Jane Cooke

As we store away our boards, I’m introduced to Ulisses Reis, a veteran of the scene. “I was one of the first people teaching here. There was just a basic surf camp on the beach, a place for hippies to hang out,” he tells me, momentarily lost in his memories. “But it was demolished.” Today, there’s a sleek boardwalk with wood-slatted surf shacks, showers and a cafe. The complex is home to Ulisses’ surf school, Blue Ocean, from where his sons now give lessons. It’s also one of over 50 in Ericeira. “I worry about the commercialisation of surfing here, how fast things are changing. This is all great,” he says, gesturing around, “it’s my whole life now. But personally I preferred it before.”

A slow camera exposure blurs the crowds inside the Lincoln Memorial, which celebrated its centennial on May 30, 2022. Carved from 38,000 tons of marble, limestone, and granite, the edifice honoring the 16th president holds a massive statue of Abraham Lincoln by sculptor Daniel Chester French.

Sheldon Chalet, accessible only by helicopter, perches 5,818 feet above the Ruth Glacier Great Gorge—an abyss in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Reserve that’s deeper than the Grand Canyon. Larger than the state of New Jersey, the wilderness reserve offers opportunities for big adventure, from backcountry camping to mountaineering.

Spring-fed swimming hole in central Texas

West Texas sunset, Marfa

Taken just before sunrise to avoid crowds at the Alamo. The blue color of the twilight sky provides good contrast to the illuminated Alamo building. A light breeze provided some nice movement to the Texas state flag.

A hunter from a village in Indonesia says he delivers pangolins to the city of Surabaya on a weekly basis. Pangolins are protected by national laws in the countries where they’re found, and international commercial trade in them is banned. Even so, poaching and trafficking are major threats to pangolins’ survival.

Japan’s obsession with all things kawaii (which can mean “cute,” “cuddly,” or “lovable”) is on display at Ueno Park as owners line up their pets for a portrait shoot. The kawaii aesthetic of cute culture has been one of Japan’s most successful exports, driving pop culture trends in fashion, technology, video games, and cartoons.

Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” is believed to depict Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a Florentine silk merchant. Every year, millions of visitors jostle for a view at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The painting, protected by a thick layer of glass that must be cleaned regularly, has never been restored.

In Palau's biodiverse waters, scientists find life is thriving under the seas. Here, a tiny goby camouflages with a branch of red coral.

Grand Canyon National Park

Are they still looking? A curious owl peeks up from the ground.