Inga Paltser is a young painter from Severodvinsk known for her watercolor illustrations and paintings of owls. Inga prefers working with paper, but sometimes also creates on textile, wood, and canvas. She started painting in her childhood at the local school of arts. However, after high school Inga decided to become a biologist and now she works as a researcher. Even though art hasn’t become her profession, Inga finds time to create wonderful paintings presented on this website. Her first owls were painted spontaneously – Inga decided to utilize small pieces of watercolor and pastel paper and created two cute owls called “Friends”. Inga’s owls instantly received recognition across the web and social networks and now are greatly loved by thousands of people around the world.

Undated handout photo of Buckbeak, a Hippogriff that lived with Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter series, has his feathers preened and replenished by featherologist Val Jones, as he will feature in the the Feathers and Flight event at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. This is the first make-over Buckbeak has received since the hugely popular Harry Potter film series was made. His intricate coat is created from thousands of individually airbrushed chicken and goose feathers that Val will carefully clean and replenish in time for the start of Feathers and Flight. Val will lead an expert team to demonstrate the techniques that made winged wonders such as Buckbeak and Fawkes the Phoenix a reality on screen. (Photo by Tim Anderson/PA Wire)

The creator of this architectural installation, placed in a deserted alley in the city of Quebec, probably got his inspiration after looking at French fries while being on acid. This might be the reason why Les Astronautes called his creation Delirious Frites (frites is another name for French fries). This colorful installation attracts passersby like a magnet, making everyone want to enter the narrow passage between hundreds of foam noodles. Though it may look peculiar during the day, this installation looks even better during the night. The light, shining from above, creates a lot of shadows as it encounters all the “tendrils” that seemingly grow from the very walls of the buildings. This will leave even the sanest person wondering if he isn’t having a delusion.

This is the incredible moment a fierce lightning bolt crashed against the Grand Canyon illuminating the steep canyon walls. Shrouded in darkness, the breath-taking landscape was shocked into life as mother nature sent the bolt storming down to Earth. As it cracked against the rocks the bright blue bolt illuminated the South Rim of the canyon, considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. With just the Desert View Watchtower in the foreground, the lightning was perfectly framed by the canyon which is located in Arizona, USA. (Photo by Travis Roe/U.S. Dept. of the Interior/Caters News)

A photographer has captured these eerie images showing the scale of some of Britain's deepest darkest wonders. Mike Deere, from Reading, heads to daunting locations such as abandoned mine shafts, miles of sewer tunnels that snake underneath London and even disused cooling towers. Photo: This incredible picture was taken at the Box Freestone Mine, in Wiltshire. Mike revealed that even experienced map readers would struggle to navigate their way around the seemingly endless tunnels that he and his friends visit. (Photo by Mike Deere/Caters News)

The fin of a tuna is seen on display in the outer part of the Tsukiji fish market, the Jogai Shijo, in Tokyo January 4, 2015. The famous Tsukiji wholesale fish and seafood market, is scheduled to leave its fabled 80-year-old halls to move into bigger, more modern facilities next year ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The outer part of the market, the Jogai Shijo, that caters to the public will stay in its old place, but critics wonder about its chances for survival without the world's biggest fish trading place at its doorsteps. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)