This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine The irrigated roof of a house in the exclusive Santa Lucia Preserve community near Carmel, California, helps the structure blend smoothly into a grove of live oaks. Designed by Bay Area architect Jonathan Feldman, the roof also adds a measure of protection in this fire-prone area. See more photographs from the May 2009 feature story "Up on the Roof."

This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Candle spruces stand frozen before a backdrop of the northern lights, shimmering above Oulanka, one of Finland's best loved national parks. See more photographs from the June 2009 feature story "Northern Light."

This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine Following a perfume trail to its source, male wasps in Australia ravish a king spider orchid. Sure the red "lip" is a mate, they rub against it; one will take away the plant's pollen. Every orchid has a petal modified for pollination, some theatrically so. Caladenia pectinata; thynnid wasp See more photographs from the September 2009 feature story "Love and Lies."

This Month in Photo of the Day: National Geographic Magazine A bird zeroing in on a flag-footed bug perched on a passionflower might see the flutter of red "flags"—the insect's attempt to divert the hunter's bite to nonessential limbs, away from its vital core. Anisocelis flavolineata (insect); Passiflora sp. (flower) See more photographs from the August 2009 feature story "The Art of Deception."

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animals A Japanese macaque swims in a geothermal hot spring in the mountains of Japan. Throughout the day these monkeys can be seen playing, grooming, and relaxing in the steaming waters in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic magazine.

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animals A brilliant blur as it plucks a butterfly from the air, the European bee-eater leads a colorful life on three continents. See more photographs from the October 2008 feature story "Painting the Sky."

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animals My husband and I were exploring Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park-Canada when we stopped for a timed picture of the two of us. We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready to take the picture when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intriqued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot! A once in a lifetime moment! We were laughing about this little guy for days!! This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic magazine.

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animals This is a Cuban tree frog on a tree in my backyard in southern Florida. How and why he ate this light is a mystery. It should be noted that at the time I was taking this photo, I thought this frog was dead, having cooked himself from the inside. I'm happy to say I was wrong. After a few shots he adjusted his position. So after I was finished shooting him, I pulled the light out of his mouth and he was fine. Actually, I might be crazy but I don't think he was very happy when I took his light away. This photo and caption were submitted to Your Shot. Have a great shot? Send it to us for possible publication in National Geographic magazine.

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animals This was shot in Chobe Reserve in Botswana. The elephant scenes at sunset were enough to ensure that I will revisit many times. In this image, a young one was curious about our truck and was headed over to take a look. This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot. Create and share albums, puzzles, and games with your photos in our My Shot community.

This Month in Photo of the Day: Animals Relief is a rolling back scratch in the brush for a hobbled horse freed of its saddle. Several outfitters guide clients into the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area in the Canadian Rockies, and some take hunters, who pay thousands of dollars for a shot at big game. See more photographs from the November 2008 feature story "Northern Giant."