Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacts after getting a large wave in the 5th heat of the men's surfing round 3, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, on July 29, 2024. Jerome Brouillett/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
From left: Francisca Chagas Dos Santos. Taquari District. Rio Branco, Brazil. March 2015. Terence McKeen with his mother, Gloria. Blackcreek, Middleburg, Florida. United States. September 2017 Gideon Mendel hide caption
This circa 1846 daguerreotype of Dolley Madison, made by John Plumbe Jr., was purchased for $456,000 at auction in June. Sotheby's hide caption
A century-old wrestling competition in Chittagong, Bangladesh, known as Abdul Jabbar's Boli Kheladraws thousands of spectators annually. In this picture from April 24, 2023, two wrestlers go at it on a sandy stage in front of a street audience. Sanchayan Chowdhury hide caption
Nitya Kansal (left) and her husband, Arvind Kansal (right), pose in front of their home in Cupertino, Calif. Art inputs by Nitya Kansal/Ashima Yadava hide caption
A group of Okalolies head toward a house belonging to one of their own in Edinburgh of the Seven Seas on Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic Ocean, on Dec. 31, 2023. New Year's Eve, or Old Year's Night as it's known on the island, is a chance for the whole community to come together. Julia Gunther hide caption
Farida Azizova-Such inside the nursery rocking her son to sleep. "He was 5 weeks when we started coming. It's just my husband and I taking care of him, so I was alone at home. I wanted to find new moms to connect with and a safe space to be able to come and learn about how to take care of a baby, and also my identity shifted when you become a mother." Ali Lapetina for NPR hide caption
When hobbyist photographer Michael Sanchez snapped this picture of a blue rock-thrush subspecies on the coast of northern Oregon last week, he didn't know how rare the bird was until he posted it to social media. Michael Sanchez hide caption
El Massry took this photo of a felucca sailing down the Nile in the south of Cairo on a morning in 2022. He digitally framed the image with a photo of a window in an old antique shop, and in his signature style, added a bird or two. Nour El Massry hide caption
Keary Hines, Prairie View, Texas. Ivan McClellan hide caption
In this photo made by Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, an Afghan boy flies his kite on a hill overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan, May 13, 2013. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption
In Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, oil bunkering — the practice of siphoning oil from pipelines — has transformed parts of the once-thriving delta ecosystem into an ecological dead zone, according to the U.N. Environment Programme. Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco / Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto hide caption
Azzam, 12, hugs a sheep, the only source of his family's livelihood in rural Damascus on Feb 21, 2022. Azzam and his family have experienced firsthand the harrowing impact of the conflict. In 2015, when Azzam was five years old, a shell fell on the building where he was sitting with his family. Hasan Belal for NPR hide caption
David Johnson in 2023 with one of his photographs, "Clarence," at an award luncheon at UC Berkeley honoring the photographer. Peg Skorpinski hide caption
Kate, Princess of Wales, says she edited a photo that seemed to promise to ease concerns about her health — but only raised new questions. She's seen here greeting the public on Christmas Day, last December. Stephen Pond/Getty Images hide caption