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A gharial with its elongated, narrow snout. Another one behind, with its pale olive-yellow-colored skin shows that they are young. Taken at Snake Park, in Chennai, India. Photo and caption Courtesy Stanislaus Ronny Terence/ National Geographic Your Shot

It was excellent conditions for aurora photographing last night. In this image I got the moon with Pleiades on top and Jupiter to the left. And just over the mountain, Orion was rising. Canon EOS 5D mk3 with Canon EF16-35L f/2,8 II. Photo and caption Courtesy Frank Olsen/ National Geographic Your Shot

A view across the valley from First Mountain, Grindelwald Photo and caption Courtesy Paul Mulholland/ National Geographic Your Shot

I like snorkeling and this summer, in Lefkada Island, my son spotted a jellyfish near a rock. I brought my small water-resistant camera and made several shots. The jellyfish was followed by two small fishes that swam around and inside them as their house. This is the best shot. Photo and caption Courtesy Mauritzio Zambelli/ National Geographic Your Shot

While exploring the beautiful Painted Rock in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, I came across this amazing pair of barn owls. This pair, like many owl species, weren't particularly bothered by my presence. I spent 30 minutes photographing them as they flew around the ancient rock, every once in a while giving me up-close-and-personal shots of their beauty. Photo and caption Courtesy Mitch Walters/ National Geographic Your Shot

While photographing lilies in a local swamp a cloud of tadpoles swam by numbering in the thousands, all following along in a trail. (Photo and caption Courtesy Eiko Jones / National Geographic Your Shot)

Like guardians, these trees stand in line at the top of Lake Wakatipu near Glenorchy, New Zealand. Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 17-40 f/4.0L USM @ 17mm, 7 exposures @ f/8.0 (1 EV apart), ISO 50. (Photo and caption Courtesy Brad Grove / National Geographic Your Shot)

Towards the end of the summer, monsoon season creates spectacular atmospheric conditions in the southwest. Starting around noon, you can watch storm clouds building up, discharging and dissipating. This picture was taken with an infrared converted DSLR, bringing out the contrast in lighting. (Photo and caption Courtesy Dirk Scholvin / National Geographic Your Shot)

Hornet drinking water. (Photo and caption Courtesy Nachum Weiss / National Geographic Your Shot)

Flying over the Olgas made me feel like landing on the moon, and when I look at this image I still get this “out of this world” feeling. The shot was taken in Central Australia; the formation is called the Olgas. (Photo and caption Courtesy Ingrid Hendriksen / National Geographic Your Shot)

Waterspout looking out from my house into the Chapelco range, San Martin de los Andes, Patagonia, Argentina. (Photo and caption Courtesy Norberto Budnikas / National Geographic Your Shot)

Lilac-breasted roller shot at Lake Nakuru, Kenya, August 2012. (Photo and caption Courtesy Gautham Ramnath / National Geographic Your Shot)

Rusty the cat saw this mantis on the steps. He must have liked it enough to let him pick his nose. (Photo and caption Courtesy Dori Meincke / National Geographic Your Shot)

As we were sailing into Pond Inlet, Nunavut (Canada), we came upon this incredibly beautiful and old iceberg. The light was magical, and the simplicity and beauty of the iceberg is what I like most. (Photo and caption Michelle Valberg / National Geographic Your Shot)

I have been photographing these beauties for a few months now. They are tanagers, blue, red, yellow, and gray. This male is a bit deceptive but lately he has been quite trusting of myself. And who could say no to a delicious mango? (Photo and caption Courtesy Alfredo Hidrovo / National Geographic Your Shot)

A young swallow being fed by one of its parents on the first of September. This was the second brood out of the nest this year. (Photo and caption Courtesy Norma Gleeson / National Geographic Your Shot)

Caught this little master weaving its web-home on my window grill late at night. (Photo and caption Courtesy Shreyak Nabar / National Geographic Your Shot)

Normally solitary, these gregarious grasshoppers are out for a stroll together. (Photo and caption Courtesy Becky Jaffe / National Geographic Your Shot)

Pulling out of the parking lot of my favorite camera shop, I got my first glimpse of the red glow on the horizon. It was our first major haboob of the season. Luckily, I was only minutes away from a predetermined viewpoint. As I raced up to my viewpoint, I could see the wall of dust starting to block out the blue sky above. Reaching the top, the wind now gusting and the thick sand blasting my face, I knew I only had a few minutes to get the shot I wanted. I was swallowed up two minutes later. (Photo and caption Courtesy Andrew Pielage / National Geographic Your Shot)

One of the best urban vistas in the world; view from Sugar Loaf mountain. (Photo and caption Courtesy Raymond Choo / National Geographic Your Shot)

Tiger takes a time out to chill and relax in the scorching heat … but the ferocity remains. (Photo and caption Courtesy Manvendra Chauhan / National Geographic Your Shot)

Students from Coastal Marine Biolabs were doing night diving observations of marine organism fluorescence at Santa Cruz Island, California. I recorded several glowing life-forms, including this beautiful anemone with special filters, on my underwater camera. (Photo and caption Courtesy Dan Harding / National Geographic Your Shot)

This image is composed of 500 images and was taken with my camera strapped to the branch of a fig tree in the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park in Queensland, Australia. You can see the light trails in the sky from the planes arriving and leaving the Sunshine Coast airport. The yellow glow in the sky is from the lights of Noosa. (Photo and caption Courtesy James Ray / National Geographic Your Shot)

Western Australia is a paradise for lovers of flowering trees and wildflowers. This one was taken in Kings Park in Perth. (Photo and caption Courtesy Peter Nydegger / National Geographic Your Shot)

A red-winged blackbird harassing a red-tailed hawk takes a ride. (Photo and caption Courtesy Ray Whitt / National Geographic Your Shot)

While waiting patiently under the scorching sun for a blue-tailed bee-eater to land, I was overjoyed when instead of one, a pair of them came and perched along with their prey. (Photo and caption Courtesy Angad Achappa / National Geographic Your Shot)

An old friend, Dusty the cat, having a sniff at my little brother’s python. (Photo and caption Courtesy Rachael Ogle / National Geographic Your Shot)

A male wine-throated hummingbird displays his gorget to attract a female in a Guatemalan cloud forest. (Photo and caption Courtesy Knut Eisermann / National Geographic Your Shot)

On a recent photography road trip to Crater Lake National Park, I came upon this scene. A giant swirl of pollen had formed on the deep-blue water of the lake. Something you don’t see everyday and I feel fortunate to have witnessed this natural phenomenon. (Photo and caption Courtesy Pierre Leclerc / National Geographic Your Shot)

This optical illusory “two-headed” zebra was found in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. (Photo and caption Courtesy Emily Mitchell / National Geographic Your Shot)

In the eyes of the chameleon was a great lunch, and at the same time in every single ommatidia of the compound eye of the grasshopper the reflection of his slayer triggers the terror of being eaten alive. (Photo and caption Courtesy Shikhei Goh / National Geographic Your Shot)

A baby octopus hatching, Pramuka Island, Indonesia. (Photo and caption Courtesy Simon Chandra / National Geographic Your Shot)

Colorful toucan. (Photo and caption Courtesy Chris Martin / National Geographic Your Shot)

On a snowy morning, this gentoo penguin peaked over the edge of an iceberg shelf high above the frigid water below. He contemplated diving into the water from this perch, but decided to take the longer route instead, waddling and sliding down the other side of the iceberg. Photo taken in Pleneau Bay, Antarctica, December 2011, with a Canon 5D Mark II and a 70-300 mm lens. (Photo and caption Courtesy Nancy Leigh/ National Geographic Your Shot)

This 6.5-year-old sow had been waiting for the salmon to run up the Brooks River for two days. She kept probing the water and sniffing the air, expecting the fish to arrive any day. On the morning of this shot, the salmon started running up the Brooks River and up the famed Brooks Falls. The sow assumed this unusual posture over the rock and observed the fish below. When the opportunity presented itself, the bear pounced and caught the first fish of the season. (Photo and caption Courtesy Cesar Aristeiguieta/ National Geographic Your Shot)

Private breeding. (Photo and caption Courtesy Sebastian Zelazko/ National Geographic Your Shot)

Female giant ichneumon wasp depositing eggs into a log in Killens Pond State Park, Delaware. July 15, 2012. (Photo and caption Courtesy Arden Browning/ National Geographic Your Shot)