Mayu adjusts Koiku’s kimono, as Koiku wears a protective face mask while posing for a photograph, before they work at a party where they will entertain with other geisha at Japanese luxury restaurant Asada in Tokyo, Japan, June 23, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

A woman poses for a photo next to lotus flowers in West lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, 09 June 2025.. Lotus flowers bloom from late May to August in Vietnam and are commonly found growing in the muddy waters of lakes and ponds across the country. (Photo by Luong Thai Linh/EPA)

An Oktoberfest visitor swings her dirndl, at the start of Oktoberfest, on Munich's Theresienwiese, in Germany, Saturday, September 20, 2025. (Photo by Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP Photo)

A traditional Chinese opera actress wearing a face shield poses for a picture during Lunar New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand, February 12, 2021. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

Two Scottish shorthair cats dressed with red hats are pictured during a cat exhibition in Bishkek, on October 16, 2016. Cat lovers from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan took part in the exhibition. (Photo by Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP Photo)

Self-titled Pricasso – real name Tim Patch, 71, – is using his very own pen*s to create his masterpiece – and claims to have made close to £500k from his saucy paintings. Here: Pricasso gets to work with his tools - and paints The Sun's newspaper correspondent Amy Nickell with his bits in London, England on November 5, 2019. (Photo by Stewart Williams/The Sun)

Puryanti, a 29-year-old woman, and her 15-year-old nephew Raffi, cover themselves from head to toe in silver paint to become “manusia silver” (silver people), as part of their act to make a living, in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, February 6, 2021. (Photo by Adi Kurniawan/Reuters)