Lookback on March

March brought an astounding addition of 100,341 visuals — which helped us hit a massive milestone: 6 million images in the Unsplash library. 🎉

We've handpicked 20 exceptional submissions, each with a captivating story waiting to be told.

"During a short trip to Oahu, my friends and I attempted a very steep hike on the North-East shoreline. Throughout the entire morning, the mountain was filled with a thick fog and rain, making the path very muddy and sometimes dangerous. Finally, the sun rose and melted all the rain clouds causing an enormous rainbow right above our heads. This photo is 3 photos stitched together as a panorama, as the rainbow was so large it was impossible to fit in a single shot! If you look closely you can see us right in the center of the rocks below the rainbow." — Spenser Sembrat 🇺🇸

“The art of making soya beans sauce. Well hidden in between old Vietnamese style houses, a few miles away from the heart of Hanoi.” — Yannick Apollon 🇹🇭

“With this image, I wanted to show a visual peace. Both geometric and chromatic.The square shapes of the building in pastel color with the magic of nature with that explosive green. It is interesting how everything combines with the perfect blue of the sky.” — Juan Antonio Domenech 🇪🇸

“A friend of mine gave me the diffusion panel from a deconstructed Mac monitor because he thought I may be able to incorporate it into one of my portrait sessions. The panel bends light, allowing me to see both sides of my subject’s face at the same time. I rely on the use of practical effects in my photography because the resulting images have a tactility and realness to them, regardless of how surreal they look.” — Nick Fancher 🇺🇸

“As I walked the streets in Munich, my eyes caught the glow of a soft light reflecting off a newspaper through the frosted pane. The glass held an anonymity, a silent witness to countless moments that left room for countless interpretations. It's the small things in life that need to be noticed and appreciated.” — Jens Riesenberg 🇩🇪

“Reflecting on Work (2009) Caption A close-up of Astronaut John Grunsfeld shows the reflection of Astronaut Andrew Feustel, perched on the robotic arm and taking the photo. The pair teamed together on three of the five spacewalks during Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009. Credits NASA” — NASA Hubble Space Telescope 🪐

“Last May, amidst the vibrant hues of Key West's sunset, I embarked on a journey that marked not just the celebration of my birthday, but also the beginning of a new chapter in my academic pursuit as a Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering. It was a moment of awe, of profound gratitude for life's beauty, prompting me to reignite my passion for capturing moments through the lens. As my husband and I sailed on one of Key West's famed sunset cruise boats, we were enveloped in the golden glow of the setting sun and serenity surrounded us. Amidst this tranquillity, a scene unfolded before me, begging to be captured. Another boat, gracefully navigating the waters ahead of us, created a perfect leading line within the frame of my camera. Seizing the opportunity, I captured the essence of that moment, freezing it in time.

Yet, upon reflection during post-processing, I realized that the sky, though beautiful, didn't quite complement the composition I envisioned. To enhance it, I replaced the sky with a more dramatic sunset, infusing the photograph with an ethereal quality that transports you to that precise moment. Now, as you gaze upon the final image before you, may it evoke the same sense of wonder and gratitude that permeated that evening in Key West." — Catia Dombaxe 🇦🇴

“I took this shot because the posture of the flamingo and the contrast between light and shadow were amazing. This photo was taken at Nasu Animal Kingdom (那須どうぶつ王国 in Japanese), a zoo in Japan, at a moment when the sunlight was pouring through the skylight of the roof, onto flamingos resting in an area designed to mimic tropical waterside.” — Sora Sagano 🇯🇵

“The abstract neon lines in my image represent endless shapes intertwining and merging into each other, creating a sense of movement and dynamism. This image is inspired by science fiction and abstract art” — Eugene Golovesov 🇷🇺

“This is straight out of a book. Camels on the beach during sunset time. Magical”  —  Lucjano Kuci 🇬🇧

“We headed to Moose Lake, hoping to catch a glimpse of a moose, given the lake's name. Although we didn't spot any moose, the view of the lake and the mountains at golden hour was simply breathtaking.” — Agnieszka Stankiewicz 🇦🇪

“While creating spring landscapes, I was aiming for an unbelievable scene. Suddenly, the movie Interstellar inspired me, particularly the circular world depicted there. This sparked an idea for a circular landscape. Through this artwork, I learned that inspiration can come from anywhere. We need to be open to noticing it.” — Jigar Panchal 🇮🇳

“I created this styled wedding shoot with wedding planner Brittany Bloome and florists (and power couple) Brittany and Doug of The Flowerslinger. The main focus of the shoot was to emphasize colors as one of the main wedding photography trends of 2024. We used two lights for this setup. One right above the lens and another one coming in from the right.” — Kari Bjorn 🇮🇸

"I was just surfing there myself earlier that day. When I saw the sun was going to set in the perfect direction, I immediately grabbed my camera and went to the beach, trying to capture surfers in this beautiful backlighting.” — Joshua Kettle 🇩🇪

“A personal project was long overdue and when I saw these flowers I knew I needed to create something with them. I only had a few flowers to work with so to get more out of them I made a composite.  I hope to experiment more with projects like this, it was enjoyable to do.” — Micheile Henderson 🇳🇱

“Every time I do a 3D render, it is a journey into a new world for me, and the creation of this image is no exception. I wanted to create an abstraction, a sense of fluidity, beauty and delicacy, and capture what I was feeling at the moment I was creating this render.”— Eveling Salazar 🇵🇪

“A dramatic group of trees silhouetted against a background of mountains and star trails. Taken in the Fanal forest on the island of Madeira.” — Colin Watts 🇬🇧

“I made this project in Blender 3.6, a 3D rendering application. I wanted it to look like dark vegetation in muted green and brown colours. The structure consists of seven layers of ring-shaped fabric distorted by the force of turbulence and vortex. The material is basic velvet material with a very low sigma parameter, so the geometry is only partially visible." — Pawel Czerwinski 🇵🇱

“you can never go wrong with topdown shots of snowy trees.”  — Christoph Nolte 🇸🇪

“Northern lights glowing green, pink, purple and blue over pine trees with a starry sky.”— Marcell Rubies 🇮🇸

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