“The Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. During reconnaissance missions the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A U.S. Air Force SR-71A, also known as the “Blackbird”, is put through it's paces during a test flight over Beale Air Force Base in California. The aircraft is a strategic reconnaissance plane by Lockheed and is the world's fastest and highest flying operational aircraft. (Photo by Getty Images)

In Dougie Wallace’s photos of Mumbai taxis, the chatter, yelling, and constant horns of the city are almost audible. A selection of his images is on show at Gayfield Creative Spaces, Edinburgh, as part of the Retina photography festival until 30 July. For four years, the Glasgow-born Wallace focused his photos on one kind of taxi in particular: the Premier Padmini, a 1960s workhorse painted in black and yellow. Locally known as “Kaali-Peeli”, there were once more than 60,000 of them in the Indian city. But thanks to laws restricting pollution, the cars now are fast disappearing from Mumbai’s streets. (Photo by Dougie Wallace/The Guardian)

A passenger waits after his train arrived in Nouadhibou, Mauritania’s second largest city and the main export port for the country’s iron ore industry, on June 25, 2014. The mining company’s employees proudly call their firm the lung of their nation's economy and the train that ferries the ore to the coast stretches some two kilometres, making it one of the world's longest. SNIM mines black iron ore in the northern town of Zouerate, a remote desert location which nevertheless attracts people from all over the country looking for work. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

“Born in 1965 at Tokyo, living at Tokyo. Starting shooting since 2008. 2011: 1x Photo Awards Honorable Mention (Street). 2012: Black and White Spider Awards 2nd Place (Portrait), Honorable Mention (Fashion); PX3 Gold Awards (Press); Israel Harvanism Street Contest 1st Place. 2013: Urban Picnic Street Contest Top30 Finalist; PX3 3rd Place (Portrait), Gold (Portrait - Personality), Gold (Press - People/Personality); Photolux + PhotoVogue Photo Contest 1st Place. 2014: Sony World Photography Awards Commended (Smile Category)”. – Tatsuo Suzuki. Photo: “Spring”. (Photo by Tatsuo Suzuki)

Dhofar Region, Oman. Much of Oman is desert, but the Arabian Sea coast in the Dhofar region represents a startling difference in climate. This coastal region catches the monsoon rains, or khareef, during the summer months. Drenching rains fall primarily on the mountainous ridge that separates the lush, fertile areas along the coast from the arid interior, recharging streams, waterfalls and springs that provide plentiful water supplies in the fertile lowlands for the remainder of the year. Image taken by Landsat 5 on April 2, 2005. (Photo by USGS/NASA)

An American Marine readies to land on Guadalcanal during the five-month struggle for the island between late 1942 and early 1943. Three thousand miles south of Tokyo, Guadalcanal was a major shipping point for military supplies. The Allied victory there in February, 1943, marked a major turning point in the war after a string of Japanese victories in the Pacific. (Photo by Joe Scherschel/Time & Life Pictures)

A three-month-old Sumatran tiger cub named “Bandar” shows his displeasure after being dunked in the tiger exhibit moat for a swim reliability test at the National Zoo in Washington, on November 6, 2013. All cubs born at the zoo must take a swim test before being allowed to roam in the exhibit. Bandar passed his test. (Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)

Starting in September, Indonesia's Mount Sinabung began erupting yet again. In the days that followed, ash and smoke were shot into the air multiple times. As a result, nearby towns turned gray from repeated blows by the volcano. Photo: A man uses his mobile phone as Mount Sinabung continues to erupt, with hot smoke spewing from the volcano, in the Karo district on the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island on November 18, 2013. Officials said a week ago at more than 5,000 people had fled their homes since the volcano erupted early this month. (Photo by Sutanta Aditya/AFP Photo)