Photography

Photos of the Week: Plum Blossoms, Iron Fireworks, Carnival Queen

A stranded fuel barge in Puerto Rico, a traditional opera ball in Austria, scenes from Super Bowl LX, images from the Winter Olympics, and much more

By Alan Taylor
A motorcyclist rides in a caravan with a small dog resting on their handlebars. The dog wears a leather vest, bandana, helmet and doggles.
Johan Ordonez / AFP / Getty
A motorcyclist and his dog take part in the Caravana del Zorro (“Caravan of the Fox”) from Guatemala City’s Constitution Square to Esquipulas to see the Black Christ image, on February 7, 2026. Thousands of motorcyclists joined the pilgrimage to see a 16th-century carved black image of Jesus Christ in a basilica in the town of Esquipulas, a 65-year-old tradition that is part of the country’s intangible cultural heritage.
People reach down to greet penguins marching down an aisle. The penguins are dressed in red vests—traditional Chinese costumes.
Zhao Yuhang / China News Service / VCG / Getty
Tourists watch a parade of penguins at Harbin Polar Park as the Spring Festival approaches, on February 10, 2026, in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China.
A composite view of fourteen different skiers in mid-air, making it appear as if they had all jumped at nearly the same moment.
Hector Vivas / Getty
A digital composite view of many runs during the women’s freestyle slopestyle qualification on Day 1 of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno, Italy, on February 7, 2026.
A speed skater looks up while celebrating a win.
Joosep Martinson / Getty
Jutta Leerdam of Team Netherlands celebrates after breaking the Olympic record during the women’s 1,000-meter speed-skating competition on Day 3 of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Speed Skating Stadium, on February 9, 2026.
Two men struggle, shirtless, wrestling in the snow.
Salih Zeki Fazlioglu / Anadolu / Getty
Athletes compete in the 29th Snow Karakucak Wrestling Tournament, held at the Veli village in Artvin, Turkey, on February 7, 2026. A total of 148 athletes gathered to take part in the traditional event.
A Seahawk defensive football player grabs the Patriots quarterback to sack him, crushing a Patriots offensive lineman in between them.
Matt Slocum / AP
The Seattle Seahawks defensive end Rylie Mills (right) pushes past the New England Patriots’ Jared Wilson (center) to sack the Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during Super Bowl LX, on February 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California.
Bad Bunny performs during halftime of Super Bowl 60, standing atop a pickup truck, surrounded by dancers.
Matt Slocum / AP
Bad Bunny performs during halftime of Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026.
A performer poses, wearing a gigantic ornate costume that fills the entire frame.
Andres Gutierrez / Anadolu / Getty
A view of the Gala of the Queens of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, seen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on February 11, 2026. Candidates parade across a stage wearing monumental costumes—elaborate creations of feathers, sequins, and vibrant fabrics—created over months of meticulous work.
People on a stage send bits of molten iron flying from spinning mechanisms, making bright spiral shapes in the air.
Vincent Thian / AP
The Chinese folk tradition of da shuhua, or “molten-iron fireworks,” is performed ahead of Spring Festival celebrations in Beijing, China, on February 9, 2026.
A torchbearer reaches up to ignite a large, ornate cauldron.
Tiziana Fabi / AFP / Getty
The Italian torchbearer Sofia Goggia lights the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 6, 2026.
Four snowboarders make a jump as they race down a snow-covered hill.
Lindsey Wasson / AP
From left: Jonas Chollet of Team France, Nick Baumgartner of Team USA, Lorenzo Sommariva of Team Italy, and Loan Bozzolo of Team France compete during the men’s snowboard-cross finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, on February 12, 2026.
A ski racer falls during a run, their skis flying off into the air.
Hannah McKay / Reuters
Megan Oldham of Team Canada falls during her second run during the women’s freeski slopestyle final at Livigno Snow Park, on February 9, 2026.
A rescue worker hangs beside a covered stretcher that carries an injured athlete, both suspended beneath an unseen helicopter.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Lindsey Vonn of Team USA is airlifted away after a crash during a women’s alpine-ski downhill race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 8, 2026.
A moose lays in a snow-covered forest.
Sergei Gapon / AFP / Getty
A moose lies in a snow-covered forest in Poland’s Kampinoski National Park on February 9, 2026.
Participants in a camel race ride through a field.
Joris Bolomey / AFP / Getty
Participants in a camel race at the International Festival of Saharan Cultures ride through a field in Amdjarass, Ennedi-Est, Chad, on February 8, 2026.
Smoke, dust, and flames rise from an Israeli military strike on a building in Gaza.
Jehad Alshrafi / AP
Smoke, dust, and flames rise from an Israeli military strike on a building in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, the Gaza Strip, on February 6, 2026.
A Palestinian girl poses with her boxing gloves during a training session.
Bashar Taleb / AFP / Getty
A Palestinian girl poses with her boxing gloves during a training session between displacement tents in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 9, 2026. After a long hiatus from training, the women’s boxing team, which consists of 45 boxers ages 8 to 19, has resumed its sessions under the guidance of its coach, Osama Ayoub.
People in the back of a congressional hearing room stand and raise their hands.
Roberto Schmidt / AFP / Getty
Victims of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein react as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (front, right) testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Justice” on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., on February 11, 2026. Representative Pramila Jayapal had asked Epstein survivors in the room to stand up and raise their hand if they had not had the opportunity to meet with the Justice Department.
A luge athlete holds up their hands, showing encouraging messages from their parents written on the palms of their gloves.
Alessandra Tarantino / AP
Sophia Kirkby of Team USA poses during the luge-relay competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 12, 2026.
An athlete lies flat on a luge sled during a run, looking up. Their helmet is adorned with many images of other athletes.
Alessandra Tarantino / AP
Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych starts a men’s skeleton training session in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 9, 2026. Heraskevych was later disqualified by the International Olympic Committee for not removing his helmet, which memorializes fellow Ukrainian athletes killed during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
A passenger on the Mexico City Metro system wears the mask of a Mexican wrestler.
Gerardo Vieyra / NurPhoto / Getty
A passenger on the Mexico City metro system wears a mask of the Mexican wrestler Huracán Ramírez in Mexico City on February 9, 2026.
Participants parade, wearing masks, dressed as traditional the fool figures.
Silas Stein / DPA / Getty
Participants dress as the fool figure Böhringer Hexe during a gathering in Irslingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on February 8, 2026.
A cat walks among many drying incense sticks.
Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana / Reuters
A cat walks among incense sticks that are drying at a home-industry factory, ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which will welcome the Year of the Horse, in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 9, 2026.
Young men and women perform during a dress rehearsal for a traditional Opera Ball.
Lisa Leutner / Reuters
Members of the opening committee perform during a dress rehearsal for the traditional Opera Ball in Vienna, Austria, on February 11, 2026.
A woman walks with a shopping bag through a city street covered by a web of power lines, as the sun sets.
Maxwell Briceno / Reuters
A woman walks with a shopping bag as the sun sets in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 6, 2026.
A horse is led for a swim in an outdoor pool, submerged neck-deep in a narrow channel.
Clodagh Kilcoyne / Reuters
A racehorse named Wendrock is led for a swim in an outdoor pool for water therapy, during a warm-up session at the trainer Gordon Elliott’s yard, in Longwood, Ireland, on February 10, 2026.
A drone view shows waves crashing over a fuel barge after it ran aground near a historic fortress in Puerto Rico.
Ricardo Arduengo / Reuters
A drone view shows waves crashing over a fuel barge after it ran aground near Castillo San Felipe del Morro at the entrance to San Juan Bay, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on February 9, 2026.
An aerial photo shows plum blossoms on a hillside above a village.
Fan Chengzhu / Xinhua / Getty
An aerial photo taken on February 9, 2026, shows plum blossoms above Maihuayu Villlage, in Shexian County, in China’s Anhui province.

About the Author

Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.
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