Well, this is hardly a waist of time! Here’s the couple who traveled the U.S. with an LED hula hoop – taking magnificent landscape photographs as they went. The brilliantly vibrant photographs show off the lights and colors of the lit-up hula hoop – with the strikingly serene American landscapes in the background. Grant Mallory, 25, from Columbus, Ohio, took pictures of his 23-year-old fiance hula-hooping in various national parks across the United States over the course of a three month road trip in the summer of 2015. Here: Magnificent pictures taken by Grant Mallory. (Photo by Grant Mallory/Caters News)

A leopard attacks an Indian man as others climb a wall to get away from the animal in Lamba Pind area in Jalandhar on January 31, 2019. After a leopard was spotted in a house in Lamba Pind area of Jalandhar city, subsequent attempts to capture it led to the animal attacking at least six people, though none was injured seriously, local media said. (Photo by Shammi Mehra/AFP Photo)

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge walk hand in hand from Buckingham Palace the day after their wedding to a waiting helicopter as they leave for a secret honeymoon location, on April 30, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

A young Bengal tiger cub smuggled into the US and seized at the Mexico border is displayed for the media during Operation Jungle Book at the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Torrance, California on October 20, 2017. Operation Jungle Book, a law enforcement initiative led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service that targeted wildlife smuggling, resulting in federal criminal charges against defendants who allegedly participated in the illegal importation and/ or transportation of numerous animal species – including a tiger, monitor lizards, cobras, Asian “lucky” fish, exotic songbirds and several coral species. (Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP Photo)

The Ring of Life is a 515-foot (approximately 157 meters) landmark built in the city of Fushun, China. The landmark is built with an observation deck accessible by elevator, as well as 12,000 LED lights. Having abandoned local entertainment projects due to the small local population, urban planners settled on building a sightseeing landmark instead in order to attract a tourist industry to the region. The structure uses approximately 3,000 tons of steel and cost an estimated $16M U.S. dollars.

Tim Laman is a field biologist and wildlife photojournalist. His pioneering research in the rain forest canopy in Borneo led to a PhD from Harvard and his first National Geographic article in 1997. Since then, he has pursued his passion for exploring wild places and documenting little-known and endangered wildlife by becoming a regular contributor to National Geographic. He has eighteen articles to his credit to date, all of which have had a conservation message. Some have focused on endangered species such as Orangutans or Hornbills, while others, such as a series of articles on Conservation International’s Biodiversity Hotspots, have highlighted regions under intense pressure.

Vanessa, thirty-five, had three children with an abusive husband. She “lost her mind, started doing heroin”, after losing the children, who were taken away and given to her mother. The drugs led to homelessness and prostitution. She grew up on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, but now spends her time in Hunts Point, “trying to survive everyday. Just doing whatever it takes”.