“The Ainu (アイヌ?), also called Aynu, Aino (アイノ), and in historical texts Ezo (蝦夷), are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding their identities and confusion over mixed heritages. In Japan, because of intermarriage over many years with Japanese, the concept of a 'pure Ainu' ethnic group is no longer feasible. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000, while the unofficial number is upwards of 200,000 people”. – Wkipedia

Photo: A captive bear drinking from a large bottle held by an Ainu tribeswoman. (Photo by Evans/Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

A drag performer named Reagan Holiday competes in a drag queen competition called MR(S) BK in the Brooklyn borough in New York City, U.S. on March 10, 2018. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Reuters)

“An artist has slammed junk food culture by creating shocking portraits of models covered in burgers, fries and even ketchup. Some of James Ostrer’s pictures resemble one of Willy Wonka’s nightmares as he uses liquorice for eyes and strawberry bootlaces for hair. In others, the 35-year-old smears his models’ faces with tears of ketchup and uses burgers, fries and sausages for facial features. James made the mouth-watering monstrosities to show the rampant consumption of junk food and how it affects our moods”. – Caters News

Photographer Ma Hongjie has spent 11 years documenting families in various parts of China for his upcoming book The Family Belongings of Chinese People. Here: a couple with their belongings and vegetables in Hebei Huailai county. (Photo by Ma Hongjie)

A green rosella and a wallaby, known as a Pademelon, eye off as they drink from a water bowl put out for thirsty wild animals at a back-yard in Kayena, in northern Tasmania, 01 February 2019. Australia recorded its hottest month on record in January; it was also the hottest and driest month on record for the Australian island state of Tasmania. (Photo by Barbara Walton/EPA/EFE)

Villagers from Jiexi Jiantan village perform a ritual of “Zha Laoye”, or “Cracking local spirits”, in Chaoshan, Guangdong Province, China, 10 February 2019. Jiexi Jiantan Village celebrates the annual custom of “Zha Laoye” where Laoye are local spirits. Every third day of the lunar New Year, statues of local spirits known as the “Thousand-mile Eye” Laoye and “Ear Following the Wind” Laoye are brought out to the village committee to receive incensed tea offered by believers. (Photo by EPA/EFE/ZNSEN)

Desmond Boylan, a photographer who covered war and conflict across the world before dedicating his life to documenting the daily joys and tribulations of life in Cuba for Reuters and The Associated Press, died suddenly while on assignment on Saturday, December 29, 2018 afternoon in Havana. Here: Cuban President takes a glass during a ceremony in the Oporto Bourse where he and other Ibero-American leaders were made members of the Port Wine Brotherhood in Portugal, October 1998. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

Mark Taylor may not have any training as a photographer, but that doesn’t stop him from taking amazing animal photos. From his studio in Southeast England, Taylor has made a big business out of photographing man’s best friends, following in the footsteps of his late mother, Jane Burton. Most of the animals he works with are babies, who are more comfortable in front of the camera than older animals.

Photo: Taylor often uses animals that belonged to friends of his late mother, including this Italian Spinone puppy chewing his tail. Baby animals make ideal subjects, as the older dogs and cats get, the warier they are of spending time in a studio. And his trick for getting this small subject to pose? Dog treats, of course. (Photo by Mark Taylor/Rex Features)