“Touring the Koko-en Gardens adjacent to the Himeji castle was an unexpected highlight of our visit”, wrote Jeff Solar, 64, of Silver Spring, Md., about his trip to Japan. “The fall colors were outstanding and the gardens were both amazing and a bargain (just a few Yen added to the cost of the Himeji Castle admission)”. (Photo by Jeff Solar/2017 Washington Post Travel Photo Contest)

A toque macaque is eating flowers in the water at the pilgrimage site in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, on January 13, 2024. The toque macaque (Macaca sinica), a reddish-brown-colored Old World monkey, is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is known as the rilewa or rilawa. It is named for the whorl of hair at the crown of its head, which resembles a brimless toque cap. (Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Looking at the photos taken by Aaron Groenom, very easy to get lost in this starry wonderland. A series of photos Dark Places - a collection of works in which the artist from South Dakota contrasts the beauty of the universe to various natural or man-made forms on Earth. Using long exposures, it captures the magical landscape filled with fabulous atmosphere, striking color palettes and far-distant galaxies.

Tourist Michel Watson found this pink dolphin making a splash in Brazil. The unusual creature, which hides deep in the Rio Negro river, was spotted leaping out of the Amazonian water brandishing its bizarre bright bubblegum color. Weighing in at nearly 300 pounds, the curious animal, known as an Amazon Pink River Dolphin, looked unusually agile as it rose above the waves. (Photo by Michel Watson)

Fascinated by the texture and color of water artist Elizabeth Patterson challenged herself to recreate the absurdly complex formation of water droplets on rain-streaked windshields. Her ongoing series titled Rainscapes blends drawing, hyperrealism, and traditional landscape techniques resulting in images that can be seen as both real and abstract.

Photographer David Emitt Adams creates tintypes on discarded cans he collects from the Sonoran Desert. In his artist statement, Adams says that some are more than four decades old, which have earned a deep reddish-brown, rusty coloration. (Photo by David Emitt Adams)

The Nasīr al-Mulk Mosque or Pink Mosque is a traditional mosque in Shiraz, Iran, located in Goade-e-Araban place (near the famous Shah Cheragh mosque). The mosque was built during the Qājār era, and is still in use under protection by Nasir al Mulk's Endowment Foundation. It was built by the order of Mirza Hasan Ali Nasir al Molk, one of the lords of the Qajar Dynasty, in 1876 and was finished in 1888. The designers were Muhammad Hasan-e-Memar and Muhammad Reza Kashi Paz-e-Shirazi. The mosque extensively uses colored glass in its facade, and displays other traditional elements such as panj kāseh-i (five concaves) in its design, it is also named in popular culture as Pink Mosque due to the usage of beautiful pink color tiles for its interior design.