Lookback on May

The Unsplash library welcomed an astounding addition of 94,101 visuals this past month. From a forest in Scotland to the pyramids in Egypt — here are 20 extraordinary submissions from the month of May.

“My wife and I were traveling through the Canadian border and wanted to hit one of the national parks along our way up. We found Waterton Lakes National Park and decided to make a photoshoot out of it. The water there was so calm and reflective I had to use it as the foreground for the picture. My wife decided to add movement to the photo by kicking up the water with her feet.” - Josh Hild 🇺🇸

“it's was a rainy and cold couple of days in Turkey. We were visiting Cappadocia just for two nights, and we were not too hopeful to see the famous hot air balloons. But we got super lucky! On the first morning of our stay, the weather was clear! Incredible experience having your morning coffee while balloons are rising at sunrise! Definitely worth waking up at 6 am!” - Lisha Riabinina 🇺🇸

“Here's just a sample of some photos that goes behind the scenes with our team, and our shoot with Berg Performance in Leadville, CO.” - David Glessner Works 🇺🇸

“Inspiration plays a huge role in my creative process. I created this render after falling in love with Chris Labrooy's art. And with a great model made by Szymon Kubicki, I could quickly express my vision without struggling with the technical aspects of 3D modeling. I hope it'll inspire and motivate others to create.” - Kajetan Daroch 🇵🇱

“Actually I took this shot at Kolkata during the Holi festival this year. Holi is the most colorful festival in all over India. In this festival people of every religion celebrate their love, joy and happiness with so many colors. In Kolkata there is a place called Baro Bazar, where people celebrate Holi not only by colors but also by doing some cultural activities. People come from various parts of Kolkata to see this traditional Holi celebration and to feel the charm of the festival. I used to visit every year to see these colorful events and to capture these joyful moments.” - Dibakar Roy 🇮🇳

“Being from Florida originally we never had gorgeous flower fields, until I moved up north. Poppies were some I've been wanting to shoot in for a long time and actively searched for, for 3 years. One day going into the city I saw them in the median and knew I was returning the next day for a session and so I found my long red dress and matched Latte, the cat with me and we shot some selfies in the median. I try to go to every flower farm field in the spring if I can make it as they're always so astounding.”- Spike Summers 🇺🇸

“The Eastern Veil Nebula in the constellation of Cygnus.” - Scott Lord 🇺🇸

“I took this image at the Gorgany Mountains. It's a mountain chain in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. It was my solo night hiking to Yavirnyk-Gorgan mountain.I was shooting the whole night and almost didn’t sleep, it was incredible. The starry sky was incredible, it’s such a great memory for me.” - Ivan Maljarenko 🇺🇦

"A remarkable moment in Cabo San Lucas, MX last Christmas. I was visiting Cabo last winter with friends and family. On our ride back from a long day sight seeing, In the turquoise waters of Mexico's coastal paradise, a mesmerizing sight, a magnificent whale emerged from the depths, defying gravity with its sheer size and grace. Against the backdrop of golden sun rays this moment seemed surreal. A true core memory." - Nima Sarram 🇺🇸

"For this 3D render, my objective was to introduce an exotic, otherworldly aesthetic into the Unsplash+ library and explore beyond the conventional boundaries." - Mo Eid 🇦🇪

“An outstanding sunset in the Lofotens. This kayaking experience with my dad allowed for a new perspective on an already famous and well photographed location. This photo is a call for adventure. Amazing memory” - Thomas de Luze 🇫🇷

“Is mankind alone in the universe? Or are there somewhere other intelligent beings looking up into their night sky from very different worlds and asking the same kind of question?” - Naranbayar Sukhbaatar 🇲🇳

"This photo was taken in the Taittinger cellar in the region of Champagne, France, where I'm originally from.  These caves were initially chalk pits used to build the city of Reims during the 4th Century, and were also used during WWI to survive the war and converted into a school.  They are surprisingly deep and full of history. I thought this picture of the staircase was giving an aesthetically pleasing idea of the scale and textures of this unique location." - Yohan Marion 🇫🇷🇺🇸

"Ballochbuie Forest is an ancient Caledonian Pine Forest in Scotland and owned by the Royal family, as its part of Balmoral estate. Some of the trees in this forest are perhaps a few hundred years old. This forest has a special energy and this was even more pronounced in the morning mist. It was around 6am while i was out walking one morning and the day looked like is was going to be warm and sunny and the low-lying morning mist in the forest was just eerily beautiful. As i walked, the wooden hut came into view and it actually had a stag standing beside it, so i had to try and get my camera out of my bag. It was one of those shots, you wish you had got, but by the time i had my camera out, the stag had moved away and the shot will only exist in my memory. I love the way the road winds past the hut and disappears into the misty forest.” - Martin Bennie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

“I took this shot in a trip in the Merzouga desert, in Morocco. Saw this berber walking on the dunes, and I started imagining this man, banished from his own tribe, lost in the desert.” - John Moeses Bauan 🇮🇹

“This photo of my lovely fiancé wearing a stunning medieval dress by linennaive  was shot at Gwrych Castle on our trip to Wales UK. This was just one of many breathtaking castles we explored on our trip. I couldn’t have asked for better lighting.” -  Lance Reis 🇺🇸

“This picture was taken with my drone at a 3-day bike festival where people participate in a daily bike ride through the beautiful nature that the Ardennes have to offer. It was the second year of doing this with my friends and we wanted to carry on with the tradition we started last year: posing with our bikes, but without clothes. After our ride, I saw that the trees casted their shadow on the street. That gave me the idea to lay down on the road. This created a unique perspective and with this picture, our tradition continues!” - Eduard Delputte 🇧🇪

"In fact, these almost withered tulips in the city park are white in the original. I adjusted the color a little, and they became almost magical." - Anna Zakharova 🇷🇺

"Capturing the Pyramids of Giza is an experience that takes your breath away. Being there in person, feeling the grandeur of the pyramids and the history they hold, it's something no photograph can truly convey. The journey to get this shot, the sandy miles traversed, it's all worth it when you see the pyramids standing tall against the horizon." - Hunter So 🇺🇸

“This is a picture of Juan Guillermo Soler, he's a recognized Dj of Bogotá, Colombia. I decided to shoot him because I really admire his style. Pictures were taken in Terracota, a new bar in Bogotá which has become famous because of the great djs and amazing party they are performing. Terracota is also the name of a color ( in English Terracotta ) that's why we also decided to play with the color palette to have the dj wearing the same color as the walls in the place that has it's name :)” -  Pablo Merchán 🇨🇴

See you in a month when we take a look back on June! 👋 (Psst, want to make the next round-up? Include a description with your submission.)