Special Photography/ Life in Color: Blue by National Geographic

Galápagos Lagoon

Photograph by Bobby Haas

As startling as a bright-blue eye, a central lagoon peers out from Rocas Baimbridgen in Ecuador's Galápagos Islands. The stark, rocky island teems with life at times—the brackish lagoon waters are favored by flamingos.

Azurite

Photograph by David Boyer

Some of nature's intricate patterns are on display in this magnified view of the mineral azurite. The bright blue mineral was once used to make paints and may still be found in jewelry.

Barracuda School

Photograph by Tim Laman

A thick, swirling school of blackfin barracuda plies the blue waters off Sipadan Island, Malaysia. The fish are formidable predators, but they sometimes gather in groups for protection against sharks higher up on the food chain.

Snowy Grand Canyon

Photograph by Michael Nichols

Though it's better known for shades of red, the Grand Canyon is shrouded in blue as night descends on its foggy, snow-covered walls. The canyon's north rim is typically closed to vehicles in winter.

Blue-Footed Booby

Photograph by Tim Laman

These distinctive webbed feet belong to a blue-footed booby of the Galápagos Islands. The bluer, the better: Courting males show off with a high-stepping strut—and those with brighter feet are more attractive to potential mates.

Frosted Ferns

Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt

Frost covers the brilliant blue leaves of lush ferns in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park. The park is an isolated wilderness that's home to more than 700 plants found nowhere else in the world.

Garibaldi Glacier

Photograph by Richard Nowitz

The massive bulk of Garibaldi Glacier slowly spills into Garibaldi Fjord in Tierra del Fuego—the archipelago at the southern tip of South America. The aquatic endpoint of such a glacier is known as a terminus.

Underwater Sea Ice

Photograph by Paul Nicklen

Ice, seen from below, covers the surface of the Arctic's Beaufort Sea. The sea is found north of Alaska and Canada.

Arctic Igloo

Photograph by Norbert Rosing

A homey-looking igloo lights up the stark landscape on a cold night in the Canadian Arctic. These temporary shelters were commonly used by indigenous peoples in the frigid North American Arctic

Iranian Mosque

Photograph by Alexandra Avakian

Intricate blue tiles adorn the walls of a large Iranian mosque and mirror a clear sky that beckons the faithful to the sunny courtyard. The mosque's many arches are a prominent feature of Islamic architecture.

Peacock Courtship

Photograph by Anne Keiser

Unveiling the regalia that has captivated humans (and hens) for thousands of years, an Indian peacock displays his colorful train at an Australian reserve. Males may use their feathers to attract harems of several hens.

Iceberg Penguins

Photograph by Ralph Lee Hopkins

A group of chinstrap penguins lines the edge of an iceberg adrift in Antarctic waters. Chinstraps are among the most abundant penguins, and some colonies live on floating icebergs.

Glacier Pool

Photograph by Rich Reid

A blue pool on Root Glacier in Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park reflects the bulk of towering Donoho Peak. The massive ice sheet is a popular excursion in the park.

Blue Waterslide

Photograph by James Stanfield

Holidaymakers take the plunge and enjoy a twisting, turning trip down an Israeli waterslide. The attraction cools tourists who visit the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Whale Shark

Photograph by Brian Skerry

The sweeping color of sea and sky, blue is a common thread in nature, seen in the cerulean of a whale shark (pictured here), the indigo of a stormy night, and the cobalt of a peacock's feathers. Over the centuries, the hue has come to represent calm, cold, mysticism, and sadness.

Yellowstone Wolf

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Bathed in blue light, a gray wolf peers through the misty landscape of Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. West. The animals were successfully reintroduced to the park in the mid-1990s after an absence of nearly seven decades.

Polar Bear in Svalbard

Photograph by Ralph Lee Hopkins

A polar bear leaps off of sea ice near Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic. Strong swimmers, polar bears have slightly webbed paws to aid in paddling.

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Special Photography/NAT GEO Photo of the Month, October 2011

Oceanic Whitetip Shark, Bahamas

Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic
An oceanic whitetip shark and diver in the Bahamas.

Ivanhoe Reservoir, Los Angeles

Photograph by Gerd Ludwig, National Geographic
In 2007, high levels of bromate—a carcinogen formed when bromide and chlorine react with sunlight—were found in Los Angeles’s Ivanhoe Reservoir. Today three million black plastic balls help deflect UV rays.

Seahorse, Honduras

Photograph by Marc Mistersaro, My Shot
Snorkeling under a nightclub in Roatán, Honduras, the photographer caught this ethereal image of a seahorse. Great snorkeling and scuba diving while surrounded by rich coral reefs attracts visitors here to the largest of Honduras’s Bay Islands.

Stratus Clouds, Greenland

Photograph by Bryan and Cherry Alexander, Arctic Photo
Eight hundred miles south of the North Pole, stalactite-like stratus clouds—churned by 90-mile-an-hour winds—and the light of a bruised dawn paint an apocalyptic portrait over Inglefield Bay.

Lemon Shark, Bahamas

Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic
A lemon shark pup swims among mangrove roots in the Bahamas. Throughout the more than 700 islands there are mangrove nurseries, coral reefs, and deep oceanic trenches, all perfect habitats for a wide variety of shark species.

Walrus Skull, Bristol Bay

Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic
A walrus skull sits alone in a field of wildflowers. Each spring thousands of walruses return to the Walrus Islands in northern Bristol Bay to feed, rest, and sometimes die.

Manatee, Florida

Photograph by Brian Skerry, National Geographic
A manatee swims in a freshwater spring in Crystal River, Florida. Manatees struggle for survival as the result of a gantlet of threats, from watercraft strikes to toxins in the water. The most serious threat, however, is the loss of warm water due to habitat loss.

Sand Dune, Namibia

Photograph by Brynn Bayman, My Shot
It doesn’t take much to get rolling down a Namibian dune. These students on a geographical field trip find the slope irresistible but end up with sand in every nook and cranny.

Gray Wolves, Minnesota

Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic
Members of the Ambassador Wolf Pack of the International Wolf Center bite and tussle in the snow. The center aims to educate the public about wolves, confident that as human appreciation of the species grows, so too will the wolf’s chances of survival.

American Alligator Claw

Photograph by Richard T. Bryant
Though tipped with nightmare claws, the limbs of American alligators—this one photographed at a local park—are more often used to excavate wallowing holes than to slash at prey.
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Near Passerine Photos

Rainbow Bee-Eaters

Photograph by Jenny Hall
A beautiful pair of rainbow bee-eaters; this shot was taken in my backyard in the top end of Australia's Northern Territory. The male is the one with the longer center tail feather.

Kea

Photograph by Tzachy Rachamim
During our trip to New Zealand, we went to the Mueller hut, an alpine hut that overlooks Cook Mountain, the highest mountain in New Zealand. While going uphill to get a better view, four keas (mountain parrots) flew above us and landed right next to us in order to investigate what we were doing. (This is a very curious bird.) This is one of the keas landing next to us.

Macaws

Photograph by Kraig Darnell
A lucky shot at the San Diego Zoo

Pigeons

Photograph by Ky Lu
When I visited the famous Ge Er Temple in Qinghai Province, China, I saw some pigeons flying over the stupas and some lifting and some landing. Taking the moment, I took this one.

Pigeons Scattering

Photograph by Animesh Hazra
Wings of freedom at Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad

Northern Flickers

Photograph by Mike Paterson
One of a series of shots displaying the mating ritual of a pair of northern flickers

Pileated Woodpecker

Photograph by Edward Mattis
Pileated woodpecker over Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater

Photograph by Yangchen Lin
A blue-tailed bee-eater bursts through the surface in an exuberant spray of water, its wings beating at full thrust to regain cruising altitude. Tropical birds like bee-eaters, swallows, and swifts take frequent dives to clean and cool themselves in the warm climate. But this maneuver is more risky than it seems; the birds must maintain sufficient momentum throughout submergence to become airborne again and avoid drowning.

Kingfisher

Photograph by Torben Andersen
One morning in September, the kingfisher arrived on the branch with a fresh fish. The kingfisher smashed the fish against the branch at high speed to kill it. After the kill, the fish was eaten and the kingfisher left for another one. Shot in a local lake in Denmark.

Kingfisher Flying

Photograph by Torben Andersen
One early morning in August, the kingfisher I spotted left the tree and went up in the air over the lake, looking over the lake for a fish. This time with the front toward the sun and me, I took my shots. This is one of them.

Yellow-Billed Hornbill

Photograph by Karl Daniels
Yellow-billed hornbill from Kruger National Park in South Africa. I had a fun-filled week with shots of African buffalo, elephant, and cheetah.

Cuckoo

Photograph by Chuck Koenecke
I had tried without success to get close enough for a good shot of this beautiful cuckoo and was just switching to a longer lens when suddenly he flew right into my lap! Luckily, I didn't fall over and was able to snap this quick shot before he flew off.

Indian Ringneck Parrot

Photograph by Mikaela Fox
This is a shot taken on my patio of my male Indian ringneck parrot, Baby.

Nuttall’s Woodpecker

Photograph by Iryna Dronova
The woodpeckers apparently broaden their menu from insects that actually live in the wood to delicious offerings of the fruit trees. This seems to be a female Nuttall's woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii) feeding on a ripe pear. The photo was taken in Oakland, California, in November 2009.

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Special Photography/Waterbirds

 Black Skimmer

Photograph by Mario Goren, My Shot

Common Tern

Photograph by James Galletto, My Shot

Seagulls Feeding

Photograph by Dale Williamson, My Shot

Swimming Pelicans

Photograph by Arnou Kunz, My Shot

Fishing Pelican

Photograph by Roger Lee, My Shot

Snapping Pelican

Photograph by Ryan Kennedy, My Shot

Seabird With Fish

Photograph by Carly Saxon, My Shot

Blue-Footed Booby

Photograph by Daniel Gautreau, My Shot

Flying Puffin

Photograph by Richard Seeley, My Shot

Swimming Loon

Photograph by April Stampe, My Shot

Black-Browed Albatross

Photograph by Allan Hansen, My Shot

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Courtsey: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

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