A leader “Rolli” of a yodel group “Schuppel” runs in the snow in front of a farmstead during the “Silvesterchlausen” in the early morning in Urnaesch in the Swiss canton Appenzell Ausserroden on January 13, 2017. (Photo by Michael Buholzer/AFP Photo)

Surfers take to the waves at Bondi Beach on October 16, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. COVID-19 restrictions eased across NSW on Monday 11 October for fully vaccinated residents after the state passed its 70 per cent double vaccination target. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)

Kevin Russ, a photographer & image moderator for iStockphoto, grew up in Arroyo Grande, California. In 2003, he made the move to Portland, planning to study at Multnomah Bible College. Finding the workload to be minimal, Kevin invested in a camera, filling his free time and finding himself instantly smitten with the craft. A year and a half later, photography had evolved into his full-time job. However, after 4 years of consistent portrait work, Kevin became burnt out and took a step back from photography altogether. Two years later, he picked up the camera again and now spends the majority of his time on the road, exploring & photographing the rustic landscapes & wildlife he encounters.

Members of the U.S. Army 173rd Airborne Brigade stand at attention as a Ukrainian folk dance group performs at the opening ceremony of the “Rapid Trident” NATO military exercises on September 15, 2014 near Yavorov, Ukraine. The two-week exercises include participating units from a variety of NATO and NATO-associate countries as well as Ukrainian troops. Meanwhile fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian armed foces has flared again in eastern Ukraine in a battle for the control of Donetsk airport despite the tenuous ceasefire. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, is locked under the rule of extremists from the Islamic State group trying to purge it of everything they see as contradicting their stark vision of Islam. A trove of photographs now housed at the Library of Congress offers a glimpse of a different Mosul – before wars, insurgency, sectarian strife and now radicals' rule. The scenes were taken in the autumn of 1932 by staff from the American Colony Photo Department during a visit to Iraq at the end of the British mandate. (Photo by AP Photo)

General view of the monument to memory of soldiers who liberated the city of Knin – in Knin, Croatia on November 10, 2014. Across the former Yugoslavia stand giant monuments to a state that no longer exists, once visited and celebrated during public holidays such as Republic Day on November 29, marking the creation of socialist Yugoslavia. Many are now neglected or ignored, aging symbols of a joint state forged during World War Two but torn apart by nationalism half a century later. Republic Day is no longer marked in any of the seven independent states that emerged from its ashes. (Photo by Antonio Bronic/Reuters)

Exhilaration beyond imaginable, intense concentration on a single point, and complete freedom of soul – all these things very accurately describe the art of highlining. Highlining is a branch of a new sport called slacklining, which involves walking on special webbing secured between two points. Andi Lewis is one of the most famous slackliners in the world, particularly due to his performance during Superbowl Halftime Show in 2012. He never fails to surprise people with an amazing stunt or a project. This time he and his friends have created a completely incredible hand-knitted hammock located hundreds of feet above the ground. Just getting to this hammock requires immense skills and bravery. But once you’re finally there, you can rest a while, before mustering up the courage to go back across a narrow line with nothing but thin air beneath your feet.

A beautiful snowy owl looks like she is flying above a cloud, but in fact she is gliding inches above a snowplain in a hunt for food. The owls fit in perfectly with their surroundings as both the male and female, which has darker markings on her feathers referred to as barres, hunt for voles. The female is so low to the ground she is almost touching it as she spots her prey in the snow. Nature photographer Rick Dobson captured the two birds hunting in corn fields near his home, just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Rick Dobson/Solent News/SIPA Press)