“Himalayan Dog”. This dog just appeared out of nowhere and followed us for an entire week during our trekking trip in the Himalayan outback. He always used to sleep in front of our tent and guarded us in the nights. When I decided to get up at 4 a.m. to climb the next 5000 m peak for sunrise he accompanied me as well. On the top he was sitting for the entire 30 minutes on this place looking straight into the countryside. Photo location: Ladakh, India. (Photo and caption by Sebastian Wahlhuetter/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“For a bouquet of flowers”. Photographs made ​​in the last hours of the day. A goat is directed by a dangerous way to eat a small bouquet of flowers. Location: España, Barcelona, Montserrat. (Photo and caption by Renato Lopez Baldo/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

“Michael Jackson, the performer, consistently transcended racial and gender perceptions; Michael Jackson tribute artists, impersonators and lookalikes reflect this in that they embody a wide span of inspiration and intention. The current crop of impersonators are people who take great care in their appearance – some spend a lot of money and time on their make up and clothing, while others are more concerned with the physical gestures associated with his dances while expressing very little concern in the creation of an illusion”. – Lorena Turner. (Photo and caption by Lorena Turner)

The Belgian photographer Anton Kusters spent two years photographing the Yakuza, Japan’s most notorious gang. He returned with some amazing images that he made into a book called “Odo Yakuza Tokyo”. (Odo means “the way of the cherry blossom” and is the credo of the Yakuza family he followed. Photo: An erotic danser picks up fake 2-dollar bills during a private dance with a Yakuza customer in a strip tease bar in Kabukicho, a bar which is controlled by the ODO family – 2010. (Photo and caption by Anton Kusters)

“I was on Durga Puja Festival vacation, travelling on a local train. A boy was singing devotional song and begging for alms. He was guised as a Hindu god, Lord Shiva. This is a common view in Indian trains but this boy was charming, bright and did have a melodious voice. My camera was ready hanging on my neck so I took a picture”. (Photo and caption by Arup Ghosh/2014 Sony World Photography Awards)

“Freedom”. After the 30 years banning import large motorcycle, in 2007, the Taiwan government reopened the import licensing of the motorcycle displacement over 550 cubic centimeter. Those large bikes, which were never seen before, were strange thought and treated unequally frequently. However, those adversity will not stop those enthusiastic bike riders from chasing the road of freedom. Photo location: Taiwan. (Photo and caption by 火花 羅/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Initially the project started when I was working in Atlanta. About four years ago, a roommate of mine had a Yorkie and we thought it would be funny to take some photos of this really cute dog with a few handguns. Once my friends saw the photos they started asking me to take pictures of their dogs with other firearms... (Photo and caption by Ben Haulenbeek/Puppies with guns calendar 2015)

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)