Alan Taylor

A selfie of a large Mars rover, with a reddish-colored dry, rocky, and dusty Martian landscape in the background. (JPL / NASA)

A high, feathery, slightly iridescent cloud (JPL / NASA)

A wind-sculpted dune field on Mars (JPL-Caltech / MSSS / NASA)

A slightly-damaged and worn wheel of a Mars rover (JPL / NASA)

Photos: 13 Years on Mars - This week, NASA marks the 13th anniversary of the landing of its Curiosity rover on Mars. It has now driven more than 22 miles across the cold, dry planet, over the course of 4,620 Martian days, making countless observations. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

I can hear the footsteps...

Jealous! All these years of admiring it from afar and I still haven't made it yet myself - planning to go sometime soon though. Enjoy yourself!

A diver's face is distorted as they tumble in the air during a diving competition. (Ng Han Guan / AP)

A water polo player throws a ball, splashing pool water all over the place. (Vincent Thian / AP)

A pair of artistic swimmers seen during a performance, one of them, balancing on one hand placed on the head of the other, who is swimming in a pool. (Maye-E Wong / Reuters)

Two water polo players clash underwater, one appears to be grabbing the swimsuit of the other. (Maddie Meyer / Getty)

Scenes From the 2025 World Aquatics Championships - More than 2,500 athletes from more than 200 nations traveled to Singapore over the past few weeks to compete in 77 events across six different aquatic sports. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

Weird & Wonderful Historical Photos From the 20th Century From Alan Taylor at The Atlantic, whose curatorial eye I’ve always admired, “a grab bag of curious and interesting historical images from the 20th century”, including photos of the world’s largest banjo, diving arche

Weird & Wonderful Historical Photos From the 20th Century, including photos of the world’s largest banjo, diving archery, death-defying photography, and underwater alligator racing. [kottke.org]

A man holds a severely undernourished child in his arms. (Mohammed Y. M. Al-yaqoubi / Anadolu / Getty)

A large crowd of people stand along a fence, holding pots and plates at a food distribution center. (Majdi Fathi / NurPhoto / Getty)

Hundreds of people can be seen in a long line, many of them carrying large bags of flour. (Ramez Habboub / GocherImagery / Future Publishing / Getty)

A close view of a child's face, smashed among other people in a crowd. (Khames Alrefi / Anadolu / Getty)

Photos: Starvation and Chaos in Gaza - Israel’s blockade of most food and aid, along with distribution difficulties inside the Gaza Strip, have driven many of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians to the brink of starvation. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

A man holds a severely undernourished child in his arms. (Mohammed Y. M. Al-yaqoubi / Anadolu / Getty)

A large crowd of people stand along a fence, holding pots and plates at a food distribution center. (Majdi Fathi / NurPhoto / Getty)

Hundreds of people can be seen in a long line, many of them carrying large bags of flour. (Ramez Habboub / GocherImagery / Future Publishing / Getty)

A close view of a child's face, smashed among other people in a crowd. (Khames Alrefi / Anadolu / Getty)

Photos: Starvation and Chaos in Gaza - Israel’s blockade of most food and aid, along with distribution difficulties inside the Gaza Strip, have driven many of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians to the brink of starvation. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

An aerial view of a small medieval-style castle in a wooded area. (Aufort Jerome / Getty)

Stonecutters in medieval-style clothing work at a construction site. (Jacky Naegelen / Hans Lucas / Reuters)

A carpenter works on support timbers for a rounded roof. (Xavier Rossi / Gamma-Rapho / Getty)

A view of a small castle, under construction (Aufort Jerome / Getty)

Photos: Building a Medieval Castle in the 21st Century - Over 25 years ago, Michel Guyot, owner of a French chateau, started an experimental castle-building project. Workers using 13th-century tools & techniques have completed most of Guédelon Castle. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

The human characters are the worst part of the Transformers, Godzilla/Monarchverse, and Jurassic Park movies, and if someone solicits me to write a novel with giant monsters and/or robots I can promise you that there will be no stupid whiny distracting squishy humans running around with bad dialogue

A rider on a horse, wearing flame-protective gear, rides with flames burning from their back, in a field. (Vladimir Voronin / AP)

A woman wearing a very long dress stands at the corner of a rooftop overlooking the city of Istanbul. (Ozan Kose / AFP / Getty)

A fan wearing a helmet adorned with gigantic antlers runs beside a cyclist during the Tour de France. (Tim de Waele / Getty)

A woman sits on the ground, leaning against a resting cow. (David Hammersen / DPA / Getty)

Photos of the Week: Cow Cuddling, Lava Flow, Fishermen’s Joust - 28 images from the past seven days, including an animal shelter in Colombia, a mountain church service in Germany, a memorial to Ozzy Osbourne in England, and much more. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

A newlywed couple kisses after a wedding ceremony inside a church that has been flooded, with about a foot of standing floodwater. (Aaron Favila / AP)

A bride with a long, flowing train, stands in foot-deep floodwater outside a church. (Aaron Favila / AP)

Wedding guests walk inside a flooded church. (Aaron Favila / AP)

A couple sits together on a small bench during a wedding ceremony in a flooded church. (Aaron Favila / AP)

Photos: Love in the Season of Monsoons - Despite flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains, Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar decided to stick to their planned wedding date yesterday, and held the ceremony inside a flooded church in the Philippines. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

A goat peers over a gate, with hands on the gate on either side of its head, giving the appearance that the goat has human hands. (Ronald Dumont / Daily Express / Getty)

A person, a "champagne inspector," holds two champagne bottles in their hands, while wearing a protective mesh face mask. (Bettmann / Getty)

Two soldiers wearing winter camouflage sit in and push a dog sled with a machine gun mounted on it, behind a team of sled dogs. (U.S. National Archives)

A person sitting on a stool outside plays a gigantic banjo. (Soibelman Syndicate / Visual Studies Workshop / Getty)

Weird, Wonderful Photos From the Archives - A grab bag of curious and interesting historical images from the 20th century, depicting stunt diving, inventions, unusual war training, giant household objects, scenes from daily life, and much more. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

If YOU were in charge of the English language for a day, what is one thing you would absolutely change?

A night view of a smoky Grand Canyon, with a wildfire burning along the far rim (Michael Chow / The Arizona Republic / USA Today / Reuters)

A distant plume of smoke rises above a wildfire on the far rim of the Grand Canyon. (Grand Canyon National Park / Getty)

Visitors on the rim of the Grand Canyon watch a deep red sunset through a haze of wildfire smoke. (David Swanson / Reuters)

A broad nighttime view of a wildfire burning along the Grand Canyon (David Swanson / Reuters)

Photos: The Grand Canyon Burns - The Dragon Bravo wildfire in Arizona grew rapidly over the past weekend, destroying the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and dozens of other structures along the canyon’s North Rim. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

An aerial view of solar panels covering several hillsides. (Greg Baker / AFP / Getty)

A crane on a floating barge positions a large solar panel for installation. (AFP / Getty)

An aerial view of a solar thermal plant—a tall cylindrical column being illuminated by sunlight reflected from a huge array of large mirrors arranged in concentric circles around its base (Ma Mingyan / China News Service / VCG / Getty)

An aerial view—solar panel grids in a desert, stretching to the horizon (CFoto / Future Publishing / Getty)

Photos: The Scale of China’s Solar Power Projects - 22 recent images from China, where the government continues making huge investments in wind and solar power, reportedly accounting for 74 percent of all projects now under construction worldwide. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

A nighttime view of the Earth, from orbit, with a bright blu-and-red bolt of electrical energy shooting up from a lightning strike in a storm below (Nichole Ayers / NASA)

A Red Sprite Gives Astronauts an Incredible Light Show - NASA Astronaut Nichole Ayers managed to capture an amazing image of a sprite, a rarely-photographed weather phenomenon, as the International Space Station passed above a storm over Mexico. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

A bottlenose dolphin swims beneath a crashing wave. (George Karbus Photography / Image Source / Getty)

A close view of a colorful and spiky sea slug. (A. Martin UW Photography / Getty)

A walrus rests on a shoreline, its tusks in the sand, as a wave crashes over it. (Mike Korostelev / Getty)

An underwater view, looking down toward a pod of sperm whales that are resting in vertical positions. (Alexis Rosenfeld / Getty)

A Photo Appreciation of Life in Our Oceans - A collection of 27 images showcasing some of the incredible marine biodiversity across our blue planet. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

Three young groundhogs.

Awww. We found a litter of groundhoglets living under our garage a couple of years ago. They were so adorable.

My Dad took me to see the movie "Airplane!" in the theater. I think I was about 12. It was much more raunchy than he had expected (brief nudity!) and he was visibly upset - but he let me see the whole thing, and I loved every second - even more because it disturbed him that much 😃

My Dad did the same! So many random pieces of dialogue from Pogo strips remain scattered in my head, popping up every now and then, reminding me of Dad each time.

Demonstrators hold signs as they march down a city street in San Francisco. (Nic Coury / AFP / Getty)

A crowd of protesters gathers outside a state capitol building in Des Moines, carrying signs, including one which reads 'Impeach Trump.' (Fritz Nordengren / ZUMA Press Wire / Reuters)

An aerial view of a crowd gathered on a beach in San Francisco, standing in groups, spelling out the words 'No Kings!' (Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu / Getty)

An aerial view of a large crowd of protesters standing outside the state capitol building in Boise. (Darin Oswald / Idaho Statesman / Tribune News Service / Getty)

Photos: ‘No Kings’ Protests Across America - Yesterday, organizers estimated that millions marched in protest against the Trump administration, including its immigration-enforcement raids. Hundreds of “No Kings” protests took place across the US (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

In the 90s I was working as stage crew on a small traveling show, and once, at the Grand Ole Opry, I was pushing a heavy road case in a hallway, when a door opened suddenly and I bashed into it... Minnie Pearl peeked around the door, famous hat and all. She was fine, if a bit rattled. Sorry Minnie!

A large plume of brownish-colored ash rises from the top of a volcano. (Marco Restivo / Reuters)

A broad view across city buildings, with an erupting volcano in the background. (Fabrizio Villa / Getty)

Plumes of volcanic ash rise from a volcano. (Marco Restivo / Reuters)

A plume of ash rises from a volcano, with steaming pumice surrounding its crater. (Marco Restivo / Reuters)

A Spectacular Eruption of Mount Etna - 10 photos from Italy, where a plume of gas and ash destroyed part of the volcano’s crater wall yesterday morning, as pyroclastic flows ran down its slopes. From (gift link): www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

Several young spelling bee contestants sit on chairs on a stage, with one appearing to be asleep. (Kayla Bartkowski / Getty)

Competitors tumble head over foot during a race down a steep grassy hill. (Cameron Smith / Getty)

A woman wearing a cowboy hat dances in front of a bonfire. (Guillermo Arias / AFP / Getty)

A dog closes its eyes as it splashes into a pool. (Ina Fassbender / AFP / Getty)

Photos of the Week: Wienermobile Race, Beehive Therapy, Everest Queue - 28 images from the past seven days, including a rare tornado touchdown in Chile, a dinosaur exhibition in Shanghai, a hummingbird clinic in Mexico, an aerial ferry bridge in France & much more www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

An aerial view of an Alpine valley after a massive landslide, with a cluster of houses being flooded on the uphill side. (Alexandre Agrusti / AFP / Getty)

A screenshot from a video of a landslide explosively crashing down a mountainside. (Pomona Media / Reuters)

The path of a landslide, filled with rocky debris (Stefan Wermuth / Reuters)

An aerial view of the side of a mountain valley, scarred by a recent landslide, covering much of a village below. (Jean-Christophe Bott / Keystone / AP)

A Swiss Village Destroyed by a Landslide - 15 photos from the Alpine village of Blatten, Switzerland, which was almost entirely buried under a massive landslide, following the collapse of a nearby glacier on May 28. (Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/photography/... )

What a beautiful, absolutely bonkers game that is

A giant movie monster, seen in mist, with six long legs, a long body, and many tentacles and hooked appendages.

Not to be confused with the Behemoth from The Mist (which is also incredible)

A giant movie monster looking like a strange cross between a gorilla and a woolly mammoth.

Great prompt - so many to choose from! For me, the best is easily the Xenomorph from the original Alien movie. But one of the more intriguing ones from recent years is Behemoth from the MonsterVerse.

An older black-and-white photo of several men wearing broad-brimmed hats talking while gathered around a campfire at night (Miles Brothers / U.S. National Archives)

Several people stand outside a log-built roadhouse. (Miles Brothers / U.S. National Archives)

Three members of a family sit with their dogs beside a river. (Miles Brothers / U.S. National Archives)

A broad view of a narrow mountain valley and stream. (Miles Brothers / U.S. National Archives)

A Trip into Alaska’s Copper River Valley in 1902 - A collection of newly-digitized photos from the U.S. National Archives, giving a remarkable glimpse into daily life along a rough trail into the Alaskan interior, nearly 125 years ago. www.theatlantic.com/national/arc...

An older black-and-white photo of several men wearing broad-brimmed hats talking while gathered around a campfire at night (Miles Brothers / U.S. National Archives)

Several people stand outside a log-built roadhouse. (Miles Brothers / U.S. National Archives)

Three members of a family sit with their dogs beside a river. (Miles Brothers / U.S. National Archives)

A broad view of a mountain valley and stream. (Miles Brothers / U.S. National Archives)

A Trip into Alaska’s Copper River Valley in 1902 - A collection of newly-digitized photos from the U.S. National Archives, giving a remarkable glimpse into daily life along a rough trail into the Alaskan interior, nearly 125 years ago. www.theatlantic.com/national/arc...