Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Photographers

A bison runs amid the snow in Yellowstone National Park.

See Ten Breathtaking Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

The highly commended shots call to mind both the wonders of the animal kingdom and the risks wild creatures face

None

Ten Wildlife Photographers Zoom In on Their Favorite Birds

Get up close and personal with a birder’s-eye view of the United States, as reflected by our beloved feathered neighbors

Firefighters, still dressed in their smoke- and soot-stained bunker gear, take a breather after a harrowing day of battling a particularly stubborn brush fire.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

15 Scenes of Americans at Work

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest commemorate Labor Day

Stanley Tretick's photos of the March on Washington went unpublished for 50 years.

These Photos of the March on Washington Capture the Urgency and Joy of the Iconic Day

Stanley Tretick documented the demonstration in 1963, but his snapshots were hidden in a trunk, unseen by the public for decades

"Art About Art" features photos inspired by old masters, such as Double Mona Lisa (Peanut Butter and Jelly) by Vik Muniz.

See How Photographers Reimagine Old Master Paintings

“Art About Art” bills itself as a thoughtful, whimsical exploration of the connections between past and present

Allen Ginsberg photographs himself, Arthur Miller and William H. Gass in an elevator in Copenhagen's Hotel Royal.

See Allen Ginsberg’s Photographs—and A.I.-Generated Poems Based on Them

The Beat poet’s photos, taken throughout his literary career, depict friends and fellow writers

A high school soccer player remembers to keep her eye on the ball, even when soaring midair.

Celebrate the Women’s World Cup With 15 Stunning Soccer Shots

Achieve the goal of viewing these highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

RCW58, a Wolf-Rayet bubble nebula, is made of ejected material from the star WR 40, which shines at the center of the image.

See Ten Dazzling Space Images From the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards

From comets to nebulas to the Milky Way, the shots shortlisted in the annual competition capture the beauty of the cosmos from Earth

Who needs a spoon to enjoy this perfectly swirled chocolate-and-vanilla soft-serve ice cream served on a cone? Put the formalities aside.

Celebrate National Ice Cream Month With These 15 Mouthwatering Treats

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest feature creamy frozen delights to help beat the summer heat

A reddish egret catches a fish.

The Wonderful World of Birds

See 11 Breathtaking Bird Images From the Audubon Photography Awards

The pictures capture the marvelous behaviors of Earth’s feathered species and the habitats they need to survive

A three-to-four-minute exposure captures the light of a drone as it traces the shape of two cones in the sky along California's coast.

This Physicist Uses Drones to Create Giant Light Cones in the Desert

Evoking a key concept in relativity, Elliot McGucken traces out hourglass-like shapes in the sky that stretch as high as a seven-story building

Rhoda Goodridge in a 2 ¾-by-3 ¼-inch ambrotype made by her husband, the pioneering photographer Glenalvin Goodridge.

A Massive Archive Tells the Story of Early African American Photographers

Arresting portraits, now a part of the Smithsonian collections, illuminate the little-known role these artists played in chronicling 19th-century life

Lewis Wickes Hine's 1909 photograph of a young spinner in a Georgia cotton mill

History of Now

The Photographer Who Forced the U.S. to Confront Its Child Labor Problem

Lewis Hine’s early 20th-century “photo stories” sparked meaningful legislative reform

Members of the Quelcanca community in Peru return from planting trees in the mountains, hoisting their country's flag.

These Stunning Photography Projects Tell Stories of Conservation

A new grant from Vital Impacts funds long-term efforts to document environmental solutions in the photographers’ own communities

Pop artist Andy Warhol sits in front of artworks at his studio, the Factory, in New York City in 1983.

Supreme Court Rules That Andy Warhol Violated a Photographer’s Copyright

Experts are debating what the case will mean for the future of fair-use law

A spider hides between its own legs.

See 15 Breathtaking Shots From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Challenge

This themed contest rewarded minimalism, with clean photographs of insects, spiders and plants earning accolades

Farmer Paul Willard, 80, picking corn in his field. He shares the family farmhouse with his brother, Wendell, 74, a cabinetmaker who helps with farm chores, and Wendell’s wife, Elizabeth Cooper, 64, who grew up on a nearby orchard and writes beautiful poetry.

These Intimate Photos Capture a Family Farm’s Bittersweet Final Years

Photographer Ellen Harasimowicz has chronicled New England’s Willard Farm in its final harvests

The Olympus digital camera was covered in mud and broken after spending 13 years in Colorado's Animas River, but Spencer Greiner was still able to pull photos off its memory card.

Cool Finds

After 13 Years Underwater, Lost Digital Camera Photos Reunited With Owner

A Colorado fisherman spotted the camera sticking out of the mud along the the Animas River

None

Announcing the Winners of Smithsonian Magazine’s 20th Annual Photo Contest

From Norway to Nepal, this year’s winning images span the globe to capture the extraordinary

A puffin in soft light surrounded by faint raindrops.

See 15 Amazing Wildlife Images From the Sony World Photography Awards

The contest showcases the work of some of the planet’s best photographers

Page 8 of 29