Developer of “Hizamakura”, or lap pillow, Makoto Igarashi, introduces the product at Trane Co., Ltd.'s HQ on December 14, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Photographer Mihaela Noroc travelled the world from Ethiopia to the US and from Guatemala to France in search of natural and authentic beauty. She introduces some of the inspiring women she met on her journey. Here: Ecuador. “More and more tribes of Amazonia are starting to adopt modern clothes for everyday life. But they are still keeping their traditional clothes for important events. I photographed this young woman in her wedding outfit”. (Photo by Mihaela Noroc/The Guardian)

A jockey falls from his buffalos during Barapan Kebo or buffalo races as part of the Moyo festival on September 30, 2014 in Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The traditional Buffalo races, known as Barapan Kebo, are held by Samawa tribes in muddy rice fields to celebrate and provide entertainment ahead of the annual planting season. Jockeys secure themselves on a wooden structure attached to the buffalo, and maneuver across the mud in a race to the finish line. The jockeys weild long sticks, in a similar style to jousting, and direct them towards targets called “Saka”. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

The entire cast perform during a production media call for Singin' In The Rain at Her Majesty's Theatre on May 12, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

An artist draws a tattoo on a woman's arm during a tattoo convention in Ljubljana April 18, 2015. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)

Six month- old baby elephant “Clear Sky” is kept afloat with the help of a harness during a hydrotherapy session at a local veterinary clinic in Chonburi Province on January 5, 2017. After losing part of her left foot in a snare in Thailand, baby elephant 'Clear Sky' is now learning to walk again – in water. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/AFP Photo)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

Elephants spray tourists with water in celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangkok, April 9, 2014. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EFE)