T.A. Moulton Barn, Mormon Row Within Grand Teton National Park In Wyoming

The T.A. Moulton Barn stands on Mormon Row in Grand Teton National Park, and it is one of the most photographed barns in the United States. Key Features: The History: Thomas Alma Moulton, one of the Mormon homesteaders who settled the valley, built the barn between 1912 and 1945. The Backdrop: The jagged Teton Range rises behind it, with the pointed summit of Grand Teton directly over the roofline. Mormon Row Historic District: The barn is part of a district on the National Register of Historic Places, a cluster of early 20th-century homesteads that shows the valley's farming past.

Yellow Orchid

Golden yellow orchid blooms fill the frame at close range, their waxy, veined petals surrounding a small red and yellow lip at the heart of each flower, against a soft blur of green foliage and warm tones. Key Features: The Flower Form: Five broad, ruffled petals surround a compact lip, the showy, long-lasting bloom orchid breeders prize. The Color: Vivid golden petals set off a deep red-streaked lip at the center. The Detail: At this range the fine veins and waxy texture of each petal come through. The Setting: Warm, humid gardens and greenhouses are where tropical orchids like these flourish.

Fire Orchid

Fiery Cattleya orchid blooms face the camera head-on, each flared, trumpet-shaped lip opening to the pollen-bearing column at its throat, with soft green foliage blurred behind. Key Features: The Color: Orange-yellow petals shade into ruffled magenta-purple edges and a deep maroon-red throat, the fire-toned look prized in show hybrids. The Genus: Cattleya orchids grow wild across Central and South America, from sea level to the mountains. The Diversity: With more than 50 species and thousands of hybrids, growers can have Cattleyas in bloom nearly every month of the year. Their Standing: Cattleyas are often called the queen of orchids for their large, showy flowers.

US Capital

The United States Capitol rises above manicured lawns and mature trees at the east end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., its white dome and columned west front doubled in the still water of the Capitol Reflecting Pool, with the equestrian statue of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial in front. Key Features: The Dome: A cast-iron dome crowned by the Statue of Freedom, the defining silhouette of the seat of Congress. The Grant Memorial: Grant on horseback faces west over the Reflecting Pool toward the Lincoln Memorial, which honors his wartime president. The National Mall: The pool marks the eastern end of the ceremonial park that stretches to the Lincoln Memorial. The Reflection: The still water doubles the facade and sky.

Asian Elephant

An Asian elephant walks a rocky bank beside a pool of water, hay scattered across its back and tusks catching the sun, with dense palms and broadleaf trees crowding the lush habitat around it. Key Features: The Species: Asian elephants have smaller, rounded ears than their African cousins, and only some males carry tusks. The Habitat: Palms, broadleaf trees and rock work recreate the feel of the elephant's native tropical range. The Behavior: Elephants go to water many times a day to drink, bathe and cool off. The Moment: Soft, angled light catches the elephant mid-stride, an unposed moment in its day.

American Flamingo Wading Through Shallow Water

A single American flamingo wades through shallow water, seen low and close as it lifts one leg mid-stride, its curved neck and hooked, black-tipped bill above soft ripples and a faint reflection, with a mown grass bank and concrete edge behind. Key Features: The Species: The American flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber, has the most vivid reddish pink plumage of any flamingo. The Color: Young birds are pale; adults turn pink from pigments in their diet. The Range: It is the only flamingo native to North America, with wild flocks in the Caribbean, coastal Mexico and northern South America. Feeding: Flamingos are filter feeders, stirring the mud with their feet and sifting small creatures from the water with their bent bills.

Scotland's Inner Hebrides On The Isle Of Jura

Across a channel of sheltered water on the Isle of Jura, in Scotland's Inner Hebrides, two whitewashed cottages stand on a low rocky headland above the shore, with a wider sound and higher hills beyond under a heavy sky of layered cloud. Key Features: The Island: Jura is one of the most thinly settled of the Inner Hebrides, with a single narrow road and far more red deer than people. The Landscape: Its wild, boggy interior rises to the quartzite peaks called the Paps of Jura, while crofts and farmhouses like these dot the shore. Notable History: The island's isolation drew George Orwell, who wrote much of Nineteen Eighty-Four in a remote farmhouse on Jura's northern end.

Scotland

Glenborrodale Castle shows through dense woodland on the southern shore of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, its pale turrets and lawns running down to Loch Sunart, seen from across the water with the bulk of Beinn Resipol rising behind in shifting light under a heavy, changeable sky. Key Features: The Castle: A category A listed Scots Baronial mansion from the early twentieth century, long known for its sweeping views over Loch Sunart. The Setting: Ardnamurchan is one of the most remote parts of mainland Britain, and the castle is surrounded by gardens, old woodland and gravel walks. Beinn Resipol: A Corbett and the main peak of the district, rising over Glenborrodale from all along Loch Sunart. The Loch: A sea loch home to otters, seals and porpoises, with the wooded shores of the west Highland coast.

Highland Cow County, Scotland

A Highland cow steps out of the doorway of a timber byre on a Scottish farm, its shaggy auburn coat and long curved horns filling the frame above muddy, grass-fringed ground. Key Features: The Breed: Highland cattle come from the Scottish Highlands and the Outer Hebrides, prized for their hardiness in harsh weather. The Coat and Horns: A long, shaggy coat and wide horns help them through cold, wet winters. The Byre: Plank walls and slatted vents are the traditional Scottish way of sheltering livestock from the damp. The Heritage: Highland cattle are one of Scotland's most iconic breeds, tied to the beauty and romance of its countryside.

Trafalgar Square London

A muscular bronze merman reclines among leaping fish and dolphins in one of the two fountains facing Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, as a dolphin sends a jet of water across the pool and droplets catch the light, with the National Gallery soft behind. Key Features: The Sculptures: The two fountains honor Admiral Jellicoe and Admiral Beatty, with mermaids, mermen, dolphins and tritons. The Artists: Sir Charles Wheeler and William McMillan made the bronze sea creatures, finished in 1939. The Fountains: Fountains were part of Charles Barry's 1845 design for the square; the lively bronzes came much later. The Square: Trafalgar Square is central London's best-known public square, framed by the National Gallery, church spires and busy streets.

Telephone Booth London

A red K6 telephone box stands on a stone walkway beside the River Thames in London, lit by a shaft of late sun against the deepening blue of the water. Across the river, the low tide has bared the muddy foreshore in front of a row of converted Victorian warehouses, and a small barge sits moored in the current. Key Features: The Design: The K6, short for Kiosk No. 6, was designed in 1935 by architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. A Cultural Icon: The most famous British phone box of all was actually the sixth design. The Waterfront: The warehouses across the river are London's old dockside buildings, converted for new lives. The Tide: At low water the Thames foreshore of shingle and sand is open for riverside walks.

Tower Of London

The Tower of London's medieval walls rise beside the Thames, seen from outside the moat across the outer curtain wall toward the White Tower and its corner turrets above the battlements, with crenellated parapets, arrow slits and layer upon layer of defenses. Key Features: The Building: The White Tower dates from 1078; the fortress grew around it in stages over the next two centuries. The Defenses: Henry III greatly expanded the Tower in the thirteenth century, adding defensive walls around the White Tower. World Heritage: The Tower of London has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. Its Roles: Over the centuries it has served as royal palace, prison and treasury.

George Washington London

A bronze George Washington stands on the east lawn of the National Gallery facing Trafalgar Square in London, seen close against the gallery's stone facade and shrubbery, in military dress with cane and cloak and a bundle of fasces behind him. Key Features: The Gift: The Commonwealth of Virginia presented this bronze to the people of Great Britain and Ireland in 1921. The Original: It copies Jean-Antoine Houdon's statue in the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. The Legend: Washington once said he would never set foot on English ground, so the statue was given American soil to stand on.

Victorian Railway

An ornate cast-iron lamp standard glows against soot-darkened brick inside a restored Victorian railway building in London, its double arms, urn finials and scrolled iron brackets carrying two glass-shaded lanterns, with a small plate on the wall numbering it six. Key Features: The Fixture: Twin lamps with urn finials and curling ironwork, the style of station lighting across Britain's railways in the late nineteenth century. The Building: Red brick and a blackened, timber-raftered ceiling mark the Victorian railway architecture that still stands across London. The Detail: The numbered plate is the kind of methodical touch railway buildings were known for. The Atmosphere: Warm lamplight against cool brick and shadow gives Victorian industrial design a second life.

Prowlers At The Tower Of London

Life-size wire mesh lions prowl the stone causeway by the west entrance of the Tower of London, near where the Lion Tower once stood, a male and a crouching lioness seen low and close in profile against the grassy moat bank and a wooden stair, their woven coats catching light and shadow. Key Features: The Sculptor: Wildlife artist Kendra Haste built the lions from layered galvanised wire mesh over steel frames. The Commission: Historic Royal Palaces commissioned thirteen of her sculptures in 2010 to recall the Royal Menagerie once kept at the Tower. The Setting: They stand on the old site of the Lion Tower, where exotic animals were kept for centuries. The Moat: The grassed moat around them was once part of the castle's defenses, now a public lawn.

Hyde Park Colossal Bronze Horse

A colossal bronze horse's head tilts forward as if dipping to drink, balanced on the tip of its nose above a low black plinth near Hyde Park Corner in central London, seen from below against a dramatic cloudy sky and the park's trees. Key Features: The Sculpture: Still Water stands more than 30 feet high, the whole weight of the green-patinated head resting on its nose. The Artist: British sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green is best known for giant horse heads, often inspired by his own chestnut hunter, George. The Location: It stands on Achilles Way near Hyde Park Corner, moved there from its first home at Marble Arch. The Concept: The work draws on Greek ideals of harmony, proportion and balance.

Strawberry Field In Liverpool

Bright red wrought iron gates, flanked by stone gateposts covered in decades of fan graffiti, mark Strawberry Field on Beaconsfield Road in Woolton, Liverpool, with the modern visitor centre showing through the trees beyond. Key Features: The Gates: The original gates were replaced with replicas in May 2011; the originals are on display at The Beatles Story museum. The Beatles Connection: John Lennon grew up nearby and played in these grounds as a boy, and the place inspired Strawberry Fields Forever. The History: The Salvation Army bought the Victorian mansion and its grounds in 1934 and ran it as a children's home. Visitor Attraction: The site reopened to the public in 2019 with an exhibition, cafe and gardens, along with a training programme for young people.

Lone Gull Soaring

A lone young gull soars across a deep blue sky, seen from directly below with wings fully spread as it banks mid-glide, its mottled brown and white feathers marking it as a juvenile. Key Features: Juvenile Plumage: Young gulls wear speckled brown and white until they molt into the clean gray and white of adults. The Composition: With nothing but sky around it, the bird becomes a study of flight and freedom. The Angle: Shooting straight up from beneath the flight path shows the full spread of the wings.