Best Photos of the Week (December 19-25) from National Geographic

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Every week for Culturology. Ru there are collections of gorgeous photos from National Geographictaken by the best photographers. And according to tradition, in this section, landscapes and cities, people and animals, culture and life of different peoples, the underwater world and the kingdom of insects - all the most interesting that can only be seen both independently and through the lens of a camera.

December 19th

Yosemite Falls, North America's tallest waterfall, is located in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada, California. It is called a two-stage waterfall because it consists of the Upper and Lower steps. An amazing sight can be observed in clear weather, during a full moon, at the foot of Upper Yosemite Falls - this is a real lunar rainbow. The lunar rainbow is especially clearly visible in long exposure photographs. Photographer Andrew Coffing managed to capture this phenomenon with a shutter speed of 30 seconds - and here it is, a lunar rainbow, hiding in the fog at the foot of the top step of Yosemite Falls.

December 20

A light kite made of plain paper, fishing line and dry twig soared into the sky over Jaisalmer, a city in the middle of the Great Indian Desert. The picturesque city, through which caravans crossing the desert pass, did not become a tourist center, since civilization with all its benefits and joys is too far from it. A kite launched by a young girl over the city looks as if it carries away her most cherished dreams and hopes to the skies. Perhaps, launched with the wind, they will be fulfilled faster. Photo by Simon Christen.

21 December

Uninspiring and unattractive residential areas in Singapore are lined with identical, like twins, multi-storey apartment buildings. And behind every square window, where a cheap chandelier or table lamp lights up in the evening, hide the hazy memories of the older generation, people who grew up in rural China or India, in houses they will never see again.

December 22

For some passionate people, hobbies are like work. Both at night and early in the morning, they choose the time to do what they love, whatever the cost. For example, photographer Rob Horner managed to take a picturesque photo of an unknown surfer heading to catch waves in the early rays of the rising sun.

December 23rd

Sifaka lemurs, common only on the island of Madagascar, are sacred to the inhabitants of the island: it is believed that they are the souls of departed ancestors. Therefore, the aborigines create whole cults of sifaki, worshiping this animal as a deity. In addition, it is widely believed that sifaki are something like guardian angels for humans. Having met such a lemur on the path, you can be sure that you are on the right track, and luck lies ahead. Sifaka lemurs are also able to "dance", they can point to edible and medicinal plants in the forest, and at dawn it is not difficult to find the animal in a characteristic pose, reminiscent of a pose for meditation. It is believed that this is how the sifaka prays to God, and asks him to be condescending and benevolent to the inhabitants of Madagascar. It is forbidden to take these lemurs outside the island, even to zoos. The only zoo in which sifaka lemurs live is located in the capital of Madagascar, the city of Antananarivo.

December 24

Many residents of the southern regions of Russia and neighboring countries, where winters are not very snowy and frosts do not pinch their cheeks much, cannot imagine how people live in the Siberian tundra. Nevertheless, the microclimate of the tundra allows growing potatoes and other vegetables in these places, picking berries and mushrooms. In addition, the inhabitants of Siberia are engaged in fishing and hunting for squirrels. However, one of the main forms of employment for the indigenous population of the Taz Peninsula, which is located in Western Siberia, is reindeer husbandry. Dmitry Nikonov's photo shows a typical resident of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a reindeer herder in person.

December 25

Even if the country is being torn apart by internal political problems, one of the few places where these problems and disagreements are forgotten is in the resort. Whether it is a recreation center, a village house or a hotel with a swimming pool. So, in his photograph, Franky De Schampheleer tried to show just such a "peace" between the North and South of Belgium. Even if this world is only "photographic".