Professor Xie Yong works on an art installation of a beaver, which is made out of plastic and around 300,000 needles, in Shenyang, Liaoning province, July 23, 2013. The needles, according to Xie, represent the pain felt by animals when their fur is taken off to produce clothing. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

To produce the images that convey his fatalistic and ironic approach to life, tinged with hope, he needed the environment and knowledge of Mother Russia, oiled with a bit of bribery to certain circus trainers. Enter the Great Russian Bear, the personification of Russia for the last several centuries, onto center stage and into his studio. The bear is recognized as both brutish and cute – Misha was the mascot for the 1980 Olympic Games – and has remained a symbol of Russia since Tsarist times. In 2009 it is the symbol of the United Russia Party.

Astronaut Donald R. Pettit would often rig an array of as many as six cameras in the cupola windows and set them all to fire continuously for events such as sunsets, which only last around seven seconds on the ISS. (Photo by Donald R. Pettit)

In this image distributed on Tuesday, September 29, 2015, 11-year old dance star Taylor Hatala and friends are seen filming their new Monster High Boo York, Boo York music video #CityGhouls in Los Angeles. (Photo by Casey Rodgers/Invision for Mattel/AP Images)

Actress Julia Rose and American professional boxer Jake Paul leave little to imagination while frolicking in waterfall pool on Hawaii holiday in the last decade of November 2022. The couple are currently enjoying a mini-break in the US following Paul's win over Anderson Silva at the end of last month. (Photo by Instagram)

The Washington Wizards dancers strike a pose during the team’s basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Capital One Arena on November 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Wizards won 142-127. (Photo by Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports via Reuters)

The clear blue water off Sidmouth in Devon, UK in March 2025 turned an orangey-red hue as tonnes of 200 million-year-old sandstone was mixed in by the tide. The 500ft cliff suffered a massive fall in October last year, and took a large section of Otter sandstone and Mercia mudstone with it. (Phoot by Dean Penn/RedZepplin/Bournemouth News)

These illuminating images show the crumbling remains of some of the worlds places of worship. The shots include golden chapels, overgrown synagogues and eerily silent rooms that were once used for prayer. They were visited by Matthias Haker, a 31-year-old photographer from Potsdam, Germany. Adding to the general intrigue of his images, Matthias never discloses the location of a shot – not even the town, country or continent. Here: The Church of All Saints. (Photo by Matthias Haker/Caters News)