Photographer Tyler Shields had become comfortable, a feeling he found “terrible” as an artist. He wanted to do something challenging, something that pushed the human boundaries. So he spent a year documenting heights, fear, energy and falling – a series he calls “Suspense”. Photo: “Balloon”. (Photo by Tyler Shields)

“They’ve been obsessing me for years. I searched and found them in Benares, on the banks of the river Gange (India). They arrive here to get rid of everything and to wait for death. This existence can last for years, sometimes decades, almost a life. Opposite to mine, well organised and filled as a human life can be, to try in vain to push the limits of its end”. – Denis Rouvre. (Photo by Denis Rouvre)

Holly Spring, a New Zealand photographer, says she is inspired by her daughter Violet, who was born with multiple ailments; Hirschsprung’s Disease, a blockage of the large intestine and Symbrachydactyly, a limb abnormality. The series was designed to show her daughter that she “can live a life without obstacles”. (Photo by Holly Spring)

Salt-resistant plants grow in sand made up of small fish bones on the shore of the Salton Sea before sunrise in an area where a controversial development would create a new town for nearly 40,000 people on the northwest shore of the biggest lake in California, the Salton Sea, on March 21, 2012 south of Mecca, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Circus performer and trampolinist Max Calaf Seve performs at a preview for NoFit State Circus new summer show at the Eden Project on March 29, 2012 in St Austell, England. This will be the second time that the NoFit Circus has performed in the world famous biomes of the Eden Project. The production will start on July 28 and run until September 2 before leaving Cornwall for a global tour. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A model walks the runway at the Iris Van Herpen Haute Couture autumn winter 2011 fashion show during Paris Haute Couture Week on July 4, 2011 in Paris, France. (Photo by Nathalie Lagneau/Catwalking/Getty Images)

A model walks the runway at the Popluxe Fall 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Studio at Lincoln Center on February 10, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)