This photographer has a long love affair with lady liberty – and has captured it on film. The amazing pictures show the Statue of Liberty silhouetted against an array of beautiful backdrops. In some photographs she appears to be supporting the moon, in others celebrating with fireworks in the background. Here: The statue of liberty in New York City, New York. (Photo by Peter Alessandria/Caters News)

As the world marks the International Day of the Girl Child, women's rights activists point to progress on a wide array of issues but say more needs to be done to protect girls from child marriage, sexual assault and other forms of exploitation. Here is a selection of pictures showing the daily lives of girls across the globe, all taken by female Associated Press photojournalists. Here: In this December 14, 2015, file photo, a young clown rides in the back of a car following a procession to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Hundreds belonging to various clown associations made their annual pilgrimage to the Basilica to pay their respects to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

A lady-in-waiting adjusts the dress and Christian Louboutin shoes of Dayangku Raabi'atul 'Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah as Adawiyyah waits for Prince Abdul Malik to arrive for the “bersanding” or enthronement ceremony at their wedding in the Nurul Iman Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan April 12, 2015. Malik is the son of Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world's richest men. (Photo by Olivia Harris/Reuters)

Soldiers patrol in Petion Ville, the neighborhood where the late Haitian President Jovenel Moise lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his private residence early Wednesday, and first lady Martine Moïse was shot in the overnight attack and hospitalized, according to a statement from the country’s interim prime minister. (Photo by Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo)

Wayne McMahon from “The Wolfhound Experience” walking alongside four Irish Wolfhounds: Connell, Mac, Brendan, and Barra, accompanied by an Irish Terrier Lady MacBeth, at St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, Ireland, on May 16, 2024. The Wolfhound Experience offers a one-hour walking tour in Dublin's St. Stephens' Green, where visitors can meet and learn about Irish Wolfhounds, the gentle giants of the canine world. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Every week, crowds bypass Orlando’s enticing theme parks and megamalls, opting instead to follow a blood-soaked Jesus impersonator as he heads for crucifixion on an immaculate Florida lawn. This ironic choice of amusement is what prompted photographer Daniel Cronin to pay a hefty entrance fee and document the Holy Land Theme Park Experience, a 1,200-square-foot replica of biblical Jerusalem a few miles from Disney World and other well-known theme parks. (Photo by Daniel Cronin)

To produce the images that convey his fatalistic and ironic approach to life, tinged with hope, he needed the environment and knowledge of Mother Russia, oiled with a bit of bribery to certain circus trainers. Enter the Great Russian Bear, the personification of Russia for the last several centuries, onto center stage and into his studio. The bear is recognized as both brutish and cute – Misha was the mascot for the 1980 Olympic Games – and has remained a symbol of Russia since Tsarist times. In 2009 it is the symbol of the United Russia Party.

Miles Van Rensselaer using everything from glass and crystal to bronze and iron, from gold and silver to tooth and bone, from steel, copper and lead to wood, clay, feather and hair. He has been fortunate enough to work – and humbled by working – with and among talented artists from all over the world. His work is his homage to these people and their vanishing ways of life, his translation of their technique, imagery, idea of “primitive” art into modern Western materials.