Bouwe Brouwer: Postcards from Fryslân (series finalist). “People from Fryslân are looked upon by the rest of the Netherlands as stubborn people. Going back as far as the Spanish occupation, they have a history of resisting authority. Postcards from Fryslân is still an ongoing project – hopefully a lifelong one. When it started, it represented only a collection of places that seemed interesting. Currently, the hope is to cover most of the province, as you never know in advance where the best narratives are. But still, it is all candid, unposed and in the public realm”. (Photo by Bouwe Brouwer/Street Photographers Awards 2021)

Manhattan's most fashionable felines dressed their best to help Matilda, the famous Algonquin Hotel cat, celebrate her 15th birthday on Aug. 11, 2010. The party was held in the hotel's lobby and centered around a good ol' fashioned cat fashion show. (Photo by Katie Sokoler/Gothamist.com)

Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.

The cutest Instagram ever! Tokyo-based mother Aya Sakai is taking pictures everyday of her son Tasuku and his best friend, a French Bulldog ‘Muu’ and post it on Instagram and her Facebook page. Whether the two are watching tv on their ‘favorite’ cushion or cuddling on the couch or sleeping together, the two just can’t seem to get enough of each other. Probably the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time…

Rahma, 19 (L), pictured with her 10-year old brother Fahad on June 21, 2016 in Kano, Nigeria. A teenage girl born without limbs lives her life in a plastic bowl. Rahma Haruna is a bright, happy girl, despite suffering from a mystery condition that stopped her arms and legs developing properly – leaving her practically limbless and in constant pain. The 19-year- old, from Kano, Nigeria, was born a healthy baby but when she turned six months old her growth came to a sudden halt and she stopped hitting key development milestones. Rahma’s family do their best to provide her with a fulfilling life and transport her around the village in a plastic bowl. Rahma said: “They help me a lot. How do they? They give me anything I need”. Rahma died on 25 December 2016. (Photo by Sani Maikatanga/Barcroft Images)

These spectacular images of the universe are the finalists in the 2016 CWAS “David Malin” awards. The annual competition, which celebrates the best astronomy images taken by Australian photographers, is part of AstroFest 2016. The winners will be announced on 16 July. An associated exhibition opens the following day at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory visitors centre, and a second exhibition will also travel to selected venues around Australia. Here: Mars and its Rival Antares and the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. (Photo by Phil Hart/CWAS/The Guardian)

Rungis is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is best known as the location of the large wholesale food market serving the Paris metropolitan area and beyond, the Marché d'Intérêt National de Rungis, said to be the largest food market in the world. The name Rungis was recorded for the first time in a royal charter of 1124 as Rungi Villa. Here: swordfish are sold at the fish pavilion in Rungis International food market as buyers prepare for the Christmas holiday season in Rungis, south of Paris, December 11, 2015. (Photo by Philippe Wojazer/Reuters)