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Photography

One of the rewards of hiking up Machu Picchu is the definitive view of Huayna Picchu that it affords.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

To See the Magnificence and Majesty of Machu Picchu Without the Hike, Check Out These Amazing Images

More than a million people make the arduous ascent to this wonder of the world each year. And most of them bring cameras, so even those who can’t make it are in luck.

Rock formations pierce still waters as the sun sets along the coast of Algarve.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Stunning Photos Invite You to Take a Peek at the People, Places and Cultural Legacy of Picturesque Portugal

With its vibrant hues, vast landscapes and a venerable history, there’s much to love about the coastal country

Two young boys at a Georgia cotton mill. Their slim arms and tiny hands were considered ideal for machine work.

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

When a Photographer Turned His Focus on Social Injustice, It Helped Usher in the First Child Labor Laws

Lewis Hine didn’t consider his job as taking pictures; it was “detective work.” Sometimes gaining access with ruse and subterfuge, he captured stark images that touched hearts and changed minds

A young male bongo photographed in Maasai Mau, Kenya

Trail Camera Photos Capture Rare Antelopes in a Kenya Forest Where Conservationists Once Feared They Had Vanished

Fewer than 100 mountain bongos are thought to live in the wild, and the new discovery reveals a crucial habitat for the critically endangered creatures

A 235-foot-tall Delta IV takes off with 2.1 million pounds of thrust from its three RS-68A booster main engines, creating a magnificent light show in the sky.

See 15 Inspiring Images of Americans’ Accomplishments in Space Exploration That Will Have You Reaching for the Stars

These photographs from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show the many ways that the nation’s brightest minds explore the great beyond with crewed spacecraft, rockets and space stations.

Robinson Theater, Richmond, Virginia, 2013. Opened 1937, architect Edward Francis Sinnott Sr., original seating capacity 597.

In a Plea to Preserve Them, One Photographer Has Captured 1,200 American Movie Theaters and Counting

For more than 40 years, Benita VanWinkle has photographed vintage movie houses in all 50 states

"Night at the Remarkables" 

These Ten Breathtaking Images From the 2026 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Contest Capture the Beauty of Our Galaxy

The gorgeous astrophotographs highlight the dazzling night sky and remind viewers what we risk losing to light pollution

Photographer Richard Avedon in his New York City studio in 1975

This Photographer Was Famous for Snapping Celebrities Like Marilyn Monroe, But His Images of Vietnam War Victims and Coal Miners Revealed the Surprising Power of Portraits

A new documentary about photographer Richard Avedon, directed by Ron Howard and debuting at the Cannes Film Festival, uses archival footage and contemporary interviews to weave the story of just how far his influence extends

Cupid Complaining to Venus, Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1526-1527

This Renaissance Painting Took a Winding Path From Hitler’s Munich Apartment to an American Journalist’s Home to the National Gallery in London

An art historian recently spotted the 16th-century artwork in a rare photograph of Hitler’s old apartment that was printed in a 1978 furniture catalog

One-celled algae called diatoms are unique because their cell walls are made of transparent silica, like glass, allowing their internal patterns to be visible. Diatoms are key producers of atmospheric oxygen and uphold the aquatic food chain.

See 17 Intricate Microscope Photographs That Make the Miniature World Immense. They Won the Evident Image of the Year Contest

The sixth annual competition showcases scientific microscopic imaging, illuminating tiny parts of nature, from individual cells to arthropods, diatoms and a zebrafish brain

A crescent Earth floats beyond the moon in a gorgeous role reversal captured during the Artemis 2 mission. Photo ID ART002-E-21106

NASA Just Uploaded More Than 12,000 Stunning Photos From the Artemis 2 Mission. Here Are a Few of Our Favorites

Although the mission’s four astronauts sent a few photos to Earth while in space, most needed to be delivered via physical memory cards once they returned to the planet

Two Alpine ibexes butt heads, slamming their horns together in a powerful battle that can be heard from far away. They wandered up the slope together afterward.

See 15 Stunning Images That Won the German Society for Nature Photography’s Annual Contest

From a lunging frog to the majestic movements of penguins, the honored photographs capture the wonder of wildlife and beauty of natural landscapes

The first image of newly hatched California giant salamanders in the wild can teach biologists about the nesting habitat of the little-known species.

A Snorkeling Biologist Snapped the First-Ever Photo of Newly Hatched California Giant Salamanders in the Wild. Here’s Why That’s a Big Deal

The discovery provides another key data point about a little-known species for which every observation matters

A photograph taken in 1926 depicting paintings by Peter Paul Rubens that likely burned in a fire in 1945

Fires in Berlin Destroyed Hundreds of Paintings During World War II. Now, a Museum Will Publish Photo Archives of the Lost Artworks Online

A proactive effort to document the collection of the Gemäldegalerie will pay off a century later as negatives of lost paintings by Rubens and Caravaggio are digitized and published online

Installed in 2013, Igor Mitoraj’s “Centauro” sculpture stands in the Forum of Pompeii.

These Modern-Day Photographs Highlight Why, Centuries Later, Pompeii Still Attracts Throngs of Tourists and Archaeologists

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius froze the ancient Roman city in time, giving modern-day humans a remarkable vision into the past

Elephant calf Linh Mai stomps in a shallow pool in the Elephant Community Center at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on February 25.

See the Most Adorable Photos of Baby Elephant Linh Mai, the National Zoo’s Newest Star

Since her birth in early February, the calf has been growing and beginning to bond with her care team and herd. She will go on view in-person and online starting April 22

The left page contains a photo of Lee Miller with Pablo Picasso, while the right contains a never-before-seen alternate version of the famous picture of Miller in Hitler’s bathtub

War Can Feel Surreal. See How This American Photojournalist Captured the Horrors—and Dark Humor—of World War II

A rediscovered scrapbook showcases never-before-seen images by Lee Miller, a war correspondent for British “Vogue” who followed American troops through Europe

Earth, partially illuminated, appears over the moon’s horizon at 6:41 p.m. Eastern time on Monday—just three minutes before the Artemis 2 astronauts reached the far side of the moon, initiating a communications blackout with NASA’s teams on the ground.

See the Awe-Inspiring New Photos of the Moon and Earth Sent Back From the Artemis 2 Mission

The astronauts are on their way home after looping around the moon on a historic flyby. Here are the dazzling images they captured

Onlookers capture photos and videos as the Space Launch System rocket carrying the Artemis 2 crew’s Orion spacecraft Integrity lifts off at 6:35 p.m. Eastern time on April 1.

Spectators Flocked to the Artemis 2 Launch to Witness History Being Made. One Awed Viewer Called It ‘the Best Thing Ever’

Wednesday evening, a human mission to the moon lifted off for the first time in more than 50 years. These 13 photographs capture what it was like to experience the moment

The adult female fox, Shadow, was around 5 months old when Stuart first documented and named her in 2022. 

Cascade Red Foxes Are Notoriously Reclusive. So How Did This Photographer Capture These Stunning Images of the Endangered Species?

Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close

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