#yourshot
Your Story: Jonathan Lee
In our Your Story feature, we ask our members about what inspires their photography, the processes they use to make images, and the stories behind their pictures.
Q. What’s the story behind this photo?
A.While changing lenses on a hill in South Georgia, this king penguin chick took an interest to me and waddled over. I must look like a penguin parent because it then started to chirp, beat its wings, and open its mouth as if waiting to be fed. Just as my wide-angle lens snapped on, it mustered up the courage to start pecking me, and I captured this shot just that was happening.
Q. How was this image made?
A.Shot with a 14-24mm lens, I kept the focus on the eyes with a wide aperture, and got a sense of motion as well. I think it is a pretty fun image.
Q. What do you think about when you’re photographing?
A.I try put as much of myself into my images as possible, whether it is how I am feeling, or a story I am trying to tell - this can be related to subject, or the place. I think context is everything - visual clues which get the viewer thinking, and immerses them in what I am seeing, and more importantly, what I am feeling.
Q. Why do you take pictures?
A.Pictures freeze a moment in time, and if done right, that means everything that was going on in that one frame which I am actually not able to process on the spot: emotions, thoughts, observations, reflections. It buys more time with special moments. This serves as a visual diary for myself, but also allows me to share all of those things with someone else.
Q. What do you like to take pictures of and why?
A.Wildlife. It’s both a lifelong passion, but also an incredible challenge. Strong wildlife images don’t come easy - it’s the product of research, planning, skill, and luck, and there’s nothing more rewarding for me.
Q. What do you want to say with your images?
A.I try to show how interconnected we all are in the natural world - this is life on earth, we share it with other incredible beings, and we are all in it together.
Q. Are you a self-taught photographer? If not, how did you learn to make photographs?
A.Yes, I’ve been very fortunate to have had many wonderful influences in the world of photography from my father, and from my friends.
See more photographs by Jonathan Lee on Your Shot.
Want your photo considered? Use #YourStory on your images that have an interesting story.
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Top Shot: Eyes, Window to the Soul
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
“We spotted this leopard sitting high up on an Acacia tree. We had very little visibility of the cat because it was hidden among the thick high branch. After waiting for close to an hour, we were convinced that it would not come down before nightfall. However, it surprised us,” writes Your Shot photographer Sonalini Khetrapal. “Suddenly, this beautiful animal came down the tree, making quick eye contact in the lovely light of the setting sun.” Photograph by Sonalini Khetrapal
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Top Shot: Wild Spirits
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Wild horses graze on the black sand beach near the Vestrahorn mountain in the Stokksnes region of Iceland. Your Shot photographer Donald Yip writes, “I arrived around 11pm, giving myself ample time before sunset. Unfortunately, all the clouds had started to disappear, but I proceeded to set up anyway. In the distance, I saw these horses wandering around. I immediately picked up my gear, ran over, and snapped this image!” Photograph by Donald Yip
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Top Shot: Shy Cat
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
“In my 3 weeks volunteering at Ashia Cheetah Sanctuary in Paarl, South Africa, one of my daily jobs was ‘babysitting,’” writes Your Shot photographer Salvatore Angarone. “These little cubs were usually so playful and full of energy and after hours of running around would get tired and take a short nap.” Photograph by Salvatore Angarone
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Top Shot: Canoe Ride at Sunrise
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Mohamed Razal documented this quiet sunrise from Munroe Island near Kerala, India. He writes, “I asked to stay in between this arch for this sunrise view. We waited for an hour and I finally got the picture.” Photograph by Mohamed Razal
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Top Shot: The Perfect Storm
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Craig Boehm documented what he calls his “dream storm” near Chamberlain, Saskatchewan in Canada. He writes, “I have never seen a storm as perfect as this one.” Photograph by Craig Boehm
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Top Shot: Mom and Me
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
“I was fortunate just at the right place when I visited Jim Corbett National Park. I knew that mother would take her calf around the river bank to quench her thirst after a hot summer day,” writes Your Shot photographer Indranil Basu Mallick. “The beautiful bond that was exhibited by the duo is etched in my memory for a lifetime.” Photograph by Indranil Basu Mallick
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Top Shot: Breaking Glassy Water
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
A black skimmer tries to catch a fish right below the surface of the water. He writes, “This is one special bird I never get tired of. What a unique way to catch a fish.” Photograph by Jack Zhi
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Top Shot: The Waves of the Wedge
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Royce Hutain documented the unique waves rolling in off The Wedge in Newport Beach, California on the Balboa Peninsula. Photograph by Royce Hutain
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Your Story: Prasad Ambati
In our Your Story feature, we ask our members about what inspires their photography, the processes they use to make images, and the stories behind their pictures.
Q. What’s the story behind this photo?
A.This is a photo taken at under construction metro tunnel in Shanghai. The size of the tunnel was so huge that when I was walking inside it reminded me of the book and movie I saw before, “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” I made some shots with that theme in mind. The idea about how the final presentation of the shot would be, came up when I was at the location and how my feelings were.
Q. What do you think about when you’re photographing?
A.When I go out to take photos, I usually go with a blank mind, and see what I feel about the place or action or event and take a shot. And while taking the shot few things comes to my mind like where my subject is and where to place my subject in the frame, what’s the background. It became a habit to check background when I am shooting as a busy background always distracts the viewer from my subject.
Q. What was the first photo you took? Or the first photo you took that was meaningful to you?
A.The first photos I took were all personal memories. After I started learning about photography, a photo I took of the flying lanterns is the one that’s close to my heart as the moment was magical. I was there in the same moment a year ago before taking the photo and I was completely lost in that magic that I didn’t take any pictures. The next year I managed to capture them. It was also the first picture where I got an Editor’s Favorite on Your Shot.
Q. How would you describe your photographic style?
A.I actually try to take a completely different shot to my previous shot always, so I am not sure if I have a photographic style. I usually don’t like to take the same pic again, and always want to shoot something different from my previous shots.
Q. Have you been inspired by any photographers in the Your Shot community?
A.There are many photographers I noticed in Your Shot when I joined the community, but two really stand out. The first would be Ivan Lesica . I’m always in awe of how he photograph his surroundings. Second would be Paula Kajzar as I love the way she sees a scene and captures it. So natural and spontaneous.
See more photographs by Prasad Ambati on Your Shot.
Want your photo considered? Use #YourStory on your images that have an interesting story.
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Top Shot: Lesser but Mighty
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Tapan Sheth made this striking portrait of a lesser flamingo. Lesser flamingos are the smallest flamingo of the six different flamingo species. Photograph by Tapan Sheth
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Top Shot: Waterfall
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Prikshit Dalal made this picture at Dhobi Ghat, Mumbai, India of this individual “pouring boiling water in a container as the light rays passed through the temporary roof.” Photograph by Prikshit Dalal
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Top Shot: Lights in the Clouds
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Cao Ngoc Diem documented this moment as lights were being placed on the Nhu Y River in Vietnam. Photograph by Cao Ngoc Diem
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Top Shot: A Summer Evening Swim
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
“Evening tours are the best when going whale watching during the Icelandic summers,” writes Your Shot photographer Koen Hoekemeijer. “Feeding humpbacks, arctic terns flying around to pick up the leftovers and the low standing sun creating beautiful colors.” Photograph by Koen Hoekemeijer
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Top Shot: Just Flying By
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Aarzoo Khurana captured this moment as a black bird poked a deer as it was trying to enjoy the breeze in Ranthambore National Park, India. Photograph by Aarzoo Khurana
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Top Shot: Taking a Snooze
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Anthony Bucci witnessed this sweet moment as a Great Grey owlet sleeps on a stump in Canada. Photograph by Anthony Bucci
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Top Shot: You Can’t See Me
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Igor Chervonenko documented this sneaky bearded reedling spying on him in Kiev, Ukraine. Photograph by Igor Chervonenko
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Top Shot: All Cuddled Up
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Kevin Dooley documented this young leopard resting on top of a termite mound in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Photograph by Kevin Dooley
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Top Shot: Fox in Foliage
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Neil Tapman photographed this Patagonian fox near El Chalten, Argentina. He writes, “As I was exploring the surrounding area for compositions, I stumbled across this fox relaxing in the afternoon. He was kind enough to let me snap a few shots!” Photograph by Neil Tapman
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Top Shot: Creeping Through
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Lazar Ovidiu photographed this “perfect morning” of the Dolomites mountains in Italy. Photograph by Lazar Ovidiu
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