Pedestrians use their smartphones to capture the newly illuminated Christmas tree at the Syntagma square in Athens on November 23, 2023. (Photo by Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP Photo)

The shoemaker in Turkey, the potato seller in Vietnam, and the weaver in Bolivia are among the billions of low-income entrepreneurs who make the world go round. They are also the type of people who can benefit significantly from microfinance. Every year, the Consultative Group To Assist The Poor (or CGAP) hosts a photo contest asking entrants to submit photos based around the idea of microfinance.The purpose of the contest is to give amateur and professional photographers a chance to show the different ways that poor households manage their financial lives and make their lives better through financial inclusion. Photo: South Asia Regional Winner – “Bricks Worker”, Bangladesh. A private enterprise worker is working at a brick field. These small businesses are creating new job opportunities for many poor people. (Photo by Moksumul Haque)

Potters colour earthen lamps at a workshop ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali in Amritsar October 15, 2014. Earthen lamps are sold in large numbers during Diwali, the annual Hindu festival of lights, as people use them to decorate their homes. (Photo by Munish Sharma/Reuters)

French artist Julien Breton aka Kaalam started calligraphy in 2001 by copying Arabic calligraphers. Self-taught, he began to incorporate long exposure photography to create incredible light paintings around the world. All of the images in this gallery were created in-camera, meaning there is no Photoshop trickery or post-production manipulation involved in creating these works of art.

Light painting photographer Michael Bosanko has been capturing light since 2004. He discovered light painting on accident, Michael says this of his moment of discovery, “the moon formed part of the scene, but the camera shake caused the moon to make a streak.

An aurora is seen in the sky in Pajala, Sweden on February 10, 2022. (Photo by Alexander Kuznetsov/Reuters)

A visitor takes photos while attending the Dandenong Festival of Lights in the suburb of Dandenong in Melbourne, Australia, September 23, 2015. The month-long festival, set up by the Chinese Cultural Works Light Spectacular, celebrates Chinese culture through a display of hundreds of beautiful and unique silk light displays, according to the event's website. (Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)

A view of northern lights over the skies of Sodankyla, Lapland, Finland, on October 7, 2024. (Photo by Alexander Kuznetsov/All About Lapland/Handout via Reuters)