#natgeowomen

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Your Shot Series: Breaking Barriers

March is Women's History Month and to honor the women in our community and around the globe, Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas, will be curating one image a day from the Your Shot community that celebrates women. Each day in March the photographs will be shared on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.

Your Shot Photographer Dalida Innes captured this quiet underwater image of a mother humpback whale and her calf. Dalida had been in the water everyday for three weeks waiting patiently for an ocean critter to swim through her frame. After two hours in the water her last day, her patience paid off when these gentle giants floated in front of her on their way to Antarctica. Often, the waiting game is common for a photographer and Dalida excellently displays how that patience can result in beautiful images.

The images I chose to feature this month celebrate female-identifying Your Shot photographers telling a visual story of empowerment, the freedom and flexibility of womanhood, photographers and their images #BreakingBarriers whether it's identifying women's issues in their images or a beautiful landscape or underwater image. — Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas

[natgeoyourshot]

Your Shot Series: Breaking Barriers

March is Women's History Month and to honor the women in our community and around the globe, Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas, will be curating one image a day from the Your Shot community that celebrates women. Each day in March the photographs will be shared on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.

Your Shot Photographer Callie Chee captured this image at 2am in late June 2017. She caught the volcanoes spewing a little ash, the Milky Way and fog. She knew that these three elements could only be captured in a small time-frame and could disappear really quickly. She expertly planned the image and executed her vision at the right moment. Photography isn't just pressing a button. There is so much planning, anticipation and research that can go into making a single photograph.

The images I chose to feature this month celebrate female-identifying Your Shot photographers telling a visual story of empowerment, the freedom and flexibility of womanhood, photographers and their images #BreakingBarriers whether it's identifying women's issues in their images or a beautiful landscape or underwater image. — Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas

[natgeoyourshot]

Your Shot Series: Breaking Barriers

March is Women's History Month and to honor the women in our community and around the globe, Your Shot Associate Photo Editor Kristen McNicholas will be curating one image a day from the Your Shot community that celebrates women. Each day in March the photographs will be shared on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.

Your Shot photographer Lesley Rochat beautifully displays the raw power beneath the surface of water through her use of composition and playing an excellent waiting game to perfectly time the shark swimming through the frame.

"The images I chose to feature this month celebrate female-identifying Your Shot photographers telling a visual story of empowerment, the freedom and flexibility of womanhood, photographers and their images #BreakingBarriers whether it's identifying women's issues in their images or a beautiful landscape or underwater image." — Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas

[natgeoyourshot]

Your Shot Series: Breaking Barriers

March is Women's History Month and to honor the women in our community and around the globe, Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas, will be curating one image a day from the Your Shot community that celebrates women. Each day in March the photographs will be shared on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.

Your Shot Photographer Bianca Rizzi made this portrait of a woman during an interview about nutrition for a project in a rural area of Tanzania. Rizzi explains in her caption, "We chose to interview women because they are the pillar of society. They are mothers, they cook, they are workers, they are strong, they are women."

This portrait particularly struck me with the beautiful light falling on her face, and her quiet expression. I felt this image was fitting to share on International Women's Day because today we while celebrate women all over the world, we must be highlighting the struggles and issues that women are facing.

The images I chose to feature this month celebrate female-identifying Your Shot photographers telling a visual story of empowerment, the freedom and flexibility of womanhood, photographers and their images #BreakingBarriers whether it's identifying women's issues in their images or a beautiful landscape or underwater image. — Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas

[natgeoyourshot]

Your Shot Series: Breaking Barriers

March is Women's History Month and to honor the women in our community and around the globe, Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas, will be curating one image a day from the Your Shot community that celebrates women. Each day in March the photographs will be shared on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.

Your Shot Photographer Audrey Jeane Edler writes "Damel is a young Kazakh girl learning to hunt with the eagle. Traditionally, this role was passed from father to son. Damel is one of a handful of girls now carrying on this tradition. She bonds with her eagle daily, learning the proper way to feed, handle, and care for the bird. In Northwestern Mongolia, the eagle is not just a pet, it's part of their cultural tradition where they are trained to hunt foxes, wolves, and rabbits for the family."

This photo is powerful in many ways. Audrey not only made a thoughtful portrait of a young woman and her eagle, in the caption she educates her audience about how important eagles are to Mongolian culture. Another layer of education comes when she informs us that usually sons carry on the tradition of caring for eagles but Damel is one very few girls carrying on the tradition. Photography isn't just about capturing the right moment, but finding the moments that can delight and educate.

The images I chose to feature this month celebrate female-identifying Your Shot photographers telling a visual story of empowerment, the freedom and flexibility of womanhood, photographers and their images #BreakingBarriers whether it's identifying women's issues in their images or a beautiful landscape or underwater image. — Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas

[natgeoyourshot]

Your Shot Series: Breaking Barriers

March is Women's History Month and to honor the women in our community and around the globe, Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas, will be curating one image a day from the Your Shot community that celebrates women. Each day in March the photographs will be shared on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.

Your Shot Photographer Wendy Timmermans writes that "An international community of freedivers plunges into the deep, diving on one breath up to depths of 93 meter. Several times a year I co-organise competitions in this amazing place. This picture was taken during the last edition showing athlete Heike Schwerdtner on the final part of the ascend accompanied by safety freedivers and judges and spectators awaiting on the surface."

When I was curating this project for Women's History Month I wanted to take care to represent women who might be few in numbers within their niche of photography. I've noticed that there are few women underwater photographers for whatever reason. Photo editors across all industries have a special responsibility to strengthen representation in diversity in the photographers they work with and I'm enthusiastic about being a part of that movement.

The images I chose to feature this month celebrate female-identifying Your Shot photographers telling a visual story of empowerment, the freedom and flexibility of womanhood, photographers and their images #BreakingBarriers whether it's identifying women's issues in their images or a beautiful landscape or underwater image. — Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas

[natgeoyourshot]

Your Shot Series: Breaking Barriers

March is Women's History Month and to honor the women in our community and around the globe, Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas, will be curating one image a day from the Your Shot community that celebrates women. Each day in March the photographs will be shared on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.

The women in our lives are the most immediate way we can celebrate Women's History Month. The history in your own family can be traced back to the women choosing to give birth. Your Shot Photographer Tatiana S. made this photograph of her daughter learning to cook from her mother. We wouldn't be where we are without the women from past generations doing what they could in their power to pave more paths for the women that came after them. A grandmother teaching her granddaughter isn't just making memories, it's a grandmother ensuring her granddaughter will be able to always take care of herself.

The images I chose to feature this month celebrate female-identifying Your Shot photographers telling a visual story of empowerment, the freedom and flexibility of womanhood, photographers and their images #BreakingBarriers whether it's identifying women's issues in their images or a beautiful landscape or underwater image. — Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas

[natgeoyourshot]

Your Shot Series: Breaking Barriers

March is Women's History Month and to honor the women in our community and around the globe, Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas, will be curating one image a day from the Your Shot community that celebrates women. Each day in March the photographs will be shared on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account.

Your Shot Photographer Chloé Serignac captured a timeless, tender moment between her twin sister and grandmother. This image resonated with me personally because my grandmother was my first best friend, and I was her namesake. Photography has the ability to freeze moments, and people, in time. I'm so thankful for the images that I have of my own grandmother because she taught me how to stand my ground, how to laugh until I cry and when I was a kid and had no idea how much I would love photography, she let me take her picture. Women's History Month isn't just about remembering and celebrating the women in our own lives, but we simply wouldn't be who we are without them. That's something worth celebrating.

The images I chose to feature this month celebrate female-identifying Your Shot photographers telling a visual story of empowerment, the freedom and flexibility of womanhood, photographers and their images #BreakingBarriers whether it's identifying women's issues in their images or a beautiful landscape or underwater image. — Your Shot Associate Photo Editor, Kristen McNicholas