‘Photos that capture the wonders of our world’: National Geographic reveals the best photos photographers took in 2024, from a rare tiger to a penguin jumping off a cliff
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National Geographic has a reputation for breathtaking images – and the latest edition of Pictures of the Year shows why.
The compelling December 2024 edition features the ‘most stunning’ images taken by Nat Geo photographers this year – ‘photos that capture the wonder of our world’.
An astonishing 2.3 million photos were whittled down to 21 thought-provoking and jaw-dropping images.
Here we present seven from the final selection, including a mesmerizing photo of Guatemala’s exploding Fuego volcano and a beautiful dune in Egypt‘s vast desert.
We’ve also added a shot of a beautiful black tiger patrolling the Similipal Tiger Reserve in the east India and an incredible photo of a young emperor penguin in Antarctica jumping off a 50-foot cliff for its first dive.
Scroll down for a visual feast like no other.
A young emperor penguin jumps from a 15 meter high cliff for its first dive. Nat Geo added: ‘The species normally breeds on low-lying sea ice, but some colonies have been found on higher and more permanent ice shelves, a behavior that is likely to become increasingly common as a result of climate change. The chicks were abandoned by their parents a month earlier and have to fend for themselves and find food by hunting in the sea.
A mesmerizing shot of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano, which has been erupting continuously since 2002. Nat Geo reveals: ‘A one-day hike to its sleeping twin, Acatenango, and through a valley, rewards adventurers with a view from the Fuego ridge. Eruptions can occur several times a day’
A mesmerizing photo of a black tiger – known for its merged stripes – patrolling the Similipal Tiger Reserve in eastern India
This is the Siwa Oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert. The dunes attract many tourists, says Nat Geo
This image captured a rare moment in the world of crickets. Nat Geo explains: ‘Periodic crickets spend 13 to 17 years in the ground and only emerge to reproduce. Last May and June, for the first time in 221 years, brood XIII, with a 17-year cycle, and brood vibrations as they called to mate’
A scientist holds the 70-day-old fetus of a rhino conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Unfortunately, the surrogate mother died of a bacterial infection
This thought-provoking image shows a shrine inn in an area with a rich history of animism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, maintained by local Wakhi people, who are Ismaili Muslims. Nat Geo explains that a tree that fell years ago on the shrine’s grave, decorated with horns of ibexes and sheep, was left in place as custom dictates
Visual feast: the cover of the 2024 National Geographic Pictures of the Year issue
