In this Wednesday, November 15, 2017 photo, a woman poses for a selfie with the carcass of a humpback whale on Ipanema beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Biologist Rafael Carvalho said the whale appears to have been dead for a few days. Authorities were urging beachgoers who had flocked to Ipanema on a national holiday to stay away from the animal. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

Hotel staff demonstrates “Lantern Dining Experience”, which enables diners to enjoy meals while protecting themselves against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Hoshinoya Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan, February 2, 2022. The lantern-shaped transparent partitions are created by Japan’s traditional craftsman and guests staying at the hotel who pay 30,000 yen (about 260 USD) as venue charge can invite others to dine with them under the partitions. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

“I was born in the United States in 1985. As early as I can remember I’ve been a “doodler”. From even the early days I’ve always loved strange, offbeat, beautiful, and slightly melancholy things. Something about the mixed grabbed me. My love for sketching carried on throughout my high school days. Which is when I took a small class on watercolor. Watercolor is what birthed my passion for mixing colors and how a color can tell a story. In year 2009 I discovered digital painting and my new found passion for the medium. It’s been the favored medium for the past years since. I’ve used online tutorials and videos to help me learn along the way and then in late 2011 I took a workshop called Becoming a Better Artist. The beginning of 2013 I won a class from The Art Department which will start this spring.”

Praia du Forte, Bahia. “This was the lead picture for a National Geographic story on Bahia, because it was both mysterious as well as a “geography” picture showing where the slaves arrived from Nigeria. Beach pictures seem like they should be easy to take, but for me they are actually quite difficult. Too easy to fall into cliche. When I saw the kid coming on the horse, I quickly ran to see if I could make something with a woman in a bikini that was not a bikini shot”. (Photo by David Alan Harvey/The Guardian)

David Yeo’s photography places naturally small species alongside animals that have been selectively bred to be tiny and cute. Here: “The most difficult aspect of this shoot was to get each African pygmy dormouse – also known as micro squirrels – on to a separate camera. Once in place, they needed to remain still long enough to get them both in the frame and looking at me. Often solitary, they naturally wanted to move away”. (Photo by David Yeo/Leica Studio Mayfair/The Guardian)

“This brought me back. While I was doing my photo shoot this week for Muscle & Fitness, I could practically hear Joe Weider screaming, “Come on Arnold! What’s wrong with you? Pull in the stomach.” Watch for the issue in September!”

My transport of choice in NYC is definitely a road bike. When you cycle on the streets you see city and it’s habitants in a very different point of view. Let me share with you some photos I took last year – NYC through the eyes of a road bike.

Tim Sklyarov