Photos and English scripts are from nationalgeographic.com
February 11, 2008
Coral Reef, Fiji Islands, 2005
Photograph by Tim Laman
Without a strobe light to animate its riot of colors, this Fijian reef in 45 feet (14 meters) of water remains as a fish would see it. Red light, with its longer wavelengths, dissipates at about 30 feet (10 meters), leaving smoky blues and muted yellows to dominate.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: Why Are Coral Reefs So Colorful?" May 2005, National Geographic magazine)
February 12, 2008
Borobudur Temple, Java, Indonesia, 2001
Photograph by Alexandra Boulat
A woman walks among the bell-shaped spires of Indonesia's Borobudur—the world's largest Buddhist temple. Built in the jungles of Java during the eighth and ninth centuries A.D., this ancient pilgrimage site lay abandoned for centuries until it was rediscovered and restored in the early 1900s.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Indonesia: Living Dangerously," March 2001, National Geographic magazine)
February 13, 2008
Aurora Borealis, Acadia National Park, Maine, 2005
Photograph by Michael Melford
Darkness settles over Jordan Pond in Maine's Acadia National Park as northern lights swirl above. "It was my last night in Acadia, and I was setting up for a long exposure of starlight in the night sky," recalls photographer Michael Melford, "and this brilliant red aurora appeared. I was in a panic to make sure I caught it."
(Text from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Autumn in Acadia National Park," November 2005, National Geographic magazine)
February 14, 2008
Common Loons, Moose Lake, Wyoming, 1988
Photograph by Michael Quinton
Two common loons in checkered breeding plumage engage in a courtship ritual in Wyoming's Moose Lake. Loon pairs are generally monogamous and highly territorial, emitting their haunting yodels during the breeding season to ward off intruders and violently attacking any that come too close.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "The Common Loon Cries for Help," April 1989, National Geographic magazine)
February 15, 2008
Ancient Sculpture, Angkor, Cambodia, 1968
Photograph by W. E. Garrett
Centuries of dormancy allowed the Cambodian jungle ample time to consume the work of Khmer artists in the sprawling Angkor temple complex. Built beginning in A.D. 800, Angkor was the capital of the Khmer kingdom until about A.D. 1430, when its leaders abandoned the site to establish a new capital at Phnom Penh.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Mekong: River of Terror and Hope," December 1968, National Geographic magazine)
February 16, 2008
Scorpion Fish, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia, 1997
Photograph by David Doubilet
A scorpion fish attempts to hide in the sand in French Polynesia's Tuamotu Archipelago. Masters of disguise, scorpion fish use cryptic coloring and specialized appendages to help them hide from predators and surprise prey. What happens when its cover is blown? The fish uses its highly venomous dorsal spines in a lightning-quick attack.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Black Pearls of French Polynesia," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)
February 17, 2008
Saint Simeon Church, Syria, 1978
Photograph by James Stanfield
The isolated ruins of the Church of Saint Simeon stand beneath a turquoise sky in the Syrian desert. This sprawling complex, located on a hill 37 miles (60 kilometers) from the nearest city (Aleppo), was built between A.D. 476 and 491 to honor St. Simeon Stylites, the famed ascetic monk who spent nearly 40 years in prayer atop a 40-foot (12-meter) pillar. The remains of the pillar can still be seen in the church's courtyard.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Ebla: Splendor of an Unknown Empire," December 1978, National Geographic magazine)
February 18, 2008
Pines and Palm Trees, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, 1996
Photograph by Raymond Gehman
Sunset bathes Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve in an orange glow. The preserve, 720,000 acres (291,375 hectares) of primordial swamp on Florida's southwest coast, is home to the elusive Florida panther and an impressive diversity of birds, among other unique fauna and flora. But human development in and around the area threatens to send this fragile ecosystem into a tailspin.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "In Big Cypress Country," March/April 1997, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
February 19, 2008
Cabbage Coral, Kadavu Island, Fiji, 2004
Photograph by Tim Laman
Cabbage coral provides refuge to a bigeye fish in Great Astrolabe Reef off Fiji's Kadavu Island. More than 330 islands speckle Fijian waters, which hold nearly 4,000 square miles (10,350 square kilometers) of reef, a vital trove of marine biodiversity.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Fiji's Rainbow Reefs," November 2004, National Geographic magazine)
A mature female leopard seal makes a threatening gesture to protect her kill from another leopard seal that had appeared behind the photographer. "More frightening than the canines," wrote the photographer, "was the deep jackhammer sound she let loose that rattled through my chest." Her display worked; the rival seal moved on.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Deadly Beauty," November 2006, National Geographic magazine)
Photos and English scripts are from nationalgeographic.com