A hot air balloon floats past an almost full rising moon on a warm fall evening near Encinitas, California October 5, 2014. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

The festival marks the end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. More than hundred girls under the age of nine gathered for the tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in Newar community. It is a community affair held primarily to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. Photo: A young Nepalese girl dressed as a Kumari or living Goddess, smiles for camera as she waits for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

The Smilovichi Felting Factory in Belarus was founded in 1928, when Smilovichi was a small Jewish settlement of craftsmen. Five of those craftsmen organized a small artel (a cooperative association of craftsmen who all live and work together), which produced warm boots called “valenki” for cold weather. Photo: Belarusian workers works at a felt boot factory in Smilovichi, some 35km from Minsk, Belarus, 16 January 2012. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA)

Wide-angle category winner. Part of the Illusion by Marcus Blatchford (UK). Location: National Dive & Activity Centre, Chepstow, Wales. “This is the deepest inland dive centre in the UK. The dive plan was to explore the deep end, but this time I dived ‘unplugged’ (without my strobes). With the exception of this change to my camera technique, there were no planned shots I wanted to achieve – just a fun dive with ad-hoc photos along the way. Shortly after this photo was captured, in 6C water and two hours of decompression ahead of us, we turned and started the long ascent back to the surface”. (Photo by Marcus Blatchford/Underwater Photographer of the Year 2016)

Revellers celebrate the start of the carnival season, a season of controlled raucous fun that reaches a climax during the days before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, at 11.11 am in Cologne, Germany, November 11, 2016. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)

A White Crested Poland is seen at the National Poultry Show on November 20, 2016 in Telford, England. The annual event continues to grow with around 7000 entries this year from all around the world. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

These powerful images capture the spear-wielding tribes of Papua new Guinea who believe they are possessed with the spirit of the crocodile. They show how the Kangunaman clansmen scar their backs to resemble reptile scales while the Huli Wigmen wear elaborate headdresses to signal they are ready for battle. (Photo by Trevor Cole/Media Drum World)

Girls play with live Teacup pigs, a rare pet in the country, at the start of celebrations leading to the Lunar New Year, Friday, February 1, 2019 at Lucky Chinatown Plaza mall in Manila, Philippines. The upcoming Year of the Pig represents abundance, diligence and generosity. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)