Dancers of the Czech National Ballet warm up backstage during a performance of “The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol” at the National Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic, late 16 December 2017. Peter I. Tchaikovsky's “The Nutcracker”, one of his most famous compositions and seasonal ballets, premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 18 December 1872, celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. (Photo by Martin Divisek/EPA/EFE)

Runner English Gardner poses for a portrait at the U.S. Olympic Committee Media Summit in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California March 8, 2016. “My musical inspiration when I'm training is usually a lot of upbeat music”, said Gardner. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Sandrine Kerfante has had a fascination with “doubles” ever since meeting her mother’s twin as a child. In 2012, this lifelong captivation inspired her to create a blog called twin-niwt, which celebrates photographs of doubles in all their forms. “I’m fascinated by the idea of the duo, repetition, symmetry, reflection, mirror games and all the symbolism associated with it”, she says. “I think it’s a topic often present in photography, more or less consciously”. (Photo by Sandrine Kerfante/The Guardian)

Balinese I Ketut Widanta or known as Lelut rides to collect fodder with his dogs sits on his motorbike in Canggu, Bali, Indonesia on November 05, 2021. Lelut becomes famous for his attractive style of carrying six of his rescued dogs with a modified motorbike while collecting food waste from restaurants. Currently, he takes care of twenty rescued dogs which some of them were dumped by the owners on the street due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Often he receives dog food donations from dog lovers since the collapse of Bali tourism affects his income. (Photo by Johannes P. Christo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A waste picker unloads garbage at a waste transfer station in Bamako, Mali, August 19, 2018. In the Malian capital of Bamako, donkey carts driven by young men like 19-year-old Arouna Diabate play a vital role battling the fast-growing city's waste problem. Every morning before dawn, Diabate hitches his donkey to a cart and sets off on his rounds, going door-to-door to collect household garbage which he delivers to a local waste transfer station for a monthly salary of around $35. “I won't be picking up trash with a donkey cart for the rest of my life, but for now people appreciate us because we help clean up the homes of Bamako”, Diabate said. (Photo by Luc Gnago/Reuters)

A group of boys toss their friend into the water at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States on June 25, 2024. New England temperatures reached into the high 80's(F) and low 90's(F) this week after a heatwave brought temperatures close to 100(F) last week. Heat domes causing heatwaves have been hitting the US over the past week with high alerts placed in the I-95 corridor on the East Coast. The National weather service has predicted above-normal temperatures for most the US for the month of July. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/Anadolu via Getty Images)

These adorable pawtraits seem to show the personalities of a variety of canines, capturing their incredible diverseness in their expressions and fine details. Khokhlov and Ershova, who are from Moscow, have taken portraits of about 50 breeds of pooches – earning much critical acclaim. (Photo by Alexander Khokhlov/Veronica Ershova/Caters News Agency)

It's often said that pets and their owners can start to look alike, but these adorable photographs take the old mantra to a new extreme. They are the work of Svetlana Valyiskaya (27), from St Petersburg, who snaps pets in everyday poses in her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer. The vibrant costumes and scenes, which Svetlana designs herself, have made the photos a hit in her native Russia – and it's not hard to see why. She said: “I really love animals, they are loyal, faithful and true and always interesting to work with – plus they never criticise the photographs afterwards”. (Photo by Svetlana Valyiskaya/Mercury)