Joshua Hoffine, based in Kansas City, Mo., and a self-proclaimed “Horror Photographer”, is interested in the psychology of fear. In his project “After Dark, My Sweet”, Hoffine’s surreal and staged images render these fears visible with the “visual grammar of a child”. Through elaborate sets, costumes, makeup and fog machines, Hoffine’s children act out these terrifying scenes in front of his camera. Here: “Basement”. (Photo by Joshua Hoffine/The Washington Post)

Runner-up. “The City of London, looking towards the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England. The ever-changing London skyline provides many excellent opportunities for cityscape photography, none more exciting than the ebb and flow of traffic at night”. (Photo by Mark Caldon/The Guardian)

An arm holding a giant gun appears to explode through a wall, while elsewhere a man walks a tiger on a leash. These breathtaking pencil drawings are the work of 31-year-old artist Ben Heine, who lives and works in Rochefort, Belgium. The “anamorphic illusions”, part of the artist's “Pencil Vs Camera” series, appear slightly distorted unless viewed from the exact same perspective in which they were created. Photo: Visual artist Ben Heine at work in his studio while he creates one of his “anamorphic illusions” in Rochefort, Belgium. (Photo by Ben Heine/Barcroft Media)

For 20 years, Joann Biondi worked as a freelance writer. Then one day she adopted a kitten that had been tossed in a garbage can and left for dead. That kitten had an unusual quirk; he liked to wear clothes and pose for the camera. So Joann started shooting, and then she got serious about photography. Fast forward four years and that kitten is now Lorenzo the Cat, a feline art photography project that has gotten both the cat and the photographer a lot of attention; gallery shows, museum exhibits, and stories in major media outlets throughout the world. Amid it all Lorenzo has remained a mellow dude who still likes to roll around in the dirt, chase lizards, and knock things off the kitchen counter when his food bowl is empty.

Mark Taylor may not have any training as a photographer, but that doesn’t stop him from taking amazing animal photos. From his studio in Southeast England, Taylor has made a big business out of photographing man’s best friends, following in the footsteps of his late mother, Jane Burton. Most of the animals he works with are babies, who are more comfortable in front of the camera than older animals.

Photo: Taylor often uses animals that belonged to friends of his late mother, including this Italian Spinone puppy chewing his tail. Baby animals make ideal subjects, as the older dogs and cats get, the warier they are of spending time in a studio. And his trick for getting this small subject to pose? Dog treats, of course. (Photo by Mark Taylor/Rex Features)

A close-up shot of dews of a soldier fly on August 2014, in Banten, Indonesia. Wildlife photographer takes incredible close-up images of tiny bugs. Yudy Sauw has captured close-up images of creepy crawlies – revealing their disturbing faces. The insects have an assortment bulging eyes and sharp pincers and look grotesque in the face-to-face shots. The miniature-models include a soldier fly, a red ant and a longhorn beetle. The 33-year-old photographed the bugs at his home studio in Banten, Indonesia, placing them 2-10 centimeters away from the camera. (Photo by Yudy Sauw/Barcroft Media)

The Malabar Giant squirrel – double the size of their grey relatives and measuring up to 36 inches (91.5 cm) from head to tail – lives deep in the forests of India. The athletic animals can leap an incredible 20 feet (6 m) between trees. Photographer Kaushik Vijayan, 39, snapped the animals in their native habit to produce these stunning images. Kaushik, from Kerala State, India, said: “Up until that point I had never heard about a squirrel like that or seen one. The sight was an absolute feast for my eyes. The squirrels fascinated me and I got excited to capture this beauty on my camera”. (Photo by Kaushik Vijayan/South West News Service)

A chimpanzee looks in the direction of a camera at the Gut Aiderbichl Sanctuary for Traumatized Chimpanzees and other Primates in Gaenserndorf, near Vienna, 17 September 2018. 34 former laboratory chimpanzees of former Austrian pharmaceutical company Immuno AG spend their lives at the Gut Aiderbichl Sanctuary for Traumatized Chimpanzees and other Primates since 2009. (Photo by Christian Bruna/EPA/EFE)