Extraordinary tales of everyday heroism have been illustrated beautifully by renowned US photographer Steve McCurry in the new 2015 Lavazza Calendar. The calendar which has been created in collaboration with the Slow Food movement, features twelve breathtaking pictures, capturing the spirit, strength and humanity of the Earth Defenders – women and men who protect their land and projects in Africa with passion and bravery. The proceeds from sales of the calendar and all donations will be contributed entirely to create 10,000 food gardens in African schools and villages by the end of 2016. (Photo by Steve McCurry/2015 Lavazza Calendar)

Few things are more beautiful than puffy white clouds floating in the bright blue sky. Do you remember the time when you would lay on the soft green grass, look up at the sky, and try to recognize shapes in the clouds floating overhead? Wasn’t it wonderful, just lying there, letting the wind caress your skin, as you imagine that the clouds in the sky are actually mystical or not-so-mystical creatures? Dragons, ducks, teddy bears, dinosaurs, everything was up there. It was good old times. As adults we forget about simple pleasures of life. However, an Argentinian artist Martin Feijoo didn’t forget those times, and took them a step further. After imagining what a particular cloud looks like, he draws that particular shape over the picture of the cloud, allowing the entire world to see what goes on in his mind. (Photo by Martin Feijoo)

Sébastien Del Grosso is a French artist and a photographer, who will allow you to enter the world of surrealism, which combines photography and hand-drawn art. His works masterfully blur the transition between the real photo and the picture. By viewing his works, we can see that Sébastien is not only a master of creating photo illusions, but also a person who tries to show his inner world through his art. His emotions, his feelings, his fears and desires are all vividly and skillfully expressed in simple strokes of a pencil. He is the continuation of his art. So much so, that he loses his identity, fearing it, but being unable to stop. (Photo by Sébastien Del Grosso)

Gorgeous galaxies and stunning stars make up this selection of pictures from the shortlisted entries for this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 15 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Centre from 17 September. Here: “Seven Magic Points”. The rusty red swirls of the circular, iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway mirror the rippling aurora above. (Photo by Rune Engebø/Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016/National Maritime Museum)

This is a photo shoot like youve never seen before a model in glamorous dresses surrounded by sharks. However, model and shark diver Liz Parkinson decided to take the plunge and get up close and personal with some of the most revered creatures of the deep. She was joined at the depths of the ocean by Australian photographer Jeremy Farris, who travelled around the world to capture this quite stunning collection. In some pictures, Liz is seen hitching a ride on the fins of the placid whale shark whilst in others she is being examined by the vicious tiger shark. Here: Liz swimming with Hammerheads in the Bahamas, Bimini. (Photo by Jeremy Farris/Caters News)

These images show off some of the world's most majestic creatures silhouetted against the beautiful rising and setting sun. The vibrant pictures feature a variety of animals in the wild and were taken by a host of photographers at locations around the world. The striking images all have one thing in common: the photographers' awe-inspiring ability to perfectly capture the silhouettes of earth's beautiful creatures. Here: a blue wildebeest moves through grassland at dawn with the sun in the background in Mara Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya, Africa. (Photo by Renato Granieri/Caters News/Ardea)

Assassin’s Creed is a game that is set in the past with the main character’s subconsciousness traveling through the fabric of time to acquire hidden knowledge. The level designers of Assassin’s Creed Unity have meticulously recreated the streets of 1789 Paris to allow the users to become completely engulfed by the atmosphere of this proud and ancient city. Each year, games are becoming more and more realistic, and soon the line between movie footage and computer generated world will completely blur. This is both scary and exciting prospect, yet there is no doubt that someday, virtual world will be indistinguishable from the real one. To illustrate this, Damien Hypolite has taken a series of photos which compare scenes from Assassin’s Creed to the real placed in modern Paris. (Photo by Damien)

A surfer drops in on a large wave at Praia do Norte, in Nazare December 11, 2014. Praia do Norte beach has gained popularity with big wave surfers since Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara broke a world record for the largest wave surfed here in 2011. (Photo by Rafael Marchante/Reuters)