A picture might be worth a thousand words but National Geographic photos leave us speechless. Known for their captivating daily pictures, they also offer an opportunity to dive into the photo archives of previously unpublished or forgotten works.
The project called Found was established in 2013 to honor NatGeo's 125th anniversary. The project's team says that their mission is to bring the stunning pictures back to life by sharing them with new audiences. And even some of the dates or locations are missing, the interesting photos capture perfect moments making them timeless.
These amazing photos are dug up by Guardian of the Collection William Bonner, who still finds them highly inspiring even after years spent in the archives. Together with editor Janna Dotschkal's love for aesthetics, they make the vintage material shine as new.
More info: NatGeo Found (h/t: DeMilked)
This post may include affiliate links.
A Kitten Aboard A Floating Victoria Water Lily Pad In The Philippines, 1935
Your description is just as beautiful. Well put
Load More Replies...That is a HUGE lily pad. An adult cat could walk across one and not sink.
Load More Replies...I think this picture as taken at Kew Gardens. I have seen these a number of years ago, truly magnificent water lilies and would be strong enough to hold kitty's weight without any distress to the lily.
A White Fallow Stag Stands In A Forest In Switzerland, 1973
Of course you have to SPELL A SPELL RIGHT! You don't want a Patronus to go wrong! ;)))
Load More Replies...Beautiful!! Why on Earth would this not be published?? What was published instead? A photo of God?
Irish Guards Remain At Attention After One Guardsman Faints In London, England, June 1966
My husband was a Grenadier Guard in Ottawa, Canada and remained still for twenty minutes after being accidentally stabbed in the leg by the soldier next to him. Apparently, there are strict protocols about what they are allowed to do while in line.
I think this is inhumane! To hell with protocols!
Load More Replies...And that, Ladys and Gentlemen, is why I would never serve in such a b******t place where stupid protocols are valued over the well-being of people.
Totally with you on that! They do this in some privater schools, too, with kids! Forcing them to stand at attention for long periods of time, even in hot sun.
Load More Replies...What if the guardsman had an acute disease and needed treatment in time? Their standing still may cause lost of life....
OMG, couldn't anyone help this poor man? What about if he were having a stroke or a heart attack? I don't like this at all!
How absolutely inhumane and rediculous! What if he'd had heart failure? Would they just leave him to die? Some bloody queen they serve!
This photo is well published - it has stuck in my mind since seeing it 40 years ago.
Irish Guards?! They are Welsh Guards and this is quite a famous photograph considering the false claim in the title of the photos being unpublished.
This "protocol" is typical of the lunacy endemic in the British forces well into the 60's. Perhaps it continues today. I don t know for I was discharged in 1969. On active service in the Middle East in 1968 I was a Police Dog Handler guarding airfields, aircraft and munitions depots during the night. If I was approached or disturbed an intruder, I had to shout, "Halt, who goes there?" Wait for response. "Halt who goes there?" Wait for response. "Halt or I'll release my dog." Wait for response. On the lack of a third response I was allowed to release my dog. - At that time I could also take out my S&W 6 round revolver - take out the wooden block containing 6 bullets from my pouch - crack the plastic screwed onto the block over the bullets - load my revolver - and then shout "Halt who goes there?" Wait... - well you know what comes next...
You guys he probably just locked his knees, it's a common issue in the military also. My husband ( a former Marine) said it happens all the time, while standing at attention if you lock your knees you are guaranteed to pass out
American Bison Charge Through Heavy Snow In Yellowstone National Park, November 1967
It doesnt even look like a photo, its so mystical that looks like a postcard or a piece of art
Charge? How can they even charge if the snow is so thick?? They must be exhausted...
And regarding the picture/painting debate; It doesn't matter which one it is, this is a stunning and awe inspiring picture.
This is like a blast from the past. Like maybe there are a LOT more of them in the mist/snow.
Hikers Stand Near The Top Of A Natural Rock Bridge On Mt. Rainier, Washington, May 1963
With Claws Bared, A Kitten Attacks Its Own Mirrored Reflection, 1964
THIS is why the Internet was born. DARPA lied that it was intended for scientific purposes.
Well if the photo was truly made in 1964, that's a MASTERPIECE! Nowadays, with all the modern photocameras and digital post-production not everyone would manage to make such a shot, so doing so in those times is somewhat INCREDIBLE!
A Wave Of Rock Shaped By Wind And Rain Towers Above A Plain In Western Australia, September 1963
ya i was looking at the pic then watch the name (im not the only one cool)
Load More Replies...where can I find it? I mean what's the name of place ir something
Load More Replies...A Regular At Le Louis Ix In Paris, “caramel” Keeps A Client Company, May 1988
That's a magical cat! :D I would love if my cat would go out with me and just casually chill in a bar! :D
A Young Kenyan Woman Holds Her Pet Deer In Mombassa, March 1909
That's a dikdik and not a deer. There are no deer in Kenya as far as I know!!
A beautiful portrait of a lovely young woman, the shadows and exposure are perfect!
I love this picture <3 I've seen it on a Nat Geo magazine before though...so it has been published
Young Lovers Embrace Beside The Arc De Triomphe In Paris, 1960
Tourists Explore Massive Dead Tree With Tunnel Cut Out For A Road In Sequoia National Forest, May 1951
A Woman Stands In Front Of Her Flower Stand On The Rambla In Barcelona, Spain, March 1929
How beautiful was Las Ramblas before they started changing the flower stands for souvenirs ones...
A Man Herds Sheep With The Help Of His Collies In Scotland, 1919
A Flock Of Birds Fly Up From An Enclosed Courtyard In Old Havana, December 1987
this is awesome. this, not the weird airplane that some guy kept photoshopping into spaces. this.
A Man Stands Dwarfed Under The Ape-ape Leaves Of Puohokamoa Gulch In Maui, Hawaii, 1924
If this is the size of the plants, just imagine the size of the bugs !
I think there are some Ape - Ape leaves there. But I believe the Giant Rhubarb like leaves may be some form of Gunnera.
Loggers And The Giant Mark Twain Redwood Cut Down In California, 1892
OMG I can't believe what they did back then. About this same time they were deforesting the trees all around Lake Tahoe. This literally wrecks me
I think its sad, that we don't get to see Adult trees anymore. We have cut them all down! Look at that tree, it must have been majestic!
We have billions upon Billions of adult trees love
Load More Replies...What a waste... Imagine the yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrsssssssss~ it took the great tree to grow to this size...
This saddens me. That tree was probably hundreds or more years old. So sad.
Did you notice the man on the top has half a finger ? Did you notice the man on top has half a finger ?
(sorry for the duplicate) The man on the bottom looks like my 'wasband'.
Load More Replies...It would be lovely to think we had trees like that here in Tasmania but not cut down
Locals Relax By The Tulip Fields Along The Canal In Haarlem, The Netherlands, 1931
Wow. 1931 Netherlands. Not one of them suspected the evil that was about to sweep their serene lives off the map...
WW2 was eight years away at that point and life stayed more or less livable in many rural areas in the Netherlands. Cities and especially Rotterdam suffered far more from the German invasion. By the end of the war, when most of Europe was freed, The Dutch suffered a terrible winter with a lot of hardship and hunger.
Keukenhof flower fields. Still there today and a major attraction during bloom season.
Yeah it did exist but it wasn't very common. It was quite expensive. But this photo might be colored in.
Load More Replies...Well, it kind of is. There weren't colour photos so this photo has been painted.
Load More Replies...A Man Examines The Teeth Of A 10-month-old Alaskan Malamute Puppy Near The South Pole, 1957
Boys Dressed Up In School Uniforms Pose With King Penguins At The London Zoo, 1953
The school left them there and they were accepted into the penguin group as one of their own. They each have lovely penguin families of their own...
Load More Replies...something about this picture makes those regular looking boys look like it was taken years ago
Roaring Out Of Auyan-tepui’s Wall, A Waterfall Plummets Over 3,000 Feet In Venezuela, March 1963
Way before it was kidnapped by the d**g traffickers and murderers from the Foro de Sao Paulo/Group of Puebla.
Churun-meru is the aboriginal name, also know as Angel's fall. waterfall venezuela
Load More Replies...John F. Kennedy’s Coffin Lies In State Beneath The Capitol’s Dome, November 1963
The photo is very different but the content is awful still.
Load More Replies...Anyone watching 11-22-63? So far it looks amazing. I only wish he had had the chance to change our country. I'm sure it wouldn't be as broke right now...
Did you ever read the book 11-22-63? You might not say that after you read it.
Load More Replies...I love the people surrounding, as if to say we have come to be with what we have lost
p.s. dark indeed...could you imagine how the world would looks like if this has never happened?
Woman Adorned Like A Chinese Goddess Poses In A Garden In California, 1915
Color photography with plates existed since the mid 1800's 1855 to be exact.
Load More Replies...@SarahWhitaker I'm not 100% sure but I think this may be a representation of the Chinese Bodhisattva of compassion Guan Yin. She is often seen with the lotus flower and a very similar kind of head dress.
@SarahWhitaker I'm not 100% sure but I think may be representing the Chinese Bodhisattva of compassion Guanyin. She is sometimes seen with this type of flower, and similar head dress.
It does seem to be color film since even the noise is colored (i.e. not monochrome).
Incredible!! Also they used to color on black and white pictures. I have a picture of my Mom when she was young. Originally it was a black and white, but they colored it and even gave her blue eyes. (She was born with brown eyes.) lol
A Shadow Of A Man Holding A Bicycle Is Cast On A Wall Near The Zambezi River, 1996
A Child Sitting On A Hereford Bull Near Pleasanton, California, 1926
Actually Bulls are peaceful animals, it's just brutal idiotic men in the world decided to punish the bulls for that and provoke them to the point of blood thirstiness and then kill them.
Load More Replies...Hereford bulls are very docile, it's the females you have to watch out for! :-)
I guess you couldn't do that today... Would be sued for endangering the child.... Or mistreating the bull, who knows...
Welts, Scars Of Beauty, Pattern The Entire Back Of A Nuba Woman In Sudan, 1966
Wow. Brings to mind the body modifications of our modern American kids. The "welts" look somewhat like cowry shells - is it the same technique, I wonder, of inserting something under the skin to create the "welt", that we use today, or is it another method? Sure would like to know the back story on this one. Fascinating.
KristenHdz, I thought a barbed hook was used to pop out the skin, making it pucker. But then I searched scarification and found this on Wikipedia. Packing "is uncommon in the West, but has traditionally been used in Africa. A cut is made diagonally and an inert material such as clay or ash is packed into the wound; massive hypertrophic scars are formed during healing as the wound pushes out the substance that had been inserted into the wound."
Load More Replies...I am so old and so white, but I find this so beautiful and I don' t know why...
Here is an article on this practice. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2561949/Ethiopian-Sudanese-tribes-intricate-raised-patterns-created-using-THORNS.html
Ouch!! Why, just why?? And apparently they also wear thongs. The part that goes down the butt looks seriously uncomfortable. But I guess after those kinds of body modifications they don't mind the thongs.
Tammy - there are many things in our culture that are uncomfortable...I find bras to be the work of the devil - horridly uncomfortable. I have sisters and daughters who love thongs. Friends who regularly bikini wax. It is all what is relevant to that culture.
Load More Replies...http://www.randafricanart.com/Scarification_and_Cicatrisation_among_African_cultures.html
Cat And White Rat Abide In Peace. When Different Species Grow Up Together, They Often Lose Their Enmity, April 1964
Don't try this at home. If instinct takes over for one second - no more rat. And we don't even know how many rats they needed to get this shot.
A Sled Dog, Tied To A Whale Rib, Howls Under The Midnight Sun In Alaska, 1969
Sled dogs are some of the most well cared for dogs in the world. The climate up there is cold AF, and you have to take excellent care of them, if you want them to care of you and drag your sled and your a*s around.
Girls Standing In Water Holding Bunches Of American Lotus, Amana, Iowa, November 1938
I have been there about 5 years ago. The lake was covered with lily pads, but no girls.
A Boy Sells Lemonade From His Front Yard Stand On Main Street In Aspen, Colorado, 1973
Nowadays, he would need a license and FDA certification and taxes paid and oh yeah, a bathroom available..
Load More Replies...Victoria Falls In Zambia
A Well-worn Stairway Leads To A House On Oahu’s North Shore, November 1979
Two Dancers In Costume Stand Between The Columns Of Poseidon’s Temple, Greece, 1930
Yes, at Cape Sounion, Greece. It was built to worship the God Poseidon.
Load More Replies...Astronaut Neil Armstrong Floats In His Space Suit In A Pool Of Water In 1967
A Rainbow Arches Over Victoria Falls In Zimbabwe
Volkmar Wentzel took it, probably taken in the 1950's. was post war but before jfk
Load More Replies...The Statue Of Liberty Hails Dawn Over New York Harbor In 1978
Wow. You would never think the skyline would be so different now. God bless.
Apart from One World Trade Center replacing the Twin Towers, is there no other significant difference to the skyline nowadays? I've never visted the United States, let alone New York, so that's why I'm interested.
Load More Replies...Traffic Lights Are Made In Shreveport, Louisiana, And Sent Around The U.s. And Abroad, December 1947
Men Observe The Giant Statues Of Easter Island In Polynesia, December 1922
Google "Polynesian Triangle". The island belongs to Chile, but is part of this region.
Load More Replies...There's a lot now known about the people who made them and why they basically killed themselves.
Don’t listen to them. I’m sure you’re fabulous. Have a nice day😄
Load More Replies...The Wind Sculpts The Dunes Of The Sahara Desert In The Erg Bourarhet, Algeria, 1973
This is a gorgeous photo I would love to have this on my wall. The desert is beautiful
A Woman Working On A Mosaic Of Mary And Baby Jesus In Vatican City
Astronaut Bruce Mccandless Ii Floats A Few Meters Away From Space Shuttle Challenger During The Historic First Use Of A Nitrogen-propelled Manned Maneuvering Unit In 1984
The project description says unpublished or forgotten images, trying to reach a new audience. But it mentioned 25+ and this is #41 so I think someone added it as something to be remembered from the NatGeo archive.
Load More Replies...A Sailor Gets A Tattoo On His Arm In Virginia
Again, when? Perhaps the photo should speak for itself and the year it was taken is not that important but I'd still like to know.
The sailors hairstyle and the style of tshirt would suggest the 1950s
Load More Replies...Found at reddit: Cross post from r/historyporn. I found this picture on a Facebook group. An individual left a comment saying that he showed the photo another legendary tattoo artist named Crazy Philadelphia Eddie, who said that the above photo is "Coleman from Norfolk". Cap Coleman operated the shop from 1918 until June of 1950 when the city of Norfolk outlawed tattooing and Cap moved across the river to Portsmouth, VA. Cap Coleman died in 1973. Another thing: sailors need authorization to get a tattoo. One commentator complained he never got an authorization in all his career in the Navy.
The same reason that doctors used to smoke in their consultation rooms and you could smoke on wards.
Load More Replies...Princess Grace Kelly In Monaco, 1962
A Little Boy Is Dwarfed By A Supersized Cabbage In Matanuska Valley, Alaska, July 1959
That actually confirms the fact that kids (and in various ages) can be found in cabbage patch :D
Probably growing it for our state fair. Usually the cabbages are in the 110 - 125 pound range. Except a few years ago someone here broke the world record with one that was 138 lb. Crazy.
I lived in Alaska for a while and the state fair there is something different. It's quite common for vegetables to grow this big because the sun doesn't go down in the summer!
Beautiful cabbage! I never relate Alaska to anything other than snow and wolves. Hahaha
A Solitary Fisherman’s Home Keeps Watch On Quiet Placentia Bay In Newfoundland, Canada, 1974
A Woodman Notches A Felled Tree’s Trunk For Sectioning In Western Australia, 1962
We don't have forests in western australia, except for a small region at the south coast. This was likely a tree farm which we have so many of; you'd love the amount of natural untouched land we still have actually. :)
Load More Replies...Motorists Pass People On A Scenic Road Atop A Cliff Overlooking A Bay Near Trieste, Italy, 1956
Four Boys Bob For Apples In Martinsburg, West Virginia, 1939
I remember doing this in cub scouts and boy scouts. Went away because people decided it was unsanitary:(
Women Enjoy The Benefits Of A Heated Whirlpool In Saint Petersburg, Florida, 1973
Those giggles are so steampunk! I'll love to have them!
Load More Replies...I remember my mom and her friends wearing shower caps when they went swimming to protect their hair-do when I was young.
Women Carry Baskets On Their Heads While Children Play In Kotaka, Mali, 1991
I love this picture! The colors are so perfect. The stark cream of the walls and ground and the vibrant hues of the womens'' dresses. I would love to see this in person.
I find the most amazing thing about this photo to be not just the beautiful colors and contrast, but the lady who is balancing two baskets on her head with NO hands!
Arizona Cowboys Play Sports To Pass The Time In Phoenix, 1955
I love horse cageball. We actually still play it up here in Maine on certain occassions
The First Explorers To Descend To The Deepest Part Of The Ocean Were Don Walsh And Jacques Piccard In The Bathyscaphe Trieste, January 23, 1960. 52 Years Later, James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenger Journeyed To The Bottom Of The Mariana Trench, Nearly 7 Miles Below Sea Level
Women Sit In A Modern Chic Boutique In Casablanca, 1971
Men Blast Granite To Build Tunnels For A Hydroelectric Project In Australia, 1963
A Girl Sits By A Lake With Snow-capped Mountains In The Background, California, 1929
Pedestrians Walk On Bustling Dotombori Street In Osaka, Japan, March 1970
Flamingos Standing And Feeding In A Pool Near Salt Beds
A Passageway In Algeria
Children Read A Sylvan Drew Circus Billboard, 1931
I remember going to Barnum And Bailey Circus' growing up. My children did too when they were young. I haven't seen a circus advertised in Maine for years. Are they no longer?
A Balloon From Anchorage, Alaska, Flies Over Cook Inlet, 1986
A Wealthy Group Of Young People Relax By A Pool In California, 1940
St. Lawrence River, Canada, 1974
A Young Girl Plays In A Replica Of A Lunar-module In Toronto, Canada, August 1975
A Combination Sand And Rain Storm Batters A Lone Automobile In Kuwait, May 1969
A Man Burns Prickly Pear To Feed Cattle During A Drought In Texas
Must have burnt off the spines. I've heard that us humans can eat them too.
A Man Sells Goldfish In Baggies Tied To A Tree Branch In Beirut, Lebanon, February 1983
To think that Lebanon had a wonderful future ahead until the PLO destroyed it just because it was a majority Christian country. It was a modern and prosperous country, but Islam hates Humanity.
A Welder Works On Cowls For Liberty Ships In California, 1942
AHHH yes. I guess that back in the day, Clothes were fire retardant. Although at least he is Brazing, not arc welding.
Dozens Of Visitors Frolic In The Water As Seen Through A Palm Frond In Acapulco, Mexico, 1964
In those times Acapulco was wonderful and the d**g cartels weren't a thing yet.
This site has censorship!? Where's free speech!?
Load More Replies...Two Women Give Food To A Red And Green Macaw In A City Garden In Brazil, 1944
An Egyptian Belly Dancer Performs For Tourists In A Nightclub In Cairo, 1972
The Huge Gate Of Heavenly Peace, The Main Entrance To The Forbidden City In Beijing, Looms In The Dusty Early Morning Haze Which Partially Obscures The Sun. This View, Taken From Tiananmen Square, Shows The Tiny Figures Of People Walking Along The Main Thoroughfare Leading To The Gate, 1978
If this is the view from Tiananmen Square, it looks very different today. There is a very large boulevard in front of it now.
I agree with Joan. Countries are doing everything they can to promote tourism and, in doing so, lose the natural beauty.
Four Entwined Cobras, 1970
Personifying Evil, A Costumed Mapico Dancer In Mozambique Hides From Spectators, 1964
Children Play In Pool They Have Dug Out Of The Sand On The Beach In Le Havre, France, 1936
Another pre-Blitzkrieg picture of a place that would soon lose its joy...
Yes, and most probably the first paid holidays enjoyed by working class people in France, after the law was passed by Leon Blum's left wing government
Load More Replies...People Sunbathe Beside A Swimming Pool In Charlotte, North Carolina, 1941
Surfers Overpopulate The Waves Off Of Bondi Beach In Australia, 1963
A View Of Saint Basil’s Cathedral In Red Square, Russia, Shot Through A Store Window
This wasn't very old because that lipstick is from the 1990s or first years of 2000s.
A Dromedary Camel And Rider In The Peach Blossom Festival In Fort Valley, Georgia, May 1925
Either I've seen #3 before someplace else, or British soldiers tend to be prone to fainting.
Remarkable photographs. A glimpse of history. Some of them are better than the ones from "our days" :)
Either I've seen #3 before someplace else, or British soldiers tend to be prone to fainting.
Remarkable photographs. A glimpse of history. Some of them are better than the ones from "our days" :)
