| 2013-9-raasleela-dancers-india | | Picture of dancers in India | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
A cloud of marigold, rose, and jasmine petals envelops raas leela dancers during a Holi Festival performance in Vrindavan, India. According to Your Shot contributor Priyanka Telang, performers and organizers work hard to preserve the ancient dance, "a dramatic presentation of the events of Lord Krishna's childhood days."
In the scene pictured, Lord Krishna celebrates Holi with friends, mostly female. "All the roles are played by male artists dressed up in female costumes," writes Telang. "Being a part of it and watching it live is one of the most wonderful and spiritual experiences—you are spellbound and everything in the world around you disappears … "
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| 2013-9-cheetahs-masai-mara | | Picture of cheetahs on the roof of a tourist vehicle in Masai Mara National Reserve | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
When Yanai Bonneh saw a pair of cheetahs jump onto the top of a tourist vehicle, the Your Shot contributor "didn't think too much, only realized it was an unusual moment, pulled out my camera, and started clicking." For Bonneh, it was "the opportunity of a lifetime" during a visit to Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve. "Later in the evening, I stopped on this photo, and what came out was only a big 'wow.'"
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| 2013-9-snowy-street-tokyo | | Picture of a snowy street in Tokyo | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
"The snow season in Japan is long … but Tokyo receives only small amounts of snow," says Danilo Dungo, a member of our Your Shot community. Dungo captured this shot in Shibuya, a busy commercial district known for the crowds of crisscrossing pedestrians that stream over a large intersection. "My hand was numb and soaking wet," says Dungo, who tried "to capture the expressions of the people passing me by."
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| 2013-9-airplane-shadow-california | | Picture of an airplane’s shadow falling on clouds | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
"It was a clear and beautiful day as I took off from San Francisco Airport heading eastbound," says Your Shot contributor Avani Agarwal, who spotted the plane's shadow while taking in the city from a window seat. "At first I thought it was another airplane, or some figment of my imagination," Agarwal says, "but I quickly realized it was my airplane's shadow and furiously grabbed for my camera," an iPhone.
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| 2013-9-boat-hull-dam | | Picture of a boat hull at the bottom of a drained dam in the Czech Republic | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
Your Shot contributor George Hodan says he was in the right place at the right time for this shot of a mud-covered boat sitting at the bottom of a drained dam in the Czech Republic. "I was on holiday in Brno," he says. "It was such an interesting view that I didn't hesitate, and I took the shot immediately."
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| 2013-9-fireflies-forest-north-carolina | | Picture of blue ghost fireflies hovering over a forest floor, North Carolina | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
A forest floor in North Carolina is traced with the movement of blue ghost fireflies in this time-lapse image by Your Shot contributor Spencer Black, who says the element of surprise compels him toward long-exposure photography.
"These fireflies are unique because their blink pattern is much longer than the common firefly and they hover about a foot off the ground," says Black. "Witnessing them by the thousands, floating above the forest floor in complete darkness, is truly an incredible experience."
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| 2013-9-swimmers-lake-kumta | | Picture of children swimming in a lake in India | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
"Nonstop rain for a week left all the small lakes filled with water in Kumta," says Your Shot contributor Dinesh Hegde of an early monsoon in the coastal Indian town. "When the sun came out unexpectedly, one could see the people running around to finish off their last week's pending work with a mixture of happiness and [haste]."
Hegde came across the swimming children while riding his bike. "The gorgeous monsoon clouds and the Western Ghats formed a perfect backdrop for their cheerful activity," Hegde says. And the kids were happy to get the perfect response to their celebrations—"me photographing them."
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| 2013-9-dolphins-red-sea | | Picture of dolphins swimming near the surface of the Red Sea | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
"Wild dolphins normally go hunting in deeper waters at sunset, but they have to surface to catch a breath of air," says Your Shot contributor Natalia Pryanishnikova, who took this photo during the Dolphin Watch project, a scientific study of dolphins in the Red Sea.
After watching the pod of dolphins all day, documenting their behavior and travel routes, Pryanishnikova saw that they had started hunting and waited close to the surface for interesting silhouette opportunities. "I was lucky to meet them exactly as they surfaced in the light of the setting sun," she says.
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| 2013-9-sunrise-ride-myanmar | | Picture of the temples, stupas, and pagodas of Bagan, Myanmar | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
For Your Shot contributor Dima Chatrov, seeing Bagan, Myanmar, from a hot air balloon is a must for any traveler to the ancient city. "The location is ideal for shooting: the bend of the river, flat valley … and mountains on the horizon," Chatrov says. "But the main thing [is] there are thousands and thousands of temples, pagodas, and stupas."
According to Chatrov, the balloon flight lasts from 40 minutes to an hour. "The first sunbeam breaks through the haze on the east and colors the valley in golden tones. A few more seconds and thousands of light blades pierce the fog. It is so beautiful and unusual that it seems like you are no longer in the 21st century, but somewhere in the middle of the 19th, flying like the heroes of Jules Verne, to open the unknown …"
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| 2013-9-cafe-sorrento-italy | | Picture of two friends in a café in Sorrento, Italy | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
A chapel's mural serves as "a splendid backdrop" for two men chatting at a café in the southern Italian city of Sorrento. "Luckily for me they were just as happy to be in my photo," says National Geographic Your Shot contributor Adelina Iliev, an architect turned photographer. "Architecture is a big theme for me," Iliev says. "It was a quick, intuitive snap."
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| 2013-9-wave-sunrise-oahu | | Picture of a wave breaking at sunrise in Oahu, Hawaii | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
To capture this photograph, Your Shot contributor Freddy Booth stood knee-deep in the water during sunrise on the northeast side of Oahu. "I started off capturing images from inside the barrel of the wave," Booth writes, "but once I saw how amazing the sunrise became, I switched to trying to get this angle."
Booth knew time was ticking on the lighting, but finally a wave came in just right. "This image taught me that my ego is not my amigo, and I should never pass up the little things in life."
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| 2013-8-loire-valley-roberts | | Picture of women talking in Loire Valley, France | | This Month in Photo of the Day: City Pictures
Photographer H. Armstrong Roberts captured this image of women sharing a conversation along the Loire River in Saumur, France, in 1928. Set in the Loire Valley, the city in western France is surrounded by vineyards and is home to several impressive chateaus.
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| 2013-8-shanghai-china-skyline | | Picture of the Shanghai skyline | | This Month in Photo of the Day: City Pictures
Clouds roll in over Shanghai, one of the fastest growing megacities in the world. Just a modest fishing town a century and a half ago, China's most populous city is a free-spending capital regarded as one of the world's most desirable markets.
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| 2013-8-street-beirut-abercrombie | | Picture of a street scene in Beirut, Lebanon | | This Month in Photo of the Day: City Pictures
This photograph of a bustling street scene ran in the April 1958 issue of National Geographic in a story by Thomas J. Abercrombie about "Young-old Lebanon." The caption read, in part: "For variety, few cities can match Lebanon's bustling capital. Part Christian, part Moslem, Beirut combines East and West, ancient and modern. Contrasts stand out vividly in street scenes such as this on the Rue Georges Picot. … A sign over the blouse shop shows the cedar, Lebanon's national symbol. The market-bound shepherd in Near Eastern headdress and Western jacket icily ignores the latest European fashions."
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| 2013-8-greenwich-park-vitali | | Picture of Greenwich Park in London | | This Month in Photo of the Day: City Pictures
A world away from the nearby towers of central London, grassy Greenwich Park offers a refuge for city dwellers. One secret to designing cities that are good for the environment lies in luring nature lovers to urban green spaces instead of the suburbs.
See more pictures from the December 2011 feature story "The City Solution."
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| 2013-8-wedding-krakow-poland | | Picture of a wedding in Krakow | | This Month in Photo of the Day: City Pictures
Kazimierz, the historical Jewish quarter of Krakow, provides a colorful backdrop for an impromptu wedding shoot. "This wonderful place is the Jewish district," Your Shot contributor G. Dzhevelieva says. "It keeps so much paint and history between the streets. Nowadays it's the most interesting art place in Poland."
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