Over the years a large population of grey herons have made an unlikely home in urban Amsterdam. Julie Hrudova documents how the birds integrate into city life. Here: Hundreds of herons come to the city during winter to find food and shelter. (Photo by by Julie Hrudova/The Guardian)

US Vogue’s top fashion editor works with photographers to inject style with sci-fi and fantasy. A new book, “Stoppers: Photographs from My Life at Vogue” by Phyllis Posnick and Vogue’s chief editor, Anna Wintour, highlights the results. Here: Surburban Woman #10, Mountainville, New York, August 2006. (Photo by Steven Klein)

Tourists play on the “Big” piano inside of the toy store FAO Schwarz on the last day that the store will be open in New York, July 15, 2015. FAO Schwarz will officially close the doors of its flagship Fifth Avenue toy store in New York City on Wednesday night, to the dismay of shoppers charmed by the iconic destination for childhood fun. (Photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Back in 2010, French photographer Antoine Bruy began hitchhiking around Europe without any fixed route. Along his travels, he met people who had entirely abandoned city life in favour of an isolated country existence they found more fulfilling. Bruy began seeking out people who lived off-the-grid. After three years on the road, staying in makeshift houses and on community farms, he has released Scrublands, a documentation of the lifestyle. While each living situation is different, Bruy found that all the people he met shared a common desire to escape the rat race and achieve a quieter life in harmony with nature. (Photo by Antoine Bruy)

We place too much value into something as elusive as time. This is the lesson that Arina Pozdnyak, the creator of Perpetual Calendar, is trying to teach us. Days fly by, and even months are mere speckles of sand in an hourglass of eternity. People do not realize that the time given to us by fate cannot be measured using months or even years. It is measured using emotions and impressions. If a person lives to be 150 years old without experiencing any emotions, he might as well have lived one day, for all it’s worth. On the other hand, a person who lived an exciting, fulfilling life, read countless books and cherished every moment that he had, is actually the one who lived a longer life, even if in reality his flame was snuffed out much too soon. (Photo by Arina Pozdnyak)

These hyper realistic drawings are so lifelike they could pass for photographs. The incredibly detailed works of art were created by self-taught artist Ivan Hoo, from Singapore, who earns a living from his realistic drawings and paintings. The 31-year-old takes up to three days to complete the impressive pieces, which include animal portraits and still life drawings of everyday items such as a Starbucks cup. The A3 sketches are completed using a range of soft pastel pencils and are drawn from still life, or a photograph taken by Ivan himself. Here: Ivan Hoos drawing of a pug. (Photo by Ivan Hoo/Caters News)

This is the incredible moment a fierce lightning bolt crashed against the Grand Canyon illuminating the steep canyon walls. Shrouded in darkness, the breath-taking landscape was shocked into life as mother nature sent the bolt storming down to Earth. As it cracked against the rocks the bright blue bolt illuminated the South Rim of the canyon, considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. With just the Desert View Watchtower in the foreground, the lightning was perfectly framed by the canyon which is located in Arizona, USA. (Photo by Travis Roe/U.S. Dept. of the Interior/Caters News)

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)