20080525
May 25, 2008
Cowrie Shells, Myanmar, 2005
Photograph by Nicolas Reynard
A Moken tribesman in Myanmar's Andaman Islands displays two large cowrie shells. The Moken, a nomadic sea people who live among the 800 islands of the Mergui Archipelago, are divers and beachcombers, taking what they need each day from the Andaman Sea. They accumulate little and live on land only during the monsoons.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Sea Gypsies of Myanmar," April 2005, National Geographic magazine)

20080526
May 26, 2008
Memorial Day Salute, Minnesota, 2000
Photograph by Richard Olsenius
A Veterans of Foreign Wars honor guard stands at attention for a three-round salute in honor of Memorial Day.
First widely observed in 1868, Decoration Day, as it was originally known, was a time to honor fallen Civil War soldiers by decorating their graves. In 1971, the U.S. Congress made Memorial Day a national holiday honoring all Americans who have died in service to their country.
(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "In Search of Lake Wobegon," December 2000, National Geographic magazine)

20080527
May 27, 2008
Desert Rainbow, Australia, 2007
Photograph by Randy Olson
A rainbow spreads over a desert town in northwest Queensland, Australia, after a monsoon soaking. Every year, a climatological flip-flop draws the rainy-season weather down from India and douses this bone-dry land in a phenomenon known locally as "the wet."
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Wet Down Under," November 2004, National Geographic magazine)

20080528
May 28, 2008
Elephant Musicians, Lampang, Thailand, 2005
Photograph by William Albert Allard
Elephants explore their creative side with super-sized musical instruments, including this custom-made xylophone, at the Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand. Elephant handlers called mahouts encourage the animals to play by moving their arms, but the symphonic pachyderms select the notes and rhythms on their own.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Thailand's Urban Giants," October 2005, National Geographic magazine)

20080529
May 29, 2008
Climbers on Ertale Volcano, Ethiopia, 2005
Photograph by Carsten Peter
Climbers in Ethiopia's Danakil Desert prepare to descend into Ertale volcano. The volcano, which has been active for nearly a century, has a lake of molten lava at the center of its caldera.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Africa's Danakil Desert: Cruelest Place on Earth," October 2005, National Geographic magazine)

20080530
May 30, 2008
Water Puddles, Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2006
Photograph by Michael Nichols
Water-filled "potholes" dot the Esplanade, a rock formation on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, as lightning crackles in the distance. The Esplanade region is known for the dramatic weathered-sandstone pillars called hoodoos that dot the landscape.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Unexpected Canyon," January 2006, National Geographic magazine)

20080531
May 31, 2008
Untouchable Woman, India, 2003
Photograph by William Albert Allard
A veiled woman of the Untouchable caste pauses for a photo while sweeping outside her home in India. India's constitution forbids caste discrimination and specifically abolishes Untouchability, but the hierarchies and social codes of Hinduism perpetuate the system.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Untouchable," June 2003, National Geographic magazine)

20080601
June 01, 2008
Mineral Pigment, Bhubaneswar, India, 1999
Photograph by Cary Wolinsky
A woman in Bhubaneswar, India, prepares to grind red mineral pigment on a stone pestle. In the Hindu religion, colors, especially red, are endowed with symbolic significance.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Quest for Color," July 1999, National Geographic magazine)

20080602
June 02, 2008
Rainbow, Denali National Park, Alaska, 2001
Photograph by Joel Sartore
A double rainbow plunges into a gorge in Alaska's Denali National Park. Although they appear to exist at a definable point in the sky, a rainbow's position is actually dependent on the location of the observer relative to the sun.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Grizzly Survival: Their Fate Is in Our Hands," July 2001, National Geographic magazine)

20080603
June 03, 2008
Praying Mantis, Southeast Asia, 2001
Photograph by Tim Laman
This extreme close-up shows the business end of a praying mantis, one of the insect world's most formidable predators. Mantids have two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them. Some species can see movement up to 60 feet (18 meters) away.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Night Shift in the Rain Forest," October 2001, National Geographic magazine)

20080604
June 04, 2008
Schoolmaster Snappers, Conch Reef, Florida, 2003
Photograph by Brian Skerry
A column of schoolmaster snappers hovers near a support beam for the Aquarius research station near Florida's Conch Reef. Installed in 1993, this railroad-car-size unit gives scientists a permanent place to observe the creatures that live on the reef and how each plays a part in the ecosystem.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Deep Science: Sleeping With the Fishes," September 2003, National Geographic magazine)

20080605
June 05, 2008
Boats at Sunset, Kangerluk Fjord, Greenland, 2006
Photograph by David McLain
The day's last light illuminates the boats and tents of narwhal hunters on Greenland's Kangerluk Fjord. Narwhals come to Greenland's fjords in July and August to calve and feed. Landing these elusive tusked whales presents extreme dangers for Greenlanders, whose low-riding kayaks can easily capsize in the process.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Last Days of the Ice Hunters," January 2006, National Geographic magazine)

20080606
June 06, 2008
Gelada Monkey, Ethiopia, 2005
Photograph by Carsten Peter
A gelada monkey sits for a portrait in the Ethiopian highlands. These baboon-size animals are more terrestrial than any other primates except humans. They are the last surviving species of ancient grazing primates that were once numerous.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Africa's Danakil Desert: Cruelest Place on Earth," October 2005, National Geographic magazine)

20080607
June 07, 2008
Windblown Kaffiyeh, Near Dukhan, Qatar, 2003
Photograph by Robb Kendrick
A Qatari man in a traditional white dishdasha robe and a wind-blown red-and-white kaffiyeh stands before a sandstone formation near Dukhan. Qatar, a desert-covered Persian Gulf peninsula about the size of Jamaica, may be small, but its oil and natural gas reserves give it big clout. Per capita incomes there are among the highest in the world.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Revolution From the Top Down: Qatar," March 2003, National Geographic magazine)

20080608
June 08, 2008
Churches and Steeples, Salzburg, Austria, 2004
Photograph by Bob Krist
Snow rimes the classic dome- and spire-studded skyline of Salzburg, Austria. This elegant city's unique architecture is the legacy of a long line of prince-archbishops, powerful ecclesiastical rulers who used profits from the city's nearby salt mines to turn their seat of power into a little piece of Baroque Italy transported to the Austrian Alps.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Salzburg in Winter," November/December 2004, National Geographic Traveler magazine)