A young emperor penguin jumps off a 50-foot cliff for its first swim. The species normally breeds on low-lying sea ice, but some colonies have been found on higher and more permanent ice shelves, behavior likely to become increasingly common with climate change. Left by their parents a month earlier, the chicks must fend for themselves and find food by hunting in the sea. (Photo: Bertie Gregory for National Geographic)ù
Young penguins taking the plunge, a cicada invasion, and Morocco’s annual rose harvest festival are just some of the subjects of National Geographic‘s “Pictures of the Year.” Celebrated in the December 2024 issue, the 20 extraordinary photographs were culled from more than 2.3 million images taken by National Geographic photographers.
Continuing its tradition of exceptional visual storytelling, NatGeo’s photographers move around the globe to seek out unique moments. This includes Bertie Gregory’s unprecedented view of young emperor penguins taking their first cliff jump and John Stanmeyer’s documentation of a cicada invasion that happened for the first time in over 200 years.
“A compendium of the best recent work from National Geographic’s photographers in the field, Pictures of the Year is an annual highlight of our editorial calendar. This year’s selection is both timeless and timely,” said Nathan Lump, editor-in-chief of National Geographic.
The selection also includes Ami Vitale’s incredible image of a 70-day-old rhino fetus, conceived from in-vitro fertilization. This scientific success is a breakthrough in saving the Northern white rhino. With only two females left in the world, there is a race against time to use in-vitro fertilization and a surrogate to save the species. Vitale has been following the story since 2009, and her photo demonstrates the incredible results of long-term storytelling.
“Our 2024 photos are visually captivating, to be sure, but they also bring to life the urgent challenges facing us as well as the ingenuity that’s been sparked in meeting them—from an effort to save rhinos to advances in green technology to adaptations in animal behavior. We hope that these images will stop audiences in their tracks and inspire them to learn more.”
See more selections from the issue, which is now on newsstands. You can also read the entire “Pictures of the Year” story online, which includes behind-the-scenes features shared by the National Geographic photographers.
For its December issue, National Geographic is celebrating the top 20 “Pictures of the Year.”
The images were culled from over 2.3 million photos taken by National Geographic photographers this year.
A scientist holds the 70-day-old fetus of a southern white rhino conceived through in vitro fertilization. (Photo: Ami Vitale)
Each spring, Morocco hosts a festival to celebrate the rose harvest. Pickers, mostly women, pluck buds early in the morning before the flowers open and release their aroma. The buds are then hand-sorted. The best are distilled into rose oil and rose water; the others are dried for tea or garlands. (Photo: Rena Effendi for National Geographic)
Check out the full story online, which includes behind-the-scenes features shared by the National Geographic photographers.
Periodical cicadas spend 13 or 17 years in the ground, emerging only to reproduce. Last May and June, for the first time in 221 years, brood XIII, with a 17-year cycle, and brood XIX, with a 13-year cycle, emerged simultaneously in the Midwest and southeastern United States, respectively, filling the air with vibrations as they called out to mate. (Photo: John Stanmeyer for National Geographic)
A black tiger—known for its merged stripes—patrols the Similipal Tiger Reserve. (Photo: Prasenjeet Yadav for National Geographic)