Josef Tödtling – Longest duration full-body burn (without oxygen) Guinness World Records 2016. Location: Styria, Austria. (Photo by Richard Bradbury/Guinness World Records)
Each year Nikon Small World recognizes the excellence of photography taken under the microscope. The contest showcases the beauty and complexity of life. Anyone interested in microscopy and photography can enter the contest and in its 42nd year, Nikon Small World received 2,000 entries from 70 countries. Here: 11th Place; Scales of a butterfly wing underside (Vanessa atalanta). (Photo by Francis Sneyers/Nikon's Small World 2016)
During the spring harvest season, a group of traditional Malaysian honey hunters travel to the rainforest near the Thai border to collect honeycombs from giant bees – and risk their lives climbing 200ft trees. Here: Bees are sensitive to light, which makes them follow the glowing embers down to the ground. (Photo by Hasnoor Hussain/The Guardian)
A young Hindu priest crawls under a cow as part of worship rituals during Tihar festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, October 30, 2016. Cows are considered sacred to Hindus and are worshipped during Tihar festival, one of the most important Hindu festivals dedicated to the Goddess of wealth Laxmi. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)
California-based photographer Seth Casteel made his name taking photographs of dogs underwater, but before that, he was snapping cats on land. In fact, they were his first animal subjects. Casteel’s new book, Pounce – a follow-up to his bestselling Underwater Dogs and Underwater Puppies – features more than 80 photographs of playful cats doing what they do best. Here: Fuzzbucket. (Photo by Seth Casteel/Hachette Australia)
Revelers celebrate during fireworks marking the start of the New Year on Copacabana beach on January 1, 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazilian revelers traditionally dress in white to honor the New Year's holiday along with the Brazilian Goddess of the Sea- Iemanja. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In this January 11, 2017 photo, Erika Martins uses black electrical tape to create a customer's bikini, in order to attain crisp tan lines, on her rooftop Erika Bronze salon in the suburb of Realengo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Martins wears a microphone connected to an open speaker system in order to direct her assistants to clients who need more tanning lotion or a sprinkling of water on their skin. (Photo by Renata Brito/AP Photo)
Participants dressed as Vikings carry torches as they march in procession before burning their viking galley ship at the culmination of the annual Up Helly Aa festival in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, on January 31, 2017. (Photo by Andy Buchanan/AFP Photo)