| 2013-5-vintage-shop-australia | | Picture of May Haupt in the vintage shop where she works in Queensland, Australia | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
Mrs. May Haupt, February 2012, Montville, Queensland, Australia
One day I entered a little vintage store in Montville, Australia, and I stumbled upon an 86-year-old woman working behind her desk. During the following days I could not stop thinking of that image, so a week later I returned and asked her if I could take her picture exactly as I found her. Not only did she allow me to photograph her, but she also shared with me her beautiful life story. Her portrait is part of a photographic series called "Of Another Time," a project based on photographs and stories of people over 70. —Ana Paula Estrada
(This photo was submitted to Your Shot.)
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| 2013-5-shelf-cloud-saskatchewan | | Picture of a shelf cloud in Saskatchewan | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
The day began as any other storm-chasing day in the Canadian Prairies. My girlfriend and I followed this particular storm from its birth and observed as it formed this gorgeous shelf structure eight hours later, at the end of the day. The photo was taken just southeast of Fillmore, Saskatchewan, along Highway 33. I used my Pentax K200D camera with f/5.6, 1/200-second exposure and a basic 55mm lens to capture this unforgettable moment. —Gunjan Sinha
(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)
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Editor's Note, May 9, 2013: The title has been changed to more accurately reflect the cloud formation pictured above.
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| 2013-5-housing-development-mexico | | Picture of a housing development in Mexico taken from a helicopter | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
A few years ago when I was working as a helicopter pilot for a local radio station, we were required to fly around all of Mexico City chasing news and traffic. I remember flying up to the highway that connects Mexico City with the neighboring state of Puebla, and on my way back this housing complex that seemed to go on forever caught my attention. I decided to circle around to observe from up close what I later found out was the recently built San Buenaventura complex, which is located in Ixtapaluca, on the eastern outskirts of Mexico City.
The exceptional afternoon sun reflecting those thousands of recently painted small homes just looked so beautiful, and the lower I flew the better the angle, so I just got out my camera, opened the sliding window on my Bell helicopter, and snapped a couple of shots. —Oscar Ruiz
(This photo was submitted to Your Shot.)
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| 2013-5-garden-cape-town | | Picture of water drops dusting a garden in Cape Town | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
What inspired me to take this photograph was the light. As an artist (and enthusiastic photographer) I have always been fascinated by the warm, golden, late-afternoon light. During the spontaneous moment when I took the photograph, the light was reflecting off the surface of the lush plants and the water droplets (from the irrigation system), causing everything to shimmer. I chose a high shutter speed and a low angle of view, isolating the plants and water droplets against the plain, dark background of the tarred road.
The photo was taken in my home’s backyard, Cape Town, South Africa. —Albena Willuweit
(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)
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| 2013-5-penguin-south-georgia-island | | Picture of a penguin standing in the surf on South Georgia Island | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
It was 5 a.m. and we had just landed on the shore of South Georgia to catch the sunrise. It was cloudy and overcast, which presented the perfect opportunity for me to shoot some long exposures. At first I experimented with standing out in the water and photographing the crashing waves contrasted with the penguins on shore, but the waves were moving my tripod too much to get a stable shot. I realized I would need to be on shore, where I could get a steady shot, but I still wanted to include the water in my photo. I looked over and saw this lone penguin just at the water's edge. I quickly aimed and took this long-exposure shot, and moments after the shutter clicked the penguin looked up and walked off. Even though the sky didn't glow orange that morning due to overcast conditions, I still walked away very pleased with shooting in wonderful conditions that allowed me to capture this image. —Max Seigal
(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)
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| 2013-5-sunset-south-africa | | Picture of a sunset in Port Elizabeth, South Africa | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
In the southern summer of 2012, I spent some weeks for work in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, together with my wife, and we used to take long walks on the beaches around the city in our spare time. One evening we came to a beach called Maitland, a large stretch of sand dunes.
I took a few photographs of the beach while a light wind was moving the sand and the sky was getting cloudy. Gradually the sea and the sky became first gray and then brown before the sun went down. It lasted just a few minutes, but luckily I had not yet finished the battery of my smartphone! I did nothing to this photograph; I was surprised myself but the sunset really looked like this. —Giampiero Torello
(This photo was submitted to Your Shot.)
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| 2013-5-man-motorbike-india | | Picture of a man with his motorbike at Kumbh Mela in India | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
This photo of a sadhu was taken in Allahabad at Maha Kumbh Mela 2013. I was walking along a road in Kumbh when I saw the bike and sadhu near the tent. I stopped walking and waited. The sadhu left the tent and went near the motorbike. I took a step forward to get closer to the subject (I was taking the photo with a 14-24mm very wide optic) and I took the photo. The sadhu realized what happened only when the photo was taken, maybe for the best since I was able to catch his expression in a better way.
After I took the photo, he asked me to come closer to show him the pictures. I did that and he blessed me. It was a nice experience. I prefer to shoot people only after interacting. Just in a few cases, like with the sadhu and motorbike, I preferred to shoot without asking. —Massimiliano Sticca
(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)
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| 2013-5-forest-south-africa | | Picture of dawn in the Tokai forest in South Africa | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
I woke up early to go take some photos of a haunted mansion in Tokai in Cape Town. I got lost down a dirt road of sorts and noticed how gorgeous the heavy mist looked as it hung low over Tokai forest. I went into the forest and was taking photographs when I saw a crow in the tree about to take off, so I aimed my camera to where I thought the crow would fly and captured it when it came into my frame. —Penny R. Robartes
(This photo was submitted to Your Shot.)
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| 2013-5-canal-morning-venice | | Picture of morning light on a canal in Venice | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
The bridges and canals of Venice at first light. The alleyways and canals can be a photographer's dream. As morning light arrived before the hustle and bustle of the crowds, I captured the colors and reflections of this enchanting city near Campo Santa Maria Formosa. —Wilmot David
(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)
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| 2013-5-surfer-underwater-australia | | Picture of a surfer taken underwater in Broulee, Australia | | This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots
During my summer holidays I spend a few weeks at a beach house on the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia. I am a professional photographer but have a real love affair with underwater imagery, so I look forward to this time of year. Instead of shooting the surfers above the water on the waves I would allow them to fly past me underwater, just to see them passing through the wave as it breaks. Sometimes they come a little too close … —Alex Coppel
(This photo was submitted to My Shot.)
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| 2013-4-godafoss-aurora-iceland | | Picture of the Northern Lights over Godafoss in Iceland | | This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
This is an image I have had on my mind to get for three years. To align the waterfall and northern lights that are strong enough to light up the whole surroundings. At last it happened and I was at the right place at the right time. Godafoss means Waterfall of the Gods and takes its name from the old Nordic sagas.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
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| 2013-4-farmhouse-snow-melford | | Picture of a farmhouse in the snow | | This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Painter Andrew Wyeth kept a secret studio a few miles from this Woodlawn farmhouse, creating works of art inspired by the surrounding landscape until his death in 2009. Some of his paintings evoke similar wintry scenes.
See more pictures from the April 2013 feature story "History’s Backyard."
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| 2013-4-diamondback-big-bend | | Picture of a diamondback rattlesnake in Big Bend National Park | | This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
I carry snake tongs when I travel to Big Bend National Park to move snakes from the warm roadways in the mornings so they won't be run over. I came across this diamondback near Panther Junction. He went on the defensive as soon as I exited my truck. I didn't want to pass up the photo op and photographed him with a Canon EOS 5D111 and a Canon 100-400 5.6L lens. I then moved him into the underbrush about 30 feet from the roadway.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
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| 2013-4-mesa-arch-canyonlands | | Picture of Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park | | This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Mesa Arch in Utah's Canyonlands National Park is one of the finest places for a photographer to start the day. This 4x5 negative was exposed with an old lens, a 121mm Schneider Super Angulon. It was a favorite of Ansel Adams. While an excellent optic for its time, it only had single-layer coating and was subject to more flare than modern lenses. In this instance, it created a starburst pattern with rainbow streaks that add greatly to the character of the image.
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
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