Each year Nikon Small World recognizes the excellence of photography taken under the microscope. The contest showcases the beauty and complexity of life. Anyone interested in microscopy and photography can enter the contest and in its 42nd year, Nikon Small World received 2,000 entries from 70 countries. Here: 11th Place; Scales of a butterfly wing underside (Vanessa atalanta). (Photo by Francis Sneyers/Nikon's Small World 2016)

A fragment of a Koran manuscript is seen in the library at the University of Birmingham in Britain July 22, 2015. A British university said on Wednesday that fragments of a Koran manuscript found in its library were from one of the oldest surviving copies of the Islamic text in the world, possibly written by someone who might have known Prophet Mohammad. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the parchment folios held by the University of Birmingham in central England were at least 1,370 years old, which would make them one of the earliest written forms of the Islamic holy book in existence. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

Shell, which is the replica of the biggest detonated Soviet nuclear bomb AN-602 (Tsar-Bomb), is on display in Moscow, Russia, August 31, 2015. The shell is part of an exhibition organized by the state nuclear corporation Rosatom. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)

Hollywood actress Malin Akerman helps King Digital Entertainment set the Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Hammock to celebrate the launch of its new game Paradise Bay on Wednesday, September 2, 2015, in Jersey City, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision for King World Entertainment/AP 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.

A concept illustration of the world's first forest in the sky, the Bosco Verticale green twin towers currently under construction in Milan, Italy. Towering over the city skyline the world's first forest in the sky will be a sight to behold. With tree equal to one hectare of forest spanning 27 floors these 365 and 260 foot emerald twin towers will be home to an astonishing 730 trees, 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 ground cover plants. (Photo by Boeri Studio)

A woman walks past murals adorning the walls of Garibaldi subway station, in Milan, Friday, February 28, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak in northern Italy, the bustling metropolis of Milan has resembled more of a ghost town lately, as workers stayed home and tourism has dwindled there, and other parts of Italy. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

Erica Daly, a District Nurse Team Leader at Mersey Care NHS, stands in front of the “Liver Bird Wings”, an artwork by Paul Curtis on a wall within Liverpool's Baltic Triangle on April 29, 2020. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)