“Cassowaries are large, flightless birds related to emus and (more distantly) to ostriches, rheas, and kiwis”, writes Olivia Judson in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. How large? People-size: Adult males stand well over five foot five and top 110 pounds. Females are even taller, and can weigh more than 160 pounds. Dangerous when roused, they’re shy and peaceable when left alone. But even birds this big and tough are prey to habitat loss. The dense New Guinea and Australia rain forests where they live have dwindled. Today cassowaries might number 1,500 to 2,000. And because they help shape those same forests – by moving seeds from one place to another – “if they vanish”, Judson writes, “the structure of the forest would gradually change” too. (Photo by Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)

“When I was 8 years old, my parents paid a smuggler to take me across the Himalayas, a weekslong walk over the mountains from Tibet to India. It was a trek that tens of thousands of other Tibetans have taken since the Dalai Lama fled a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. My parents must have had their reasons to send me here; they must have had the best of intentions. But 18 years later, I still don't know why they did it. They are not political people. They are small farmers who raise barley and a few yak in a rural area not far from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. I have not seen them since I left...”. – Tsering Topgyal via The Associated Press. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)

Faruk, 17, a Rohingya refugee trader holds betel leaves which are on sale at a stall in Palong Khali refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, November 3, 2017. He left his village in Myanmar when the military opened fire towards the Rohingya. “I buy this betel leaf from Palong Khali market, in one bundle there are 160 pieces, I buy it for 80 taka and I sell it for 100 taka (1 Bangladeshi Taka = 0.012 US Dollar). Bangladeshi's and I sell for the same rate in the camp. Outside in the local market it is 80 taka per bundle. My problem is that I don't have money so I can't buy anything to eat, I can't buy fish to eat”, he said. (Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Female female male threesome. My bit on the side is my best male friend. (Photo by Laoshi/Getty Images)

Modern art is truly fascinating. Not in a way that it produces some novel things that will fascinate future generations for decades and even centuries to come. No, that is very far from the truth. On the contrary, modern art is essentially anything (yes, any little thing) that is a bit unusual and was created by a famous person. Let’s take the creation of Antoine Bridier-Nahmias for example. His brainchild is a set of pictures of petri dishes that were contaminated by various cultures of fungi. If this is art, I missed my chance of becoming famous when I accidentally left a piece of bread in a bag in a cupboard for about six months, and didn’t take a picture of the rather shocking results that awaited me when I finally discovered it. (Photo by Antoine Bridier-Nahmias)

From my travels to Scoresby Sund, Greenland 2012. Lately I have been reflecting upon my trip and my captures of reflections. Michael Quinn

Images from my travels with John Paul Caponigro in the spring of 2011. During that week JP inspired me to create this body of work. This is my path, my pathways in arches.

My name is Chris Kapono and I am a self-taught artist living in Missouri. I have been drawing and painting ever since I can remember and art has been a big part of my life. My love of animals and nature is reflected in my art and sometimes interesting things I find on walks in the woods will find their way into some of my pieces!