Photos

Minerals from a melting glacier mix with clear water and wind a colorful path through the trees at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Explore the Great Outdoors With Photography From U.S. National Parks

Travel the country's beautiful natural wonders from home with these breathtaking highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

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Ten Wildlife Photographers Zoom In on Their Favorite Birds

Get up close and personal with a birder’s-eye view of the United States, as reflected by our beloved feathered neighbors

Firefighters, still dressed in their smoke- and soot-stained bunker gear, take a breather after a harrowing day of battling a particularly stubborn brush fire.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

15 Scenes of Americans at Work

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest commemorate Labor Day

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There's More to That

Hear What’s Happening to the Colorado River From a Photojournalist Who Has Spent His Entire Life Alongside It

In the latest episode of “There’s More to That,” learn about the Western waterway that affects the lives of everyone in the United States

A high school soccer player remembers to keep her eye on the ball, even when soaring midair.

Celebrate the Women’s World Cup With 15 Stunning Soccer Shots

Achieve the goal of viewing these highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Focused on the waves, whether real or decorative, a flip-flop-wearing family—and their orca inflatable—heads to the beach.

Get a Dose of Sun, Sand and Sea With These 15 Scenes From the Beach

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest are sure to remind you of everything you love about the shore

Who needs a spoon to enjoy this perfectly swirled chocolate-and-vanilla soft-serve ice cream served on a cone? Put the formalities aside.

Celebrate National Ice Cream Month With These 15 Mouthwatering Treats

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest feature creamy frozen delights to help beat the summer heat

Can a shark be aerodynamic? Like a rocket shooting up into the sky, aiming toward the sun, this blue shark near Pico Island in Portugal’s Azores archipelago rips through the water. Blue sharks’ average top speed is around 40 miles per hour.

15 Shark Photos That Will Terrify and Delight You This Summer

In a collection pulled from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest, catch a wave with these predators of the sea

A team skis from the remote Taku D site to the Camp 10 sleeping quarters. Students often travel as much as 8 to 10 miles a day, carrying packs a third of their body weight.

Alaska

These Students Are Part of a 75-Year Study to Map Alaska’s Glaciers

Traversing an icefield by foot and on skis, the young researchers experience one of the coolest classrooms in the nation

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Announcing the Winners of Smithsonian Magazine’s 20th Annual Photo Contest

From Norway to Nepal, this year’s winning images span the globe to capture the extraordinary

Copepods at various life stages teem inside a water droplet. The creatures go through six larval and six juvenile stages between egg and adulthood. They grow a new pair of legs at each stage.

These Gorgeous Photos Capture Life Inside a Drop of Seawater

A passion for the infinitesimal leads a photographer to discover the countless creatures that live unseen in the ocean

A Union Pacific locomotive makes its way through Cajon Pass in Southern California. The “Building America” slogan is not just puffery: Union Pacific is the nation’s largest railroad, and was also one of the original companies responsible for constructing the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s.

These Photographs Capture the Indescribable Glory of Trains

America’s fascination with trains is fast-tracked in this study of passing freight

Presenting the winners of Smithsonian magazine's 18th annual photo contest

These Are the Winners of Smithsonian Magazine's 18th Annual Photo Contest

From India to Antarctica, these pictures capture the passion, solitude and surprise of a year unlike any other

Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) on Jackson Square, Oak Ridge. August 1945. The town of Oak Ridge was established by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Clinton Engineer Works in 1942 on isolated farm land as part of the Manhattan Project. The site was chosen for the X-10 Graphite Reactor, used to show that plutonium can be extracted from enriched uranium. Tennessee, USA.

Looking Back on V-J Day 75 Years Later

How Americans celebrated the end of World War II

Presenting the winners of Smithsonian magazine's 17th annual photo contest

These Are the Winning Photos of Smithsonian Magazine's 17th Annual Photo Contest

From Vietnam to Antarctica, this year's winners bring you amazing glimpses of a changing world—and the indefatigable human spirit

Left: Visitors roam the Portland show wearing vintage fashions from the Washington State boutique BelAir Betties. Right: The tail section of a 1958 Chevy Impala, customized with 1959 Cadillac taillights, on display at the 63rd annual Portland Roadster Show.

Take a Trip to America's Hot Rod Heaven

Today's show-car royalty reinvents the wheel

Elyse Butler got up close and personal to capture this fiery scene of lava flowing dramatically into the Pacific Ocean from Kilauea volcano.

Smithsonian Magazine's Most Powerful Photos of the Year

Our photography editors select their favorites from a year full of stunning photojournalism

Conveyor bridges to Bin Structure.

These Photos of the Abandoned Domino Sugar Refinery Document Its Sticky History

A new photography book uncovers the last days (and lasting legacy) of a New York institution

Construction of the royal pyre in Sanam Luang for King Bhumibol Adulyadej's cremation continues in preparation for the funeral in late 2017.

An Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Funeral Fit for a King

For the first time in more than 70 years, Thailand is saying farewell to its monarch

Statue at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, a museum of the Korean War located in Pyongyang. Exhibits include a 360-degree diorama of the Battle of Daejon. In addition to the many statues, murals and artifacts contained in the museum is the USS Pueblo, a U.S. Navy ship that was captured by North Korean forces when it allegedly entered North Korean territorial waters in 1968.

History of Now

The View From Pyongyang: An Exclusive Look at the World's Most Secretive Nation

One photographer journeyed into North Korea to catch a unique glimpse of a country under a dictatorship

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