Clash of the storms, New Mexico, US by Camelia Czuchnicki. “A clash between two storm cells in New Mexico, US, each with its own rotating updraft. The curved striations of the oldest noticeable against the new bubbling convection of the newer. It was a fantastic sight to watch and it’s the rarity of such scenes that keep drawing me back to the US Plains each year”. (Photo by Camelia Czuchnicki/Weather Photographer of the Year 2016)

In this July 5, 2016 photo, a tamed elephant rests in a pool of water by a road in Baduraliya, a village outside Colombo, Sri Lanka. Even as the country cracks down on illegal ownership, the enduring demand for elephants has the government planning to set up its own pool of captive animals to be hired out to temples for ceremonies and maintained with budget funds. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)

UK Love Island's star Megan Barton Hanson, 26, looked incredible as she stripped off for a very sеxy shoot to mark her return to Only Fans on March 20, 2020. Only Fans is a website where people can subscribe to see racy pictures and videos of both celebrities and wannabe models. It is a very popular way to make more cash because people can create content from their own homes and build up huge followings – all of whom have to pay. (Photo by Backgrid UK)

Tango instructor Fernando Waisberg (R) and Isabella Waisberg (L) pose for a photograph during a Tango lecture session in Taipei, Taiwan, 14 April 2019 (issued 18 April 2019). Taiwan has developed its own Tango, with a strong Japanese influence; the accompanying music features lyrics in Taiwanese and Mandarin, the pace slower and simpler than the original. Taiwanese Tango is now a popular phenomenon among people over 40, and is also a subject little studied inside and outside of the island. (Photo by Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA/EFE)

Photographer Emily Dryden and sculptor/actor Zahydé Pietri combine theatricality and organic produce to compose the photographs for their series Fresh Faces. The portraits are made from a wide range of fruit and vegetables and aim to highlight humanity’s diversity – Pietri is from Puerto Rico and Dryden is from New York. Each face has its own name and identity: “We have stories for them, which you can see in the expressions”, says Dryden, “but we decided to keep them to ourselves. We didn’t want to spoil that”. (Photo by Emily Dryden and Zahydé Pietri/The Guardian)

Many people have seen feathers as decorative items before. Today, ostrich, peacock and bird of paradise feathers can be seen in haute couture and in the costumes of indigenous peoples. They can be colorful and spectacular in their own right, but how much more stunning might they be when used as canvases for artists, eager to demonstrate their talent for the unusual? Alaskan-born and -bred artist Julie Thompson is an astounding exponent of this incredible art form.