Preview of some of next homepage images
Mont-Saint Michel during high tide, Normandy, France
At sunset, Mont-Saint Michel rises from the waters of Normandy, France, like a fortress shaped by the sea. Perched on a rocky tidal island, the abbey and village stand at the centre of one of Europe's most dramatic coastal settings. Twice a day, the sea retreats to reveal vast stretches of sand before surging back to reclaim the landscape. At high tide, the mount becomes an island once again. For centuries, travellers timed their journeys to this rhythm, crossing the flats when conditions allowed and watching the sea return hours later.
A legend traces the site's origins to the year 708, when the Archangel Michael appeared to a bishop and instructed him to build a sanctuary here. Over time, the site grew into one of Europe's most important pilgrimage destinations. Today, Mont-Saint Michel and its surrounding bay are recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where centuries of history and the movement of the tides continue to shape every visit.
MichelSunset
Today is the day of the Omagari Fireworks Festival.
Today, August 29th, is the day of the National Fireworks Competition. Held in Daisen City, Akita Prefecture, this event is also known as the 'Omagari Fireworks' and is known as one of Japan's three major fireworks festivals. Fireworks artists selected from across the country compete in the 'Daytime Fireworks Division' and the 'Night Fireworks Division.' Daytime fireworks are fireworks that express beauty through smoke rather than light. Also, the biggest feature of Omagari fireworks and the most symbolic event of the tournament is the "Creative Fireworks" held in the night fireworks division. This competition is a competition where fireworks that are original in shape, color, size, and all aspects are presented to music, breaking free from conventional ideas.
OmagariFireworks2026
Aerial view of surfers, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Off the coast of Santa Catarina, a state in southern Brazil, the image captures a familiar ritual: surfers waiting beyond the breaking waves, their boards rising and falling with the Atlantic. From above, almost nothing seems to happen. But that's when the real work begins.
Every wave carries energy generated by wind that may have blown hundreds or even thousands of miles away. The challenge is meeting that traveling pulse at just the right moment. Wind, tides, currents, and the shape of the seafloor determine how each swell will break, and a subtle shift can turn a perfect ride into tumbling whitewater.
Few coastlines showcase that variety better than Santa Catarina. With more than 200 beaches, it produces everything from gentle beginner breaks to world-class barrels. What looks like a sport is really learning a language spoken entirely in moving water. The best surfers aren't simply stronger or faster. They're the ones who know how to listen.
SantaCatarina
Notting Hill Carnival
Some weekends ask you to slow down. This one turns the volume up. Streets become dance floors, steel pans replace traffic noise, and the scent of Caribbean food follows every step. At Notting Hill Carnival, London's roads don't just close to traffic, they open to celebration.
Held every August Bank Holiday, Notting Hill Carnival welcomes more than two million visitors, making it Europe's largest street festival and the second largest in the world. Its story began in 1959 when activist Claudia Jones organised an indoor Caribbean carnival in response to racial tensions. The outdoor celebration followed in 1966, inspired by Trinidad's Canboulay traditions.
Today, around 40 sound systems keep west London moving with reggae, dub, soca and calypso, while masquerade bands, towering floats and dazzling costumes bring the parade to life. Monday starts with J'Ouvert, where paint, powder and even chocolate fly through the air. So, are you joining?
NottingHillCarnival2026
Camí de Ronda, Lloret de Mar, Catalonia, Spain
From the cliffs of Lloret de Mar in Girona, Catalonia, the Camí de Ronda winds along the Costa Brava, a coastline true to its name: wild, rugged and full of surprises. This historic route passes hidden coves, rocky outcrops battered by the Mediterranean and pine forests that reach almost to the sea. It was originally established so that customs officers could patrol the coastline and help prevent smuggling. Today, it is considered one of the most spectacular coastal walks in Spain.
Between Blanes and Portbou, the path alternates between wide-open horizon views and descents to beaches with waters so turquoise they seem almost dreamlike. In August, the evening light often turns the rocks a golden ochre, while gulls glide above a sea that shifts from deep blue to green depending on the depth of the water. Few Mediterranean routes combine history, nature and the simple pleasure of walking with no destination beyond the next headland so successfully.
LloretdeMar
Whale shark and golden trevally, West Papua, Indonesia
Imagine coming face to face with a fish the size of a bus. The whale shark is the world's largest fish, yet it is a remarkably gentle giant. Despite its name, it is not a whale but a shark, with the biggest confirmed individuals measuring around 18 metres long and weighing more than 20 tonnes. Found in warm tropical and subtropical seas, whale sharks move slowly through the water with their mouths open, filtering plankton, fish eggs and other tiny prey. Their distinctive white spots and stripes form patterns unique to each individual, allowing researchers to identify and track them over time.
This image captures one of these giants in Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua, Indonesia, accompanied by a school of golden trevally. These fish often swim alongside whale sharks, taking advantage of food stirred up by the shark's movement and the shelter provided by its enormous body.
Although generally harmless to humans, whale sharks are endangered and face threats from fishing gear, vessel strikes, habitat loss and climate change.
YellowShark
Building detail of Registan Square, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Stand in Registan Square and it's easy to see why it is considered the architectural heart of Samarkand—one of Central Asia's oldest cities. This plaza in Uzbekistan is framed by three magnificent madrasas—Islamic centers of learning—whose soaring portals draw the eye upward. Yet some of the square's greatest treasures reveal themselves only when you look closer.
The detail in today's image offers a glimpse of the artistry that covers nearly every surface. Glazed tiles, geometric motifs, floral designs, and elegant calligraphy come together with remarkable precision, turning brick and plaster into a dazzling display of color and pattern. Shades of turquoise, cobalt, gold, and white shift with the changing light, giving the architecture a sense of movement throughout the day.
Built as centers of learning and religious scholarship, the madrasas surrounded a lively public square that was once a focal point of life along the Silk Road. Today, Registan remains just as captivating, inviting visitors to admire both its monumental scale and its extraordinary craftsmanship.
SamarkandCeiling
Sellin Pier, Rügen, Germany
When the first rays of sunlight gild the horizon, Sellin Pier reveals its most striking side. Located on the eastern coast of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, this structure is one of the best-known landmarks on Germany's Baltic coast. Its history dates back to 1906, when the first pier was opened. Over the decades, the structure suffered repeated damage from storms and other factors and was eventually demolished.
The present-day Sellin Pier was rebuilt in 1998 based on the historic design and continues the tradition of classical spa architecture with its distinctive pier house. With its white wooden structure, pavilions, restaurant above the water and the characteristic diving gondola at the end of the pier, it still shapes the appearance of the coastline today. At sunrise, its elegant silhouette stands out beautifully against the sky and sea, capturing the timeless charm of this historic seaside resort, which has attracted and delighted visitors for generations.
SellinSunrise
Horsehair parachute fungus, Belarus
Fungi often go unnoticed beneath forest floors, lawns and fallen leaves, yet their underground threads help recycle nutrients and support healthy ecosystems. The mushrooms we see are only the fruiting bodies of much larger organisms. They appear briefly, release spores, then disappear from sight. Unlike plants, fungi belong to a kingdom of their own. Some species even glow, while others form partnerships with trees.
Today's image shows horsehair parachute fungi, tiny woodland mushrooms that reward careful observation. They usually grow on fallen pine needles, conifer litter and other decaying plant material. The pale caps resemble miniature umbrellas. Each cap sits on a remarkably thin, dark stem, and although the stems look fragile, they are surprisingly tough and flexible. Many fruiting bodies are only a few millimetres wide. You may not notice them until you kneel down and examine the forest floor closely. From sustaining woodland ecosystems to enriching our plates, fungi prove that even the smallest structures can have an outsized impact.
HorseHairShroom
Surathkal Beach, Karnataka
At Surathkal Beach, the waves aren't the only things making an impression. A lighthouse watches over the shore, a historic temple keeps centuries-old legends alive and, until recently, a stranded ship added an unexpected chapter to its story.
Located about 20 kilometres north of Mangaluru, Karnataka, this Arabian Sea beach lies beside the National Institute of Technology Karnataka campus. The red-and-white Surathkal Lighthouse, built in 1972 on a rocky hillock, rewards visitors with panoramic views of the coastline. Just below it stands the Sadashiva Temple, where local tradition says a fragment of a sacred shivalinga, linked to the legend of Ravana and Lord Ganesha, came to rest.
The beach was also home to the Bhagvati Prem, a 114-metre dredging vessel that was deliberately beached in 2019 after flooding. By June 2026, however, the vessel had been completely dismantled and removed due to environmental concerns. From mythology to maritime history, Surathkal Beach continues to offer far more than a walk along the sand.
SurathkalBeach2026
Byzantine New Year's Eve in Amalfi
The Fjord of Furore is an inlet carved by the Schiato stream into the limestone rock of the Amalfi Coast, in Campania: a natural amphitheater that opens between vertical walls on the Tyrrhenian Sea, with a beach of just twenty-five meters that can only be reached through a path in the rock. The bridge that overlooks it, over twenty-five meters high, is part of the Amalfi State Road that unites all the municipalities of this coast.
Right here, today, the Byzantine New Year is celebrated: in the calendar of the medieval Republic of Amalfi, the first of September marked the beginning of the new year. The re-enactment starts from the church of San Salvatore de Birecto in Atrani — the palatine chapel where the Doge was crowned — with a parade in medieval costume that recalls the centuries in which Amalfi was one of the most powerful Maritime Republics in the Mediterranean. A coast that has never stopped celebrating its history.
CapodannoBizantino
Beach huts, Southwold, Suffolk Heritage Coast, England
Along England's east shore, the Suffolk Heritage Coast blends windswept heaths, marshes, shingle beaches and expansive North Sea views. One of its best-known towns is Southwold, where water and history are inseparable. Almost encircled by the sea, the River Blyth and surrounding wetlands, the town occupies a slender peninsula shaped by centuries of fishing, trade and life at the edge of the water.
The colourful wooden beach huts are among Southwold's most recognisable landmarks. Originally built as simple bathing and fishing shelters, today hundreds line the shore, adding bright bands of colour against the sand and sky. Some remain treasured family possessions, passed down through generations.
Beyond the huts, visitors find a working lighthouse, a pier stretching into the North Sea and easy access to coastal paths that reveal some of England's most celebrated scenery. It's a shoreline that rewards wandering—one where every bend seems to open onto another story of the sea.
SuffolkHuts