A young devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods has a large needle pushed through his cheek during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival in the southern province of Phuket on October 1, 2016. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)
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 woman stands next to a giant jandal on Tamarama Beach as giant sculptures are installed ahead of the “Sculpture by the Sea” exhibition in Sydney on October 19, 2016. Celebrating it's 20th anniversary, Sculpture by the Sea is the world's largest annual, free-to-the-public, outdoor sculpture exhibition. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)
A participant performs during the Perfect Pole 2016 pole dance championship in the southern city of Stavropol, Russia, October 22, 2016. (Photo by Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters)
Monkeys eat fruits during the Monkey Buffet Festival, near the Phra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi province, north of Bangkok, Thailand November 27, 2016. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)
A man dressed as Father Frost, the equivalent of Santa Claus, and Snow Maiden takes part in the contest “Yolka-fest-2016” (Fir-festival-2016) in Minsk, Belarus December 9, 2016. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)
A Maasai moran athlete has his face smeared with red ocher paint during preparations for the 2016 Maasai Olympics at the Sidai Oleng Wildlife Sanctuary, at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, near the Kenya-Tanzania border in Kimana, Kajiado, Kenya December 10, 2016. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)