A Pomeranian dog sits in a rolling pet carrier in Hong Kong, China on September 4, 2019. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

A woman poses for a photograph with light sculptures depicting animals that make up the twelve animals of the zodiac during a photocall to promote the Magical Lantern Festival at Chiswick House Gardens in west London on January 29, 2016. The festival, to celebrate Chinese New Year 2016 – the Year of the Monkey, uses more than 50 hand-sculpted lanterns and is set to run from Febuary 3 to March 6, 2016. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo)

Daniel J. Wabsey, a 58-year-old war veteran, sits outside his tent at Camp Hope in Las Cruces, New Mexico October 6, 2015. “I've been traveling for 35 or 38 years. Getting inside would take a while to get used to. I just want to be able to eat, sleep and be safe. We all get along and understand in Camp Hope. We've all been there. With common sense you can survive out here”, Wabsey said. Camp Hope describe themselves as an “alternative transitional living project for the homeless”. Around 50 people live at the camp. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

A Thai man smokes a cigarette as he sits in the flooded streets October 10, 2011 in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Around 200 factories closed in the central Thai province of Ayutthaya because of flooding, which is posing a threat to Bangkok as well. Over 260 people have died in flood-related incidents since late July according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Some areas of the country are experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years, mainly in the centre, north and northeast. (Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Light is the sole reason why life exists. It provides us with warmth; it allows us to see; it nourishes all the living things on this planet. Many painters, especially the masters of Old Renaissance Period, have recognized the importance of light and its intimate connection with nature and life itself. In their paintings they gave tribute to light, giving the impression that their paintings had a light source hidden within them. Al Hogue, the artist who created the paintings that you see before you, has studied their techniques for many years. As time went by, light permeated not only his paintings by also his life, becoming his sole philosophy.

“Elat’ma, the Ryazan Oblast region of Russia. This small town is only 300 kilometers (186 miles) from modern Moscow but remains 60 years in the past, dominated by the spirit of socialism. The air of the communist ‘50s can be seen in the town’s architecture, celebrations and other occurrences. But neither its beauty nor its ties to a socialist past brought photographer Anastasia Rudenko to this village. Elat’ma is unique in that it functions as a town for mentally disabled people”. – Michelle Cohan via CNN. (Photo by Anastasia Rudenko)

A girl plays in the Eshash el-Sudan slum in the Dokki neighbourhood of Giza, south of Cairo, Egypt September 2, 2015. Residents of the slum clashed with police in late August, when about 50 ramshackle huts were destroyed and at least 20 people were injured by teargas, local media reported, as authorities attempt to clear the area and rehouse residents. The slum dwellers, some of whom have called Eshash el-Sudan home for 50 years, say there are not enough apartments built nearby to house them. The residents of the slum eke out a living by disposing of rubbish or baking bread. Schooling is too expensive for most of their children, who play with salvaged rubbish amid shacks made out of discarded wood and leather. (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)