Photo and film credits

What you are looking at

• Photographs show the place or the activity. Unless a caption names the person, a photograph on a story is of where it happened or of the activity itself. It is not a picture of the person we wrote about, and the caption says what it shows.
• Used under an open licence. Each one comes from Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons or public-domain licence that allows reuse. We name the photographer and the licence under the picture and again here.
• Resized, not altered. We make each photograph smaller so the page loads quickly. We do not crop the file, retouch it or draw on it. On screen, the frame may trim the edges; the link below each entry goes to the whole picture.
• No AI-generated photographs. We do not make or use AI-generated pictures of people or places on this site. Short videos for social media may use clearly stylised AI illustration, as our editorial policy explains.
• Illustrations are ours. Where a story has no photograph, the picture is an illustration drawn by the site.
• Films belong to their makers. A film on a story page plays from YouTube, from the channel of the broadcaster or organisation that made it. We do not copy, clip or re-upload anyone's film. If its owner takes it down, it disappears from our page too.
• No endorsement. A photographer, broadcaster or anyone pictured has no connection with this site and has not endorsed it.

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Photographs

• From Topsham Quay and back again, Steve James ran a marathon a day around Britain
  Topsham Quay on the River Exe in Devon, where Steve James started and finished his run around Britain. The person far off on the quay is not Steve James. Photo by Derek Harper, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Geoff Collis traded the flight deck for a bakery bench in Melbourne's north-east
  Loaves on the shelves of a bakery in Eskişehir, Turkey. The picture is not of the bakery where Geoff Collis works. Photo by Zeynel Cebeci, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• A name in charcoal, dated 1902, was waiting on the wall when Hiram Bingham reached Machu Picchu
  The Temple of the Three Windows at Machu Picchu, in Hiram Bingham's first photograph of the site, July 1911. Photo by Hiram Bingham III, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• No one left behind on the Expresso trail: fifteen years of Tuesday rides with Girls Outside
  Part of Colorado's Roaring Fork Valley, between Aspen Airport and Woody Creek, looking down the valley in October 2025. Photo by Jeffrey Beall, licensed CC BY 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• A well that was never finished: how farmers near Xi'an found the Terracotta Army
  Terracotta warriors standing in Pit 1 near Xi'an, photographed in 2011. Photo by Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D., licensed CC0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Six pairs of shoes and seven months on the Pacific Crest Trail took Nancy Zelick from Mexico to Canada
  The Pacific Crest Trail below Ives Peak and the Cispus River basin in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington, in 2013. The picture is not of Nancy Zelick. Photo by U.S. Forest Service- Pacific Northwest Region, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Over his shoulder on a hot slope at Hadar, Donald Johanson saw the first bone of Lucy
  A replica of Lucy's bones laid out in a case at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, where the original fossils are kept. Photo by Sailko, licensed CC BY 3.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Satoshi Tomokiyo's list of unbroken ciphers is getting shorter, and AI is the reason
  Pages of a message in the pigpen cipher, written for a student maths project and photographed in 2008. It is not one of the ciphers on Tomokiyo's list. Photo by Andie from Nanaimo, Canada, licensed CC BY 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Told to get back to blowing up fuel tanks, David Warren built the black box anyway
  A Minifon 221-2 portable wire recorder from 1958, shown at the CBC Museum beside a box of recording wire. Warren saw an earlier Minifon at a trade fair. Photo by Marcin Wichary from San Francisco, U.S.A., licensed CC BY 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Dave Bell rowed from Peru to Kenya and did not set foot on land for 327 days
  A beach at Kilifi, on the Kenyan coast. Dave Bell came ashore at Kilifi on 2 October 2026. Photo by Arankaka, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Watching a swimmer from an exercise bike led Sola Alegbe from a lifelong fear of water to teaching it
  Lane ropes stretched across an indoor pool in Edmonton, Canada, before a swimming meet. It is not a pool from the story. Photo by Xander from Yellowknife, NT, Canada, licensed CC BY 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Through a hole on a hill above Montignac, four friends found the painted cave of Lascaux
  A painted aurochs head in Lascaux IV, the complete replica of the cave at Montignac-Lascaux, photographed in 2024. Photo by Renhour48, licensed CC0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Four sightings in 800 miles: how Frank Worsley steered the James Caird to South Georgia
  The James Caird on display at Dulwich College, south London. Photo by Rumping, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Tram lines in the fog gave Percy Shaw the idea for the cat's eye
  A roadside display in honour of Percy Shaw at Midgley, West Yorkshire, photographed in 2018. Photo by Humphrey Bolton, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• A peanut bar, a bag of popcorn and Percy Spencer: the slower truth about the microwave oven
  An Amana Radarange microwave oven, a later model of the countertop ovens Amana first sold for homes in 1967. Photo by TaurusEmerald, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• “Education has no expiration”: Virginia Ordaz and her mother finished their degrees in the same class
  Dolores Huerta Plaza on the main campus of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California, photographed in 2015. Photo by BronzeAnubis, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• The BBC producer who put a train driver's words on the news, then went to train driver school
  The driver's cab of a British Rail Class 317 electric train, photographed in 2007. It is not the train in the story. Photo by Matthew Black from London, UK, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Toasters, fans and a red vacuum: the Cincinnati volunteers who have mended nearly 1,400 cast-offs
  Hands repairing a toy cat at a Repair Café in Germany in 2020. The picture is not of the Cincinnati Tinker Team. Photo by WeltveraenderereV, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Joanne Currie and Sue Smith raced across the Atlantic to a piper's welcome in Oban
  Oban harbour at dawn, photographed in 2015. Photo by Andy Campbell, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• In a Tokyo museum, the tour guide is a suitcase Chieko Asakawa dreamed up at an airport
  Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, photographed in 2006. Photo by Jason Ruck, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Ron Wallace grew the world's heaviest pumpkin in his first season under glass
  Three contestant pumpkins at a weigh-off in Ohio in 2009. They are not Ron Wallace's pumpkins. Photo by David.politzer, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Pub to pub from John o'Groats to Land's End: Gary McKee's 900-mile run for hospitality workers
  The signpost at Land's End, Cornwall, photographed in 2015. Photo by Richard Cooke, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Stargazing for beginners: what to see, what to bring and where to look through a telescope
  Searching the night sky through a telescope. Photo by Annatsach, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Trevor Barry's backyard telescope in Broken Hill caught a ten-sided wave on Saturn
  Saturn and its main rings, seen from high above by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in October 2013, in natural colour. Photo by NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / Cornell, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• After 140.6 miles on his home course, José Graca reached the world championship podium by 19 seconds
  Almost 2,000 triathletes begin the 2.4-mile swim at the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, in 2005. The picture is not of José Graca. Photo by U.S. Navy photo by Chief Journalist Deborah Carson, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Sixty paper hats on a table in Bridlington: David Smith and the shape mathematicians had sought for decades
  Hat tiles cut out and fitted together on a table, made by a Wikimedia contributor in 2023. Photo by Aschroet, licensed CC0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• The eleventh time Lhakpa Sherpa climbed Everest, she went as a guide
  Mount Everest seen from Kala Patthar, Nepal, in 2023. Photo by Bijay Chaurasia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• 'I wasn't coming up for air': Barbara O'Donnell left IT management to lead walkers into the Comeraghs
  A lake in the Comeragh Mountains, County Waterford, in 2012. Photo by Mik Herman, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Bored of his usual route, Nigel Beecroft ran every street in Birmingham instead
  Shops and a pub on Harborne High Street, Birmingham, in 2021. The picture is not of Nigel Beecroft. Photo by Paul Collins, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Birdwatching for beginners: what you need, where to go and how to make it count
  Inside a birdwatching hide at Leighton Moss RSPB reserve, Lancashire, in 2009. Photo by Jonathan Hutchins, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• The 10,000th bird was an orange-tufted spiderhunter, and Peter Kaestner got there first
  The orange-tufted spiderhunter, the 10,000th species on his list, in a plate by the bird artist John Gerrard Keulemans. Illustration by John Gerrard Keulemans, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Cath Bowie logs on from Aberdeen, and 24,000 people come to watch her play Fortnite
  Union Street, Aberdeen. Photo by Colin Smith, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Three deserts, a full Lake Eyre and 6,300 km: Craig Johnston's record ride across Australia
  The Eyre Highway on the Nullarbor Plain, South Australia. Photo by Bahnfrend, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Every day in the emergency room, Dr Carl Allamby is back in his auto shop
  Cleveland, Ohio, before sunrise, seen from Edgewater Park. Photo by Erik Drost, licensed CC BY 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Karl Bushby set out from Chile on foot in 1998, and now only the Channel is in the way
  The white cliffs of England, seen across the Channel from Cap Blanc-Nez on the French coast. Photo by Dguendel, licensed CC BY 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• From the Golden Gate to the Farallon Islands: Amy Appelhans Gubser's 17 hours in open ocean
  Southeast Farallon Island in 2014, with the old lighthouse on its summit. Photo by Frank Schulenburg, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• From a Morecambe tearoom to the bus shelters: Margaret Colling's campaign to get people talking about AI
  The promenade at Morecambe, Lancashire. Photo by Stephen McKay, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Jeremy Lockwood, retired family doctor, found three new dinosaurs in museum drawers
  Dinosaur Isle, the museum at Sandown on the Isle of Wight where many of the bones he studied are kept. Photo by Editor5807, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Natalie Brock's quarter-acre flower farm now pays the family's bills
  Vineyards at Renmark in the Riverland, South Australia. Photo by Feral Arts, licensed CC BY 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Martine Barons, three-time world powerlifting champion, started with a barbell in lockdown
  Hands on the bar before a lift. The picture is not of Martine Barons. Photo by U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Clayton Lenhardt, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Mike Barnes ran three marathons in a fortnight, each one for his daughter Laura
  The lane at Goosnargh Mill, in Mike Barnes's home village in Lancashire. Photo by Ian Greig, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Betty Brussel broke three swimming world records before lunch
  A competition pool set up for a meet in Edmonton, Alberta. It is not the pool in the story. Photo by Xander from Yellowknife, NT, Canada, licensed CC BY 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Natalie Grabow learned to swim as an adult, then finished the Ironman World Championship
  The swim start of the Ironman World Championship at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, photographed in 2005. Photo by U.S. Navy photo by Chief Journalist Deborah Carson, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Marie Fowler went back to the classroom and came out with a doctorate
  Founders Library at Howard University in Washington, DC. Photo by Derek E. Morton, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Ravi Sood trained for knee surgery and came away with a national powerlifting record
  Plates going on the bar at a powerlifting competition. Photo by U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Haiden Morris, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Maurice Newman has skated the Berlin Marathon 16 times and two 24-hour races at Le Mans
  The main field in the Berlin Inline Marathon, 2009. The picture shows the race, not Maurice Newman. Photo by Dirk Ingo Franke, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Katie Pahlow kept a surfboard in the shed for 43 years, then learned to ride it
  Split Point at Aireys Inlet, on the coast of Victoria, Australia. Photo by DXR, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• The Dallas tap dancer who found his reason to get up in the morning
  A pair of tap shoes. Photo by Steppdans, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.

On activity pages

• Climb Ben Nevis
  Ben Nevis from the track up from Glen Nevis, 2023. Photo by Peter S, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Climb Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)
  The view from near the summit of Yr Wyddfa towards Llyn Llydaw, with the Crib Goch ridge on the left, 2019. Photo by Julian Herzog ( Website ), licensed CC BY 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Climb Scafell Pike
  Scafell Pike, 2012. Photo by Michael Graham, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike to the top of Half Dome
  Half Dome seen from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, 2013. Photo by Diliff, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike to the summit of Mount Whitney
  The foot of the switchbacks on the Mount Whitney Trail, beside High Camp, 2007. Photo by Justin Johnsen ( talk · contribs ), licensed CC BY 3.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike up Mount Washington, New Hampshire
  The view north from the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 2016. Photo by Famartin, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Walk the West Highland Way
  The West Highland Way crossing Rannoch Moor, 2016. Photo by Chris Heaton, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks
  Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales, seen from the north, with Pen-y-ghent in the distance, 2015. Photo by Kreuzschnabel, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike below the rim of the Grand Canyon
  Roughly the first two miles of the Bright Angel Trail, seen from First Trailview Overlook, 2009. Photo by Grand Canyon National Park, in the public domain. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Climb to the crater rim of Mount St. Helens
  Looking north from near the summit of Mount St. Helens to the lava dome in the crater, July 2014. Photo by Moxfyre, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Walk Hadrian's Wall Path
  Hadrian's Wall at Cawfields, 2012. Photo by Darrin Antrobus, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Walk the clifftops above the Giant's Causeway
  Basalt columns at the Giant's Causeway, 2023. Photo by thejackrustles, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike Angels Landing in Zion
  Angels Landing and the Great White Throne in Zion National Park, 2012. Photo by Óðinn, licensed CC BY-SA 2.5 ca. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Walk the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
  The Emerald Lakes seen from Red Crater on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, 2018. Photo by Du Hugin Skulblaka, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Climb Kilimanjaro
  Kibo, Kilimanjaro's highest summit, above cloud and grassland. Photo by Ray in Manila, licensed CC BY 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike the W Trek in Torres del Paine
  Las Torres, the towers of Torres del Paine, Patagonia, 2018. Photo by Aakerueh, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Walk the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail in Japan
  The Nakahechi route of the Kumano Kodo between Hosshinmon-oji and Kumano Hongu Taisha, 2014. Photo by Nekosuki, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
  Above the Wiñay Wayna ruins on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, 2016. Photo by apardavila, licensed CC BY 2.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Walk a section of the Larapinta Trail in Australia
  Looking south from Reveal Saddle on section 4 of the Larapinta Trail, 2021. Photo by Kattastroffee1976, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) in Norway
  A panorama of Lysefjord, with Preikestolen on the right, 2007. Photo by Carsten Steger, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.
• Hike to the Lake Agnes teahouse above Lake Louise
  The Lake Agnes Tea House above Lake Louise, Banff National Park, 2007. Photo by qwesy qwesy, licensed CC BY 3.0. The original on Wikimedia Commons.

Films on story pages

• The 10,000th bird was an orange-tufted spiderhunter, and Peter Kaestner got there first
  “10,000 Birds and (Still) Counting: One Man's Global Checklist”, Denver Field Ornithologists. Watch it on YouTube.
• Cath Bowie logs on from Aberdeen, and 24,000 people come to watch her play Fortnite
  “OLDEST Female Fortnite Streamer | Guinness World Records”, Guinness World Records. Watch it on YouTube.
• Every day in the emergency room, Dr Carl Allamby is back in his auto shop
  “East Cleveland man becomes doctor after 25 years of owning his own auto repair business”, News 5 Cleveland. Watch it on YouTube.
• Karl Bushby set out from Chile on foot in 1998, and now only the Channel is in the way
  “British globe trekker tackles final leg of 27-year journey | REUTERS”, Reuters. Watch it on YouTube.
• From the Golden Gate to the Farallon Islands: Amy Appelhans Gubser's 17 hours in open ocean
  “Pacifica woman becomes first to swim to Farallon Islands from Golden Gate Bridge”, KPIX | CBS News Bay Area. Watch it on YouTube.
• Jeremy Lockwood, retired family doctor, found three new dinosaurs in museum drawers
  “Retired GP discovers new species of dinosaur in the UK | ABC News”, ABC News (Australia). Watch it on YouTube.
• Betty Brussel broke three swimming world records before lunch
  “99-year-old swimmer making waves on the competition circuit has no plans to slow down”, CBC British Columbia. Watch it on YouTube.
• Natalie Grabow learned to swim as an adult, then finished the Ironman World Championship
  “Natalie Grabow, 80, becomes oldest woman to finish Ironman World Championship”, NewsNation. Watch it on YouTube.
• Marie Fowler went back to the classroom and came out with a doctorate
  “At 83, a woman becomes Howard University's oldest doctoral graduate”, ABC 7 News - WJLA. Watch it on YouTube.
• Ravi Sood trained for knee surgery and came away with a national powerlifting record
  “The 82-year-old headed to the powerlifting world championships | ABC NEWS”, ABC News (Australia). Watch it on YouTube.
• The Dallas tap dancer who found his reason to get up in the morning
  “83-year-old man turns to tap dance to stay fit and healthy”, CBS TEXAS. Watch it on YouTube.

More films are on the videos page.