When we get preoccupied with everyday life, we might start to overlook just how colorful and surprising the world around us can be. So every once in a while, it’s nice to step back and remind ourselves that there is much more to see and experience.

We collected a bunch of photos that capture some of those extraordinary things that stop you in your tracks — from mesmerizing natural phenomena to impressive human creations — and hope that you will be able to take it all in. Enjoy the journey!

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#1 Photographer Shaaz Jung Captured A Rare And Enchanting Moment: An Elephant, Deep Within The Mist-Shrouded Forest, Stood In Quiet Communion With A Tiny Bird Perched On His Tusk

#2 This Microclimate In An Old Bottle

Witnessing things that move us — even if it’s ‘just’ a wild animal crossing our backyard or a star-studded sky — can have quite the effect on us.

“Awe is my reminder that beneath the ordinary lies the infinite,” says neuroscientist Hari Srinivasan, who is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Vanderbilt University.

These moments might feel fleeting, but a 2023 Harvard study found that just 15 minutes in nature can improve mental health, underscoring how quickly awe can soothe stress and alter our physiology.

Scientists are now tracing how this elusive emotion moves through the nervous system and why it’s so powerful.

#3 After 3 Years Of Wait, Calculations And Precise Astronomical Timing, Leonardo Sens Captured This Photo

#4 Don’t Be Fooled, You See Leaves, Not 1,000 Green Ring-Necked Parakeets In London

#5 Murmurations, Photos By Søren Solkær

Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, has been studying how awe reshapes the mind for decades.

He frames awe as more than stress relief. According to the the pscyhologist, it nudges us into what some call “tend-and-befriend,” a mode where attention turns outward toward kindness, belonging, and purpose.

#6 Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees, Oahu, Hawaii

#7 New Zealand Photographer Takes Stunning Photos Of Tiny Mushrooms

#8 I Came In My Kitchen To Find A Lizard Using A Sponge As A Raft In The Sink. I Live In New Mexico

#9 4 Years Ago I Did This Drawing Called I Still Hear Voices. It Took Me 230 Hours And Has 1000s Of Faces

Some findings show that awe may lower cortisol and reduce inflammation.

A 2015 study of 94 undergraduates discovered that students who reported more frequent awe showed significantly lower circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a biomarker of inflammation.

Awe was the biggest predictor among positive emotions, even after controlling for health and personality factors.

#10 The Sun Finally Came Out, So I Painted The Fall Colors At A Local Pond

#11 Photographer Cam Whitnall Shows Photos “What I See vs. What I Take”

#12 The Way The Light Hits This Spiderweb Makes It Look Like A Cd-Rom

#13 A Hippo Swam Directly To Me And Stared At Me In The Zoo

Brain scans detect similar signs in the mind. In 2019, researchers at the University of Amsterdam asked 32 healthy adults to watch awe-inspiring, positive, and neutral videos while inside an fMRI machine.

During the awe clips, activity in the brain’s default mode network (the system connected to focused thinking) dropped noticeably compared with neutral clips.

This decrease helps explain why awe can feel transcendent: it shifts attention away from our usual inward thoughts and toward a wider view of the world around us.

#14 The Most Impressive Mountain I’ve Ever Seen, Bokty Mountain, Kazakhstan

#15 From My Backyard In AZ I Captured The Dolphin Head Nebula. This Is My Favorite Image To Date

#16 The River By Me Flooded, Then Froze, Then The Water Receded, Leaving These Hovering Ice Shelves On The Trees

#17 This Is The Green Birdflower Native To Australia And Its Flowers Are Shaped Like Humming Birds

Awe even bends our perception of time. In a 2012 Psychological Science study, participants who experienced awe felt time expand, which left them less impatient, more generous, and more satisfied with life.

So hopefully, the people who took the pictures on this list embraced the moment before photographing it. And if you ever find yourself in a similar position, take a second to pause and appreciate it before reaching for your camera.

#18 A German Company That Sells Cleaning Equipment Used Its Pressure Washers To Create A Giant Image Of Godzilla On The Iwaya Kawauchi Dam In Saga Prefecture (Japan)

#19 This Awesome Cicada I Found Tonight! (This Isn’t Edited At All)

#20 This Giant Maine [private part] I Got To Hold At Work Today. He Is Super Sweet! The Best Boy! I Have Permission From His Owner To Share

#21 This Photo Of A Front My Mom Sent Me, Husdon River NY

#22 Double Rainbow With Lightning Picture I Just Took

#23 Photographer Alejandro Cartagena Photographed Construction Workers Commuting To Their Job Sites In The Backs Of Pickup Trucks On A Highway In Monterrey

Shot from a pedestrian bridge each morning, ‘Carpoolers’ captures a routine shaped by limited public transport and economic reality. Scenes that are common, but rarely noticed. The series quietly reflects on suburban sprawl and how working-class labor often goes unseen in cities driven by status and consumption.

#24 I Watched This Guy Fight Off A Bird 10 Times His Size. This Was His Victory Pose For A Good 10+ Minutes As The Bird Perched On A Power Line, Defeated

#25 Rose Petal Bubble Shell (Hydatina Physis) Are Scientifically The Cutest Snails

#26 The Girth Of This Redwood

#27 Littlest Snail Friend While Raspberry Picking

#28 My Son Inherited My Joined Together Toes

#29 Poor Spider Got Stuck In It And Couldn’t Climb The Smooth Surface. It Made Its Way To The Top To Escape Until Its Silk Ran Out And Couldn’t Anymore

#30 Found Some Translucent Flowers This Morning At Work

#31 Discarded Dough Doesn’t Stop Rising. If There’s Enough Warmth And Moisture, The Yeast Keeps Fermenting. Even In The Dumpster

#32 This Shadow On The Fresh Snow From An LED Street Lamp

#33 Snow Naturally Formed This Garland Situation On My Parents Deck. It’s Holding That Shape On Its Own

#34 Lake Hillier, Australia

#35 Snow Covered Net Roof Of The Aviary In The Zoo

#36 The Lobby Of A Hotel I Went To

#37 Cuttlefish, The Alien Of The Ocean

#38 This Grocery Store Had The Biggest Carrots I’ve Ever Seen

#39 After Having A Dog For 6 Years, We Found Out She Had (Almost) No Brain

#40 An X-Ray Of A Person Who Has 3 Full Sets Of Teeth

#41 A Photographer Was Struck By Lightning In Virginia

#42 Just Asked My Girlfriend To Marry Me 55 Feet Below The Sea

#43 In A Sea Of White Tulips One Has Some Red On It

#44 This Mutant Lemon I Picked From My Tree

#45 Couple Of Ladybugs Hanging Out On A Feather In Some Water

#46 Saw The North Sentinel Island While On The Return Flight From Port Blair, South Andaman

#47 Possibly The Most Incredible Place I Have Ever Seen. Bolivia, Salar De Uyuni

51 Photos That Show Just How Strange Everyday Life Can Be