Paint-splattered revellers take a break at the Notting Hill carnival in West London in the last decade of August 2022. (Photo by Andy Hall/The Observer)

Residents look at an injured wild elephant walking outside their house in a village near Amchang wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati, Saturday, August 9, 2025. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

A woman walks into the ocean as a sea lion makes its way to the beach in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, on September 3, 2025. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

American singer-songwriter Madonna shows off some bling while hitching a ride on November 26, 2025. (Photo by madonna/Instagram)

Models present creations “2033 (teens)” by Belarusian designer Anastasiya Kutepova during a show at the festival and contest Fashion Mill, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Minsk, Belarus on June 30, 2020. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

A leopard runs to at people as they run for cover in Katmandu, Nepal, on April 10, 2013. According to reports, 15 people were injured including three policemen and two officials from the Department of Forest. The leopard was later killed with the help of Nepalese policemen and local media. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press)

ATTENTION: VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY AND DEATH

“Light From Heaven”. Taken around Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia in the morning. Photo location: East Java, Indonesia. (Photo and caption by Pimpin Nagawan/National Geographic 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.

Nine years ago, Tom Carter traveled from San Francisco to China, responding to a job posting that turned out to be a scam. He managed to find another job as a teacher, and saved enough money to embark on a 56,000 km trip through all of China's 33 provinces that lasted two years. Carrying a camera – just a a 4-megapixel point-and-shoot – Carter captured some amazing images of the widely varying landscape, people, and architecture across the nation. Photo: Buddhist pilgrim family from Sichuan. (Photo by Tom Carter via The Atlantic)