National_Geographic_USA_-_December_2022

P H O• 12.2022•P H Y
TO G RA
IS S U E
PICTURES oftheYEAR

EXPLORING THE WORLD IN 118 PHOTOS

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FROM THE EDITOR •D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2

THE VISUAL FIELD

SPECIAL ISSUE: PICTURES OF THE YEAR
BY NATHAN LUMP

Y E A R S AG O when I was start- mushroom while walking the dog, or It’s the Appalachian Trail of
ing to explore the world in watch the cloud formations before a H2O: the Northern Forest
earnest—making my first storm, or admire an artful display of Canoe Trail, a 740-mile
trips to Africa and Asia and flowers at my local coffee shop. route through dozens of
waterways in four states
the Arctic—I made the decision I still think that the act of photog- and Canada. When Amy
raphy can be distracting, certainly Toensing photographed it
not to take a lot of, or in some cases in a time when we all have powerful for an upcoming National
cameras in our pockets and one of the Geographic story, she
any, photographs. planet’s biggest platforms for engaging aimed to show “how
with others is fueled by a steady flow beloved these bodies of
At the time, I believed that looking at of images. But I also understand now water are in the winter,
that taking pictures can be a way to not just the summer.” On
the world through a lens hindered my stop and linger, to consciously capture iced-over Lake Champlain
a moment in time and make better in Burlington, Vermont,
ability to see what was really in front sense of the world around us. Toensing found (from left)
Noah Oliff-Lieberman, Tim
of me and to notice what mattered. I That’s one important outcome of the Forkey, and Simon Menden-
work that our phenomenal photogra- hall meeting daily in the
thought that trying to capture good phers do for National Geographic. And winter to plunge into the
it’s why I’m so pleased that we have icy waters, because they
pictures took me out of the moment dedicated this month’s magazine to believe it promotes good
physical and mental health.
and made me conscious of construct-
AMY TOENSING
ing an image rather than absorbing

what I was experiencing.

I’ve since changed my mind about

that. Today I take plenty of photos,

not just on my travels but in the every-

day—when I notice an interesting

FROM THE EDITOR •D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2

immersing you in that work. new way. And taken together, they are ON the
Of course, these professionals have a portrait of our world and the wonder COVER
of it all in 2022.
a much different relationship with Clad in protective gear,
photography than I do. Their work is In addition to showing you this military emergency
creatively, intellectually, and logisti- stunning array of photos, we’re letting specialist Armando
cally challenging in ways that most of you hear directly from a handful of Salazar makes his way
us hobbyist photographers can hardly our photographers, who share stories across sizzling rock as
imagine. For them, it is an art and a that take you deeper into some of their he helps scientists col-
science that they’ve perfected—a way most interesting projects. You’ll learn lect samples during
to stop us in our tracks and make us the extreme lengths to which our con- the fall 2021 volcanic
pay attention to a story that needs to tributors have gone to capture some eruption on La Palma,
be told. At their best, photographers of these shots, and get a closer look at one of the Spanish
reveal what isn’t readily seen. the gear that makes it all possible. And Canary Islands.
because photography is at the heart of
For this special issue, our talented what we do every day on Instagram— ARTURO RODRÍGUEZ
team has curated a collection of the where more than 230 million people
best images from National Geographic like and comment on the images we "For the professionals
photographers who were in the field post—we’ve pulled in a selection of
over the past year. Some take you back the photos our followers have loved whose images fill this
to stories that have already appeared in best over the past year. If you’re not issue, photography is an
our pages (if you missed any of those, already part of our community there, art and a science that
head over to nationalgeographic.com do check us out @natgeo for a daily they’ve perfected—a way
to find them), and some are related to dose of inspiration. to stop us in our tracks
stories we’ll be publishing in the
months to come. I hope you enjoy the issue. and make us pay
attention to a story that
What they all have in common is the
power to let you see something, and needs to be told.
understand something, in an entirely

Viktor, a 39-year-old male
bonobo, resides in Texas at
the Fort Worth Zoo, where
he’s known for interacting
with visitors. Veteran
photographer Vince Musi
is known for capturing
animals’ personalities in
portraits such as this one.

VINCENT J. MUSI

)FBEJOH GPS UIF
HSFBUFTU HPBM

CONTRIBUTORS •D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2

A-K ARKO DATTO ESTHER HORVATH Seen here on the sea ice of the Weddell
The Kolkata, India–based Sea, Horvath covers Earth’s changing polar regions with her pho-
MATTHEW ABBOTT photographer is also a cura- tography. She lives in Germany. Page 37
Australian photojournalist tor and educator. Page 82
Abbott enjoys telling long- PHOTO: STEFANIE ARNDT
form visual stories. Page 86 QINISO DLADLA
A photographer and vid- L-O rapher and National Geo-
KARINE AIGNER eographer, Dladla is based graphic Explorer focuses
Based in Washington, D.C., in South Africa. Page 94 KEITH LADZINSKI on technology. Page 62
Aigner uses her camera to Colorado-based Ladzinski
tell stories about the rela- JASPER DOEST trains his lens on natural HANNAH REYES
tionships between animals Netherlands-based photog- history, climate change, and MORALES
and humans. Page 124 rapher Doest focuses on the extreme sports. Page 135 The National Geographic
natural world and humans’ Explorer—based in Manila,
STEFANIE ARNDT connections to it. Page 54 ERIKA LARSEN Philippines—looks at human
Arndt is a sea ice physicist National Geographic ties and resilience in her
with the Alfred Wegener RENA EFFENDI Explorer Larsen is known photography. Page 114
Institute in Bremerhaven, From her base in Istanbul, for photographing cultures
Germany. Page 4 Effendi covers human inter- that live close to nature. MUHAMMED MUHEISEN
est stories. Pages 106-107 Pages 6, 40, 43, 112, 134 The Pulitzer Prize–winning
SASHA ARUTYUNOVA photographer covers refu-
Moscow-born Arutyunova BALAZS GARDI WAYNE LAWRENCE gee crises. Page 135
covers the world and events Working from San Francisco, The photographer explores
around her from her base in Los Angeles, and New York the human experience from VINCENT J. MUSI
Brooklyn, New York. Page 92 City, Gardi uses photos to bases in Brooklyn, New York, The longtime National
document communities and and Detroit. Pages 95-97, 99 Geographic contributor is
ANUSH BABAJANYAN people in distress. Page 120 well known for his animal
An Armenian pho- JUSTYNA MIELNIKIEWICZ portraiture. Page 2
tographer and National FLORENCE GOUPIL The Tbilisi, Georgia, photog-
Geographic Explorer, Baba- Peru-based photog- rapher covers the transfor- KATIE ORLINSKY
janyan covers social and rapher and National mation of Central European Orlinsky’s photography for
personal stories in Asia and Geographic Explorer Goupil nations. Pages 60-61 National Geographic often
around the world. Page 46 focuses on Latin America’s focuses on climate change.
environment and Indige- DAVIDE MONTELEONE Pages 90, 108
CHRIS BURKARD nous communities. Page 70 The Zurich-based photog-
California native Burkard RENAN OZTURK
photographs stories that EVAN GREEN Photojournalist Ozturk tells
explore the relationships Based in Albuquerque, New stories of people’s connec-
between human beings and Mexico, Green is an outdoor tion to nature in some of
nature. Page 100 and adventure photogra- the most challenging envi-
pher. Pages 126-27 ronments on the planet.
ALEJANDRO CEGARRA Pages 128, 130
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, JEN GUYTON
Cegarra now lives in National Geographic
Mexico. His passion is Explorer Guyton uses pho-
covering human rights tography to illuminate
violations. Page 74 cultures, ecological change,
and wildlife. Page 66
DAVID CHANCELLOR
South Africa–based pho- ORSOLYA HAARBERG
tographer Chancellor Hungarian photographer
focuses on conservation Haarberg has a passion for
and how humans and capturing the scenery and
wildlife interact. Page 88 moods of Norway and other
Nordic lands. Pages 51-53, 56

LYNN JOHNSON
This National
Geographic Explorer’s
photography probes the
human condition. Page 110

Illuminating the World

Committed to illuminating and protecting the won-
der of our world, the National Geographic Society
has funded the work of 22 of this issue’s contributing
photographers (marked with the border logo). Since
1890, the Society has supported more than 14,000 sci-
entists, educators, storytellers, conservationists, and
others whose efforts focus on the ocean, land, wild-
life, human history and culture, and human ingenuity.
Learn about contributors’ work at natgeo.org/impact.

•4 P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R



CONTRIBUTORS •D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2

P-S GLEB He is based in Innsbruck, T-Z
RAYGORODETSKY Austria. Page 104
MATTHIEU PALEY Born and raised in the ANASTASIA TAYLOR-LIND
French photographer former Soviet Union, Ray- NICHOLE SOBECKI Born in Swindon, England,
Paley has learned to speak gorodetsky is a National Based in Nairobi, Taylor-Lind travels the
six languages during his Geographic Explorer who Kenya, Sobecki is an award- world as a photographic
years of covering cultures lives in Canada. He works winning American pho- storyteller to cover wars
across the world for National with Indigenous commu- tographer and filmmaker and conflict zones, popula-
Geographic. Pages 58, 116-17 nities on climate change and a National Geographic tion issues, and women.
adaptation and mitigation. Explorer. Page 76 Pages 72-73
CHRISTOPHER PAYNE Page 23
New York City resident GENA STEFFENS MARK THIESSEN
Payne, who trained as an ARTURO RODRÍGUEZ A National Geographic A veteran staff photog-
architect, now specializes in At home in the Canary Explorer who is based in rapher for National Geo-
architectural and industrial Islands, the Spanish pho- Colombia, Steffens covers graphic, Thiessen has made
photography. Page 16 tographer had a front-row socio-environmental issues images of a wide variety of
seat to the 2021 volcanic through her writing and subjects, including Russian
THOMAS PESCHAK explosion that devastated photography. Page 43 smokejumpers and the Cali-
A marine biologist who La Palma. Page 132 fornia wildfires. Pages 68, 84
changed course to a career BRENT STIRTON
in photography, Peschak ENRIC SALA A frequent contribu- AMY TOENSING
is a National Geographic National Geographic tor to National Geographic, National Geographic
Explorer with specialties Explorer in Residence Sala Stirton travels an average Explorer Toensing is known
in biodiversity and natural is the founder and leader of of 10 months each year cov- for photographing global
history. Page 122 the Pristine Seas project. He ering wildlife, conservation, cultures and matters affect-
was the recipient of the 2021 and cultural issues. Page 118 ing women. Page 1
CARSTEN PETER Hubbard Medal for distinc-
Whether climbing a tion in research, discovery, MAC STONE PAOLO VERZONE
glacier or descending into a and exploration. Page 18 A National Geographic Verzone concentrates on
volcano, Peter enjoys pho- Explorer, Stone grew up in portraits and documen-
tographing some of Earth’s AHMAD SAMSUDIN the north-central part of tary work. He splits his time
most extreme places. His Samsudin is a freelance Florida, where he devel- between Italy, where he
work has been honored photographer based in oped a passion for photo- was born, and Spain.
with the World Press Photo Indonesia. Page 80 graphing wetlands. Page 64 Pages 34, 102
award. Page 8
ROBBIE SHONE AJI STYAWAN AMI VITALE
A National Geographic Styawan chooses to focus A National Geographic
Explorer who specializes in his camera lens on social, Explorer and photogra-
cave photography, Shone humanitarian, and environ- pher based in Montana,
works in the most remote mental issues, especially in Vitale covers conservation
parts of the Earth, spending his home base of Central and civil unrest around the
days or weeks underground. Java, Indonesia. Page 78 world. Page 135

JASON GULLEY A dry suit allows Gulley to spend all day in the waters of Homosassa STEPHEN WILKES
Springs, Florida, photographing manatees. The National Geographic Explorer is National Geographic
dedicated to covering creatures affected by climate change. Page 44 Explorer Wilkes is known
for the cityscapes and land-
PHOTO: ERIKA LARSEN scapes of his Day to Night
series. He lives in Westport,
Connecticut. Page 48

DAN WINTERS
Contributing scientific and
aerospace photography,
Winters was born in Ven-
tura County, California, and
now lives in New York City.
Pages 12, 38, 135

KILIII YÜYAN
Part Nanai, part
Chinese American, Yüyan
uses his unique cultural
perspective to tell
stories about humans’
relationship with the
natural world, especially
in the Arctic.
Pages 24, 26, 136

•6 P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R

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Purina.com/EscapeTogether



C A N A RY
ISLANDS, SPAIN

AN ISLAND
ON FIRE,
RAGING IN
THE DARK

•

PHOTOGRAPH BY

CARSTEN PETER

When cracks opened
up in La Palma’s
Cumbre Vieja ridge
in September 2021,
they set off one of the
most destructive vol-
canic eruptions in the
Canary Islands in 500
years. Carsten Peter
arrived shortly after
to cover the event,
the 10th volcano he’s
photographed for the
magazine. Over the
next three months,
molten rock splattered
from the volcano’s
vents, while lava foun-
tains blasted nearly
2,000 feet high. The
eruption sent millions
of cubic yards of lava
on the march, bulldoz-
ing more than 2,800
buildings, 864 acres of
farmland, and over 43
miles of road. Years of
recovery now lie ahead
for La Palma’s roughly
86,000 inhabitants.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC VOL. 242 NO. 6 • PAGE 11

SPECIAL ISSUE

PICTURES OF
THE YEAR

•

We sent our photographers around the globe
to document our world and our times.

In this special edition, we showcase their
best photos and compelling stories.

F EATU RI NG BE H IN D -TH E - SCE N E S O N F IV E A S SIG NM E N TS

23 40 78 94 110

KILIII ERIKA AJI WAY N E LY N N

Y Ü YA N LARSEN ST YAWA N L AW R E N C E JOHNSON

in Greenland in the U.S. in Indonesia in South Africa in the U.S.

K E N N E DY With its Artemis I mis- slated to last more flesh-and-blood pas-
SPACE CENTER, sion, NASA is kicking than a month, Campos sengers will use during
off an ambitious plan is sitting in for crew launch, reentry, and
FLORIDA to return humans to in the Orion capsule. other critical moments.
the moon. When the Sensors in Campos’s NASA hopes a crew of
LUNAR rocket launches, this headrest and behind four will make the next
DREAMS uncrewed trip’s com- its seat track vibra- trek aboard Orion as
mander will be the tion and acceleration, early as May 2024,
“moonikin” Campos, expected to reach four as part of Artemis II.
named after a NASA times that of Earth’s
engineer who helped gravity. Campos wears •
save the lives of the radiation sensors
Apollo 13 crew. During and the survival suit PHOTOGRAPH BY
a trip around the moon that future missions’
DAN WINTERS

•P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R 13

AT L A S

132 ARCTIC

Photographers Beaufort Lancaster Sound EllesmereSiIo. rapaluk
sent out Sea Ba Qaanaaq

60 GREENLAND

Countries Disko Bay
visited Baffin Bay Greenland
Kobuk River Valley ffin I. Sea
TROPIC OF CANCER
HAWAII ALASKA ARCTIC CIRCLE
(U.S.) (U.S.)
Meradalir ICELAND NORWAY
PA C CANADIAN Valley
CANADA Hudson
Gulf of ROCKY Bay Labrador UNITED DEN.
Alaska NORTH Sea KINGDOM NETH.

SHIELD Island of Den Helder
Newfoundland
AMERICA Lake FRANCE GER.
Champlain Zürich
UNITED
Mattawa M T S. Corning

MONACO

Humboldt County Bears S TAT E S Liberty PORTUGAL SWITZ.
Ears N.M. Fort Washington, D.C. SPAIN
Worth U. of
Monument Valley Zoo Virginia Ichetucknee Pulpí
Portal Springs State Park MOROCCO
Kennedy Space Center Madeira
Dallas Blue Cypress Lake

Crystal La Palma
River Canary Is.

MEXICO WESTERN SAHARA S A H
(MOR.)

ATLANTIC

HONDURAS PUERTO RICO (U.S.) AF

Caribbean SA

GUATEMALA Sea Caracas

IFIC EL SALVADOR FRENCH NIGERIA
COLOMBIA GUIANA
VENEZUELA (FRANCE)

Galápagos Is. Cauca Llanos OCEAN Lopé National Park
GABON
EQUATOR

ECUADOR AMAZON

OCEAN N BASIN
A
Line Islands PERU BRAZIL
ON ASSIGNMENT
Nevado Auzangate SOUTH

E Emas National Park
D
AMERICA

WHERE IN S

THE WORLD CHILE Patagonia

National Geographic photographers crisscrossed the Drake Passage
globe this past year to capture glimpses of our shared Endurance Wreck
human journey and the incredible planet we call home.

Locations of photos Washington, D.C. Populated place SO UT
found in this issue Water feature
of National Geographic Lake Champlain ANTARCTIC CIRCLE
Point of interest
Where National Camp Adventure Physical feature We d d e l l
Geographic has Mt. Everest Protected area Sea
sent photographers Lopé National Park
in the past year
ANTAR
Photographers sent to
highlighted countries

•B Y S O R E N WA L L JA S P E R

OCEAN 120°F

Kara Laptev East Siberian Heat recorded by Matthieu
Sea Sea Sea Paley as he followed Sufi

Barents pilgrims in Pakistan’s Sindh
Sea and Balochistan Provinces

SIBERIA

SWEDEN U r a l M t s.

RUSSIA Bering
Kamchatka Sea
Camp Adventure Sea of Peninsula
Okhotsk
Aleutian Is.
EUROPE
POL.

Przemyśl Turan Lowland Al ta A S IA

Lladoc GEORGIA Vakhsh yM t s. GOBI

AUST. KOSOVO CHINA
Dujiangyan
IT. Pristina River Panda Base

TÜRKIYE ARMENIA PeIn SOUTH
KOREA
Gyumri TAJIKISTAN Hunza
Valley JAPAN

LEB. Wardak Province Plateau of Tibet
doncihnisnualaMALAYA
ISRAEL AFGHANISTAN ISTAN HI Mt. Everest
Tel Aviv-Yafo
29,032 ft East
PAK 8,849 m China PA C I F I C

EGYPT JORDAN QATAR Sea TROPIC OF CANCER

Luxor Arabian Naing Valley NEPAL TAIWAN
Peninsula
ARA U.A.E.

INDIA outh China Sea Philippine
Manila Sea
Mumbai
PHILIPPINES
RICA

HEL Arabian Bay of OCEAN
Bengal
Ethiopian

Highlands Sea Minneriya

UGANDA S

CONGO SRI M A L AY S I A
BASIN LANKA
KENYA
DEM. REP. Amboseli National Park Borneo EQUATOR
OF THE Masai Mara Sumatra
CONGO National Reserve New
INDONESIA Guinea

Timbulsloko
Java

INDIAN Warddeken Indigenous Coral Sea
Protected Area
MADAGASCAR

OCEAN TROPIC OF CAPRICORN

Kalahari AUSTRALIA
Desert

SOUTH Durban WINKEL II PROJECTION

AFRICA

SCALE AT THE EQUATOR 1:123,900,000 Tasman North I.
Sea

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 Tasmania South I.

STATUTE MILES NEW
ZEALAND

0 1000 2000 3000 4000
KILOMETERS

HERN OCEAN

CTICA -49°F

Cold measured by Pat Kane
in Canada’s Northwest

Territories while covering
Indigenous trappers

•P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R 15

CORNING, It’s tempting to think thinner than a sheet photographer cap-
NEW YORK of ceramics as strong of paper. The loops tured the innovation
yet brittle, like a coffee of heat-tolerant alu- as part of a 10-year
CERAMICS cup shattered on a mina seen here could project focused on the
THAT BEND kitchen floor. But to make automotive influence of U.S.-based
THE MIND scientists at glass and sensors and other manufacturers.
ceramics manufac- devices used in harsh
turer Corning, they’re environments quicker •
flexible and durable. and cheaper to pro-
The ribbon ceramics duce. They could also PHOTOGRAPH BY
they’ve devised can enable new kinds
be spooled into strips of batteries. The CHRISTOPHER PAYNE

WHAT WILL YOUR
LEGACY BE?

The National Geographic Society is
an impact-driven global nonprofit
that invests in bold people and
transformative ideas.
We believe that meaningful, lasting
change for the better is possible —
when we work together.
We invite you to include us in your
estate plans and help us sustain our
momentum by preparing the next
generations to do even more to care
for the planet.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLIE HAMILTON JAMES

CREATE A LEGACY OF YOUR OWN

•1 8 P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R

LINE ISLANDS,
K I R I B AT I

RESILIENCE
IN THE
DEEP

•

PHOTOGRAPH BY

ENRIC SALA

Around Vostok and
other southern Line
Islands in the remote
central Pacific, abun-
dant small reef fish
support a thriving
population of top
predators. Here a gray
reef shark swims over
Montipora corals in
a sea of fusilier dam-
selfish and Bartlett’s
anthias. Enric Sala, a
National Geographic
Explorer in Residence,
visited the area in
2009 for his Pristine
Seas project, which
conducted the first
scientific surveys
of marine life around
the islands and recom-
mended protection.
Now the sea around
the islands is a reserve,
which may have helped
it recover from a dra-
matic coral die-off in
the wake of a 2015-16
El Niño warming event.
On this more recent
trip, Sala captured the
reefs restored to their
former glory.

BY THE NUMBERS •I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y J U L I A D U F O S S É

2 9, 0 3 2 9

Elevation, in feet, Remote cameras
attained by Dan Winters had
pointed at Artemis I
Evan Green as part on September 27—
of the first all-Black until its launch was
halted as Hurricane
team to summit
Everest Ian formed

2,238,899 44 4

Images filed Photographers Types of transport,
by all photographers including a
who completed
9, 8 6 9 powered paraglider,
their first National Ben Depp used
Depth, in feet, of to document
the Endurance Geographic Louisiana’s coast

shipwreck, whose assignment
discovery was
documented by 4,000 1
Esther Horvath
Pounds of gear Tripod taken by

staff photo a hyena when

engineer Tom Jen Guyton was

O’Brien shipped photographing the

into the field animals in Kenya

A YEAR IN T H E I N T E N S E T R I P P R E PA RAT I O N , the physical demands of fieldwork,
PHOTOGRAPHY— the real-time education in every assignment … and the feeling of
genuinely connecting with a subject. When photographers are in the
ADDED UP field for National Geographic, many aspects of the job are hard to
quantify. But with our photographers’ help, we collected the statistics
above. They show how efforts amounted to the images we published
during the year in print, online, and across our social accounts.

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• T H R O U G H the L E N S 23 •

KILIII YÜYAN

SURVIVAL SKILLS AND EMPATHY HELP THIS PHOTOGRAPHER
THRIVE IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS AND DIVERSE CULTURES.

I A M G L I D I N G O N I C E , inhaling to where ice meets water. After
the crisp April air of Greenland’s five weeks, when we finally come
high Arctic, accompanied by up on a small area of open water,
the rhythmic whooshing of sled Quma tests the ice with a heavy
dogs. I kneel on the back of a sled, pole. It’s mushy, but underneath
making photographs of Inughuit the softness lies dependable
hunter Qumangaapik “Quma” ice—our lives depend on that ice
Qvist and his dog team. (That’s holding together.
me holding the camera, above.)
I decide I’ll go first into the
I’m on the quintessential frigid water with one of the
National Geographic assignment, kayaks we’ve lashed to the sleds.
dogsledding across roughly 30 Quma and another hunter,
miles of sea ice in search of the Ilannguaq Qaerngaq, give each
unicorn of the sea: the narwhal. other an uneasy glance, but they
launch me anyway and watch ner-
Week after week, we’ve been vously as I fumble around with
coming out on the sea ice of my camera for a few moments.
Inglefield Fjord, seeking a path

GLEB RAYGORODETSKY

• 24

•T H R O U G H the L E N S

Cousins Berthe Simigaq and reflect the impor-
and Nellie Simigaq tant relationship that
push strollers across the Inughuit, or northern
sea ice on their way to Greenlandic Inuit, have
annual dogsled races in with dog teams—the
Qaanaaq, Greenland. main means of trans-
The races are the big- portation here during
gest events in town much of the year.

• 26

•T H R O U G H the L E N S

Inughuit elder Pullaq little auks numbering
Ulloriaq catches a in the millions migrate
little auk in a tradi- to nesting grounds
tional net on the cliffs in north Greenland,
above Siorapaluk, the where they have con-
most northern Inuit tributed to a sustain-
community in Green- able Inughuit harvest
land. In late summer, for centuries.

• 28 North ASIA
Pole EUR.

Qaanaaq

N. A Nuuk Greenland
MER.
(DEN.)

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Then my kayak takes off like a O U T S TA N D I N G This is where my hope lives.
shot. It rockets over the glassy S TO RY T E L L I N G Native communities are incredi-
water, coming to a stop only after AWARD WINNER bly good at stewarding their lands,
I execute an expert turn with my and it’s not because they are any
paddle. Across the water, I can see The prestigious annual more enlightened than anyone
the hunters’ mouths turn upward. Eliza Scidmore Award else. Indigenous peoples recog-
For years prior to becoming a pho- is presented by the National nize human tendencies toward
tographer, I built and paddled tra- Geographic Society. selfishness and greed. They have
ditional kayaks. They knew that, The award is named for evolved all kinds of social struc-
but now they’re seeing proof. the writer and photographer tures, which one might even
who, in 1892, became the call technologies, to combat our
The Inughuit launch their own first woman elected to the destructive impulses.
kayaks, and we start searching for Society’s board. This year’s
narwhals, spending the afternoon award recognizes Kiliii Indigenous peoples are not
looking for signs of them around Yüyan for his photographic somehow magical—but they are
the water’s edge. But it’s a lost storytelling that illuminates exceptionally diverse. All those
cause. The thin, rotting ice still communities connected thousands of cultures represent
extends way out of the fjord into individual experiments in how
the sea, preventing the narwhals to the land. humans manage themselves and
from surfacing for a breath. They their surroundings, and when try-
can’t get into this area to fish for into an emergency survival sit- ing to solve thorny problems, pos-
halibut or to give birth. uation (commonplace here), it’s sibilities are needed. Indigenous
good to remember: You can’t eat cultures also have had millennia
By mid-June, I can’t stay any a snowmobile. to refine their solutions to prob-
longer. The thin ice remains in lems, providing not only a variety
place, and the narwhals stay locked As a photographer of Nanai of models but mostly good models.
out of their calving grounds, two (East Asian Indigenous) and It’s hard to survive if you degrade
months later than usual. As my Chinese descent, raised by my the land that gives you life.
plane gains altitude over the sea immigrant parents in the United
ice for the long return south, I look States, I know how difficult it is In past centuries, Indigenous
down and see dog teams mushing to understand the perspectives peoples have stewarded their
around the village, a seemingly of different cultures. But I believe lands independently. Today the
timeless sight in this climate of it’s essential. My mission is to try threats their territories face are
unyielding change. to understand how the thousands orders of magnitude greater.
of wildly varied Native cultures Mining, oil extraction, and devel-
North Greenland, home to the around the world manage to be opment are rapidly eating away
Indigenous Inughuit, is one of so good at land stewardship, while pristine homelands from the
the few places on Earth where this modern globalized culture Amazon to the Arctic. It’s my hope
the most reliable form of trans- has basically dropped the ball. that powerful stories can help the
portation during much of the year industrialized world learn from
is a dogsled. It might seem odd to The stakes for the environment Indigenous models, as well as sup-
most people. After all, dogsled- we live in are high, and we all port Native communities working
ding takes time, which means long know it. The issues, from climate toward solutions.
exposure to bitter cold. Dogs need change to habitat destruction,
to be fed and cared for. Mushers seem dire. Yet my friends know Though I’m often engaged
also need to be trained and in me as an optimist. That’s because with heady thoughts like these, I
good fitness. I see the solutions are already out remember that spring afternoon
there, and are in practice at this as we mushed across the ice and
Nevertheless, the community very moment. my mind was at peace. Our Green-
of Qaanaaq has remained, quite landic team paused to hunt a seal,
deliberately, a place where dog- Eighty percent of the world’s feed the dogs with the blubber, and
sledding is a common way to get existing land biodiversity is on stew the ribs for dinner. On that
around. Sleds are slow, quiet, territories managed by Indige- day, we covered 30 miles on seal
and demand constant observa- nous peoples, who make up just fuel. That, my friends, is a recipe
tion of the sea ice and its wildlife. 5 percent of the global population. not only for a great assignment
Unlike snowmobiles, they don’t Nearly all of that territory encom-
break down. And when you get passes people making a living but also for good living. •
with wildlife.

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STAT E M E N T O F OW N E R S H I P, M A N AG E M E N T, A N D M O N T H LY C I RC U L AT I O N

OWNER AND PUBLISHER: National Geographic Partners, LLC
DAVID E. MILLER, EVP & GM, NG MEDIA
NATHAN LUMP, EDITOR IN CHIEF

HEADQUARTERS OF PUBLISHER AND PUBLICATION: 1145 Seventeenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036
STOCKHOLDERS; BONDHOLDERS; MORTGAGE; OTHER SECURITY HOLDERS: National Geographic Society and The Walt Disney Company

A. TOTAL COPIES PRINTED AVERAGE NO. COPIES EACH ISSUE SINGLE ISSUE NEAREST
(Net Press Run) DURING PRECEDING 12 MOS. TO FILING DATE

B. PAID CIRCULATION OCT 2021 - SEPT 2022 SEPTEMBER 2022
1. Outside-County Mail Subscriptions 1,924,189 1,802,418
2. In-County Mail Subscriptions
3. Single Copy Sales/Non USPS Paid Distribution 1,395,298 1,313,434
4. Other Classes Mailed Through USPS - -

C. TOTAL PAID CIRCULATION 3 3 4 ,1 7 7 322,745
- -
D. FREE DISTRIBUTION (includes samples, no news agents)
1. Outside-County 1,729,475 1,636,179
2. In-County
3. Other Classes Mailed Through USPS 47, 2 6 4 27,690
4. Free Distribution Outside the Mail - -
- -
E. TOTAL FREE DISTRIBUTION
1,074 1,084
F. TOTAL DISTRIBUTION (Sum of C and E) 48,338 2 8,7 74
1,7 7 7, 8 1 3 1,664,953
G. OFFICE USE, LEFTOVER, ETC. 1 4 6, 3 76 1 3 7,4 6 5
1,924,189 1,802,418
H. TOTAL (Sum of F & G) 98.3%
9 7. 3 %
I. PERCENT PAID

3 QUESTIONS

WORKING
REMOTELY

OUR EDITORS QUIZZED PHOTOGRAPHERS ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES
IN THE FIELD. HERE, SOME OF THEIR ANSWERS.

What’s the An FDA-approved device for "I always try to find a stray
one item you motion sickness that looks like a
always take watch but shocks like an electric feather and bring it
on, or bring eel ... which is very handy when home for my son ... It’s a fun
back from, an flying in bush planes or rocking way to share my experience ...
assignment? around ocean swells on a boat. and show him a little piece

"My son, Oliver, was born in —KILIII YÜYAN of the world.

May of 2021. Since then I like to get a shave from a local —KEITH LADZINSKI
I’ve kept one of the socks ... he barber wherever I go.
I always bring hot sauce ...
wore as a newborn. I have —DAVIDE MONTELEONE This makes every camping meal
taken it everywhere with me. go from two stars to four stars.
My father’s college ring.
—SAUL MARTINEZ —MAC STONE
—SARA HYLTON
I always bring tobacco to offer Describe
the land as a spiritual gesture A small paper heart, which a a memorable
of respect for nature and to ask little girl gave me while I was on first while on
assignment.
for safety when traveling. an assignment in Mongolia.

—PAT KANE —ANUSH BABAJANYAN

There is a bobcat fetish that "Travel yoga mat. Best way to
lives in my camera bag ...
start or finish a day in the
[It] comes all over the world field is with some meditation
with me.
and stretching.
—KARINE AIGNER
—RUBÉN SALGADO ESCUDERO

It was my first chance to
see moon bears in their natural

habitat, with Korea National
Park rangers. I spotted lumps

•I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y L U C I G U T I É R R E Z

of black moving in the bushes "Halfway through an I was photographing the oldest
maybe 650 feet away and lifted cypress tree in the world when
assignment in the Sierra Sur of all of a sudden a comet-like light
my camera, when a ranger Oaxaca, I decided to include streaked across the only open
grabbed me and said, “We gotta my feet in this sensory
go!” I later learned the mother journey and walk barefoot. part of the sky in my frame.
bear had sensed us, instructed It was completely unexpected,
—MARICEU ERTHAL GARCÍA and I had only one shot to make
the cubs to move, and could
have attacked us. I was documenting the it work. It turned out to be
nighttime landscape of New a SpaceX rocket [see page 64].
—JUN MICHAEL PARK Hampshire’s White Mountains
when high-energy particles —MAC STONE
"Naked caving! Inside Pulpí Geode from a solar eruption arrived in
the Earth’s magnetic field, Photographing a rock climb
[one of Earth’s largest crystal 60 feet off the ground in Liming,
caves] in Spain, it was extremely and bright vertical rays of China, I held my camera by my
the northern lights appeared.
hot, so we had very little time fingertips, ready to drop it to
allowed for making photographs. —BABAK TAFRESHI my side as it’s always tethered to
my body harness—but then I saw
To maximize the time, Tell us about a its tether dangling unattached.
I stripped (100 percent) and only memorable save Thankfully, in my panic I gripped

wore the white paper suit. It in the field. harder instead of dropping it.
worked; I bought myself 10 extra
Rushing out to a human- —IRENE YEE
minutes [see page 104]. wildlife conflict site in Gabon,
I was diving with a leopard
—ROBBIE SHONE I forgot to bring water. After seal in Antarctica when a current
10 hours in the blazing sun, I was
A 600-pound pig on a farm beached us both on a piece
in Virginia. She looked at me, getting seriously dehydrated of sea ice. For about 30 seconds,
[when] a train approached.
crawled out of her mud pit, my camera housing was the
and jogged over to rub A man hanging out the window only thing between us, and the
dropped a water bottle while attacking seal bit it repeatedly.
her muddy nose on my lens.
shouting, “Water for the National Once the seal wriggled back
—KENDRICK BRINSON Geographic photographer!” into the water, my Zodiac driver
as the train continued. swooped in and pulled me off
Seeing a completely dead
mangrove [forest, from climate —JASPER DOEST the ice into the boat.
change effects] was one of the
most remarkable experiences. Out by myself in Alaska, I stepped —KEITH LADZINSKI
The dry trees are reminiscent of to a cliff edge to get a photo,
"
horror movie scenes. and the spot I was standing on
evaporated. I managed to grab Well, I was almost run over
—VICTOR MORIYAMA a clump of grass with one hand, (i.e., killed) by a zebra while on a
which kept me from falling 200 story in Zambia. So I have taken
Shooting inside the tomb of Tut- feet. I shot a couple quick frames the zebra as my talisman animal
ankhamun was a mysterious and with the other hand—I figured, :) After all, I was photographing
magical experience [see page 34]. What the hell?—then pulled on that project in black and white.
the grass to crawl slowly back up. So many stories ... I can’t choose.
—PAOLO VERZONE
—JOEL SARTORE —LYNN JOHNSON

LUXOR,
EGYPT

KING TUT’S
ETERNAL
MYSTIQUE

•

PHOTOGRAPH BY

PAOLO VERZONE

With winged arms in
a protective spread,
this relief of the
Egyptian goddess Isis
has stood guard for
millennia on the stone
sarcophagus of the
pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Isis has witnessed a
great deal: Soon after
Tut’s burial in Egypt’s
Valley of the Kings in
the 14th century B.C.,
grave robbers ran-
sacked parts of the
tomb. Then, in 1922,
a team led by British
archaeologist Howard
Carter rediscovered
the burial site and fully
excavated it. Nearly
all of Tutankhamun’s
belongings now reside
in the lavish Grand
Egyptian Museum,
which opens soon
outside Cairo. The sar-
cophagus, though,
remains within the
necropolis, along with
the boy king’s mummy.



WEDDELL SEA

ENDURING Explorer Ernest Henry nearly 10,000 feet
MYSTERY SOLVED Shackleton and his down in March 2022.
crew in 1915 all survived The Endurance22
when ice crushed their expedition, using
ship, Endurance, off autonomous under-
the coast of Antarctica. water vehicles, located
The three-masted, the ship and spotted
oak-hulled barkentine, the brass lettering
long lost in the depths on its stern, well-
of the Weddell Sea, was preserved by cold
discovered in astonish- temperatures, lack of
ingly good condition light, and low oxygen.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY FALKLANDS MARITIME HERITAGE TRUST AND

•N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C ( L E F T ) , E S T H E R H O RVAT H ( R I G H T )

Esther Horvath pho- "Searching and moving in the polar darkness has a certain
tographed Agulhas II
plowing through thick mystery I’m drawn to. It’s an echo of the underwater world.
Antarctic ice floes. The
treacherous weather —ESTHER HORVATH
made securing camera
equipment on board
a challenge. “It was so
windy out there, I had
to use my entire body
weight to hold down
my tripod,” she says.

•P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R 37

•3 8 P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R

K E N N E DY
SPACE CENTER,

FLORIDA

THE NEXT
RIDE TO
THE MOON

•

PHOTOGRAPH BY

DAN WINTERS

Shrouded in morn-
ing mist, NASA’s Space
Launch System (SLS)
looms over Kennedy
Space Center’s Launch
Complex 39B in March
as the rocket awaits
testing. The 322-foot-
tall vehicle is the
linchpin of NASA’s
Artemis program,
which aims to land the
first woman and the
first person of color
on the moon and use
it as a stepping stone
to Mars. With two
boosters and four main
engines, SLS can fling
a crew capsule moon-
ward with 8.8 million
pounds of thrust—15
percent more oomph
than the Apollo pro-
gram’s Saturn V rocket.
Each SLS will be used
only once. After this
rocket’s launch during
an uncrewed test flight
planned for this year,
its pieces are expected
to either fall into the
ocean or enter orbit
around the sun.

• 40

ERIKA
LARSEN

HER WORK EXPLORES
THE BONDS CONNECTING

CULTURES, PEOPLE ,
AND NATURE—IN THIS
CASE, GENTLE MARINE

SURVIVORS.

W E ’ D S I T AT T H E water’s edge, on the
seawall in front of Gena’s family home,
and listen. Soon we’d hear them: gusts
of breath when the manatees came up
for air before sinking back below the

•4 0 P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R

•T H R O U G H the L E N S

Manatees, among
other sea life, adorn
a convenience store’s
mural in Crystal River,
a coastal city in west-
ern Florida known as
the Manatee Capital
of the World. A refuge
for the sea mammals
operates there.

•P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R 41

• 42

surface of the spring-fed Florida "Gena and I would about, manatees. Crowds of fans
bay. I began calling them “the describe them fondly as gentle,
sounds of the ancients,” as these immerse ourselves huggable, lovable, sweet. Marine
docile marine mammals’ lineage in the culture of what’s conservationists dedicated to the
leads back to grass-eating land manatee’s welfare warn that it’s a
mammals from about 50 million become an almost “canary in a coal mine”—an ani-
years ago. Yet in the places that mythical being—on mal that’s in great danger itself
manatees inhabit today, many pop- one hand threatened, and is also a bellwether of the
ulations are seriously threatened. danger in its surroundings.
on the other,
W R I T E R- photographer larger than life. Thanks in part to manatees’
Gena Steffens and popularity, today Florida’s effort
I were paired at a —ERIKA LARSEN to conserve them has broad sup-
National Geographic port: from zoos, aquariums, muse-
ums, the U.S. Geological Survey,
mentorship program in 2019 and power companies, universities,
and more.
had discussed working on a proj-
The feature story on which we
ect together. I had moved to South collaborated is to appear in the
January 2023 issue of National
Florida only a few years before, Geographic. The visual storytell-
ing will include Jason’s laborious
and Gena was living in Colombia. underwater imagery as well as my
photography from land, which
Gena had spent many child- One headline that drew me in: ranged from documentary to more
“Nobody Knows How to Wean whimsical, vacation-style images
hood days in Crystal River, Manatees Off Coal Plants,” on a that may jog our collective mem-
Bloomberg Businessweek report ory of Florida leisure (facing page).
Florida—known as the Mana- about manatees flocking to the
hot-water runoff from coal- and
tee Capital of the World—at the oil-fired power plants, as natural
hot springs habitats grew scarce
home that was originally her because of coastal development.

great-grandmother’s, on land As we did research—on rel-
evant science, environment,
facing the waters of a manatee history—we came across the
work of scientist and National
refuge. During the pandemic, Geographic Explorer Jason Gul-
ley, who had been investigating
she decided to stay at that house issues surrounding manatees.
After discussions with photo edi-
for a few weeks, and on a visit, we tor Kaya Berne, Jason was added A T T H E E N D O F the jour-
to the team. He would take under- ney, Gena and I found
began discussing ideas. water and aerial photographs, to ourselves again sitting on
reveal manatees’ otherworldly the seawall, considering
In 2021, declining water quality habitat (see page 44).

wiped out many of the Atlantic Meanwhile, back on land, Gena
and I would immerse ourselves in
Florida seagrasses that manatees the culture of what’s become an the manatees’ story and where it
almost mythical being—on one
eat, and more than a thousand hand threatened, on the other, might lead us.
larger than life.
perished in what was a particu- For me, manatees have become

larly deadly year for the mam- a guide showing me a new, pri-

mals. The same year, National mordial layer of this place where I

Geographic approved our proposal live. Throughout our work on their

to do a story on manatees, their story, they acted as mirrors—to

essential relationship to the frag- those who cross their path, to the

ile Florida ecosystem, and where places where they live, and to our

they’re at risk or thriving. relationship with the environment

We made Crystal River our that sustains us all.

research base. Early in the morn- Below the surface, they’re a

ing when I’d walk out, I’d be met small and unusual group of her-

by bursts of air from the sur- bivorous mammals playing an

rounding water. The sounds of essential role in our ecosystem;

the ancients again. above the surface, charismatic

Gena’s roots in Crystal River Z IGZAGGING ACROSS Florida icons with the ability to delight,
and ranging up and down
revealed a lifelong fascination its coastlines, we found a to enchant, and to reflect the best
complex web of human
with manatees, and I quickly part of humanity.

gained inspiration by spend- They are the ancients, holding

ing time in their environment. encounters with, and feelings memories from long ago. •

•4 2 P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R

•T H R O U G H the L E N S

Gentle. Lovable.
Huggable, even.
Manatees get raves
from fans, many of
whom have never
seen a real one. Such
is the sea cow’s hold
on the popular imag-
ination, displayed
in murals, statues,
clothing logos, and
more. Some signs of
manatee mania that
writer Gena Steffens
and I encountered
in Florida, clockwise
from top: a mana-
tee cutout (that’s me
hugging it) at the
Bishop Museum of
Science and Nature
in Bradenton; a
mother-and-baby
manatee mailbox in
Crystal River; and
fans Topaz Mar-
tofel and son Ryder
Kramer, who came
from Pennsylvania
to attend the Flor-
ida Manatee Festival
in Crystal River and
swim with the docile
mammals. —EL

GENA STEFFENS (TOP) •P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R 43

•4 4 P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R

ICHETUCKNEE A manatee munches starvation. During the
SPRINGS on a wisp of eelgrass winter of 2021-22, state
in Florida’s Ichetuck- and federal wildlife offi-
STATE PARK, nee River, whose clean, cials carried out a pilot
FLORIDA warm waters can be supplemental feeding
a winter refuge for program in Indian River
MANATEES the aquatic mammals. Lagoon to save as many
IN DANGER Manatees can’t toler- manatees as possible
ate water colder than before they could leave
68 degrees Fahrenheit. for warmer foraging
Declining water quality grounds in spring.
due to pollution, sed- By mid-September
imentation, and algal of this year, 694 mana-
blooms along central tees had died.
Florida’s Atlantic coast
has decimated seagrass, •
one of the manatee’s
main foods. As a result, PHOTOGRAPH BY
a record 1,101 manatees
died last year, most from JASON GULLEY

VAKHSH RIVER, Ranobi Islomova, 63, instances of drought—
TA J I K I S TA N of Farkhor, Tajikistan, is making hydropower
lies in the back of a car in Central Asia an
ON THE while waiting to return increasingly unreli-
ROAD TO home from gallblad- able energy source.
der surgery. In the Tajikistan is on track to
MORE background is the res- complete the world’s
ENERGY ervoir formed by the largest dam, the 1,099-
984-foot-high Nurek foot Rogun, in the next
Dam, the second high- decade at the esti-
est dam on the planet, mated cost of eight
whose hydropower billion dollars.
plant on the Vakhsh
River supplies about •
50 percent of the
country’s electricity. PHOTOGRAPH BY
Climate change—in the
form of rapidly melting ANUSH
glaciers and growing B A B A J A N YA N

•P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R 47



BEARS EARS
N AT I O N A L
M O N U M E N T,

U TA H

A FULL SKY
SHOW OVER
36 HOURS

•

PHOTOGRAPH BY

STEPHEN WILKES

To create this image
of Bears Ears, Stephen
Wilkes took 2,092
photos over 36 hours,
combining 44 of them
to show a sunrise, a full
moon, and a rare align-
ment of four planets.
“Beyond the sense of
awe and beauty,” he
says, “there’s a palpa-
ble sense of history
with every step you
take.” This spectacular
landscape in southeast-
ern Utah exemplifies
the risk to some of the
country’s unique, irre-
placeable places. One
president preserved it
at the urging of Native
Americans who hold
it sacred; another tried
to open it to drill-
ing and mining. The
national monument
is rich in archaeologi-
cal sites, including the
Citadel, an ancient cliff
dwelling now popular
with hikers.

CONTACT SHEET

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2342.jpg MM9697_211115_2350.jpg MM9697_211115_2354.jpg MM9697_211115_2355.jpg MADEIRA, PORTUGAL
2369.jpg MM9697_211115_2375.jpg MM9697_211115_2385.jpg MM9697_211115_2386.jpg
2421.jpg MM9697_211115_2424.jpg MM9697_211115_2426.jpg MM9697_211115_2427.jpg MAKING
THE CUT

•

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

O R S O LYA H A A R B E RG

Draped in moss and fringed with ferns,
the laurel forests of Madeira are echoes
of the ecosystems that held sway across
southern Europe millions of years ago.
Norway-based photographer Orsolya Haar-
berg recalls that when she hiked among
these trees, some perhaps 800 years old,
she felt as if she were “entering a holy
space.” Haarberg’s images, which ran in our
May 2022 issue, bring attention to the
beauty of Europe’s old-growth forests.
About 2 percent of the European Union’s
forested area is undisturbed by human
activity, preserving a rich tapestry of nature.

Haarberg took 522 images in the field in
Madeira. Photo Editor Kurt Mutchler had
the tough job of choosing among them.
Orange (FINAL SELECTS) marks photos that
reached the last round, blue (PUBLISHED)
those appearing in the magazine.

2447.jpg MM9697_211115_2449.jpg MM9697_211115_2450.jpg MM9697_211115_2455.jpg A UNESCO World
2469.jpg MM9697_211115_2479.jpg MM9697_211115_2481.jpg MM9697_211115_2482.jpg Heritage site, Madei-
ra’s laurel forests spring
from a mountainous
Portuguese archi-
pelago in the North
Atlantic west of Africa.
At elevations of 1,000
to 5,000 feet, ribbons
of mist wrap the trees,
creating cloud forests
that support many
endemic species.

•P I C T U R E S O F T H E Y E A R 53

LOPÉ An elephant gathers last strongholds in have fallen by more
NATIONAL PARK, the fruit of a Detarium Central Africa. Forest than 86 percent over
macrocarpum tree elephants are impor- 31 years. Depletion
GABON off the forest floor in tant seed dispersers of these elephant
Gabon’s Lopé National in such ecosystems, populations in turn
BIG EATER, Park. Research suggests as they range widely has the potential to
SMALL that a decades-long and their dung contains further contribute
MENU decline in Lopé’s tree nutrients that help to the trees’ decline.
fruits, most likely driven seeds germinate suc-
by rising tempera- cessfully. African forest •
tures and plummeting elephants are now crit-
rainfall, may be caus- ically endangered by PHOTOGRAPH BY
ing forest elephants to poaching and habitat
starve in one of their loss, and their numbers JASPER DOEST