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Photos

The Amazing Results of Putting a Light Inside Fruits and Vegetables

Romanian photographer Radu Zaciu makes these farmers’ market foods glow from within

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Announcing the Finalists of the 12th Annual Smithsonian.com Photo Contest

See the finalists of our 2014 photo contest and vote for the Readers’ Choice winner

United States Marines pose on top of Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima with the American flag on February 23, 1945.

Photos From the Battle of Iwo Jima to Mark Its 70th Anniversary

The battle for the Pacific island in the late winter of 1945 positioned the United States to invade mainland Japan, but at a cost

In the garden, Levisticum is a tall plant with dark leaves and greenish-yellow flowers. Under a microscope, however, it can morph into a cellular rainbow. This image was made using polarized light to enhance contrast. Waves in polarized light share an orientation, and special filters can block out any unpolarized waves and make the fine details easier to see.

New Exhibit Showcases the Power of Light in Our Everyday Lives

The open-source show “LIGHT: Beyond the Bulb” crosses disciplines to show the many ways photonics has improved our lives

A toilet on the tundra at a gasoline stop on the road to Oymyakon. A sharp spire of frozen excrement rose almost to ground level from the pit beneath.

Photos From the Coldest City on Earth

What’s it like to live and work in the coldest inhabited place on Earth? Photographer Amos Chapple shares his stories from the frozen cities of Siberia

A group of young people, joyful at the success of the march, sing while walking through the St. Jude complex in Montgomery.

Traveling Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

These Rare Photos of the Selma March Place You in the Thick of History

James Barker, a photographer from Alaska, shares his memories of documenting the famed event

This multicolored lily pad is actually a bloom of the iron-based mineral hematite in Brazilian quartz.

Art Meets Science

Surreal Photos Reveal the Otherworldly Insides of Gemstones

If you thought gems were beautiful to the naked eye, take a look at them under a microscope

British fashion photographer Rankin has a new book out featuring collaborations with makeup artist Andrew Gallimore.

Fashion Photographer Rankin Has A New Book of Models in Wild Makeup

The British photographer reveals some unusual new portraits, with a hodgepodge of influences

An East German family watches and waits to cross into West Berlin. This photo, like so many others here, I found in a reject box, after many years

Amazing, Rare Photographs of the Berlin Wall Coming Down

Photojournalist Alexandra Avakian traveled to Berlin based on rumor, and she ended up becoming a witness to history

A statue in front of the Holy Cross church in Warsaw, Poland, guides viewers toward the August 2014 supermoon.

Inspiring Photos of the Biggest, Brightest Supermoon of 2014

Feast your eyes on these snapshots from around the world

Bernard Kleina took rare color photographs of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement.

Breaking Ground

A Collection of Rare Color Photographs Depicts MLK Leading the Chicago Freedom Movement

The Smithsonian has acquired some of the only known images of Martin Luther King Jr. at the momentous protest

Who Has the Best Facial Hair in Baseball History?

As long as there have been home runs and strike outs, ballplayers, even some Yankees, have sported mustaches, beards and side burns

The Gurranes — Moonlight, Castletownshend, Ireland, 2005

11 Photographs of Mysterious Megaliths

Photographer Barbara Yoshida traveled across the globe to capture prehistoric stone monuments shrouded in moonlight

Sunrise over Convict Lake

15 Beautiful Reader-Submitted Photos Celebrate Yosemite on Its 150th Birthday

To celebrate the park’s enduring beauty, check out some incredible Yosemite pictures from our photo contests

"Kirkjufell Nights" —Aurora over Kirkjufell waterfalls in Iceland. Third place in the Beauty of the Night category.

Stunning Photos of the Night Sky From the International Earth and Sky Photo Contest

From swirling aurora borealis to bioluminescent beaches, these award-winning photographs capture rare views of our world at night

Untitled, Distant Steam Vents; Yellowstone National Park, 2008

Stark Photographs of America the Beautiful, Forever Altered by Man and Nature

Victoria Sambunaris’s new photography book, Taxonomy of a Landscape, goes beyond the amber waves of grain to catalogue what’s on America’s horizon

Central American migrants ride a northbound cargo train through the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. July 2010.

Heartbreaking Photos of Children Who Are Risking Everything to Reach the United States

Michelle Frankfurter tells the stories of these young migrants and also those of the thousands who jump aboard “the death train”

Syrian refugee children in the Bekka Valley. In Lebanon there are currently over a half million school aged Syrian refugees. Many of them are unable to access education. Syrian children confront obstacles of being refugees in unfamiliar countries, but also face schools taught in English and French, rather than Arabic.

These Photos of Syria’s Children Put a Face on the Humanitarian Crisis in the Middle East

‘The Children of Syria,’ a documentary photography exhibition on display in Washington, presents a stark case of the challenges refugees confront

The Thailand display at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Photos: Impressive Floral Displays Unveiled at the U.K.’s Most Prestigious Garden Show

Flower sculptures and elaborate themed gardens are on display at London’s annual Chelsea Flower Show

Monks lead a candlelight procession around the ordination hall during Vesak celebrations in rural Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

Photos: Vesak, Buddha’s Birthday, As Celebrated All Across Southeast Asia

One of the holiest Buddhist holidays, Vesak marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha

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