Today for you daily inspiration dose of Photography, we have showcased some of the best and truly amazing photo from National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society‘s historical mission is “to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world’s cultural, historical, and natural resources. Hope you will like these stunning photos and choose them to decor your desktops, please follow the link to download high resolution images.

Black Sheep

I left the highway to make a photo of the sunset that day. I then encountered this curious flock of sheep with the single black example taking its position prominently mid-front and staring at me. A few moments later they all lost interest and went on their way.

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Peacock, New Zealand

A very cranky peacock from Kawau Island, New Zealand.

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Smith’s Green-Eyed Gecko

Staying in Asia for many years has given me the opportunity to get close to wildlife on many occasions. This female Smith’s green-eyed gecko chose to live on one of the chalets next to my home, taking advantage of the insects attracted by the lights at night.

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African Elephant, Tanzania

An African elephant crosses the lush green of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater.

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Northern Spotted Owl

A tagged northern spotted owl swoops toward a researcher’s lure in a young redwood forest.

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Penguins Under Water, Antarctica

Penguins surface near an air hole in Antarctica, captured with a remote underwater camera.

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Bee-Eater in Flight

A brilliant blur as it plucks a butterfly from the air, the European bee-eater leads a colorful life on three continents.

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Blue-Eyed Dog

This is Keeco the Husky pup with his beautiful bright blue eyes. This shot was taken in Northern Alberta.

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Leopard in Tall Grass, Namibia

Out on our early morning drive in the Ongrava Reserve near Etosha National Park, Namibia, we spotted a shape by the side of the road under a tree. Our guide thought it was a lion but as we approached, the cat lifted its head and it was clearly a leopard! It crossed the road and disappeared into the tall grasses but as we drove by, we spotted it staring at us for a few seconds before turning on its heels and disappearing. I only had time to get two shots!

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Mahout Bathing an Elephant

Watching a mahout lovingly bathe his elephant, I tried capturing the moment from the riverside but wasn’t satisfied with what I saw through the viewfinder. There was something lacking that made the image not do justice to the scene. I then climbed a tree with a branch extending out over the water and got my shot, which may have been my last as I almost fell off after taking it. I’m sure the beautiful elephant would not have been very happy about me falling out of a tree straight onto her stomach!

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Horse Scratching, Canada

Relief is a rolling back scratch in the brush for a hobbled horse freed of its saddle. Several outfitters guide clients into the Muska-Kechika Management Area in the Canadian Rockies, and some take hunters, who pay thousands of dollars for a shot at big game.

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Wild Dog, Botswana

A wild dog peers out from tall green grass in Botswana.

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Sperm Whale and Swimmer

Andrew and his friend, a young sperm whale named Scar, swim together off the west coast of Dominica. The two of them became “friends” after Andrew saved Scar’s life.

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Lowland Gorillas, Congo

Two big gorillas give threatening stares in the Republic of Congo. These orphan gorillas are in a rehabilitation program, where it’s hoped that they will learn the gorilla social structure and eventually become independent of human care.

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Bangalore Hip Hop

Homegrown hip hop bands are a new phenomenon in Bangalore, India. Low Rhyderz is the first hip hop band in the city that combines elements of Indian beats with hip hop rhythms to create a music that is unique. This photograph was taken when they were fooling around in a car mechanic shop. Obviously, the mechanic found the entire scene “interesting.”

Lily Pads, Venetian Gardens

This Photo was taken at Venetian Gardens in Leesburg, Florida, just after a thunderstorm. The dark sky leaving the area shows a three-foot diameter water lily with new collected water. A dragonfly came to drink the freshwater in the safety of the center of the lily. On the third trip to the water, I was lucky to catch it in full flight … Mother Nature taking care of her family.

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Hidden Face

I found this woman waiting for her husband after finishing her work. Her eyes are very interesting for me.

Sorting Wheat, India

The women of a typical family in India spend days sorting grains of wheat for their families’ own consumption while balancing the duties of motherhood and wife.

Daredevil, India

The actual name of this is “The well of death.” Just look all the missing planks and holes in the “well.” On hindsight, being up there was probably a bad idea.

Tuareg Tribesman, Libya

A Tuareg tribesman prays at twilight in Libya.

Camel Fair Parade

This was a random parade during the Camel Fair in Pushkar that went by our hotel. I love the vibrant colors of the saris.

Pasteleria Franceza, La Havana, Cuba

Young women in school uniform in front of the Pasteleria Franceza in La Havana, Cuba

Dandelion

Parachute ball dandelion on bright Icelandic blue sky.

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Barley Field, New Zealand

My grandfather was born and raised on our New Zealand farm. He and my grandmother were married nearly 60 years. Preparing for a photo in the barley, my grandmother lovingly reached up to adjust his hat. This was his last harvest.

Train Station, India

India seems to be constantly in motion, a country that continues to shift before your eyes. As travelers, we also seem to be on a pendulum, shifting back and forth through space, and often end up at hubs of transit. I took this photograph while waiting for a train in Rajasthan, India. The woman walking by was also on a journey, and our very different lives overlapped, for just a moment, in this transitional environment.

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Persian Scholars, Iran

With the exception of their veils, these girls of Barfurush, near Meshed-i-Sar, look, dress, and act like American girls in an Italian district—an interesting sidelight on the New Persia.

Ultraviolet Bath, Russia

Make-believe summer lasts for a minute or two as kindergarten children in sunless Lovozero bathe in ultraviolet light. Brief exposure to UC radiation provides the children with vitamin D, normally supplied by sunlight. The “sunshine vitamin” strengthens young bones.

Cavern Explorer, Tennessee

Underground you can still be the first person on Earth to take the small step, or the giant leap. This Tennessee cavern, christened Indianapolis by its premiere explorer, was only discovered last year.

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Mount Everest’s North Face, Tibet

A climber gazes at the north face of Mount Everest. Tibet, People’s Republic of China.

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Khumbu Icefall Traverse, Nepal

Sherpa Nima Dorje Tamang traverses a ladder on the Khumbu Icefall of Mount Everest in Nepal. “Universally terrifying, it is the most dangerous part of the southern route on Everest. The constantly shifting Khumbu Icefall is like a bunch of ice cubes continually tumbling down the icy mountain wall,” said photographer Bobby Model.

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Kolmanskop, Namibia

This photograph was made in Kolmanskop, Namibia. Kolmanskop is an abandoned diamond mine near the coast. The ghost town has several residences and barrack-type accommodations, as well as the remains of a few commercial establishments. Today the town is a photographer’s dream come true. One cannot spend enough time taking in all the photographic opportunities. For this photograph I had to crawl through a small opening in a window and have my friend pass my camera gear to me.

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Diver in Coral Garden, Dominica Island, Caribbean Sea

Off Scotts Head, Dominica Island, a sunken garden of sponges and coral rewards a visitor, part of a growing stream of divers discovering Dominica’s marine life. With one of the most vibrant underwater ecosystems in the Caribbean, Dominica offers scuba divers aquarium-clear water with visibility that can reach 100 feet (30 meters).

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Clouds Near Mount Everest

This photo was taken on the way to Everest Base Camp.

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Horse Rider With Boleadoras

“When Luis Marden dropped in by air from Säo Paulo, he demanded gauchos…” —Maynard Owen Williams, Argentina, 1939

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Icebreaker, Antarctic

U.S.S. Atka stands off Crater Hill on McMurdo Sound in mid-March; she kept channels open for evacuation of the last summer residents.

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Light and Shadow, Agra, India

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Painted Hills Rainbow

Taken at the Painted Hills National Monument in Central Oregon near sunset. Having been here numerous times before in the summer months, seeing a rainbow on a 100-degree day was the last thing I expected … usually the skies are clear on hot days.

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Rialto Bridge, Venice

Like no other city in the world, Venice balances on both land and water. From the Rialto Bridge, I watch the activity of the Venetian nightlife unfold.

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Coastline, The Snares

Bull kelp clings to the coastline of New Zealand’s The Snares islands, hiding sea lions that prey on Snares crested penguins.

Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia

This Month in Photo of the Day: Images From National Geographic Books

Dry waterways branch toward blue water across the massive Uyuni salt flats in southwestern Bolivia.

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Haw Creek Falls, Arkansas, at Night

Bathed in moonlight and swollen with floodwater, the rush of Haw Creek Falls in Arkansas announces the return of spring. To minimize maintenance, there are no bridges along the trail. “In some places you can hop from rock to rock,” says Tim Ernst, one of the trail’s pioneers. “In others you have to get your feet wet and feel how cold the water really is.”

Owachomo Bridge at Night, Utah

A starry night gleams above Owachomo Bridge in Utah’s Natural Bridges National Monument—named the first Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). “Here you see something forgotten,” says ranger Scott Ryan, “and reconnect with the sky.”

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Pool in Marble Canyon, Arizona

Beyond the roar of the Colorado River, a pool of silence. Discovering this hushed limestone sanctuary at Shinumo Wash in Arizona’s Marble Canyon, members of a National Geographic expedition christened it Silver Grotto.

(Photo shot on assignment for “Retracing John Wesley Powell’s Historic Voyage Down the Grand Canyon,” May 1969, National Geographic magazine)

Canyonland Grotto, Utah

A vaulted grotto with a skylight shelters the ruins of cliff dwellings. The Anasazi, or Ancient Ones, tilled corn in the valley below and retreated to the heights at night. Whether fleeing enemies or a prolonged and widespread drought, they disappeared from Utah by about 1300. This canyon, near Salt Creek in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, also shows evidence of disastrous flash floods at that time. Visitors today know the huge alcove as Paul Bunyan’s Potty.

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Lavender Fields

Purple tints land and sky as night falls over lavender fields at Tasmania’s famed Bridestowe Estate. The plantation is one of the largest lavender farms in the world.

Malian Woman

A woman in Diafarabe, Mali, holds her brilliant yellow scarf against a blue African sky. Her landlocked country is a desert land that was once a hub for ancient Saharan caravan routes.

Great White Egrets

A trio of great white egrets alights on a tree against darkening skies in Gabon’s Petit-Loango Reserve. These long-legged, S-necked birds live near water, where they feed on fish, reptiles, and small amphibians, which they snare with a quick thrust of their strong bill before swallowing them whole.

Castor Bean Leaf Close-Up

Veins spider across a castor bean leaf in Hungary.

Matanuska Glacier Cave, Alaska

Meltwater sculpted the dagger-like shaft of ice near a cave in Matanuska Glacier in Alaska’s Chugach Mountains. Matanuska is an active glacier, advancing about one foot (0.3 meters) every day.