Just a few hours’ drive from the Belarus capital of Minsk, many villagers still live off the land. Nearly 80% of the country’s 9.5 million citizens live in urban areas, but for the rest, being close to nature can outweigh the hardships of country life. Here: Boys play in the Stviga River on a hot summer day near the village of Pogost, Belarus, August 16, 2017. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Merfolk gather at MerMania 2017, the world's largest gathering of amateur and professional mermaids and mermen in North Carloina, USA on January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brian Cahn/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Kourtney Roy makes eerie self-portraits in desolate yet dramatic locations – with wigs and wardrobe straight out of 1950s melodrama. In these shots, from her “Enter as Fiction – California” series, she plays characters caught in desolate, often abandoned settings. (Photo by Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian)

Photos of Edward Snowden, a contractor at the National Security Agency (NSA), and U.S. President Barack Obama are printed on the front pages of local English and Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong in this illustration photo June 11, 2013. Snowden, who leaked details of top-secret U.S. surveillance programs, dropped out of sight in Hong Kong on Monday ahead of a likely push by the U.S. government to have him sent back to the United States to face charges. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)

A campaign model demonstrates crazy eyes glasses during the International Tokyo Toy Show 2016 in Tokyo, Japan, 09 June 2016. The trade show opens to the general public on 11 and 12 June. (Photo by Christopher Jue/EPA)

For her book “Perfect Imperfection”, the Australian pet photographer Alex Cearns set out to capture the personalities of animals who adapt to their damaged or different bodies without complaint. Part of the proceeds from sales of Perfect Imperfection go to the Australian Animal Cancer Foundation. Here: “Bali Pip”. Bali street dog. Had the skin condition mange. (Photo by Alex Cearns/The Guardian)

A woman dressed in traditional costume smiles at the Royal Plaza, as interest for historical clothing rises within the country, in Bangkok, Thailand April 6, 2018. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

These romantic sepia shots show lovers enjoying quiet, unguarded moments together – but the subjects are not besotted couples; they are fearsome big cats. Freelance snapper Goran Anastasovski has devoted more than 10 years of his life to photographing big cats and other animals. The 46-year-old from Macedonia aims to emphasize their human qualities in his photographs. (Photo by Goran Anastasovski/Caters News)