“Woman with Umbrella in Rain” by Raimund von Stillfried. Artist: Kusakabe Kimbei (Japanese, 1841–1934), 1870s. Commercial photography studios in Meiji-era Japan were renowned for the subtlety and refinement of their coloring techniques. This hand-tinted image of a young woman caught in a heavy rainstorm achieved its naturalistic effect by knitting together multiple strands of artifice: the greenery in the foreground was a studio prop; the flaps of the kimono were suspended by thin wires to create the impression of a strong wind; and long, diagonal marks were made on the negative to suggest streaks of rain. (Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

“Artist of the light”. While shooting sunrise in the Vermilion lakes area of Banff national park, Canada, I met a fellow photographer on the scene. Most of the time, we tried not to get in each other's way, however, just by accident, I snapped a picture with him in it working on his tripod settings, and it turned out to be a great photo compared to my sunrise shots. (Photo and caption by Victor Liu/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

“These dolly birds are showing off the latest haute COO-ture in a stunning set of images that portray everyday pigeons as fashion models. The series, titled “Darwin’s Pigeons”, was snapped by British photographer Richard Bailey, who was looking to capture the birds’ photogenic side as a tribute to the Father of Evolution himself, who it is believed was fascinated by the birds”. – Caters News. Photo: Old Dutch Capucine. Darwin’s Pigeons series. (Photo by Photo by Richard Bailey/Caters News)

A group of 1000 customers receive a facial massage at a sports centre in Jinan, Shandong province, China, May 4, 2015. A group of 1000 women were given a 30 minutes facial beauty treatment together on Monday that achieved a Guinness record for the largest group of people having beauty treatment in the same location, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Ethnic Entha fishermen display placards during a protest against the military coup on Inle Lake, Taunggyi, Myanmar Thursday, February 11, 2021. Large crowds demonstrating against the military takeover in Myanmar again defied a ban on protests Thursday, even after security forces ratcheted up the use of force against them and raided the headquarters of the political party of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi a day earlier. (Photo by Aung Ko San/AP Photo)

People and security members run away as Kurdish animal rights activists release a bear into the wild after rescuing bears from captivity in people homes, in Dohuk, Iraq on February 11, 2021. (Photo by Ari Jalal/Reuters)

In this undated photo released Tuesday April 13, 2021, by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, A Tu-160 strategic bomber of the Russian air force is shown on a training mission somewhere in Russia. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday described a massive military buildup in western Russia as part of drills intended to check the armed forces' readiness amid the threats posed by NATO. (Photo by Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP Photo)

A villager offers prayer to a dead body of an elephant, which is killed by lightning at atop of Bamuni hill in Assam's Nagaon district, on May 14, 2021. 18 wild elephants were found dead atop Bamuni Hills in Assam's Nagaon district today after lightning struck them during the showers in the area on May 12, 2021. At least 18 elephants are suspected to have been killed by lightning in northeastern India, officials said on May 13 as they launched a probe into the incident. (Photo by Biju Boro/AFP Photo)