30 Magical Photos Of Children Playing Around The World

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Jun 30, 2014

Like a lot of things in life, nothing teaches you about fatherhood quite like getting down in the mud and experiencing it yourself. You can read all the Amazon daddy advice books you want, but until you’re up at 3 a.m. changing diapers, you don’t really get it. Maybe this is why I want to punch twentysomethings in the face when they give me rude looks while I’m with my boys at the grocery store. Check back with me in 10 years, and we’ll see how it’s going for you, buddy. So while I can’t solve the fatherhood puzzle for you, I’ve been in the trenches long enough to pick up a few useful truths about having kids that you won’t read about in parenting books. Such as…

1. Kids Are Smarter Than You Think

Look, we’re human. Smash a finger with a hammer or watch your team give up a last-dadannoying kidmadsecond touchdown, the occasional F-bomb is gonna fly. You can get away with it with infants, but as soon as the kiddo’s words start coming, can it, unless you want your child repeating dialogue fromThe Wolf of Wall Street. And it goes beyond curse words, too. You and your wife may have openly dished about friends, neighbors, relatives and coworkers pre-kids, but those little sponges are now soaking it all in. Save the trash talking until after bedtime, unless you want your sister to find out how needy she is from your five-year-old at Thanksgiving.

2. In Fact, Kids Will Think They Are Smarter Than You

I get it. You want your daughter to think she can be President. You want your son to think he’s the smartest, fastest, coolest kid in the world, with an ego the size of Texas. I do it, too. But all that pumping up and pep talking has a downside. The kid will think he’s Einstein by the age of three. “Dad, I’m so smart. I’m smarter than you even.” I get this reply constantly from my five-year-old. The only problem is, it’s usually after he’s told me how to spell “sun,” or that 4 + 4 = 8. Whoopty doo. Great job, Junior, but you’ve got a long way to go. So don’t forget to take them down a peg from time to time. Remember, they’re not the smart ones (yet), you are. And it’s your job to help them until they have to remind you how to spell and add one day.

When I send my son out with a rake and a wheelbarrow to go after a pile of leaves, it’s usually just a matter of time before he’s throwing rocks at the neighbor’s cat.

**3. Kids Hate to Lose**

There’s another drawback to boosting kids’ ego: Not only are you creating someone who thinks he’s a genius, but you’re also creating a winner. Winning is everything, right? The only problem is, kids are terrible at losing gracefully. So when you beat your daughter at Uno or Mario Kart, you can expect a whole lot of pouting, whining and crying afterward—and that’s if you even get to the end of the game before things get ugly. At kindergarten orientation this spring, our son’s soon-to-be teacher gave these parting words of advice: “Before your children come to kindergarten this fall, make sure that you play them in a game, and make sure that they lose.” It’s good advice, and I suggest repeating it until your kid gets used to it. It’s a harsh world, after all, and unearned victories will only lead to painful realities down the road.

4. If You Had Kids for Slave Labor, You’re Going to be Waiting Awhile

Have you ever tried to assess the attention span of a three-year-old? They are about as task-oriented as a goldfish. And it doesn’t matter if they watch too much TV or not. They’re just kids—it’s how they’re wired. So if you had children dreaming that they would one day be raking your leaves, mowing the lawn and taking out the trash, well, don’t hold your breath. It’s gonna take a few years for the attention span to develop enough to actually get some chores out of them. And unless I’m doing something wrong, five isn’t old enough yet. When I send my son out with a rake and a wheelbarrow to go after a pile of leaves, it’s usually just a matter of time before he’s throwing rocks at the neighbor’s cat.

5. Kids Can Make the Safest Things Dangerous

I have a long-standing theory that if you left a toddler alone in a completely empty bedroom with nothing but a fork in the middle of the floor, the toddler would immediately pick up the fork and attempt to stick it into the nearest electrical outlet. When you have kids, this principle will apply to almost any seemingly benign thing in your life. That bookcase in the corner is an unstable wall just waiting to collapse. The kitchen counter is a treacherous cliff demanding to be scaled. Drawer full of knives? I won’t even go there. Just install a safety latch on it before your kids are even born. When I had a playground installed in my backyard for the kiddos, I don’t know why I thought the outcome would be any different. Now, I just have the world’s most expensive game of “chicken” happening on the slide every sunny afternoon. Oh well, I love the crap out of ’em anyway.

21 Photos That Prove Elephants Make The World A Better Place

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Jun 30, 2014

Between poaching and their treatment at circuses, elephants are up against a lot.Here’s a small reminder how special these endangered animals are.

1. This splish splasher.

21 Photos That Prove Elephants Make The World A Better Place

2. This cutie who just wants you to have a fantastic day!

3. This story of Shirley and Jenny reuniting at last:

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4. This guy who’s waving his trunk in the air like he just doesn’t care.

5. This timid cutie.

6. This little one who just wants to share.

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7. This little fuzzball.

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8. This little guy who just wants you to play in the snow with him.

9. This mother and daughter.

CPaulussen/CPaulussen

10. This guy in his new (dirt) face paint.

11. This snuggle bunny.

12. These mud wrestlers.

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13. This gal pullin’ a “Clint Eastwood Talking to a Chair” routine.

Wild Africa Nature/Wild Africa Nature

14. This orphaned elephant named Moses, getting acquainted with his new dog brothers.

AP Photo/Denis Farrell

15. These love bugs.

16. And this professional booper.

17. This eager elephant who just wants to say hi so badly.

18. This playful muddy pants.

19. This one who’s really everyone’s best friend.

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20. Basically, the world would be 100% less special without these guys.

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21. There are obviously thousands of more reasons too. Check out more information here and here.

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17 Impossibly Colorful Cities You’ll Want To Visit Immediately

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Jun 25, 2014

The word pretty isn’t often associated with the shantytowns of Rio de Janeiro. But gazing across the hills toward the notorious Santa Maria favela, you might be pleasantly surprised by the burst of colors—the result of a recent social art project launched by Dutch design duo Haas&Hahn. “We chose to bring color to a neighborhood that did not have a tradition of that,” says Dre Urhahn, who, with his partner Jeroen Koolhaas, enlisted community members to view their walls as a blank canvas teeming with creative possibilities. “We did not just want to bring something to the neighborhood, but to let something grow out of the inspiration that we found there.” So insanely pretty.

1. Burano in Venice, Italy

Flickr / O Palsson / Via Flickr: opalsson

2. La Boca in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Shutterstock / Peter Zaharov

3. Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark

Flickr / Martin Nikolaj Christensen / Via Flickr: martin_nikolaj

4. Bo-Kaap in Capetown, South Africa

Shutterstock / littlewormy

5. Jelly Bean Row in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

Flickr / Kenny Louie / Via Flickr: kwl

6. Chefchaouen, Morocco

Shutterstock / Sabino Parente

7. Cinque Terre, Italy

Flickr / Brian Stacey / Via Flickr: blackrockphoto

8. Longyearbyen, Norway

Flickr / Lindsey Nicholson / Via Flickr: linznicholson

9. Colmar, France

Shutterstock / Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH

10. Rainbow Row in Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Flickr / David Shankbone / Via Flickr: shankbone

11. Willemstad, Curaçao

Flickr / John Curnow / Via Flickr: curns

12. Santorini, Greece

Flickr / Edward Dalmuder / Via Flickr: edwarddalmulder

13. Valparaiso, Chile

Shutterstock / Boris1908

14. Wroclaw, Poland

Flickr / Craig Wyzik / Via Flickr: wyzik

15. Jodhpur, India

Flickr / Nagarjun Kandukuru / Via Flickr: nagarjun

16. Pelourinho in Salvador, Brazil

Flickr / Leandro Neumann Ciuffo / Via Flickr: leandrociuffo

17. Guanajuato, Mexico

Flickr / Justin Vidamo / Via Flickr: 21160499@N04

Heartwarming Animal Love Pictures From Your Shot

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Jun 24, 2014

1. A Young Elephant’s Love

An elephant calf in a rescue center in India’s Bandipur National Park looks at the camera in a photograph by Your Shot member Abhiroop Ghosh Dastidar. Dastidar submitted this picture to The Animals We Love, a Your Shot assignment that is accepting submissions until June 23, 2014. Photographer Robin Schwartz will choose the strongest pictures for an upcoming Your Shot story. According to Dastidar, the elephant calf was left behind when villagers drove away a herd of raiding elephants. “Elephants are much like humans, emotional and extremely intelligent,” Dastidar wrote in his caption. “The shock was so hard that this calf didn’t survive,” he said. “The emotion is in her eye and in the tragedy of her story,” said editing photographer Schwartz.

A Young Elephant's Love Photograph by Abhiroop Ghosh Dastidar, National Geographic — A Young Elephant’s Love Photograph by Abhiroop Ghosh Dastidar, National Geographic

2.Bubble Piper

Agnieszka Cybulska of the United Kingdom submitted this picture to the assignment. “I’m photographing the most interesting moments in my own little garden, where the main characters are my children and our wonderful doggie,” wrote Cybulska in the picture’s caption. When introducing the assignment, editing photographer Robin Schwartz wrote, “My editing challenge will be to differentiate between poignant and too cute. I’m sure I’ll love all your photos but know I must make hard selections for this assignment.”

Bubble Piper Photograph by Agnieszka Cybulska, National Geographic

3. Yorkshire Terriers

Two Yorkshire terriers watch expectantly from a kitchen table in this picture submitted by Alexander Novikov of Moscow, Russia. “It is most important to photograph what you care about and not worry about making a proper photograph. Never feel embarrassed about how much you care about animals!” said editing photographer Robin Schwartz in her introduction to the Your Shot assignment.

Yorkshire Terriers Photograph by Alexander Novikov

4. A Squirrel Named Gus

Gus came to stay with me at about four weeks old,” said photographer Sarah Reed of the squirrel in this picture. “Once he was old enough, he was set free. He figured out how to build a nest and learned to stay away from cats. After a year, he still comes daily for peanuts on the deck.”

A Squirrel Named Gus Photograph by Sarah Reed,

5. Rock or Ball?

As a tennis ball floats overhead, a husky named Cedar opts to retrieve a large stone instead. “This girl can’t get enough of playing in and under the water,” photographer Eiko Jones said in the picture’s caption. In a comment, fellow Your Shot member Jeannie Hardman added, “I hope [she] has a good dental plan!”

6. Testing the Merchandise

A cat stretches on top of garments for sale in Myanmar in this photograph by Your Shot member Mateus Caltabiano. “Such beautiful colors and what a comfortable, big-bellied posture. [Caltabiano] did this cat justice in portraying her comfort,” said editing photographer Robin Schwartz about this picture.

Testing the Merchandise Photograph by Mateus Caltabiano, National

7. A Calming Sit

To calm it, a farmer sits on a sick cow, according to photographer Henrik Kaarlsholm. “Having a sick cow in the herd affects any farmer deeply,” writes the Your Shot member.

A Calming Sit Photograph by Henrik Kaarlsholm

8. C’mon, C’mon

Dog Diego, right, asks Maya to chase him on this beach in Sequim, Washington, according to photographer Karen Murray’s caption. “This is harder to do than it looks,” said editing photographer Robin Schwartz, referring to capturing this moment. “Wonderful, fast-shutter-speed capture.”

C'mon, C'mon Photograph by Karen Murray — C’mon, C’mon Photograph by Karen Murray

9. Portrait of Paolina

The orange eyes of cat Paolina contemplate photographer Giuseppe Fallica in this picture submitted to our latest Your Shot assignment, The Animals We Love. Your photos can be submitted to the assignment until June 23, 2014. Photographer Robin Schwartz will select a number of the strongest pictures for a Your Shot story. “Animals are my guiding light, my vice, my joy, my therapy, and my companions. If you identify with any of these statements, then this assignment is for you,” says Schwartz.

Portrait of Paolina Photograph by Giuseppe Fallica,

iPhone on the Road by Alison Turner

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Jun 23, 2014

Six years ago, Alison Turner needed a change. She saved up her money and quit her job in corporate advertising. She rented her house and hit the road. For the first three years, she and her dog Maggie lived out of her car and a tent, until she eventually bought a van, which she considers a luxury. She quit drinking. Thousands and thousands of miles and 48 states later, Turner became addicted to photography. She has been sober for five years.

“That’s the reason I picked up the camera, because I stopped drinking and I needed something to do with my time,” Turner says. “I just started taking pictures with my point and click. I just really enjoyed walking around during my travels, and people enjoyed seeing those photographs.”

Check out her amazing work made with an Iphone and who knows, maybe they’ll inspire you to take an amazing photo with your own smartphone!

Striking Photos Show What It’s Like To Actually Live On $1 A Day Around The World

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Jun 23, 2014

More than 1 billion people around the globe — roughly one in six — earn just $1 a day. That astonishing statistic is the motivator for the Forgotten International’s campaign to shed light on the staggering levels of wealth disparity blanketing many regions of the world today. The nonprofit, which works to alleviate global poverty, has created a book of photographs, Living on a Dollar a Day: The Lives and Faces of the World’s Poor, featuring people barely making ends meet to survive. A team traveled to four continents collecting thousands of photographs and conducting several interviews to better understand the circumstances and stories of the impoverished. Thomas A. Nazario, founder and president of The Forgotten International, is the author of the book, and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Renée C. Byer captured the images. The nonprofit is also raising funds to produce a documentary under the same name with a similar goal in mind. Check out Byer’s photographs below (all captions provided by the Forgotten International), and learn more about the book on the organization’s website.

Alvaro Kalancha Quispe, 9, opens the gate to the stone pen that holds the family’s alpacas and llamas each morning so they can graze throughout the hillsides during the day. He then heads off to school, but must round them up again in the evening in the Akamani mountain range of Bolivia in an area called Caluyo, about an hour from the city of Qutapampa. In this part of the world, the highlands of Bolivia, approximately 13,000 feet above sea level, residents live in homes with no insulation, no electricity and no beds. Their water comes from streams that run off the snow-covered mountains. Their livelihood lies with their animals, for each animal produces about 3 pounds of fur each year, and each pound of fur is sold for 18 bolivianos, which amounts to about $2.50 U.S. All in all, this family may earn about $200 of income each year from the herd they watch over. Courtesy Renée C. Byer

In Bucharest, Romania, some of the city’s poor climb down into underground heating vents or sewers, where they live and eat by candlelight for there is no electricity. Here Hora Florin, 28, a victim of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceasescu’s orphanages and one of Romania’s lost generation of children, lives underground where the heating vents keep him warm at night. Courtesy Renée C. Byer

Four-year-old Ana-Maria Tudor, above, stands in the light of her doorway in Bucharest, Romania, hoping for a miracle as her family faces eviction from the only home they have ever had. Her father recently had a gall bladder surgery that resulted in an infection and left him unable to work. The one room they live in has no bathroom or running water. Courtesy Renée C. Byer

In an e-waste dump that kills nearly everything that it touches, Fati, 8, works with other children searching through hazardous waste in hopes of finding whatever she can to exchange for pennies in order to survive. While balancing a bucket on her head with the little metal she has found, tears stream down her face as the result of the pain that comes with the malaria she contracted some years ago. This is work she must do to survive. Courtesy Renée C. Byer

Also true among the poor is that fact that children everywhere take care of other children. Here Vishal Singh, 6, cares for a baby girl while her mother is away in the Kusum Pahari slum in south Delhi, India. When Vishal is not working or attending to his chores, he attends a school for the children of the Kusum Pahari slum. It is located on the slum grounds. The school is an open-air facility. It has no power, no toilets and no books. To learn their lessons the children and teachers here work off chalkboards. Tuition is 2 rupees a week but no child is turned away for lack of funds. When Vishal is not working, he goes off to school with nearly 600 other children of this slum community. Courtesy Renée C. Byer

Children throughout the world frequently work to help support their families. In some cases, they give up their chance at school to do what they can to help. Ninankor Gmafu, 6, battered by rain, works for his father herding cows in Ghana, West Africa. He dreams of attending school someday but likely will never get there. Courtesy Renée C. Byer

The Top 10 Greatest Landmarks in the World

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