“Hey! I'm Thomas Shahan, an artist and macrophotographer from Oklahoma. In my spare time over the past few years, I've been shooting portraiture of local arthropods. Why would I devote countless hours to tramping through forests, fields and the like searching for insects and spiders? Well, despite some common beliefs, arthropods (members of the phylum Arthropoda – insects, spiders, crustaceans...) represent an endlessly varied, wildly beautiful and fascinating bunch of animals with surprisingly personable faces and behavior. Often, all it takes is simply inspecting their lives on a closer level to turn repulsion to reverence”. – Thomas Shahan

Photo: Adult Male Jumping Spider at Sunset – Phidippus mystaceus. (Photo by Thomas Shahan; Source: Flickr)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these striking images of 2017 are no exception. The photo highlights include incredible snapshots of the natural world as well as some awesome animal and human encounters. The vibrant gallery also shows thrill-seekers pushing themselves to the limit with breathtaking stunts captured in perfect clarity. The pictures have been taken by a host of photographers from around the world. Here: The two lion cubs singing their hearts out at Antelope park in Zimbabwe. (Photo by David Jenkins/Caters News Agency)

Three young women in their 20s brawling on a busy street on the route from the track to the town centre during day four of the William Hill St Leger Festival at Doncaster Racecourse, England on September 14, 2019. (Photo by Nb press ltd)

Geisha women parade down the street to Asakusa Shrine in the compound of Sensoji Temple Friday, May 19, 2017, in Tokyo prior to the annual Sanja Festival, one of the three major festivals in Tokyo. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

A man dressed as Santa Claus skateboards down Fifth Avenue towing a dog before the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in New York on December 5, 2019. (Photo by John Angelillo/UPI/Barcroft Media)

Plastinated human corpses posed to look like poker players stand on display at the Body Worlds exhibition on April 27, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition, which features human and animal corpses plastinated by Gunther von Hagens, focuses on the role of the heart. It will be open to the public at the Postbahnhof from April 27 to August 14. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Sеxy brunet striptease dancer dancing lap dance in front of man. (Photo by Blue SkyImages/Getty Images)