Workers in the first decade of June 2024 lacquering and organising parasols in neat lines to dry in the sunshine in Kampung Budaya Sindangbarang, West Java, so they will be preserved for longer. (Photo by Riza Amrullah/Solent News)

A Fulton Hotshot lights a controlled burn on the so-called “Rough Fire” in the Sequoia National Forest, California, August 21, 2015. In California, suffering its worst drought on record, about 2,500 people were forced to flee Christian camps east of Fresno at Hume Lake as the so-called Rough Fire crossed Highway 180, officials said. (Photo by Max Whittaker/Reuters)

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.

Geese fight during the annual Geese Fight Day in the northern Serbian village of Mokrin, some 160km (100 miles) from Belgrade February 22, 2015. Every year in the last week of February, goose fights are held in the northern Serbian village of Mokrin. Left alone, male geese, or ganders, are unlikely to fight each other, hence why females are brought along for whose affections the ganders then fight until one or the other gives up. (Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters)

Everyone wants to get something for nothing - whether it's a lucky upgrade that means you can turn left when you get on a plane instead or heading off into the economy seats, or even getting a few extra features thrown in for free when you buy a new car.

As some of the sharpest businesses around, no-one understands this quite as well as casinos and that's why they all have a system that they call comps. It's short for "complimentary offers" and these are special treats specially designed to reward you for your loyalty to the casino in question. They're basically bonuses.

A reveller wearing a bearskin costume poses during the Bearskin Parade in Comanesti, Romania, on December 30, 2022. More than two hundred “bears” and dozens of musicians, surrounded by police and tourists, took part in the end-of-the-year parade. Young men and women dressed in real bearskin and traditional costumes paraded to chase away the evil spirits of the coming year. In all regions of Romania similar events exist but it is in this historical region of Moldova that they are the most developed. Comanesti has become the centre, attracting more and more troupes of dancers every year. (Photo by Daniel Mihailescu/AFP Photo)

I was born in Calella (Barcelona) in 1956, and nowadays I live in Vilassar de Mar (Barcelona). Since I was a child I have been fascinated by painting and I think I'm a self-taught painter because, despite I was taught drawing at Primary School, I have acquired my knowledge thanks to my environment. Painting is my own way to express myself. I can shape my inward in the canvas with the essential help of the palette knife and the colours. As a nature’s lover and great observant, my environment has always been my source of inspiration. At present I devote myself exclusively to painting, my true passion, and that is why I feel extremely fortunate.

A man takes care of the cats at the Arnamir cat hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 14, 2023. Animal care services can be an option during the holidays when pets are left behind, so that pets are not neglected while their owners are away. The hotel implements free-to-play concept, so that the cats are entrusted and has a comfortable room to stay. The rooms are monitored by a 24-hour surveillance camera. (Photo by Dasril Roszandi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)