A waitress displays a plate of animal penises and testis at the Guolizhuang pen*s Restaurant on September 7, 2007 in Beijing, China. The restaurant offers more than 30 types of animal-pen*s dishes which can cost from 500 yuan (76.99 USD) up to 90,000 yuan (13,857.67 USD). It is believed that eating an animal's pen*s can strengthen a man's sexual ability. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

An orphaned 11 month old cougar cub plays at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on April 26, 2007 in Vallejo, California. Three cougar cubs were given to the park from the Idaho Fish & Game in March after they were found motherless in the wild and it was determined that they would not survive in the wild. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

High winds blow sand across the highway near the original north shore of Owens Lake, now miles from the nearest pool of water, on May 5, 2007 near Lone Pine, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

An employee wears false eyelashes at the Shu Uemura eyelashes bar in the Omotesando district May 18, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. 22 different false eyelash designs are available at the eyelashes bar ranging in cost from US$13 to US$43. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Light is the sole reason why life exists. It provides us with warmth; it allows us to see; it nourishes all the living things on this planet. Many painters, especially the masters of Old Renaissance Period, have recognized the importance of light and its intimate connection with nature and life itself. In their paintings they gave tribute to light, giving the impression that their paintings had a light source hidden within them. Al Hogue, the artist who created the paintings that you see before you, has studied their techniques for many years. As time went by, light permeated not only his paintings by also his life, becoming his sole philosophy.

The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some 240 kilometres (150 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth. The island measures 132 kilometres (82 mi) in length and 49.7 kilometres (30.9 mi) in width.

The pictures made by Elizabeth Gadd are so beautiful, tranquil, and mesmerizing, that they wash over your soul in a wave of sadness. The same sadness that you feel when hearing a wonderful piece of music. The same sadness that enters your soul when you worry to death about your loved one, but everything turns out to be just fine. These aren’t just pictures… The pieces of art that Elizabeth, a 21-year-old self-taught photographer makes, are windows into fairytales; portals into other dimensions. Works so surreal, that it makes you wonder if the scenes that you are seeing were actually shot on this planet; that they are not figments of Beth’s imagination. (Photo by Elizabeth Gadd)

Illuminated Cut Paper Light Boxes by Hari & DeeptiDeepti Nair and Harikrishnan Panicker (known collectively as Hari & Deepti) are an artist couple who create paper cut light boxes. Each diorama is made from layers of cut watercolor paper placed inside a shadow box and is lit from behind with flexible LED light strips. The small visual narratives depicted in each work often play off aspects of light including stars, flames, fireflies, and planets.