Thanks to the NERRS photographers who submitted 140 photos to NOAA’s Estuaries Week photo contest. Gorgeous, poignant, playful—your photos remind us why we love estuaries and work to protect them.

Many photos left us wondering about the backstory, like the one above. Was it a case of common chivalry? A proposal fit for a NERRd? The latest in hipster outer gear?  Photographer Chris Bowser set us straight. “”This is two high school students from Marble Hill International School in the Bronx. They were part of our “Day in the Life of the Hudson & Harbor” a few years ago. We were at Inwood Park, NYC, studying the estuary. I asked them to get a water sample, and they waded into the water holding hands to support each other.”

Got a few minutes? We’d love to hear the story behind your photo.