Fabrice Monteiro travelled to the most polluted places in Africa and created terrifying characters who roamed their midst dressed in eerie debris. They are spirits, he says, on a mission to make humans change their ways. Informed by Africa’s environmental problems, Fabrice Monteiro’s photographs aim to highlight urgent ecological issues all over the world. His series “The Prophecy” is on show at Photo Basel 2017 until 18 June. (Photo by Fabrice Monteiro/Photo Basel 2017/Mariane Ibrahim Gallery/The Guardian)

Nyaueth by Peter Zelewski – £2,000 third prize winner. This was taken near London’s Oxford Street as part of Zelewski’s series Beautiful Strangers. Zelewski explains: ‘The aim of Beautiful Strangers is to challenge the concept of traditional beauty with a series of spontaneous street portraits of everyday citizens who show character, uniqueness and a special inner quality’. (Photo by Peter Zelewski/Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize 2015)

Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, who is dressed as the “Star Wars” character Darth Vader, poses for a picture as he dries his mask and helmet with a hairdryer in the bathroom of his apartments in Odessa, Ukraine, December 2, 2015. Darth Vader was bent on galactic domination, but his Ukrainian namesake enjoys more mundane pursuits: local politics, walking the family dog and a spot of embroidery. The Ukrainian citizen, who has changed his name to Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, ran for the post of local mayor in October, his political backers dressed as Stormtroopers. In his trademark black outfit, he is a regular sight around Odessa, a major port city on southern Ukraine's Black Sea coast. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Members of a Star Wars fan club wear costumes of movie characters as they join a midnight premiere of the new Star Wars movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at a cinema in Stuttgart, Germany, late 16 December 2015 night. Numerous fans of the science fiction movie series were gathering to attend one of the midnight premiere screenings all over Germany of the latest movie of the epic series – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. (Photo by Nikolai Huland/EPA)

A boy dressed as the Star Wars character Darth Vader attends a Star Wars themed church service, at the Zion Church in Berlin, Sunday, December 20, 2015. About 500 people, some carrying light saber props or wearing Darth Vader masks, attended the service, more than twice as many as usual on a Sunday. (Photo by Markus Schreiber/AP Photo)

An Iranian girl wearing a costume inspired in the fictional folklore character Hajji Firuz, dances in Tehran on March 17, 2021 as Iranians prepare to celebrate Noruz, the Iranian New Year. Noruz, “new day” in Persian, is the New Year festivity celebrated in Iran as well as in Afghanistan and Kurdish regions in several countries. It begins with the spring equinox and symbolises rebirth. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP Photo)

Workers inflate and secure giant helium balloons which will be a featured part of tomorrow's 97th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, New York, USA, 22 November 2023. The annual parade will feature 16 giant character helium balloons which will be lead down the street by teams of people. (Photo by Justin Lane/EPA)

A child poses with face painting during the event in Canning, West Bengal on June 15, 2025. For generations Bahurupi artists from West Bengal have been practicing in the art of face painting. Using their painting techniques they can easily metamorphose into different characters during a performance, which often represents tribal myths. These traditional artists scrape a living from their performances, relying on the generosity of audiences for their income. (Photo by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)