Todd Bretl specializes in underwater photography, and is able to capture striking photos of aquatic life big and small. His photos of sharks are particularly striking; though he rarely faces hostility from the animals, he tries not to spend too much time looking through his viewfinder and many shots are framed by educated guesses and impeccable timing. What follows are photographs taken over the past several years on trips to the Bahamas and Isla Guadalupe, an island off the coast of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. (Photo by Todd Bretl)

A policewoman wipes her tears as she stands in front of metal caskets containing the bodies of Special Action Force (SAF) police who were killed in Sunday's clash with Muslim rebels, at Villamor Air Base in Pasay city, metro Manila January 29, 2015. Philippine President Benigno Aquino urged legislators on Wednesday not to abandon a plan for autonomy for Muslims to end a decades-old insurgency after the clash in which dozens of people were killed, saying doing so would dash hopes for peace. (Photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

On September 1, 2004, Chechen militants stormed an elementary school in the town of Beslan in the Russian republic of North Ossetia. They took 1,100 teachers, children, and their relatives hostage, demanding the withdrawal of federal forces from Chechnya as a condition for their release. On September 3, 2004, Russian security forces stormed the building, resulting in a battle in which more than 330 hostages died, including 186 children. Here: A man assists two young hostages who managed to escape from the school building after special forces entered the school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Friday 03 September 2004. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA)

A member of the samba school of the Grupo Especial Academicos do Grande Rio parade during the Carnival celebration at the Marques de Sapucai sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early 04 March 2019. The samba schools of the Rio de Janeiro Special Groups began their parades on 03 March at the sambadrome, considered the main attraction of the carnival in Brazil. (Photo by Marcelo Chello/EPA/EFE)

Chileans watch the sky with special suits prior to a total solar eclipse on July 2, 2019 in Paiguano, Chile. Around 25,0000 tourists arrived to Paiguano, a small town of around 1,000 inhabitants in the Elqui Valley, 650 km away Santiago. This is the only Earth's total solar eclipse of 2019 and the first one since 2017. From this point, the sun will fully disappear for around two minutes. It is best visible from a stripe in the South Pacific, Chile and Argentina. (Photo by Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images)

Scott Meiklejohn gets into character as a mummy during a photo call on October 10, 2019 in Stirling, Scotland ahead of “Hallowild”, Blair Drummond Safari Parks annual Halloween event. This years theme in the haunted walkway is an egyptian tomb with special 3D effects alongside actors playing the roles of Pharaohs and Mummies. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)

A couple wearing masks as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus walk on the Malecon seawall at sunset in Havana, Cuba, Monday, August 31, 2020. Cuban authorities will introduce new measures starting tomorrow Tuesday aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus in Havana among others a curfew from 7 pm until 5 am and no one without special permission will be able to enter or leave the province. The new measures will last at least 15 days. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

An American flag is visible in the windows of the cupola aboard the International Space Station. Thanks to a bill passed by Texas legislators in 1997 that put in place technical voting procedure for astronauts – nearly all of whom live in Texas – they have the ability to vote from space through specially designed absentee ballots. To preserve the integrity of the secret vote, the ballot is encrypted and only accessible by the astronaut and the county clerk responsible for casting the ballot. (Photo by NASA)