This photo of a cowboy in Cabo San Lucas was taken at the most amazing sunset; the air was extremely heavy, and the contrast of the lighting was unbelievable. I saw this cowboy coming straight at me and I knew at that point in time how to describe the beauty of Cabo San Lucas. It was not about the magnificent ocean, the calving whales, or the seals that swam from Lovers Cove to Divorce Beach. Cabo was about the beauty of the people that made this place simply remarkable.
On this day the sun rose directly behind the active Merapi, ”Fire Mountain,” highlighting the volcanic smoke which steadily streamed across the horizon from its uppermost region. Facing the mountain in the image is a sacred and latticed stupa of Borobudur Monument’s first upper terrace and an endearing statue of Buddha. Thick fog filled the forest and villages below, adding interesting artistic elements to the image.
Perched high in the Peruvian Andes, the royal retreat of Machu Picchu testifies to the Inca’s masterful building skills with its precision-cut stones and perfectly placed cascades of terraces.
Photograph by Robert Clark
Buddhist monk and kung fu master Shi Dejian (above) and his disciples hauled bags of cement and roof tiles up steep mountain paths to build an isolated retreat (in background) away from the tourist crowds at the Shaolin Temple.
Chords of friendship bind accordionist Olesya Kamovich and comrades, who meet Sundays in Sevastopol to sing.
Photograph by Gerd Ludwig
After a day of grazing in the surrounding desert, a herd of sheep and goats follow their owner to his home on the edge of Timbuktu. Founded by Tuareg herders, Timbuktu still counts the livestock trade among its primary sources of income.
The terraced pools of mineral-laden water at Maras produce salt by evaporation, as they did in the time of the Inca. The ancient community nearby was called Kachi, “salt” in the local language.
Photograph by Robert Clark
With a vigorous quiver, an Arizona sweat bee “buzz pollinates” a deadly nightshade flower. Its vibrating body shakes free the golden dust that will feed the larvae back in the nest—and promise the plant’s DNA a future.
Photograph by Mark W. Moffett
An abandoned rail line has become an elevated park known as the High Line. Dense plantings at the southern end heighten the contrast with the old steel structure as well as with the cityscape. The Standard Hotel, one of three buildings that cross over the High Line, is on the right.
An expedition member walks on the cooled lava floor, turned red by the reflected glow of a lake, of a caldera in Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Down here you feel the volcano,” says photographer Carsten Peter. “It’s a low-frequency rumbling that pulses through your body—like being inside a giant subwoofer.”
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Posting the National Geographic Photo of the Day here. I do not claim any ownership of these photos.
