This close-up image – of a Holi Festival celebrant in Vrindivan, India, coated in neon-colored powder – was submitted to National Geographic’s Your Shot in the last week of March. On April 1 we published it on our Daily News site, along with seven other bright scenes captured during the Hindu spring Festival of Colors. (Photo by Tinto Alencherry/National Geographic)

“We've reached 40km.” – Participants run at the 40km mark of the 2025 Chosun Ilbo Chuncheon Marathon, held in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, South Korea on the afternoon of the October 26, 2025. (Photo by Park Seong-won)

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

In this July 11, 2018 photo, members of a private photo studio take pictures of a woman in Havana, Cuba. New rules for private business indicate that the government has ruled out going further to open private business, such as allowing small and medium enterprises and authorizing business to operate as societies. Currently, private business licenses are granted only to individuals, and only one license per person. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/AP Photo)

A mermaids swims during MerMagic Con at the Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas, Virginia on August 7, 2021. MerMagic Con is advertised as the largest Mermaid convention in the world. Some parts of the convention are based on modeling and looks like the Miss Mermaid USA Pageant. The Society of Fat Mermaids looks to bring together plus size people and promote the idea that anyone can become a mermaid. Becoming a mermaid is not cheap, most merfolk spend thousands of dollars on their tail and outfit. Most tails are custom made out of silicone and others are foam and fabric. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

Aerial view of tourists in life vests and rubber rafts in the Grand Canyon of western Henan, Sanmenxia, China on August 5, 2017. (Photo by Imaginechina/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Fishermen carry a tuna fish to the market in Mogadishu, Somalia, April 2, 2025. (Photo by Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP Photo)

In this Tuesday, February 5, 2019, photo, fire-eater performs during celebrations of the Lunar New Year in the Chinatown district of Manila, Philippines. This year is the Year of the Earth Pig in the Chinese Lunar calendar and is supposed to represent abundance, diligence and generosity. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)