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)

Ruben Belloso Adorna, a young artist from Seville, Spain, has taken the art world by storm with his incredibly detailed portraits of real-life and fictional characters drawn exclusively in pastel on wooden canvas.

(L-R) Ozzy Osbourne and son, producer Jack Osbourne visit the Tribeca Film Festival 2011 portrait studio on April 25, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

“Head in the Clouds” – a series of a photographer from Brooklyn, Kaitlin Rebesco. She creates unique portraits of Paris, focusing on the tops of the iconic buildings.

Maddie The Coonhound a fun side project of photographer Theron Humphrey as he travels across America shooting portraits and telling the stories of everyday people for his project, This Wild Idea. In between he takes pictures of his dog – Maddie The Coonhound – that seems to enjoy being a model.

Matthew Rolston: Talking Heads presents monumental color portraits of dummies chosen from a collection of nearly seven hundred ventriloquists dolls (dating from 1820 –1980) housed at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

Yotaka Iwabuchi from Japan dressed as Santa's reindeer poses for a portrait at the opening of the 39th World Santa Claus Congress July 22, 2002 in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Photo by Sion Touhig/Getty Images)

These animal portraits and painted headdresses by Amy Hamilton are adorably perfect for this time of year. They feel so soft and wintery, and would make amazing notecards for gifts.