Nordic wonder and an ancient art – readers’ best photographs
Toma, Hokkaido, Japan
‘For a brief period in May, before the rice planting begins, the vast fields of Toma are filled with water. As the sun dipped, a dramatic shaft of light pierced across these seasonal paddies – capturing a fleeting harmony between ancient Japanese agriculture and the raw power of the landscape.’Photograph: Miyuki Inoue
North Sulawesi, Indonesia
‘A crested black macaque. These macaques are completely unafraid of humans, allowing me to take close-up portraits.’Photograph: James Long
Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
‘Residents of the Guomao community observe the National Day of the Republic of China with decorative flags.’Photograph: Tomasz Sniedziewski
Colorado, US
‘I planted sunflowers in my backyard specifically to attract seed-eating birds. This American goldfinch is enjoying his free lunch with a seed in his beak.’Photograph: Evan C Dribbon
London, UK
‘Autumn is creeping into our north London garden, and one of this summer’s fox kits is now almost fully grown. We’ve named her Selina. She still patrols the paving, investigates anything that might be edible, and keeps a close eye on the humans. She may be losing the look of a kit, but not the attitude.’Photograph: Bob Swindell
Tappenkarsee, Austria
‘The still water of the lake while out hiking in early autumn.’Photograph: Dominic van den Heuvel
Wisconsin, US
‘I was photographing a bee dancing between flowers when I spied a praying mantis doing the same. With a quick snatch, the bee was imprisoned; taken for lunch. I continued photographing in awe until I realised how intruding I was.’Photograph: Christine Donalies
Arizona, US
‘A freight train passing over a small trestle bridge. Shot near Kingman.’Photograph: Paul Martini
New Jersey, US
‘The flower shows a moment of getting separated that captured my attention. A broken beauty.’Photograph: Juan Pena
Old Cairo, Egypt
‘This photo is from the famous “Street of the Tentmakers” in historic Cairo, one of the few places where the ancient art of appliqué (khayamiya) still survives. I found this craftsman, a patriarch of his trade, working in the same spot he has for decades. His focused concentration and weathered hands tell the story of a lifetime dedicated to preserving a cultural heritage.’Photograph: Islam Elhadary
Lago di Bolsena, Italy
‘Taken just after sunset, trying to capture the different colours reflecting from the ripples in the lake water.’Photograph: Alan Swales
Thuringia, Germany
‘My wife and a friend descending the maximally minimalist staircase in the Bauhaus museum in Weimar designed by Heike Hanada.’Photograph: Richard Parnaby
Skaneateles, NY, US
‘On the root ball of an overturned tree grew a mass of honey mushrooms (Armillaria mellea) alongside and atop pincushion moss (Leucobryum glaucum) and its spore capsules. The fungi and the mosses share a symbiotic relationship allowing both to flourish and propagate.’Photograph: Jennifer Robbins Mullin
Paris, France
‘A dozing snail in the morning sun. The grapes were succulent.’Photograph: Thierry DerrienKioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.