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Elizabeth Siddall posed for hours in freezing water for Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais's "Ophelia."
paintings

The Real Women Behind Art’s Masterpieces

History’s best-known muses were artists in their own right.
Sarah Durn April 29, 2022
volcanoes

This Remote, Active Volcano Is a Glassblowing Spider

Alaska’s Great Sitkin has been grumbling for nearly a year.
Gemma Tarlach April 28, 2022
Heavy rains and wind turned the usually featureless Salar de Uyuni salt flats into a riot of color in late January 2022.
floods

Wild Weather Has Turned Bolivia's Salt Flats Into a Work of Art

A satellite captures the stunning effects of heavy rain and high winds on a landscape that—coincidentally—is used to calibrate satellites.
Gemma Tarlach March 10, 2022
The creative costumes might be made of assortments of household or farm trash such as old feed bags, lampshades, bottle caps, and spent shotgun shells.
festivals

A Short Drive From New Orleans, Cajun Mardi Gras Is a Different Animal

Colorful costumes and alcohol, sure, but also chasing chickens.
Fletcher Moore March 4, 2022
Papier-mâché masks are the centerpiece of Carnival in Guinea-Bissau.
festivals

Carnival in Guinea-Bissau Represents Resistance and Possibility

In the small West African Nation, the festival is history.
Ashawnta Jackson March 3, 2022
In the 1950s, Carnival was a chance for Rio to display its growth and artistic flair.
festivals

Take a Parade Down Memory Lane to Rio's 1953 Carnival

Images of a city and culture showing itself off to the world.
Ashawnta Jackson March 2, 2022
The Diablada dance pits the Archangel Saint Michael, in the uniform of the Roman legions, against the servants of the devil.
music

Bolivia's Dance of the Devils Is a Party and a Battle Between Good and Evil

Heaven and hell, music and dance at the Carnaval de Oruro.
Matthew Taub February 28, 2022
A Kurent and the devil behind him received handkerchiefs at homes they visited in the village of Zabovci.
unesco

The Supernatural Sheep of Slovenia's Door-to-Door Carnival

To bring spring, hundreds of hirsute revelers roam the country's villages.
Matthew Taub February 24, 2022
Chicken buses are old American school buses fixed up and turned into public transportation in Central America. Here, they wait for passengers in Antigua, Guatemala.
art

Guatemala's Tricked-Out 'Chicken Buses' Have Lots of Stories to Tell

These old American school buses are a fixture of daily life across Central America.
Megan Janetsky February 4, 2022
The dramatic colors and patterns of salt evaporation ponds on the Great Salt Lake are the result of a combination of salinity levels, wind, currents, and activity of brine shrimp, algae, and bacteria.
salt

Salt-Loving Microbes Make Vivid, Massive Abstract Art

For the latest addition to his stunning salt production series, photographer Tom Hegen ventured to Utah’s Great Salt Lake.
Gemma Tarlach February 2, 2022
Silky sharks just below the surface near Darwin Island.
islands

Marine Life in the Galápagos Gets a New Protected 'Ocean Highway'

More room to roam for the islands' unique fauna.
Winnie Lee January 31, 2022
Steamed bread in the shape of tigers is displayed at a stall ahead of the Lunar New Year in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, China. (January 16, 2022)
food

The Magic Behind the Lunar New Year Is Lots of Hard Work

Colorful scenes from behind-the-scenes.
Winnie Lee January 28, 2022
A honeycomb moray eel, stranded by the receding tide at Mahalaxmi, was later released into a nearby intertidal pool. The rocky shoreline has since been developed into part of a coastal road.
photography

Discovering the Unexpected Wonder of Mumbai's Coastal Wildlife

Photographer Sarang Naik is reintroducing his hometown to its rich biodiversity, from glowing corals to dazzling sea slugs.
Gemma Tarlach January 10, 2022
A satellite image from May 2021 shows Lake Menindee, the largest of a nine-lake system in Australia, refilling after years of drought. By late August, the lake had reached nearly 90 percent capacity.
nature

Our Year's Favorite Scenes Where Nature Gets Abstract

Every one of these pretty pictures holds a complex story about the world we live in.
Winnie Lee December 29, 2021
Monsieur Bonheur’s dozens of tattoos suggest a well-traveled life, but much of him is a mystery.
visual

Our Year's Illustrated Journeys Through Mysterious Tattoos, Hell Banquets, and More

Let our artists draw you in.
Winnie Lee December 28, 2021
Instant winter magic happens when a woman throws hot water into the air. The water immediately condenses into ice crystals at temperatures -16 degrees Fahrenheit, in Shenyang in northeastern China, on January 8, 2021.
photography

Divers, Fireworks, and a Big Floating Violin Highlight Our Year in Wondrous Photos

Peculiar moments worthy of a double-take.
Winnie Lee December 23, 2021
"What would it feel like to live on this earth 1,200 years ago? How better to contemplate the life span of an ancient tree than by looking up at the stars in a very dark sky? I feel a sense of wonder and marvel at the idea of eternity, a concept I don’t think I will ever understand."
trees

A Photographer's Journey With the Ancient Baobabs of Madagascar

The death of a sacred tree led to the discovery of other wonders.
Winnie Lee November 19, 2021
Snowflakes falling against a birch forest look magical in Russian photographer Alexey Korolyov's <em>Small Comets</em>.
nature

How to Find ‘Comets’ and Other Wonders Just Around the Corner

A nature photographer uses clever camera work to turn his own neighborhood into a visual wonderland.
Gemma Tarlach November 19, 2021