These picture look like an artist has painted abstract patterns on canvas – but in fact they are natural rivers captured on camera. The spectacular rivers in Iceland's central highlands and southern parts originate from glaciers, which is why the water is a milky colour. They are shallow rivers and the water spreads quickly over a flat and sandy surface, creating random and beautiful patterns. Photographer Andrey Ermolaev from Moscow, Russia, flew 500ft above the unique sight in a small plane. (Photo by Andrey Ermolaev/Solent News)

Sophie and Sarah, old English sheepdogs, watch the sea from their plastic chairs. Amateur photographer Cees Bol, from the Netherlands, documents the lives of his beloved pooches Sophie and Sarah by taking pictures of them every day. (Photo by Cees Bol/Caters News Agency/Mercury Press)

“A snapshot from mountaineer's life”. Have you ever wondered how does a mountaineer's day start? I will give you a hint: you wake up at 3 am, set the stove, wake up your partner, pretend it is warm, quickly consume a high-calorie breakfast, watch your friends slowly ascending the icy slopes of your dream summit with their tiny head torches glimmering against perfectly blue ice, and hope for the good weather. One would ask: why all this trouble? The answer is easy: for the love of the adventure and the unknown. Location: Chamonix, Haute Savoye, France. (Photo and caption by Kamil Tamiola/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

Reuters photographer Bobby Yip took a series of portraits of people taking part in the “Occupy Central” protests in Hong Kong, and asked them why they had joined the demonstrations. China rules Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” formula that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates. The unrest is the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Nestled among the cocoa plantations of western Ivory Coast is a gold mine that does not feature on any official maps. It is not run by an industrial mining company, nor does it pay taxes to the central government. The unlicensed mine is a key part of a lucrative business empire headed by the deputy commander of the West African nation's elite Republican Guard, United Nations investigators allege. Here: A gold prospector sits and eats close to a soldier at a gold mine near the village of Gamina, in western Ivory Coast, March 18, 2015. (Photo by Luc Gnago/Reuters)

A five-month-old cheetah seated in the back of a Land Cruiser growls at an outstretched hand after being taken from traffickers in Ethiopia and driven to Harirad, Somaliland, in 2020. This photo is part of the work of more than 100 artists in Why We Photograph Animals, a new collection of wildlife photography that aims to help understand why people have photographed animals at different points in history and what it means in the present. (Photo by Nichole Sobecki/Thames & Hudson)

Artist Victor Nunes combines every-day objects with simple illustrations to turn them into pictures of faces, animals and other playful scenes. His images invite us to look at the world differently and find creative images in our surroundings. Nunes’ art is a great example of pareidolia, which is our propensity to give meaning to random objects (like in this post about seeing faces in random objects). It’s the reason why we associate a smiley face with a human face and why some of Nunes’ pieces of popcorn or bread resemble faces to us.

Yuri Gagarin does not always show up in full-scale astronautics. In this picture he smiles during his summer vacation in Sochi, Russia in 1961 with sunglasses and sunhat in the camera. (Photo by Imago/Eastnews)