This Photo of the Week goes deep into the Arctic Circle for an unexpectedly close encounter. Plus, a Nat Geo photographer’s year with a panda; figuring out if a photo is fake.

PHOTOGRAPH BY  PAUL NICKLEN

Close encounter: Biologist and photographer Paul Nicklen didn’t plan for this close-up with a curious female polar bear outside a cabin window. “When I saw her staring through the glass, I opened the window to distract her from chewing our snowmobile seats, which polar bears tend to do,” recalls the National Geographic Explorer. “I suddenly realized this was my chance to tell the story of how polar bears are coming into contact with humans more frequently as sea ice diminishes.”

This image is among tender photographs from our archive that just might put a smile on your face. 

Related: This Nat Geo Explorer chronicles the magic and mystery of her Arctic homeland

LEFT: COMPOSITE PRINT BY WILLIAM PATE RIGHT: PRINT BY ALEXANDER HAY RITCHIE

Honest Abe, faked photo: It’s easier than ever now to manipulate an image—and harder to spot what has been faked or erased. In the Abe Lincoln image (above left), the manipulation from the above-right image went undetected for nearly a century. If you care about photography, here are a few tips on how to figure out if photos are real.

PHOTOGRAPH BY  REBECCA HALE

Her panda year: Almost everybody likes pandas. Nat Geo’s Rebecca Hale got to spend a year with one.

Today’s Soundtrack: So Very Hard To Go, Tower of Power 

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter, which was edited and curated by David Beard and produced by Amanda Williams-Bryant. Sign up here to catch our future Photos of the Week newsletters.