Culture Art & Media 15 of National Geographic's Most Iconic Photographs By Catie Leary Writer and Photographer Georgia State University Catie Leary writes and curates visual stories about science, animals, the arts, travel, and the natural world. our editorial process Catie Leary Updated June 15, 2017 Share Twitter Pinterest Email Culture History Travel Sustainable Fashion Art & Media Holidays Community National Geographic is legendary for its breathtaking photography. Certain photos may remain ingrained in your mind, but why settle for a memory when you can have the real thing? Take a look at these rare prints of the magazine's most revered photographs. (Note: When this post was first written, the images were available for sale through "Boundless: 125 Years of National Geographic Photography," a online-only auction of vintage and contemporary photography. That auction has long since closed, but the photos are still breathtaking!) (Photo: Mauricio Handler/National Geographic) A pink anemone fish, Amphiprion perideraion, peeks out from an anemone in the Fiji Islands. Presented by Christie's, the auction celebrates the legacy of the National Geographic Society during its 125th anniversary year. (Photo: Stephen Alvarez/National Geographic) Ben Caddell descends into the Majlis al Jinn cave in Oman. The public can register bids on the Christie's website from July 19-29. A portions of the proceeds will go toward preserving the archives from which these images were selected. (Photo: Ralph Lee Hopkins/National Geographic) An Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, jumps on an iceberg in Brown Bluff, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica. (Photo: Michael Nichols/National Geographic) Jou Jou, a captive chimpanzee, reaches out its hand to Dr. Jane Goodall at the Brazzaville Zoo in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. (Photo: Frans Lanting/National Geographic) Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in flight in Michoacan, Mexico. (Photo: Herbert G. Ponting/National Geographic) The sailing ship Terra Nova is framed by an ice grotto in Antarctica. (Photo: Mike Theiss/National Geographic) Aerial of large crowd at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo: Beckwith, N.E./National Geographic) Loggers and the giant Mark Twain redwood, which was cut down in 1892 in California. A remote camera captures a snow leopard in the falling snow at Hemis National Park in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India. (Photo: Annie Griffiths/National Geographic) Cambodian villagers celebrate as they get a fresh water well for the first time. (Photo: James L. Stanfield/National Geographic) The replica Vickers Vimy aircraft circles the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt during its journey to re-create the original London-to-Australia flight of 1919. (Photo: Norbert Rosing/National Geographic) A bison in steam during winter at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. (Photo: Jim Richardson/National Geographic) Lightning bugs and wild alfalfa blanket a prairie in Strong City, Kan. (Photo: Joel Sartore/National Geographic) A grizzly bear opens wide for a mouthful of salmon at Brook Falls in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve. Prayer flags fly over the village of Khunde, Nepal to mourn Sir Edmund Hillary's family killed in a plane crash.