2007-06-11 New Orleans, Louisiana, 2000 Photograph by Bob Sacha An infrared view of a New Orleans street gives this cemetery scene a psychedelic air. Burials in New Orleans demand creative solutions due to the city's high water table. In the past, New Orleanians weighed coffins with stones or even bored holes in them to keep them from floating to the surface. Today, caskets are usually placed in above-ground-vaults, like the ones pictured here. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, 揝pirits of New Orleans,?October 2000, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
2007-06-12 Sydney, Australia, 2000 Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt Storm clouds paint the sky over Circular Quay, the heart of Sydney Harbor and the gateway for many of the city's waterside attractions, including the Sydney Opera House, at right. A sequence of nested concrete shells forms the roof of this iconic structure, which opened in 1973 after almost three decades of planning and construction. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, 揝ydney,?August 2000, National Geographic magazine)
2007-06-13 Armenia, 2004 Photograph by Alexandra Avakian An Armenian tightrope walker steadies himself with his balance pole as he prepared to perform a trick. Throughout its history Armenia has walked a sort of geopolitical tightrope of its own, situated as it is on one of the region's most venerable trade routes: the land bridge between Europe and Asia. Centuries of invasion and foreign rule have shaped and reshaped this tiny republic's borders and hammered an ethic of resilience into its people.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Rebirth of Armenia, " March 2004, National Geographic magazine)
2007-06-14 Vallejo, California, 1995 Photograph by Michael Nichols Water flies as a young white tiger shakes itself dry in a pool at California's Marine World Africa USA. (Now called Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.) White tigers are extremely rare in nature, and many seen in zoos today are produced through controversial inbreeding. White tigers can be born to normal-colored tigers if both parents carry the recessive gene for white coloring. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, 揗aking Room for Tigers,?December 1997, National Geographic magazine)
2007-06-15 Chiyoda, Japan, 1977 Photograph by H. Edward Kim During a rice planting festival in Japan, the women of Chiyoda stoop and plant in unison while drummers and bamboo-clacking musicians set the tempo for the accompanying pipers. As the dance master leads the troupe, he calls out, "What flower blooms in the front field? Rice flowers, money flowers, flowers of perfect virtue." (Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Day of the Rice God," January 1982, National Geographic magazine)
2007-06-16 Siberia, Russia, 2002 Photograph by Mark Thiessen A Russian smokejumper leaps from an Antonov An-2 biplane to battle wildfires in a Siberian forest. Every summer 4,000 smokejumpers from Avialesookhrana, Russia's aerial forest protection service, patrol two billion acres (809 million hectares) of the largest coniferous forest in the world extinguishing thousands of the region's 20,000 to 35,000 annual wildfires. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Russian Smokejumpers, " August 2002, National Geographic magazine)
2007-06-17 Madagascar, 2000 Photograph by Lynn Johnson Like the pillars at the entrance of an ancient Roman ruin, a stand of baobab trees frames a dirt road in Madagascar. Found in the savannas of Africa and India, the baobab is a godsend to locals who use nearly every part of the tree for food, medicine, and even shelter. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, 揘ature抯 RX,?April 2000, National Geographic magazine)
2007-06-18 Denmark, 1998 Photograph by Sisse Brimberg Graffiti covers the side of a ship in one of Denmark's many harbors. Vandalism is rare in this exceptionally peaceful, orderly society where a mere 2 percent of the national budget is spent on police, prisons, and courts. A common saying in the patriotic nation holds that "Denmark is a land where few have too much and even fewer have too little," a fact that they attribute to keeping the crime levels low. (Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Civilized Denmark," July 1998, National Geographic magazine)
2007-06-19 Paris, France, 1989 Photograph by James L. Stanfield A man sits in Paris's Tuileries Garden flanked by colorful model sailboats, which are rented out and sailed in the park's picturesque fountains. Located in downtown Paris along the banks of the Seine, the gardens are built on the site of an old quarry where clay for tiles, or tuileries in French, was once mined. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, 揟he Great Revolution,?July 1989, National Geographic magazine)
2007-06-20 Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002 Photograph by Steve McCurry A watch vendor works within the confines of his hand-painted pushcart on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The Afghan capital, which had been calm in the years following the 2001 ouster of the Taliban government, has been rocked lately by resurgent Taliban forces. Authorities have passed laws aimed at ridding the city of handcarts and donkey carts, which are often used by insurgents to hide explosive devices. (Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "A New Day in Kabul," December 2002, National Geographic magazine)