As the year began to come to a close, we asked National Geographic staff who work closely with photography—through the magazine, Your Shot, News, Travel, and Proof—to choose a photo from 2015 that they just can’t stop thinking about. There’s no formula for what makes an image resonate—it can be a piercing gaze, the perfect light, or a tender moment that strikes a chord with our editors. Over the coming days, we’ll reveal the 2015 photographs they found most memorable and why.

This is faith in its purest form—quiet, intimate, peaceful devotion. “No huffiness, or rancor,” as the poet Billy Collins writes. Since seeing this image for the first time, I often think about it during my own prayers. My