“Hey! I'm Thomas Shahan, an artist and macrophotographer from Oklahoma. In my spare time over the past few years, I've been shooting portraiture of local arthropods. Why would I devote countless hours to tramping through forests, fields and the like searching for insects and spiders? Well, despite some common beliefs, arthropods (members of the phylum Arthropoda – insects, spiders, crustaceans...) represent an endlessly varied, wildly beautiful and fascinating bunch of animals with surprisingly personable faces and behavior. Often, all it takes is simply inspecting their lives on a closer level to turn repulsion to reverence”. – Thomas Shahan

Photo: Adult Male Jumping Spider at Sunset – Phidippus mystaceus. (Photo by Thomas Shahan; Source: Flickr)

A supporter of BJP dances during celebrations after learning of initial poll results outside the party headquarters in New Delhi, on May 16, 2014. (Photo by Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters)

Vivid Sydney is a unique annual event of light, music and ideas, featuring an outdoor 'gallery' of extraordinary lighting sculptures, a cutting-edge contemporary music program, some of the world's most important creative industry forums and, of course, the spectacular illumination of the Sydney Opera House sails. It positions Sydney as the creative hub of Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, and delivers both innovative live entertainment and creative inspiration on a grand scale.

Nguyen Manh Quan (top), 26, a civil servant, carries a girl using his throat area as he performs during a showcase of the traditional Thien Mon Dao kung fu at Du Xa Thuong village, southeast of Hanoi, Vietnam May 10, 2015. Thien Mon Dao, a traditional Vietnamese martial art, was formed by 18th century villagers in Du Xa Thuong village, who believed the art form could help improve health as well as fight against foreign invaders. There are currently about 3,000 practitioners including farmers, industry workers and state servants. These practitioners say they are able to bend metal against their bodies and carry heavy objects using their throats, eyes or tongues, as well as run across the surface of a river, according to Thien Mon Dao kung fu master Nguyen Khac Phan. (Photo by Reuters/Kham)

Drag queens Maude Boate, Anita Wiglit and Kita Mean pose for a photograph before boarding the NSW TrainLink Silver City Stiletto train at Central station in Sydney, Australia, 12 September 2019. Drag queens and kings will travel to the outback NSW town of Broken Hill to attend the annual Broken Heel festival, paying homage to the iconic Australian film “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. (Photo by James Gourley/AAP)

The calm before storm Bert, with the sunrise on November 22, 2024 through Durdle Door in Dorset, UK, the sun beams through the famous rock arch on the Jurassic Coastline, a shot known as “Through the Keyhole”. It only happens from the end of November to early January and not that often as clear skies are needed on the horizon for the sun to shine through. (Photo by Steve Hogan/Picture Exclusive)

“A Balinese man shows off his pride and joy, a fighting cock, while on a cigarette break after a morning’s work in nearby fields”. (Photo by Coltrane Koh/The Guardian)

Renowned amphibian and reptile photographer Matthijs Kuijpers has released his first book, “Cold Instinct”. Kuijpers says the aim of the work is “for the viewer to abandon the fear and negative thoughts that often surround these animals”. What’s left is the bizarre beauty of these creatures in their simplest form – no backgrounds and no distractions. Here: Mossy frog (Theloderma corticale). (Photo by Matthijs Kuijpers/The Guardian)