Meirav Stardinner receives a snake massage from Ada Barak at Barak's snake spa on September 11, 2008 in Talmei Elazar, Israel. Barack's income comes mostly from exhibiting her plants which eat everything from insects to small mammals. She discovered snakes' therapeutic value after letting people hold them after her act “Some people said that holding the snakes made them feel better, relaxed”, she says. “One old lady said it was soothing, like a cold compress”. Now she uses a combination of big snakes for deep massage and little ones for light massage, though all are non-venemous. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

“Echus Chasma is a chasma in the Lunae Planum high plateau north of the Valles Marineris canyon system of Mars. Clay has been found in Echus Chasma that means that water once sat there for a time. Echus Chasma is approximately 100 km long and 10 km wide, with valleys ranging in depth from around 1 km to 4 km”. – Wikipedia

Photo: In this handout image supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) on July 16, 2008, The Echus Chasma, one of the largest water source regions on Mars, is pictured from ESA's Mars Express. The data was acquired on September 25, 2005. The dark material shows a network of light-coloured, incised valleys that look similar to drainage networks known on Earth. It is still debated whether the valleys originate from precipitation, groundwater springs or liquid or magma flows on the surface. (Photo by ESA via Getty Images)

Australian photographer Brendan Fitzpatrick’s X-ray photographs expose the inner workings of toys. Fitzpatrick’s photographs are both whimsical and mechanical, evoking the curiosity of childhood and the desire to discover how things look and work from other perspectives. The strategic placement of wires, batteries, and screws are revealed, the complexity of the inside contrasting with the seemingly simplistic design of the outside. Fitzpatrick uses chest X-ray and mammogram machines to photograph flowers, toys, and creatures, then enhances the color in the images in order to more effectively distinguish the various parts that have been exposed. This photographs are part of series he calls “Invisible Light”. (Photo by Brendan Fitzpatrick)

Runner-up. “The heavens opened and the streets around Shibuya, Tokyo, were suddenly drenched in even more colour and movement. I was taking photos (my friend was holding the umbrella) when I noticed this woman at the crossing. I’m pleased with the futuristic feel of the image”. (Photo by Katherine Bridgestock/The Guardian)

In a photo taken on June 5, 2017 a traffic security officer stands on duty at an intersection in Pyongyang. Officially known as traffic security officers but universally referred to as traffic ladies, they are chosen for their looks in a society that remains traditionalist in many respects. They must leave the role if they marry, and have a finite shelf-life, with compulsory retirement looming at just 26. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

32 year old Mahada Khatum repairs a fishing net outside her home in the Shamalapur Rohingya refugee settlement on April 11, 2014 in Chittagong district, Bangladesh. Some years ago she escaped violence and discrimination from the Zomgara Baharchara village in the Meherulla district of Myanmar. (Photo by Getty Images/Stringer)

Zed Nelson has photographed the same family, once a year on the same day, for 20 years. I take hundreds of photo’s of my extended family all year round, some just languish on my computer screen unseen by anyone, some get printed, some framed. What is really interesting about this project is not only the obvious time scale but his “ analytical approach“. The same plain background is used for each session and he chooses only 1 frame to represent that years image. My many photographs are a mishmash of family events, his create a family history unfolding . Perhaps less really is more.

A young child dressed as the Hindu deity Shiva looks at a cow while waiting for alms from pilgrims in Pushkar in the western Indian state of Rajasthan on October 24, 2019. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)