Ismail Mustafa, seen in 2007. “I was collecting mushrooms on the hill near here. I didn’t see the mine. There was a huge explosion. When I woke up I saw that both my legs were gone; I thought my life was over. My brother and another guy were with me. They made a stretcher from sticks and tied it together with clothing. It took two hours to get off the mountain. ‘My daughter has also been injured. She found a shell and brought it into the house and put it on the fire. She didn’t know what she was doing at the time – she was only three. She is blind and has lost an arm”. (Photo by Sean Sutton for the Mines Advisory Group/The Guardian)

Vivid colors and bizarre shapes come together in a false-color image that could be an illustration for a fantasy story. This labyrinth of exotic features winds its way along the edge of Russia’s Chaunskaya Bay in northeastern Siberia, seen as a vivid blue half-circle at the bottom of the image Two major rivers, the Chaun and Palyavaam, flow into the bay, which in turn opens into the Arctic Ocean. Ribbon lakes and bogs are present throughout the area, created by depressions left by receding glaciers. (Photo by USGS/NASA)

In this June 12, 2017 photo, a woman stands in front of a mural on the slope in Central district, Hong Kong. Once known as Victoria after the British queen, Hong Kong island's waterfront formed the core of the British settlement after Hong Kong island was handed over as a colony in 1842. Today as Hong Kong approaches the 20th anniversary of its return to China, it remains a bustling commercial and financial center as well as the location of the main government offices. However, along the streets that angle sharply upward toward the mountains above, a more relaxed pace of life endures. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Roza Khamitova was born into a family of artists in Kazakhstan. After finishing design school in Manhattan, New York, she was working in fashion industry for about 8 years. As a visual artist Roza had always drawn most of her inspiration from the natural world around her in the mountains of Kazakhstan. In 2011 she launched Shovava, her personal line of women’s clothing based on her hand drawn paintings and prints of the animals, plants and patterns found in nature. Roza was enchanted by the beauty of wings, its structure and symbolism. First, she sketches big wide-spread wings on paper with a light pencil, adds black ink to create a three-dimensional feel and fills with stunning watercolors.

These otherworldly images give a rare glimpse inside caves barely ever seen by the human eye. With its peculiar pools of water and strange colored sediments, the bizarre looking tunnels of the Shakuranskaya cave could be a set straight out of a science fiction film. Found in the disputed region of Abkhazia, around 75 miles outside of Sochi, Russia, it is rumored the incredible underground chambers were formed after a huge earthquake struck the area in 1892. After causing part of a nearby mountain to collapse into the Amtkel River, it is thought the dam-like affect has created a series of interconnecting underground tunnels. Here: a large pool of water inside one of the tunnels. (Photo by Vladimir Mulde/Caters News)

Sleep under the Stars, hosted by Hepburn Wind, has given us an opportunity to enrich our daily life with art. Thanks to this festival, a regular wind turbine was turned into a marvelous peace of art. The artwork is especially noticeable, since its theme greatly contrasts with the background behind the wind turbine. Moreover, the idea of drawing a woman-giantess walking over the mountain tops on a large conical object is quite extraordinary. Nevertheless, the grey and green colors of the picture were very well chosen for this particular image. You can only imagine the obstacles that the artists had to face when making a picture on such a large object. However, nowadays, people never cease to amaze with their ingenuity, leaving us gaping in awe at their creations.

Some of the best entries so far in the 2016 Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. There are two weeks left to enter, and the winners will be announced in September. Here: Aurora over Laksvatn Fjord, Laksvatn, Norway. The aurora borealis dances in the skies over the town of Laksvatn, with the Milky Way to the left. The image is a single shot with no compositing, only post-processing to bring out the aurora, and some colour corrections. The photographer Matt Walford said: “I love the way the northern lights look like they are just wistfully dancing over the fjord, framed by the mountains on either side”. (Photo by Matt Walford/National Maritime Museum)

Cycling jerseys, part of a collection belonging to French cycling fan Gerald, hang from a line during the 4th stage of the Tour de France cycling race from Seraing in Belgium to Cambrai in France, July 7, 2015. Photographing the Tour de France cycling race comes with highs and lows: the buzz from capturing just the right image, the tedium of long journeys, the painstaking set-up of equipment, the breath-taking scenery. Reuters photographers have worked not only to capture the thrills and spills on the roads and mountain passes. They have also shot a set of pictures showing their own quirky view from behind the scenes as they travelled through the Netherlands, Belgium and France. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters)