Icelandic horses play on a meadow in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Two storks sit in their nest as the sun rises in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, August 29, 2024. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Iceland foals stand together at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, July 15, 2022. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

People walk near an artwork depicting Pope Francis, following the death of the pontiff, in Rome, Italy, on April 22, 2025. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Mayu adjusts Koiku’s kimono, as Koiku wears a protective face mask while posing for a photograph, before they work at a party where they will entertain with other geisha at Japanese luxury restaurant Asada in Tokyo, Japan, June 23, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

Kyaiktiyo, Burma, 1978. The Golden Rock at Shwe Pyi Daw (the Golden Country), the Buddhist holy place. Hiroji Kubota writes: “I was desperate to keep a distance from America for a while; luckily, I found Burma and its gentle and compassionate people. In the spring of 1978, on the top of the hill where I took this photo, I had two Leica bodies: the one with Tri-X and the other with Kodachrome 64. Soon after, I realised that the colour one looked very colourful and was more powerful. That was my decisive moment, to become a colour photographer”. (Photo by Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos)

A guest arrives outside the Anna Sui show at the Strand Rare Book Room in New York on February 10, 2024. (Photo by Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post)