Kourtney Roy makes eerie self-portraits in desolate yet dramatic locations – with wigs and wardrobe straight out of 1950s melodrama. In these shots, from her “Enter as Fiction – California” series, she plays characters caught in desolate, often abandoned settings. (Photo by Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian)

Pod of dolphins surf effortlessly through the waves in the wild traveling at speeds up to 20 mph. (Photo by Greg Huglin)

A tired-looking Javan Fish Owl. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 5th December 1973

Participants wearing East Asian traditional costumes take photos during the 88th annual Hollywood Christmas Parade in Hollywood, Californi​a, USA, 01 December 2019. (Photo by Christian Monterrosa/EPA/EFE)

Just a few hours’ drive from the Belarus capital of Minsk, many villagers still live off the land. Nearly 80% of the country’s 9.5 million citizens live in urban areas, but for the rest, being close to nature can outweigh the hardships of country life. Here: Boys play in the Stviga River on a hot summer day near the village of Pogost, Belarus, August 16, 2017. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo – winner of the gold and grand prizes in the 2020 world nature photography awards. (Photo by Thomas Vijayan/World Nature Photography Awards)

“Danger in the mud” – a crocodile at Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe. The grand prize winner. (Photo by Jens Cullmann/World Nature Photography Awards 2022)

A boy runs with a burning barrel soaked in tar at the annual Ottery St Mary tar barrel festival on November 5, 2015 in Ottery St. Mary, England. The tradition, which is over 400 years old, sees competitors (who must have been born in the town to take part) running with burning barrels on their backs through the village, until the heat becomes too unbearable or the barrel breaks down, starting with junior barrels carried by children and continuing all evening with ever larger and larger barrels. The event, which has been threatened with closure on previous years due to increasing public liability insurance costs, raises thousands of pounds for charity and attracts spectators from around the world. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)