The black bears of Yellowstone

Wildlife photographer James Hager captured these great photos of black bear mothers and their curious cubs in Yellowstone National Park. James says:

“Yellowstone National Park is a great place to photograph bears, and black bears in particular, because some of the sows (females) have learned that being close to humans will help protect their new-born cubs. That’s because most backcountry boars (males), that would like to kill young cubs, tend to avoid humans. So, those black bear sows, with their very cute and playful cubs, are usually close to the road system where they’re easy to photograph. Many photographers return year after year, and it’s like a nature photographer’s reunion as old friends gather to make images and enjoy the camaraderie.”

Black bear in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, US (James Hager/Robert Harding)

12 quirky football photos

In the midst of World Cup fever, here are some of our favourite quirky football photos from our collection. Enjoy!

Football pitch hat at Royal Ascot Races (Tim Graham/Robert Harding)

Mexican cowgirls

Escaramuzas are Mexican cowgirls who perform fast and furious routines on galloping horses. They wear colourful dresses and hats and ride sidesaddle. Our photographers captured these amazing riders in action.

Escaramuzas ride their horses at a Mexican rodeo in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (age fotostock/Robert Harding)

Icelandic horses

Photographer Ragnar Sigurdsson, who specialises in capturing the beauty of Iceland, Greenland and the Arctic, took these fantastic photos of pure breed Icelandic horses, a small and hardy breed unique to Iceland.

Portrait of an Icelandic pure breed horse running, Iceland

Gannet colonies

Gannets are huge seabirds with a wingspan of up to two metres, that hunt their underwater prey by diving into the sea from a height. Gannet colonies can be found in the North Atlantic, around southern Africa, New Zealand and south Australia. We chose our favourite images of these intriguing birds from our archive.

Gannets’ eyes are far enough forward on their heads to give them binocular vision, allowing them to accurately judge distances, Bass Rock, Scotland (age fotostock/Robert Harding)

The scary masks of Fastnacht

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the last day before Lent and the culmination of vibrant carnivals across the world. Whilst Rio might win the prize for the most spectacular, Fastnacht, the pre-Lenten carnival celebrated in parts of Germany, Switzerland, Alsace and Austria could take the title of most scary. Here are some of our favourite photos of carnival-goers parading down the streets in terrifying masks.

Parade at Swabian Fastnacht in Lindau, Bavaria, Germany (Image Broker/Robert Harding)

Patterns in nature

We put together some of our favourite stunning photos of naturally occurring patterns, ranging from sand dunes and land erosion to ice bubbles and crocodiles’ skin. Enjoy.

Sand dunes pattern in Tunisia, North Africa (Aurora Photos/Robert Harding)

 

Love locks

The tradition of locking a padlock inscribed with two lovers’ names to a fence, bridge or gate, and throwing away the key to symbolise their eternal love, seems to have appeared in the 2000s. The phenomenon now occurs all over the world, from China to Finland, Russia to Italy.

Love locks on the Hohenzollern Bridge, which have been locked to the fence by lovers since the summer of 2008, Cologne, Germany (Image Broker/Robert Harding)

Love locks on the Milvio Bridge in Rome can be attributed Federico Moccia’s bestseller Ho Voglia di Te (I Want You). Javier and Nuria seem to be making sure (agefotostock/Robert Harding)

Bridge over the Mokva river, Moscow, Russia (age fotostock/Robert Harding)

Pecs, Hungary, Southeast Europe ( Image Broker/Robert Harding)

Deutzer Bruecke bridge, Cologne, Germany (Image Broker/Robert Harding)

Locks attached to a bridge in Helsinki, Finland (age fotostock/Robert Harding)

Padlocks on a bridge at the Alster, Hamburg, Germany (Image Broker/Robert Harding)

Love locks at Wudangshan monastery, Purple Clouds Temple, Wudang Mountains, China ( Image Broker/Robert Harding)

Railway bridge in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (Julian Elliott/Robert Harding)

Sant’Oronzo Square, Lecce, Lecce province, Puglia, Italy (Marco Cristofori/Robert Harding)

Love locks on the Pont des Arts in Paris, France (Julian Elliott/Robert Harding)

A couple in a giant love heart lock, Zhangjiajie Forest Park, Hunan Province, China (Christian Kober/Robert Harding)

Milvio bridge, Rome, aww (agefotostock/Robert Harding)

See more photos of love locks here

Global wanderer

A chat with Yadid Levy

Copenhagen-born Yadid Levy’s colourful, lively photographs reflect a wanderlust that was passed down to him by his parents. His Danish mother and Israeli father had travelled extensively in their youth, and as soon as he finished his military service in Israel, where he was brought up, Yadid followed in their footsteps. He has barely stopped travelling since.

Up Helly Aa

Up Helly Aa festival celebrates Norse traditions in Shetland, Scotland on the last Tuesday in January every year. Locals in viking inspired costumes march through town in a torchlit procession, eventually throwing their torches onto a replica of a viking longship, which becomes engulfed in flames. A night of pagan style merrymaking ensues.

(Photos by Adam Woolfitt/Robert Harding)