A woman wears a face mask in the part of the city near neighbourhoods known for burning coal for heating in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia January 26, 2017. Not many people in Ulaanbaatar wear masks to protect themselves against pollution. (Photo by B. Rentsendorj/Reuters)

I'm born in Russia in a village on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan. The sea itself that always catches the attention of divers and underwater photographers from all over the Soviet Union.

I started with underwater photography recently, in 1998, with a simple underwater "boom box" "Canon" and "Epic".
Then a "Nikonos-5", complete with wide-angle and close-up.
The first trip to the Red Sea, with colorful fish .. The first attempts to make the macro and the knowledge that this equipment was not good.

“Super Enerji”. Taken on my road trip through Turkey. (Photo and caption by Michelle Brandemuehl/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.

Without mincing words we would like to present a feature: Self-Publishing, let's call it Samizdat. :-) Sure we aren't Flickr, StumbleUpon or add_whatever_you_like, we're really small in comparison with these giants but we have constant, very attentive and grateful audience. All we can offer you is a place on the main page and attention of all our visitors to your posts, the things that are hard to achieve on numerous social services. Who knows, maybe tiny and humble indie project like AvaxNews will be much more helpful in searching of your audience than facebook for example. %-)

“Light From Heaven”. Taken around Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia in the morning. Photo location: East Java, Indonesia. (Photo and caption by Pimpin Nagawan/National Geographic 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.

“The Omo River is an important river of southern Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. The lower valley of the Omo is currently believed by some to have been a crossroads for thousands of years as various cultures and ethnic groups migrated around the region. To this day, the people of the Lower Valley of the Omo, including the Mursi, Suri, Nyangatom, Dizi and Me'en, are studied for their diversity”. – Wikipedia (Photo by Hamerscat)

SEE ALSO: «Ethiopia By Brent Stirton»

Shanea Tonkin of Team Australia celebrates with team mates after scoring their sides first goal during Women - Pool B match between Australia and Scotland on day six of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at University of Birmingham Hockey & Squash Centre on August 03, 2022 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

American rapper Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus, known professionally as Cardi B in the second decade of April 2023 tells fans she smells like “coconuts and pineapple” while showing off a wild outfit. (Photo by iamcardib/Instagram)