Undersea Majesty Mukojima, Bonin Islands, Japan: Hunting for morsels of plankton, a school of spadefish hovers near the surface off Japan’s subtropical Bonin Islands. The turquoise color permeates the water late in the afternoon, as the red rays of the setting sun spread out and grow weak. Photograph by Brian Skerry

 

Ancient Talisman Stenness, Orkney: Five thousand years ago the ancient inhabitants of Orkney — a fertile, green archipelago off the northern tip of modern-day Scotland — were building a civilization. One of their landmarks is the Stones of Stenness, which may be Britain’s most ancient stone circle.

 

Yosemite National Park Van Gogh in Yosemite. The Milky Way paints the sky above giant sequoia trees. Given the imperative of seeking resources from sky and soil, and with sufficient time, a tree can become huge and then keep growing. Giant sequoias are gigantic because they are very old — as much as 3,000 years old. Photograph by Babak Tafreshi