Photography

Photos of the Week: Nomad Games, Pushkin Puppet, Lunar Simulation

A 90-year-old bodybuilding champion in Japan, a memorial for King Harald V of Norway, a kite festival in Indonesia, a marching-band performance in Atlanta, and much more.

By Alan Taylor
A person in a samurai costume, wielding two swords, seen in silhouette against a yellowish full moon
Ahsan Mohammed Ahmed Ahmed / Anadolu / Getty
A fencer performs during a full moon in Erbil, Iraq, on August 28, 2026.
A small airplane leaves a winding trail of smoke during an aerobatic performance.
Vadim Ghirda / AP
Frecce Tricolori, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian air force, perform at the Bucharest International Air Show in Romania on August 29, 2026.
A rider on a horse, covered in mud and thick clothing, rides while on fire during a demonstration.
Vyacheslav Oseledko / AFP / Getty
Artists perform during the sixth World Nomad Games in the Kyrchyn Gorge, in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Region, on September 2, 2026.
A firetruck passes on a road beneath a wildfire burning in the hills above, seen at night.
Ethan Swope / AP
A firetruck passes as the Plaskett Fire burns in Big Sur, California, on August 28, 2026.
An abandoned, heavily-damaged cargo ship, listing a bit
Burak Kara / Getty
The heavily damaged Russian-flagged cargo ship Omskiy-107 is seen washed ashore at Alacalı Beach in the Şile district of Istanbul, Turkey, on September 2, 2026. The 108-meter bulk carrier drifted ashore after its crew reportedly abandoned the ship in lifeboats, following a drone attack that struck the vessel in the Black Sea.
A muddy river rushes past badly-damaged houses and a scoured shoreline after a flash flood.
Prabin Ranabhat / AFP / Getty
An aerial view shows a torrent of muddy water surging past houses and through the Trishuli River in the aftermath of flash floods, at Betrawati, in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, on August 29, 2026.
Several people on a riverbank pull a line attached to a basket hanging from a cable stretched across a river, helping people to cross.
Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP
Residents pull a newly installed zipline to help people commute across the Trishuli River in the aftermath of flash floods at Bidur, in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, on September 2, 2026.
Five police officers and one dog dangle on a long cable, hanging beneath a helicopter.
Andreea Alexandru / AP
A Romanian-police special unit, along with Socks the dog, performs a tactical-intervention demonstration on the first day of the Bucharest International Air Show on August 28, 2026.
A person attends to the line on a long chain of kites, each shaped in the profile of a standing deer.
Robertus Pudyanto / Getty
A participant flies kites during the 22nd Surabaya Kite Festival at Pakuwon City in Surabaya, Indonesia, on August 29, 2026.
A heron takes off from a pole.
Michael Probst / AP
A heron takes off from a pole in the Taunus region near Frankfurt, Germany, on September 1, 2026.
Three dogs are posed on a table in a field of flowers.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP / Getty
Dogs are posed on a table in a field of flowers in Yamanakako Hana no Miyako park near Mount Fuji in Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture, on August 30, 2026.
The German band Kraftwerk performs in front of a large video screen that is covered in dozens of blocky numbers.
Tobias Schwarz / AFP / Getty
The German band Kraftwerk performs in front of a screen at the Bauhaus Dessau in Dessau-Roßlau, Germany, on August 28, 2026.
An elevated view of a city square filled with people walking and seated at long tables that are arranged in lines radiating out from the center.
Katharina Kausche / DPA / Getty
A view from the Frauenkirche shows attendees in Dresden’s Neumarkt on August 31, 2026, during the “Dresden is(s)t bunt” banquet (roughly translated: “Dresden is diverse/eats colorfully”).
An aerial view shows the likeness of Dolly Parton carved into a corn maze.
Scott Olson / Getty
An aerial view shows the likeness of Dolly Parton carved into a corn maze at All Seasons Orchard in Woodstock, Illinois, on August 28, 2026. Plans for the tribute to Parton, who died on August 25, had been in the works for nearly three years before being finalized in January. The maze was cut into the corn earlier this summer. A portion of the proceeds will go to Parton’s Imagination Library.
Hundreds of people attend a mountain Mass, standing in an Alpine meadow above a distant lake.
Peter Kneffel / DPA / Getty
Hundreds of people attend a mountain Mass at the Memorial Chapel of Mary, Queen of Peace, on the Kampenwand, near Aschau im Chiemgau, Germany, on August 30, 2026.
Demonstrators bow their heads during a rally at the Lincoln Memorial.
Andrew Harnik / Getty
Demonstrators bow their heads during a “Defend the Vote” rally marking the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington on the National Mall, on August 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
A woman places flowers at a makeshift memorial filled with thousands of bouquets and Norwegian flags.
Odd Andersen / AFP / Getty
A woman places flowers at a makeshift memorial for King Harald V of Norway, who passed away, at the Royal Palace square in Oslo on August 31, 2026.
An older hiker pauses at the summit of a mountain, leaning a hand against a sign that reads 'Katahdin'.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
Dale Sanders, age 91, pauses for a prayer upon completing his hike of the Appalachian Trail at the summit of Mount Katahdin, on August 31, 2026, in Baxter State Park in Piscataquis County, Maine.
Performers walk with a giant puppet figure depicting the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
Dmitri Lovetsky / AP
Actors of ‘Puppet Format’ Theatre walk with a giant figure depicting the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, during a street performance ahead of the school year in St. Petersburg, Russia, on August 29, 2026.
Members of a marching band perform during halftime at a football game.
Paras Griffin / Getty
Members of Howard University’s Showtime Marching Band perform during halftime at the 2026 Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 29, 2026.
A group of young students run on a track, clutching new textbooks.
Meng Delong / VCG / Getty
Students run after receiving new textbooks at an experimental school in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, on August 30, 2026. Schools across multiple regions welcomed students back for the new semester.
A young baseball fan waves his gloved hand, trying to get the attention of a player.
Wally Skalij / AP
A fan tries to get the attention of the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge for an autograph before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, California, on August 31, 2026.
People play a game of soccer on a pitch set up in ankle-deep river water.
Carl Court / Getty
Players from Bourton Rovers First XI play against Bourton Rovers Second XI during the annual Bourton-on-the-Water football match played in the River Windrush in England, on August 31, 2026.
A 90-year-old bodybuilder flexes, arms raised, displaying impressive muscles.
Tomohiro Ohsumi / Getty
Toshisuke Kanazawa, a 90-year-old bodybuilder, competes in the men’s-bodybuilding 85-years-and-over category during the All-Japan Masters Fitness Championship on August 30, 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan. Kanazawa, Japan’s oldest competitive bodybuilder, won the championship, becoming a 19-time bodybuilding champion.
A couple pauses on a parapet, taking a photo, beside a long curving set of crenellations on a historic defensive wall.
Aysegul Kurt / Anadolu / Getty
Restoration work is under way on the walls surrounding Itchan Kala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the historic city of Khiva, Uzbekistan, on September 2, 2026. Teams repair weathered and damaged sections of the defensive walls while taking traditional architectural techniques and materials into consideration to preserve the site's original architectural character.
People stand in a courtyard beneath a sweeping spiral-shaped structure, part of a large new opera house.
VCG / Getty
People visit the Shanghai Grand Opera House during a pre-opening pressure test on August 29, 2026, in Shanghai, China. The venue is preparing for its official opening on October 17.
Several people simulate working on the lunar surface, wearing space suits in a facility designed to look like the surface of the moon.
Ina Fassbender / AFP / Getty
Scientists test spacesuits during a press event at the new LUNA lunar-simulation facility on the campus of the German Aerospace Center, near the European Space Agency’s European Astronaut Center in Cologne-Porz, Germany, on September 3, 2026.
Two people stand and sit at the rim of the Grand Canyon, with a broad canyon vista beyond.
John Locher / AP
People stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona on August 31, 2026.

About the Author

Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.
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