Photo of the Day: Best of March
Every day, we feature an image chosen from thousands around National Geographic. Here are some highlights from March.
One of the most important attributes a good photograph can have is mood. Mood can mean a lot of different things, but when you see it for yourself, it’s undeniable. This month’s photographs oozed with mood. Scenes such as a misty walkway in Poland, the excitement of foxes on the chase in Japan, cranes bathed in yellow light in Israel, and the end of a leisurely day in Lebanon transport us to another time and place.
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In the Mekong Delta town of My Tho, Vietnam, a flowing expanse of fishing net is carefully checked for damage. This image offers a glimpse into the daily routine of area fishermen, says the photographer, Your Shot member Phạm Tỵ. “After a long trip at sea, they have to check and mend the damaged nets … It sometimes takes a half day to finish their work. Therefore, the fishermen … mend the nets as fast as possible for the next trip to sea.”
Summer in Munich, Germany, attracts sunbathers, clothed and otherwise, to the grassy banks of the Schwabinger Bach, in this photo from the April 2016 feature story “How Urban Parks Are Bringing Nature Close to Home.” The meadows in this park, English Garden, which opened in 1792 and is one of Europe’s largest, have been popular with nudists since the 1970s.
“Early spring is in the air,” writes Hiroki Inoue, a Your Shot community member who snapped this photo of red foxes racing on a snowy hill in Biei, a town in Hokkaido, Japan. Considered resourceful animals, red foxes can be found around the world and in various habitats. They mate in winter.
From his vantage point, Mohnish Bisht was able to capture the stunning clarity of the Umngot River in Meghalaya, a state in India. Meghalaya’s capital city, Shillong—with its temperate climate and hilly, pine-covered landscape—has earned the European nickname “Scotland of the East.”
In the golden light of morning, cranes take flight in Israel’s Hula Valley nature reserve. Millions of migrating birds, including cranes, stop in the valley as they make their way between Europe and Africa.
Your Shot community member Noemie Trusty submitted this stunning photo taken in the City of Light: the sun gleaming through the apex of the glass Louvre Pyramid, designed by architect I.M. Pei. “Millions of visitors from all over the world walk to the Pei Pyramide in the Louvre courtyard every year,” Trusty writes, and that’s entirely possible: Year after year, Paris is one of the most visited destinations in the world.
A New Zealand silvereye stretches toward a Puya alpestris, a dramatically colored flowering plant that is native to Chile and very attractive to nectar-sipping bird species. “When the flowers bloom, the silvereye is intoxicated. I spent a delightful afternoon capturing [images of] these fleeting birds at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand,” writes Your Shot community member Chew Yen Fook, who shared this photo.
At a seaside facility in Beirut, Lebanon, “two old-time friends,” writes photographer Yasmina B., “enjoy life by the beach.” Once called “the Paris of the Middle East,” Beirut’s glamorous image was shattered by a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990. Rebuilding efforts have taken place in the decades since.
Your Shot member Fran Llano sought a new way to capture Kirkjufell, Iceland’s well-known, stand-alone peak. “I’ve used these icicles on the frame just trying to get something different from this famous spot,” he says. The 1,519-foot (463-meter) mountain, shown here partially illuminated by the northern lights, is located on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in western Iceland.
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