Brick-carving featuring Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) maids performing musical instruments is seen at the Chinese Music History Museum in Xian University of Architecture and Technology on September 27, 2008 in Xian of Shaanxi Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

A mahout (elephant driver) walks a baby elephant across the city streets at night September 27, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Santa Students practice dancing during the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School workshop on October 16, 2008 in Midland, Michigan. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Visarute Angkatavanich gets incredibly close up to capture these stunning portraits of Siamese fighting fish in graceful, dancerly poses. The Thai photographer uses perfectly placed lighting to create the dramatic highlights and shadows that give personality to each little finned creature.

Ruben Belloso Adorna, a young artist from Seville, Spain, has taken the art world by storm with his incredibly detailed portraits of real-life and fictional characters drawn exclusively in pastel on wooden canvas.