For the Torajan people of Indonesia, death is part of a spiritual journey: families keep the mummified remains of their deceased relatives in their homes for years – and traditionally invite them to join for lunch on a daily basis – before they are eventually buried. Here: Todeng died in 2009. A young relative of his, Sam, lights him a cigarette and changes his glasses. (Photo by Claudio Sieber Photography/The Guardian)

After a long time renovation project, the old town in Taiyuan city which was founded in 1357, finally lights up and opens to public in Taiyuan City, north China's Shanxi Province, 23 November 2020. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A person lights fire crackers during the celebrations of Mawlid al-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, 04 September 2025. Mawlid is observed on the 12th day of Rabi al-Awwal (the third month of the Islamic calendar) in Sunni Islam and on the 17th day in Shiite Islam. (Photo by Nadeem Khawar/EPA)

A photographer has discovered a spectacular way of keeping warm during winter – using fire to heat up icy locations. Sam Scholes uses long-exposures to capture the movement of fire in front of ice-covered backdrops. After lighting steel wool his friend Scott Stringham swings the flaming object in order to make swirling patterns. The result of this technique – captured at Midway Ice Castles in Utah is a vibrant image with the warm light dancing across the cold scenes. (Photo by Sam Scholes/Caters News)

This breathtaking natural light show illuminating waters off the British coast looks like something out of hit film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. Photographer Adrian Campfield was out having dinner at a restaurant at Beachy Head, East Sussex, when the rays suddenly appeared. The 59-year-old and his wife Louise rushed outside onto the 535ft high cliffs to watch the spectacle. Mr Campfield, a former graphic designer, from Bexley, Kent, said the light was “changing all the time” for more than 15 minutes. (Photo by Adrian Campfield/Solent/Visual Press Agency)

A woman wears roller skates with lights on the bottom at Rich City Skate in Richton Park, Illinois, January 12, 2015. A handful of decades-old skating venues put Chicago at the center of a vibrant African-American subculture of urban roller skate dancing that stretches from Atlanta to Detroit and from Los Angeles to New York. While mainstream roller skating has been on a long decline, a new generation of skaters travel a circuit of rinks around the country to compete and show off their moves. (Photo by Jim Young/Reuters)

A woman poses for a photograph with light sculptures depicting animals that make up the twelve animals of the zodiac during a photocall to promote the Magical Lantern Festival at Chiswick House Gardens in west London on January 29, 2016. The festival, to celebrate Chinese New Year 2016 – the Year of the Monkey, uses more than 50 hand-sculpted lanterns and is set to run from Febuary 3 to March 6, 2016. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo)

A Buddhist monk lights a candle at Wat Phra Dhammakaya during a ceremony on Makha Bucha Day in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok February 22, 2016. Makha Bucha Day honours Buddha and his teachings, and falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)