Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.

Shetland ponies wearing cardigan sweaters are the official ambassadors of Visit Scotland tourism campaign. Photographer Rob McDougall captured two cute ponies named Fivla and Vitamin dressed in traditional Fair Isle Scottish cardigans to celebrate the Year of Natural Scotland.Their onesies were made out of Shetland wool by a local knitter Doreen Brown. The ponies live at the Thordale Shetland Stud Centre.

The amazing art of dancing is captured by the lens of Bertil Nilsson, who draws inspiration from movement and human body, creating a final spectacular result. The London-based photographer and filmmaker has worked closely with dancers and circus artists for five years throughout Europe and North bringing out an inspiring project, all gathered in his book Undisclosed: Images of the Contemporary Circus Artist.

The stunning shots capture the moment a female bear and her two cubs enjoyed the last warm rays of the sun at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Kaktovik, Alaska. The bears can be seen gazing at the vibrant sunset and appear to revel in the tranquil moment as they bask in the array of colors. (Photo by Sylvain Cordier/Caters News)

It's not often that two ferocious tigers have to beat a hasty retreat from a confrontation. But it seems that the wrath of a mother bear protecting two cubs on her back was more than enough to scare this pair off. Wildlife photographer Aditya Singh captured the encounter during a visit to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, India.

IT'S a relatively simple idea – set up a mirror so you can capture the reflection of a dramatic landscape in a single photograph. Photographer Daniel Kukla, from New York, created a spectacular series of artworks called The Edge Effect using the technique. He clamped the mirror onto an easel and placed it in various settings in the Joshua Tree National Park, California.

For his Behind a Little House Project Italian photographer Manuel Cosentino found an unsuspecting muse: a tiny nondescript house on an unexceptional hill. He returned to photograph the small building from the exact same location for nearly two years in order to capture the dramatic changes in weather and light that utterly changed the scenery just beyond the horizon