News in pictures

on October 10, 2024 at 4:50 pm

The 60th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition attracted more than 59,000 entries from 117 countries, and just recently announced the winners. The owners and sponsors have kindly shared some of this year’s winning and honored images below. The museum’s website has many more images from this year and previous years. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. Captions were provided by the photographers and WPY organizers, and are lightly edited for style. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A Tranquil Moment. Winner, Behavior: Mammals. Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod found this serene scene of a young toque macaque sleeping in an adult’s arms. Resting in a quiet place after a morning of photographing birds and leopards, Vinod soon realized he wasn’t alone. A troop of toque macaques was moving through the trees above. Vinod spotted this young monkey sleeping between feeds and used a telephoto lens to frame the peaceful moment. (© Copyright Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod / Wildlife Photographer of the Year) […]

on October 9, 2024 at 5:34 pm

Residents of Florida are preparing themselves for Hurricane Milton, currently a Category 4 storm, which is expected to make landfall later tonight or early tomorrow morning. Milton arrives less than two weeks after many Florida cities and towns were hit by Hurricane Helene—piles of storm debris still line the streets. Mandatory-evacuation orders are in place in cities along Florida’s central west coast, and residents have spent recent days boarding up windows, piling sandbags, and looking out for loved ones as they ready themselves for this enormous storm. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Eli Perez, 2, of Stuart, Florida, helps his mother fill a bag with sand at the Sailfish Ballpark distribution site on October 7, 2024, in Stuart, Florida. ( Crystal Vander Weit / TCPalm / USA Today Network / Reuters) […]

on October 8, 2024 at 5:39 pm

In Tarragona, Spain, more than 40 teams of “castellers” recently gathered for the city’s 29th biannual human-tower competition—working together to build the highest and most complex human towers (castells) possible. Winning teams reached as high as 10 tiers above the ground. Gathered here are some of the images of these amazing structures, and the effort involved in forming them. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Members of the Castellers de Vilafranca team form a castell during the 29th Castells Competition in Tarragona, Spain, on October 6, 2024. ( Lluis Gene / AFP / Getty) […]

on October 4, 2024 at 3:00 pm

Wildfires and drought in South America, a celebration of China’s National Day in Hong Kong, Israeli missile strikes in Lebanon, early Christmas celebrations in Venezuela, a dahlia show beside Stonehenge, devastating floods in Nepal and the U.S., and much more To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Drummers from Worldbeaters perform “Fireflies” to the crowds on the esplanade in Weymouth, England, on September 28, 2024. Activate Performing Arts presented the world premiere of “Fireflies” as part of We Are Weymouth’s Dusk Til Dark 2024 event. The processional show combines a fusion of drumming, light, and community performers. ( Finnbarr Webster / Getty) […]

on October 1, 2024 at 4:33 pm

The highest-scoring panoramic photos entered into the 15th Epson International Pano Awards were just announced. Organizers reported that they received 4,529 entries from 1,105 professional and amateur photographers in 95 countries this year, competing for the top spots in four categories, for several special awards, and for cash prizes. Contest organizers were once again kind enough to share some of the winners and other highest scorers below. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Power of Nature, Overall Winner - Open Competition, Highest Scoring Aerial, and Winner, Open—Nature / Landscapes. Mountains in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Kelvin Yuen: "The primary goal of this trip was to capture the iconic mountains of Guilin, renowned for its karst formations. On the day I took this photo, I woke up at 3 a.m. and was supposed to hike up for the sunrise. However, a heavy thunderstorm struck out of nowhere, so I decided to shoot the thunderstorm. I flew my drone to wait for the lightning due to safety concerns. The drone surprised me by being functional after 30 minutes of downpour. I took 700 photos with the same compositions, of which more than 40 were lightning shots." (© Copyright Kelvin Yuen / The 15th Epson International Pano Awards) […]

on September 30, 2024 at 5:51 pm

Late Thursday night, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds gusting up to 140 mph. The storm then crashed inland, causing wind damage and severe flooding that killed at least 120 people across six southeastern states, according to the Associated Press. Millions remain without power as first responders work to reach those in need and search for survivors. Gathered below are images from the past weekend, showing some of the devastation in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. In this aerial view, power crews work on the lines after Hurricane Helene passed by on September 27, 2024, in Crystal River, Florida. ( Joe Raedle / Getty) […]

on September 27, 2024 at 10:00 am

The effects of Hurricane Helene in Cuba, severe drought in Brazil and Ecuador, a simulated moon walk in Germany, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, runway scenes from Paris Fashion Week, a comet viewed from Earth orbit, scenes from the opening weekend of Oktoberfest in Germany, and much more To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Horses run through wetlands in Wulan Butong scenic area on September 22, 2024, in Chifeng, in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. ( Sun Zhongnan / VCG / Getty) […]

on September 24, 2024 at 4:19 pm

The winning entries in this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year competition were just announced. Patricia Homonylo was named the overall winner for her conservation-themed image of the thousands of birds killed in one year by colliding with windows and other reflective surfaces in urban areas. Competition organizers were once more kind enough to share some of the other winners here, selected from a field of more than 23,000 entries. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A Modern Dancer. Gold Winner, Comedy Bird Photo. "I was sitting on a Zodiac next to my husband and 10-year-old son near Brown Bluff, Antarctica, when we spotted a group of Adélie penguins on some sea ice. As we slowly approached them, they started to toboggan on the ice, and I captured one of them sliding as if performing a modern dance move." (© Copyright Nadia Haq / Bird Photographer of the Year) […]

on September 20, 2024 at 10:00 am

Destructive flooding throughout Europe, cliff diving in Austria, deadly wildfires in Portugal, a scene from Fashion Week in Milan, celebrations of Independence Day in Mexico, sparks at the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, and much more To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Moo Deng, a two-month-old pygmy hippo, plays with a zookeeper in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, on September 19, 2024. ( Sakchai Lalit / AP) […]

on September 17, 2024 at 5:10 pm

The winning images from the fourth annual Natural Landscape Photography Awards were just announced. The competition was started to “promote the very best landscape photography by digital and film photographers who value realism and authenticity in their work,” with rules set up to prevent deceptive editing techniques. A total of 1,134 photographers entered from 59 countries this year, in categories named “Grand Scenic,” “Intimate Landscapes,” and “Abstract & Details.” Contest organizers were once more kind enough to share their winners and runners-up. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Mountains, Runner-Up. A Patch of Sunlight on Beinn Eighe in Late Autumn. "After a few days of the peaks of Beinn Eighe being hidden, the clouds finally lifted to reveal a light dusting of early snow. The weather was stormy, but occasional breaks in the cloud illuminated tiny patches of the autumnal grasses on the flanks of the mountain." ( Sophie Carr / Natural Landscape Photography Awards) […]

on September 16, 2024 at 4:10 pm

The winning and commended images of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 competition were just announced, with Rafael Fernández Caballe named as the overall winner for his image of a Bryde’s whale swimming up to swallow a bait ball of sardines off Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Contest organizers at Oceanographic Magazine were once again kind enough to share some of this year’s top images below, and their full gallery can be seen here. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Overall Winner. A Bryde’s whale about to devour a heart-shaped bait ball off Baja California Sur, Mexico. (© Copyright Rafael Fernández Caballero / Ocean Photographer of the Year) […]

on September 13, 2024 at 10:00 am

Flooding in St. Mark’s Square in Venice, a hobbyhorse championship in England, damage from Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam, growing wildfires in Southern California, the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, a memorial for the victims of a school shooting in Georgia, and much more To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. An art installation by British sculptor Alex Chinneck, provisionally titled "The Looping Boat," is located on the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal in Sheffield, England, on September 10, 2024. The steel and aluminum piece, measuring six meters high and 13 meters long, was created to celebrate Sheffield's industrial heritage and historic waterways. ( Oli Scarff / AFP / Getty) […]

on September 11, 2024 at 6:02 pm

There are currently several large wildfires burning in Southern California, in and around the Greater Los Angeles area, fueled by dry conditions and an intense heat wave. The Airport Fire, the Bridge Fire, and the Line Fire have each burned tens of thousands of acres in the mountains and wilderness and are encroaching on more populated areas, forcing thousands to evacuate. Gathered below are images from the past week of these destructive fires and those affected by them. See also “The Line Fire Is Too Close to L.A. for Comfort,” by Caroline Mimbs Nyce. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A giant pyrocumulus cloud rises above the Bridge Fire, which is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains behind downtown Los Angeles, on September 10, 2024. ( Ted Soqui / Sipa USA / Reuters) […]

on September 10, 2024 at 5:33 pm

Sean Gallup, a photographer with Getty Images, recently traveled with shepherds in Switzerland during their annual “Schäful” sheep drive in high alpine meadows, near the Oberaletsch and Grosser Aletsch glaciers. During the drive, shepherds and sheepherders gather scattered sheep and lead them to the village of Belalp, where their owners take them back. The drive is one of many alpine traditions supported, in part, by the Swiss government. Gallup writes: “Climate change, while it has led to increased amounts of grass for grazing, is also creating complications for the shepherds. The Oberaletsch glacier that once provided an easy means of crossing a gorge along the route has shrunk and receded, leading local authorities to blast a path into the rockface and build a suspension bridge.” Changing weather patterns have also shifted the summer grazing season, and have affected the altitudes where edible plants can be found. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A sheepherder guides sheep on a mountain trail during the annual “Schäful” sheep drive as the severely shrunken Grosser Aletsch glacier lies in the background, photographed on September 7, 2024 near Belalp, Switzerland. ( Sean Gallup / Getty) […]

on September 6, 2024 at 10:00 am

Scenes from the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, an air festival in England, an inflatable art installation in Shanghai, scenes from the Venice Film Festival, a deserted theme park in China, a soapbox race in Kazakhstan, a dust storm in Sudan, and much more To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A participant wearing traditional Bavarian lederhosen races to the finish in the 2024 Münsinger Ochsenrennen ("Münsing Oxen Race") on September 1, 2024, in Münsing, Germany. The event, which pits the pride and glory of local ox breeders against one another, takes place only once every four years. ( Johannes Simon / Getty) […]

on August 30, 2024 at 10:00 am

A riverbed football match in England, the Notting Hill Carnival in London, a stork migration in Turkey, scenes from the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris, a wildfire in Brazil, a pickleball match above New York City, and much more To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A tourist descends into Tianyan Cave to explore a Buddha statue on August 22, 2024, in Chongqing, China. ( Liu Song / VCG / Getty) […]

on August 29, 2024 at 4:31 pm

The organizers of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest have once more shared a preview of some of the Highly Commended images in this year’s competition. The full list of winners, and the Grand Title and Young Grand Title Awards, will be announced in October. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London. Captions are provided by the photographers and WPY organizers, and are lightly edited for style. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Stormy Scene. William Fortescue used a backdrop of storm clouds lit by the setting sun to show mating lions. It was the rainy season when William visited the Serengeti National Park. He watched the lions mate several times before the female broke it off. It wasn’t until William viewed an enlarged image that he noticed the saliva trails and the explosion of insects from the male’s mane. (© Copyright Will Fortescue / Wildlife Photographer of the Year) […]

on August 23, 2024 at 10:00 am

A greased-pole competition in Indonesia; a scene from the Democratic National Convention, in Chicago; an Israeli air strike on Gaza; a waterskiing competition in Canada; a tilting church in Greece; a “dinner in the sky” in Poland; big-wave surfing in South Africa, and much more. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Lightning strikes as monsoon season storms bring desert-nourishing rain to Southwestern deserts on August 17, 2024, near Page, Arizona. ( David McNew / Getty) […]

on August 21, 2024 at 4:35 pm

Residents of Iceland’s Westman Islands are currently on puffin patrol. During the months of August and September, an annual tradition brings entire families out to the streets and harbor of Vestmannaeyjar late at night, where they work to find and rescue misdirected young puffins, called pufflings. During their first flight, the pufflings can become confused in the darkness, flying from sea cliffs toward city lights rather than toward the moonlight, and ending up stranded on dangerous city streets. Once they are rescued, the pufflings are brought to either a beach or a cliff to be released to the sea. The photographer Micah Garen recently followed some of these young rescuers on patrol on the island of Heimaey. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A young resident holds a rescued puffling before releasing it from a sea cliff in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, on August 20, 2024. ( Micah Garen / Getty) […]

on August 20, 2024 at 5:00 pm

Last night, people around the world were treated to views of a so-called blue sturgeon supermoon. It’s a “blue” moon because it is the third full moon of an astronomical season with four full moons, and August’s full moon is called the “sturgeon moon” because Algonquin tribes knew that large fish were more easily caught at this time of year. It is also one of the largest full moons of 2024, when our natural satellite appears about 10 percent larger than average as it approaches its closest point in orbit. This year’s closest full moons will be in September and October. Though the moon might look slightly larger to the naked eye, the apparent size difference is actually so small that a casual observer would likely never notice. Nevertheless, photographers across the globe captured the event: Here are 12 super images of this blue sturgeon supermoon. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. The full moon rises above the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on August 19, 2024. ( Ahmet Okatali / Anadolu / Getty) […]

on August 16, 2024 at 10:00 am

A raging wildfire in Greece, a 12-hour lawn-mower race in England, a floating festival in Spain, a bicycle-balance competition in Indonesia, a visit to the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina, the northern lights above Minnesota, the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, and much more To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A man rides over a hill as the sun rises in Frankfurt, Germany, on August 9, 2024. ( Michael Probst / AP) […]

on August 15, 2024 at 5:41 pm

The finalist entries in the current Ocean Photographer of the Year competition were just revealed, featuring some of the best coastal, drone, and underwater photographs selected from more than 15,000 submissions. Contest organizers at Oceanographic Magazine were kind enough to share some of this year’s selections below—their full gallery can be seen here. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Finalist, Wildlife. A giant Pacific octopus in the shallows, photographed in Russia. (© Copyright Andrey Shpatak / Ocean Photographer of the Year) […]

on August 14, 2024 at 6:21 pm

After years of planning and construction, Indonesia’s new capital city is set to be inaugurated on August 17, despite the fact that the site remains an active construction zone. The new city of Nusantara, on the island of Borneo, will replace Jakarta as the national capital, moving the seat of government about 800 miles away. The decades-long project covering hundreds of square miles will cost about $33 billion, according to estimates by the administration of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The stated reasons for the move include alleviating overcrowding in Jakarta and moving the capital to a more central location within the Indonesian archipelago. The project has experienced many problems, including difficulty securing funding and criticism from advocacy groups concerned about the enormous impact on Indigenous communities and the environment. Gathered below are recent images of the ongoing construction in Nusantara. See also “Egypt’s New Capital-City Megaproject” from 2023. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. Garuda Palace, the future Indonesian presidential palace, is seen under construction in the new capital city of Nusantara in East Kalimantan, on August 10, 2024. The design of the palace, based on the mythical bird Garuda, is meant to symbolize the national emblem acting as a protector of the people. The site is scheduled to host Indonesia's 79th Independence Day celebration on August 17. ( AFP / Getty) […]

on August 9, 2024 at 10:00 am

Skateboarding and steeplechase at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart at a dressage event, a volcanic eruption atop Mount Etna, a traditional mask festival in Benin, anti-government protests in Bangladesh, a military robot dog in Ukraine, and much more This photo essay originally misidentified Thea LaFond's team. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. A firefighter uses a drip torch to burn vegetation while trying to stop the Park Fire near Mill Creek in Tehama County, California, on August 7, 2024. ( Noah Berger / AP) […]

on August 8, 2024 at 5:03 pm

At this time last year, swift-moving wildfires were burning across parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui, devastating the historic community of Lahaina, and killing 102 people. In the months since the disaster, work has been done to clear debris, set up temporary housing, and to mourn and remember loved ones who were lost. It was recently reported that lawsuits against the government and utilities have reached a $4 billion settlement. As steps toward rebuilding begin, local organizations are also working to battle the invasive grasses that act as fuel for wildfires, and to reintroduce more fire-resistant native plants. Gathered below are recent images from Lahaina made by Mario Tama, a photojournalist with Getty Images. See also “When Maui Burned,” by Carrie Ching. To receive an email notification every time new photo stories are published, sign up here. An aerial view of vegetation regrowth amid areas destroyed or damaged by the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, seen on August 4, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. ( Mario Tama / Getty) […]