Check out some of the remarkable pictures that wowed Nat Geo's photo editors this month

A horse with white and black hair stands in front of a red barn while snow falls.
Spring SnowOn May 6, 2026, heavy, wet snow fell over Lakewood, Colorado, in a late-season snowstorm. While it's not uncommon for the state to see snowfall in May, the storm was one of the largest in Colorado's history. Denver was hit with almost six inches, Boulder saw 11 inches, and the Colorado mountains were hit with over two feet—all of which was much-needed after a period of drought throughout the winter and early spring. The biggest May snowstorm on record in Colorado was in 1898 at 15.5 inches.
RJ Sangosti
Photos curated byNational Geographic's Photography Department
Captions written byYasmine Maggio
Published July 3, 2026

A jumble of jellyfish. A very Greenland graduation. A gecko hiding in plain sight. Check out some of the pictures featured in our Photo of the Day.

An overhead view of four large whales swimming up to a small white boat speedboat with six people in orange life jackets aboard.
Gentle GiantsFour gray whales approach a small fishing skiff off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. In this area, this species of whale is typically very friendly, often approaching boats with curiosity and a desire for human interaction. "I shot this on an incredible morning when we had over 20 whales around our boat," sphotographer Kaushiik Subramaniam tells National Geographic. "The four that you see in this image were the initiators, after which all the others wanted in on a piece of the human action. To this day, this remains the most incredible wildlife interaction I have ever had."
Kaushiik Subramaniam
A cardboard cutout of three women in white embroidered dresses holding baskets of flowers. The faces are cut out of the cardboard.
Valley of RosesLocated in the Balkan Mountains in the center of what is known as the Valley of Roses, the Bulgarian town of Kazanlak is famous for its rose oil production. The Institute for Roses and Aromatic Plants, a local research and agriculture academy, installed these cardboard cutouts to bring tourists to the region. Kazanlak holds a rose festival every June—highlighted in an August 2018 National Geographic story—where visitors can witness traditional rose picking and the distillation process alongside a parade and folk dances.
Yana Paskova, National Geographic Image Collection-Valley of Roses
A brown bear peers into the window of a car with a young boy and another person inside.
Close-Up CubA brown bear peers into the window of a stopped car in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. The image was featured in a July 1966 National Geographic story describing the progress of Mission 66, a government effort launched in 1956 to revitalize the country's national parks after decades of increased visitation but poor maintenance. The $1 billion project concluded in 1966—a nod to its name—coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the National Park Service. The efforts of Mission 66 have had a longstanding effect on U.S. National Park infrastructure, which continues to serve millions of visitors each year.
Dean Conger, National Geographic Image Collection
A mass of black and white snow geese take flight
Flying HighHundreds of snow geese take flight from a pond in Kearney, Nebraska. The region is a known stopping point for these birds in mid-February to early March as they migrate up to their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra. The area is also known as the "Sandhill Crane Capital of the World," with more than 80 percent of sandhill crane birds passing through the Platte River Valley during this migration period.
Melissa Groo
A large brown bird with a white and yellow head towers over a small baby chick.
Big Bird, Little BirdA male African jacana protects his chick on the Chobe River in Namibia. This species is often called the "Jesus bird" thanks to its long legs and claws that allow it to walk across lily pads and other vegetation found atop bodies of water. The jacana is most commonly found across sub-Saharan Africa in flooded grasslands, marshes, and ponds, though their preferred habitats are shallow lakes. Male African jacanas typically care for chicks and can carry them under their wings.
Karolina Norée
A camouflaged gecko sits on a tree trunk.
Hidden in Plain SightA mossy leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus sikorae) hides in plain sight on a rainforest tree in Mantadia National Park, Madagascar. These geckos have uncanny camouflaging abilities, which are needed in a forest full of keen-eyed predatory birds. At rest, they face downward in order to avoid reflections in their eyes that can alert birds above them to their presence, and also to catch unsuspecting insects climbing from the ground. When threatened, these geckos will open their jaws wide and let out a loud call that's reminiscent of a child's scream.
Chien C. Lee
A tree with pink flowers opens up to a view of a mountain.
Between the TreesPink trumpet trees bloom across the Adriatic coast of Montenegro in late spring and early summer, creating a spectacle of flowers across the region. "The pink trumpet tree was everywhere in Kotor, lining the shoreline and creating these portals to the beach," says photographer Brendan George Ko. "The pink flowers pair beautifully with the turquoise waters of Kotor Bay." The area is known for its mountainous national parks.
Brendan George Ko
An older man wearing a green hat and purple jackets sits next to a small fire with a cat in his lap.
A Moment of SolitudeKarma Tshering Sherpa sits with his cat in Phortse, Nepal. In 2014, photographer Aaron Huey visited Everest Base Camp and the surrounding Sherpa communities in the Khumba region for a National Geographic story about conflict with Western climbers. The story published after an avalanche on April 18 resulted in the deaths of 16 Sherpas, leading to questions about the lack of safety measures enforced on Mount Everest. Those concerns continue; in May 2026, one Sherpa was reportedly left to die on the mountain, until a search operation found him alive six days later.
Aaron Huey, Nat Geo Image Collection
View of jellyfish of different sizes and colors.
Jumble of JellyfishThis photo of upside-down jellyfish was taken for the October 2018 issue of National Geographic. As their name suggests, these jellies rest upside down with their bells on the sea floor and their oral arms reaching upward, allowing them to absorb light and produce food through photosynthesis. They range in size (the largest in this photo is 1.7 inches across) and shades of brown, green, and blue, making it easy for them to blend into the shallow waters they frequent in both tropical and subtropical climates.
David Liittschwager, Nat Geo Image Collection
Two white ponies nuzzle their heads against each other.
Precious PoniesTwo Eriskay ponies embrace each other in Eriskay, Scotland. The ponies are an endangered, ancient breed native to the Outer Hebrides islands of western Scotland. With around 400 remaining, they are known for their fine gray coat that develops as they age. The people of Eriskay care for the ponies as they roam the village, and the Eriskay Pony Society has been working with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust to bolster the population of pure Eriskay ponies, as National Geographic reported in 2013.
Emily Whitney
A blurry image of people wearing white captain's hats and traditional clothing dancing together.
A Very Greenland GraduationA traditional high school graduation ceremony takes place in Nuuk, Greenland. In western Greenland, students wear a white captain's hat and one of the country's national costumes when partaking in the ceremony. While the men wear white seal-skin anoraks, the women's costumes in this part of the country are called kalaallisuut; both are typically reserved for special occasions including religious or national events. Kalaallisuut are known for being colorful, with intricate glass bead collars, sealskin short pants, and decorated white boots known as kamiit. This photograph is featured in Daniel Dorsa's latest book, To Skip a Sinking Stone, where he documents his visits to Greenland over the years. He refers to the country as "a place caught between preservation and transformation, where ancient rhythms meet new realities."
Daniel Dorsa
A processing plant sits amongst several large industrialized gravel pits, with many suburban homes in the distnace.
A Changing LandAn industrialized gravel pit sits alongside a sea of suburban homes near Draper, Utah, about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City. The photo is part of Victoria Sambunaris's series, "Land Mark," in which she explores the American landscape through the lens of industrialism and infrastructure. The series examines the possibilities and ambitions that have long been associated with the American identity, and how the land around us has been reshaped and transformed—both in good ways and bad—as a result of those ambitions. These photographs will be featured in Sambunaris's latest exhibit at Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey starting June 26, as well as at the Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York City through July 2.
Victoria Sambunaris, Yancey Richardson Gallery
Four men, one wearing a purple t-shirt that says "inspiring," sit in front of a red hen.
Sunday at the Pet MarketPeople surround a red hen at the Sunday pet market in Kolkata, India. Kolkata is home to Galiff Street Pet Market, which is considered by some as the oldest and largest pet market in India. People from across the city—and the world—visit the bustling market to observe and purchase exotic birds, fish, cats, dogs, chickens, and ducks. Photographer Julia Coddington specializes in street photography, and notes that what she loves the most about her specialty "is to lose myself in my invisibility and melt into the scene. It’s almost a fugue-like state, like I’m not there, or like a fly on the wall, or wearing an invisibility cloak."
Julia Coddington
A Black woman wearing a white dress stands in front of a building with a tan iron gate in front of the door.
Standing in Front of HistoryDiane Henderson stands outside Galveston's Reedy Chapel, one of the first Black churches in Texas. The city is where Union General Gordon Granger issued an order declaring an end to the enslavement of Black people in Texas on June 19th, 1865—a full two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Henderson says the event “is part of American history that needs to be brought out and not just something that Black people mention to their children or know about.” The photo was featured in a June 2021 National Geographic story after President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Graham Dickie, National Geographic Image Collection
Multiple people standing on a train platform.
Forever in MotionPassengers wait for a train at Amsterdam Central Station, in the Netherlands. The 19th-century Gothic Revival landmark connects trains, buses, ferries, and trams and sees more than 250,000 passengers traveling through the capital city each day. Opened in 1889, the hub is being renovated and extended—the largest reconstruction project in its history.
Justin Jin
A brown larva sits inside a circular egg that looks like a bubble.
A Symbiotic BondA larval spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) sits inside a gelatinous egg, found in a small woodland pond in Boone County, Arkansas. The egg mass contains algae, which provides oxygen and carbohydrates to the developing salamander, while also consuming its waste products. Photographer Isaac Szabo captured this image without disturbing the larvae’s habitat by laying on a paddleboard and lowering a camera into the pond.
Isaac Szabo
Colorful triangular flags strung above a car dealership.
Life in ColorThis 1962 photo shows for-sale cars parked under colorful flags at a dealership in Los Angeles, California. It was taken by Jacques Henri Lartigue, best known for documenting car racing, aviation, and French high society in black-and-white photos. He also took pictures of his trips to the United States toward the end of his life. The image is part of an exhibit at the MK Gallery in Buckinghamshire, England, on display through October 4, 2026.
Jacques Henri Lartigue, Los Angeles (1962) © Ministère de la Culture France / Association des Amis de Jacques Henri Lartigue
Overhead view of a rocky goldmine with a few roads carved into it.
Digging for GoldA view of an active open-cut gold mine in Western Australia. These mines, which extract minerals from the surface of a hole or pit in the ground, operate in remote areas hundreds of miles from city centers. Scott McCook is drawn to photographing these sites from above, offering a view of a world average Australians will never see. To him, such images reveal "what exists beyond the horizon and allows [people] to explore the details and environmental effects for themselves," he writes on social media.
Scott McCook
A black and white photo of two men standing with a cat.
A Cat and Some FriendsTwo brothers pose with a cat in Wumu Village, in Yunnan Province, China. In rural parts of the country like this one, marriage and raising children are widely held societal expectations. But because these men were born into difficult economic circumstances, neither married. Instead, they’ve spent their lives caring for each other. “As I spent time with them, I was moved by the quiet companionship they shared,” photographer Tommy Jiang tells National Geographic.
Tommy Jiang
A split street, one side with people walking and the other with a crowd of people standing in front of prayer mats.
Standing Together in PrayerAn overflow crowd from a mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh, pours into the streets for a prayer marking the end of Ramadan. The majority of the country's population is Muslim, although there is a small population of Hindu and Buddhist worshippers as well. Eid al-Fitr is the multiday celebration that follows Ramadan, and like many other Muslim countries, Bangladesh observes it with prayer, family gatherings, gift giving, and festive feasts.
Jonas Bendiksen, Nat Geo Image Collection
A close-up of a scallop's white tentacles, a few of them with eyes.
As Far as the Eyes Can SeeA close-up of a king scallop (Pecten maximus), which can have hundreds of complex eyes. Found on the edge of the mantle lining the scallop’s shell, each eye contains a microscopic mirror made of guanine crystals. Unlike mammal eyes that contain one retina, the mirrors in a scallop’s eyes reflect and focus light onto two separate retinas.
Justin Hofman
Walker Guinnee and Madison Tessler curated this selection of images for Photo of the Day, a daily look at photography from National Geographic's archives. Yasmine Maggio wrote and researched the captions. Check out today's photo here.