Desktop wallpapers from National Geographic for September 2013 (30 photos)

Another selection of amazing photos from National Geographic. This time they were taken by amateur photographers who happened to be in the right place at the right time. A sleeping owl, morning mists, valleys bathed in golden light, remote corners of our planet - you will find this and much more in the September issue of wallpapers from National Geographic. Enjoy!

1. To take this photo, Freddie Booth entered knee-deep water off the coast of northeast Oahu at dawn. “Seeing how beautiful the dawn was, I tried to take a picture from an unusual angle.” (Freddy Booth)

2. The image of the chapel serves as a great backdrop for these two men sitting in a cafe in the city of Sorrento in southern Italy. “Fortunately, they were happy to be in my picture,” says photographer Adelina Iliev. “Architecture has always fascinated me, so I took this picture intuitively.” (Adelina Iliev)

3. Seeing Burmese Bagan from the height of a hot air balloon is a must for any tourist visiting this ancient city. “This place is ideal for photography,” says Dima Shatrov. “But most importantly, there are thousands of temples, pagodas and stupas.” The flight lasts 40-60 minutes. “The first rays of the sun broke through the mist in the east and painted the valley golden. A moment later, thousands of solar "spears" pierced through the fog. It is so beautiful and unusual that it seems as if you have returned to the 19th century, as if you are the hero of a Jules Verne novel.” (Dima Chatrov)

4. “Usually at sunset, dolphins hunt in the depths, but they need to rise to the surface to breathe,” says photographer Natalia Pryanichnikova, who took this picture of dolphins in the Red Sea. (Natalia Pryanishnikova)

5. “After a week of non-stop rain, all the shallow lakes in Kumta have become huge,” says photographer Dinesh Hedge. When the sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds, people ran to swim. The amazing clouds make for a great backdrop.” (Dinesh Hegde)

6. Blue ghost fireflies in a North Carolina forest. “These fireflies are unique because they glow much longer than usual,” says photographer Spencer Black. “Seeing them fly by the thousands over the undergrowth in total darkness is incredible.” (Spencer Black)

7. George Hodan was in the right place at the right time to photograph this mud-covered boat at the bottom of a drained canal in the Czech Republic. “I went to Brno for the weekend. The shot was so interesting that I didn't hesitate to take this shot." (George Hodan)

8. “It was a clear and beautiful day when I took off from San Francisco,” says photographer Avani Agarwal. “At first I thought it was the shadow of another plane, or maybe just my imagination, but then I realized that it was the shadow of the plane I was flying on, so I quickly grabbed my camera – a regular iPhone – and took this picture.” (Avani Agarwal)

9. “The snow season in Japan is long… but Tokyo gets some snow,” says photographer Danilo Dango. He took this photo in Shibuya, a commercial area that is always full of people. (Danilo Dungo)

10. When Yanai Bonnet saw a couple of cheetahs jumping on a tourist jeep, he quickly took out his camera and took a couple of pictures. “This is an incredible once in a lifetime opportunity. That same evening, I saw this picture and could only say “Wow!”. (Yanai Bonneh)

11. A cloud of marigold petals, roses and jasmine enveloped dancers during the Holi festival in Vrindavan, India. Photographer Priyanka Telang says the dancers and organizers are working hard to preserve the festival's oldest dance. This photo shows Krishna celebrating Holi with his mostly female friends. “All roles are played by men, even women. Being here, watching this event is something spiritual, something unimaginable.” (Priyanka Telang)

12. A flock of doves took to the skies at Jal Mahal, Jaipur, India. Mahesh Malasubramanyan was enjoying the hazy background at that moment. “It was early in the morning, I was walking near the Jal Mahal. I was in the right place to take a picturevate reflections of buildings in the water and flocks of pigeons. The water was very calm." (Mahesh Balasubramanian)

13. “The sun, as if by magic, turned everything into copper,” says Loes Schalekamp, a photographer and factory worker in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “At this plant, copper is plated with a layer of another metal. In daylight, the plant seems dull and gray… But at sunset, the sun shines for several minutes right under the roof, flooding everything with a copper color.” (Loes Schalekamp)

14. Sebastien Lefebvre was looking for snowy owls near Ottawa, Canada, but only found a harsh winter along the way. “Strong winds, snow in my face and sub-zero temperatures prevented me from enjoying photography properly. Constantly had to warm the camera batteries in the bosom. I didn’t find any owls that day, but I still came home with one decent shot.” (Sebastien Lefebvre)

15. Kangaroos huddle against a tree to wait out an evening downpour in South Australia. Graham Ricketts took this photo from the veranda of his home with a fantastic view of the Eleanor River Valley. “When the sky opened up, I was amazed at the amazing lighting and contrasts created by the rain. Local wild kangaroos had to hide, I just couldn't help but film it." (Graeme Ricketts)

16. Steven Chu was returning to Lhasa from Kashgar in a remote part of western China and on the way he met a truck that was also going to Lhasa. The Tibetan driver agreed to give Stephen a lift. This shot is from one day of his seven-day trip with the truck. “I felt the earth tremble. At that moment, I was in shock ... They just ran past, not being afraid to get hit by a car, and at that moment only one word sounded in my head - “Freedom”. (Steven Chou)

17. On an early summer morning, Teruo Araya took this photo of a train on the Tadami Bridge. The train passed Fukushima Prefecture. "The mist from the river created a fantasy world." For Teruo, this image epitomizes the ability of people to recover from disasters. “But it's like an endless journey,” he says. (Teruo Araya)

18. On an autumn day in Moscow, Veronika was waiting by the lake for the swans to swim by, but they never showed up. She was about to leave when she suddenly saw feathers floating on the water. “Apparently, the swans decided to reward me for my patience. For me, it's not just a feather, it's a beautiful part of our life, what surrounds us, something that makes us smile." (Veronica K. Ko)

19. When Tomoyasu Shida was photographing locations near the Koenji Temple in Tokyo, he was surprised at the sudden appearance of a woman's head at the top of the stairs. “At that moment, it seemed to me that she was one of these circles.” (Tomoyasu Chida)

20. Trees stand guard at Lake Wakatipu on the South Island of New Zealand. “I first found this place back in April 2011, but since then I have not been able to photograph it for a long time,” says photographer Brad Grove. – That morning it was -4ºС, and the sun had just come out of the horizon behind me. The composition fell into place and I was finally able to get the picture I had in my head.” (Brad Grove)

21. This baby garden lizard, no more than 12 cm long, rested on a cactus in the backyard of Arpan Parui. “I first saw him on a winter morning on a brick. I was drawn to his dreamily closed eyes as he basked in the sun.” (Arpan Parui)

22. Once a year, thousands of people come to the remote town of Birdsville, Australia for a three-day race. Rowan Bestmann filmed the event from an airplane and spotted the shot when he saw parked SUVs. “The owners of these cars came from all over Australia. More than 160,000 liters of gasoline are sold during races in the city.” (Rowan Bestmann)

23. Every hour and a half on a certain day of the week, while dropping off his daughter to ballet class, Brian Yen takes a variety of shots near her school. “I've seen this scene before, but there were a lot of players on the court. But that time I saw a lone basketball player. This contrast with Friday's chaos on the roads is so striking that I couldn't help but capture it." (Brian Yen)

24. Barbara Motter neverYes, I had never seen a sleeping owl before, so I was surprised to see these thin feathers covering the eye of this feathered predator in a reserve in western Florida. “This is a beautiful nature reserve with many different species of owls. During the day, they usually sleep, and visitors often pass by the enclosure without stopping. But it is worth taking a closer look at nature, and you will see a lot of new things. (Barbara Motter)

25. Photographer Junaid Ahmed says Dhaka, Bangladesh's skyrocketing growth lacks a proper layout. “Here, traffic is simply impossible, so many people take trains to avoid traffic jams, as a result, the trains are overcrowded.” It was this overcrowding and the desire to capture the full reality of the situation that prompted him to take this shot of the passengers at Kamalapur Station. (Junaid Ahmed)

26. On Sundays, during Kite Month, colorful kites fill the skies over Cartagena, Colombia. However, after seeing a dog chasing soap bubbles, photographer Massimo Rumi wanted to shoot only the dog at first, but then he suddenly enlarged the frame. “I wanted to capture the whole family and the bubbles unexpectedly helped me do it in such a perfect way.” (Massimo Rumi)

27. Private pond in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Thousands of ducks winter here. For this photo, Paul Bramble used a remote-controlled shutter button to get the ducks as close to the lens as possible. (Paul Bramble)

28. The city of Tsukuba is located about 59 km from Tokyo. It is called the City of Science because it has many research institutions and architectural features. “I found this building, with its beautiful façade and smooth windows, standing at an intersection in soft sunlight,” says photographer Akira Takaue. “I wanted to shoot just this wall and the pedestrian sign to get a flat shot, without any optical breaks.” (Akira Takaue)

29. After an evening thunderstorm in Puducherry, India, lightning continued to blaze over the Bay of Bengal, which was turned orange from the front by street lights. (Sandip Dey)

30. Worshipers participate in the colorful Rath Yatra procession in Bangladesh. This holiday is also called the Chariot Festival. It is celebrated in honor of the summer journey of the god Jagannath in a chariot. To take this picture, photographer Rafayat Khan climbed the three-story building before midday prayers began. (Md Rafayat Haque Khan)