Italian pencil artist Marco Mazzoni‘s work goes far beyond technical perfection. His representation of historical healing women is enigmatic and sublime. Often leaving the eyes blank or covered with an abundance of birds, butterflies and flowers, he gives the impression of a deeper inward focused sight, as well as obscuring the identity of the individual. Many female healers in the past – both medicine woman and midwives – were brutally persecuted by religion, some even burnt as witches… Mazzoni’s work captures their deep connection with nature and their innate power and femininity with delicacy and beautiful detail.

Tourists from Holland peak through a crack in a still-existing portion of the Berlin Wall at the main memorial to the Wall in Bernauer Strasse on the 22nd anniversary of the fall of the Wall on November 9, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The Berlin Wall, erected by the communist authorities of then East Germany in 1961, divided the city and prevented East Germans from travelling west until the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

For a long time the laws of Canada have explicitly banned gambling in any form. This may be the reason why the country does not have so many gambling establishments as the USA - but their quality surely makes up for the quantity. The first Canadian casino was opened in Dawson City, Yukon, in 1972 - it was the first one after gambling has been banned in the country in 1892. The Diamond Tooth Gertie's Gambling Casino did not operate for long, though. The first permanent commercial casino was opened in 1989, and it was the first of many - there are currently 75 casinos operating on Canadian soil.

Tree trunks are seen in a forest on November 8, 2011 near Landau an der Isar, Germany. The German government is conducting a nationwide project to estimate the number, variety and geographic distribution of trees and forests in Germany, as well as their condition and health. Approximately a third of Germany is covered in woodlands, and though that territory has actually expanded since 1989, some analysts fear demand for wood will outstrip supply in coming years due to national growth in industry and bio-energy needs. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

A praying mantis, a huddle of butterflies, Galician horses and an alpine sunset are the winners of this year’s European Environment Agency’s “Rediscover Nature” photo competition. Here: Nature on My Doorstep, finalist. I Want That Pomerade Grain by Biagio Alberto Scalia, taken in national park of Circeo, Latina, Italy. (Photo by Biagio Alberto Scalia/REDISCOVER Nature/EEA)

Italian pencil artist Marco Mazzoni‘s work goes far beyond technical perfection. His representation of historical healing women is enigmatic and sublime. Often leaving the eyes blank or covered with an abundance of birds, butterflies and flowers, he gives the impression of a deeper inward focused sight, as well as obscuring the identity of the individual. Many female healers in the past – both medicine woman and midwives – were brutally persecuted by religion, some even burnt as witches… Mazzoni’s work captures their deep connection with nature and their innate power and femininity with delicacy and beautiful detail.

Star trails form over the Memorial House of the Bulgarian Communist Party on mount Buzludzha in this long exposure picture taken on September 12, 2014. The monument was officially opened in 1981 by the Bulgarian Communist regime to mark 100 years of the set up of an organised Socialist movement, a predecessor of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The monument, no longer maintained by the Bulgarian government after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, is now abandoned and vandalized. (Photo by Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

Jean-François Leroy launched Visa Pour l’Image, the international photojournalism festival, in Perpignan in 1989. Before heading up the festival, Leroy was shooting reportage for the agency Sipa Press and also working for Photo-Reporter, Le Photographe, Photo-Revue and Photo Magazine. He is the chairman of the company Images Evidence. Photo: 2008 Visa d'or Feature: Brent Stirton. Conservation Rangers from an Anti-Poaching unit work with locals to evacuate the bodies of four Mountain Gorrillas killed in mysterious circumstances in the park, July 24, 2007, Virunga National Park, Eastern Congo. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Exclusive by Getty Images)