5-year-old Rina Kumari rubs her eye while cracking stones on the banks of Mahananda river in Siliguri, northeast India, March 5, 2005. Over 400 million people in India live below the internationally agreed poverty line (living on less than US $1 per day). According to estimates, several hundred thousand children work as labourers and beg on the streets in India. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

There is an endless bounty of eye-catching gemstones throughout the world and this spectacular boulder opal is one unique beauty that looks like a shimmering crystal encased in a tree fossil. Its opalescent sheen seeps through the cracks of the seemingly wooden rings in lustrous hues of emerald green and aqua blue. Like something out of a fairy tale, the triangular piece radiates through an organic pattern mimicking the growth rings of tree.

“Lofoten Glow”. I was desperately searching a good sunrise spot this particular morning. Normally Storvatnet Lake is completely covered in snow, so you can only imagine my surprise when I saw these crazy ice formations almost being shot out of the frozen lake. I put my crampons on and took a big risk walking out. I could hear the ice cracking underneath my feet, and when you’re all alone in a fjord/canyon like this – the cracks are echoed and sound really frightening. Was it worth it? I sure think so! Photo location: Storvatnet, Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway. (Photo and caption by Stian Klo/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Kirsty Mitchell is a former fashion designer who worked under both Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan as a student. However, she found her ultimate calling in photography. Her imaginative series 'Wonderland' takes you to alternate worlds where umbrellas drip with lavenders, backs sprout wings and limbs get lost in tree branches

This barking set of images takes the saying “dogs look like their owners” to the ultimate conclusion. Photographer Sebastian Magnani, 28, has cleverly spliced the features of four-legged friends with the head and shoulders of their owners. In a series called “Underdogs”, the Swiss photographer shot the owners and their respective pets in the same portrait style. Then he used expert photo-manipulation techniques to seamlessly transplant the canine faces onto the human bodies. (Photo by Sebastian Magnani)

A pug dog stands in the exhibition hall on the final day of the annual Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Centre on March 13, 2011 in Birmingham, England. During this year's four-day competition nearly 22,000 dogs and their owners will vie for a variety of accolades, ultimately seeking the coveted 'Best In Show'.

In a remote location in rural America, a photographer has discovered a rather unique gathering: row after row of presidential busts. Like a zombie graveyard, the field contains 43 gigantic sculptures, ranging from Dick Nixon and FDR to JFK and Honest Abe. The likenesses weigh between 11,000 and 20,000 pounds, with some standing as tall as 20 feet. Almost all the busts are cracked, crumbling and worn by the elements, adding to their eerie appearance but not preventing the presidents from being recognizable at first glance. Here: Abraham Lincoln in front of presidential busts. (Photo by David Ogden/Caters News)