Lightning, Bay of Bengal

After an evening rain in Pondicherry, India, lightning continued to flash over the Bay of Bengal, here rimmed with the orange glow of nearby streetlights. Sandip Dey, a member of our photo community, wanted to make a dreamlike frame with the rough sea smoothed out to better showcase the drama of the sky. "I set the camera at f/16 and shot a few long exposure frames at 16mm," Dey writes. "Since I was making a single-exposure shot, I had to balance between the manual exposure duration and the amount of lightning that I wanted." Check out the bold new look and feel of Your Shot, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

Rath Yatra Festival, Bangladesh

11K National Geographic Photo of the Day 7d // keep unread // trash // preview Rath Yatra Festival, Bangladesh This Month in Photo of the Day: The Stories Behind Your Shots Enthusiastic devotees take part in a colorful Rath Yatra procession in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh. Also known as the Festival of Chariots, the Hindu celebration honors a mid-summer chariot journey made by Lord Jagannath. Photographing in his hometown, Your Shot contributor Md Rafayat Haque Khan wanted to capture the essence of the festival in a single frame. To get this shot, Khan went to the top of a three-story building as devotees pulling raths, or holy carts, arrived in time for an afternoon prayer. "I got a vantage point for capturing this awesome moment," Khan says. "It seemed to me I was seeing a wave of devoted souls coming row by row to get blessings from the Jagannath." Check out the bold new look and feel of Your Shot, where you can share photos, take part in assignments, lend your voice to stories, and connect with fellow photographers from around the globe.

Panther, Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

Rescued as a kitten after being abandoned in the wild by its mother in 2007, Calusa, nicknamed "Lucy," is one of no more than 165 surviving Florida panthers. Sartore photographed Lucy as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."

Pink Cockatoo, Parrots in Paradise

This Major Mitchell's cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri), also known as Leadbeater's cockatoo or pink cockatoo, lives at Parrots in Paradise, a bird attraction in Glass House Mountains, Queensland, Australia. Sartore photographed the cockatoo as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."

Greater One-Horned (Indian) Rhinoceroses, Fort Worth Zoo

Four-month-old Asha (Hope in Hindi) will stick close to its mother for up to two years. In zoos and in the wild, this rhino species is growing in numbers. Sartore photographed the rhinoceroses as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."

Diana Monkey, Omaha Zoo

Sartore photographed this female Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana) at the Omaha Zoo as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."

Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys, Ocean Park

Golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) pose at Ocean Park Hong Kong. Sartore photographed the monkeys as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. Animals with "Dr. Seuss looks," like these Chinese primates, bring visitors and research money to zoos, Sartore says.