Alex Prager is an American art photographer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Her photographs primarily use staged actors, models and extras to create “meticulously designed mise en scène”, often described as film-like and hyperreal. “Alex Prager: Silver Lake Drive” is at the Photographers’ Gallery, London, 15 June – 14 October 2018. Here: The Big Valley, Susie and Friends, 2008. (Photo by Alex Prager Studio/Lehmann Maupin Gallery)

“Damien Steven Hirst (born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists (or YBAs), who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist, with his wealth valued at £215m in the 2010 Sunday Times Rich List. During the 1990s his career was closely linked with the collector Charles Saatchi, but increasing frictions came to a head in 2003 and the relationship ended”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Contractors move Damien Hirst's bronze sculpture of a pregnant woman into positionl on October 16, 2012 in Ilfracombe, England. The bronze-clad, sword-wielding 65ft (20m) statue, named “Verity”, has been controversially given to the seaside town by the artist, on a 20-year loan and was erected by crane on the pier. (Photo by Matt Cardy)

A Nihang Sikh, belonging to the Sikh warrior clan, performs Gatka, a form of Sikh martial arts, during a religious procession marking the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in New Delhi, India, 25 November 2025. The procession commemorates the martyrdom of the 9th Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, who was executed in 1675 AD for refusing to convert to Islam on the orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The event is observed at Gurudwara Sis Ganj in Delhi. Guru Tegh Bahadur, the youngest of the five sons of Guru Hargobind, was born in Amritsar in 1621. (Photo by Rajat Gupta/EPA)

We are all drawn to fire, entranced by its beauty and ferociousness. Its brilliance draws us in like moths to a candle flame. Thus, many of the celebrations that humans have involve lighting fires. They can be big or small; there could be many little lights or one giant inferno; they may float on water, burn on land, or rise high into the skies. Loi Krathong is a festival that is held each year in Thailand and a number of other places. During this festival thousands of little fires are lighted, presenting a marvelous sight for all the onlookers. It is believed that this tradition is an adaptation of Brahmanical festival, which was adopted by Thai Buddhists to honor Buddha.

Elements of nature are too powerful for humans to subdue, yet it didn’t stop the most courageous individuals from trying. Conquering air, land, fire, water, and even the very fabric of reality – this is the ultimate goal of humanity. For now, we can only marvel at the beauty and tremble in awe before the Mother Nature. A short film “Ocean Gravity,” written and directed by Julie Gautier and Guillaume Nery, reminds us of how small and insignificant a human body is, as it is being swept away by an ocean current. Nevertheless, it never stopped people from attempting to subjugate these unstoppable forces, and someday, maybe the humanity will come out victorious.

The Mile O' Mud is a 7/8-mile oval track with a 1/8-mile diagonal lane slashed through the center. The racing lanes are approximately 60 feet wide. On average, the muddy water is four to six feet deep, with three strategically placed holes. The largest hole, located in front of the grandstand, is the treacherous “Sippy Hole”, named for the legendary driver “Mississippi” Milton Morris, Swamp Buggy King 1955, who repeatedly got stuck in it. (Photo by Malcolm Lightner)

Sea lions wait on the deck of the boat before being released in front of Palomino island, in Callao, Peru September 12, 2015. Four young sea lions returned to the wild after being rescued by marine biologists and treated for various illnesses. The sea lions are survivors of various illnesses which they contracted off the coast of Peru caused by the elevated temperatures in the water because of the El Nino phenomenon, according to Carlos Yaipen, Director of Animal Science and Well-being Organization (ORCA). (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

Located in Siberia, Laka Baikal is the largest freshwater lake on the planet that contains approximately 20 percent of the Earth’s freshwater. Apart from being the oldest lake in the world at over 25 million years old, Lake Baikal is also home to over two thousand varieties of flora and fauna, of which almost 1,600 are endemic to the lake. The water of Lake Baikal is renowned for being some of the clearest in the world. When the lake freezes during the winter, an amazing phenomena takes place: large shards of transparent ice form on the surface of the lake, giving the amazing appearance of turquoise ice.