turns swooping in to feed, a few sea lions joined the fray, diving headlong into the ball and dispersing the fish.

This photo is featured in the "In Focus" series in the August 2026 issue of National Geographic.
Brooke Pyke
Multiple people wearing hardhats stand atop a outdoor structure made of several pipes.
Hard at WorkBuilders work on construction of the South-North Water Transfer Project in the Shandong Province in China. Launched in 2002 with completion expected in 2050, the project's goal is to move trillions of gallons of water each year from the Yangtze River Basin in the south to the Yellow River Basin in the north. The relocation of the water is expected to help with both agricultural growth and domestic water supply in the dry northern region of the country—parts of which are also densely populated.
Michael S. Yamashita, Nat Geo Image Collection
A spotted conch shell protruding in different directions sits next to an x-ray image of the same shell.
An Unusual ConchThe arthritic spider conch (Harpago arthriticus) is native to the shallow waters in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. The image is part of Jim Wehtje's upcoming exhibit at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum in Sanibel, Florida. Wehtje is primarily an x-ray photographer of plants and shells, but this project gave him room to expand. "I thought my life would be making only x-ray images, but I dusted off the camera and found surface and color again," he told National Geographic.
Jim Wehtje
A white swan stands in shallow water surrounded by tall grass.
Swan LakeA swan takes in a quiet moment in the busy transit waters of Lake Balaton in Szántód, Hungary. The Tihany ferry crosses the lake between Tihanyrév and Szántódrév multiple times a day. Lake Balaton is the largest freshwater lake in central Europe, where several different species—including mute swans—call home.
Marian Marin
Walker Guinnee and Annie George curated this selection of images for Photo of the Day, where we highlight one extraordinary photograph every day. Yasmine Maggio wrote and researched the captions. Check out today's photo here.