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)

“Self-educated photographer, Quebec. I always impassioned myself for the animal world and natural spaces, in particular for the red squirrels and the titmouses. Having reached sixty and more, I am nothing any more has to prove but all has to show”. – Andre Villeneuve. Photo: “Eat and run”. (Photo by Andre Villeneuve)

A single object, a single shape, a single colour,' is how Anish Kapoor summed up Leviathan, his response to the Monumenta challenge this year. Radically departing from Christian Boltanski’s busy collage-like approach in Personnes for Monumenta 2010, Kapoor has filled the 13,500 square metre space with a single cavernous entity which surges through the Grand Palais roof.

The Japanese art of raising bonsai trees is a beautiful way to infuse greenery into indoor spaces. But artist Takanori Aiba takes the art to a new level with his incredibly intricate series of bonsai castles. The Japanese artist carves miniature masterpieces that weave in and out of the miniature trees, creating cohesive architectural marvels that burst forth with life!

Daniel Rericha born in 1972 in the Czech Republic. Living in a small town, located near the mountain ridge, from childhood he was inspired by the mountains and fell in love with them. In his spare time he enjoys traveling with his wife. In these travels, he tries to capture in his lens as many beautiful places. His work is imbued with the spirit through the mountains, air and space.

Jeremy Davis (L) demonstrates the operation of the safe room shelter door lock to homeowner Rob Hamlin on June 18, 2011 in Neosho, Missouri. Once thought of as a luxury item there has been a surge of interest from homeowners in purchasing shelters to ride out damaging storms ever since a F5 tornado tore through the town of Joplin, Missouri. Ranging in price from $3,000 to $5,000 homeowners can supplement the cost with a mortgage insurance program offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for installing a safe room built to FEMA specifications. Lawmakers in Alabama have even considered requiring construction of storm shelters in mobile home parks after forty people died in April. (Photo by Julie Denesha/Getty Images)

Nimbus, the 2 month old clouded leopard cub, who was hand reared at the home of curator Jamie Craig. Photographed sitting in her hammock at Cotswold Wildlife Park, Burford, Oxfordshire, UK on September 2014. Jamie Craig the curator of the Cotswold Wildlife park has hand reared the baby clouded leopard in his family bathroom after he was rejected by his mother. Now two months old Nimbus is been fed a cat milk replacement diet by bottle and is given soft toys to play with. It is hoped that the leopard will re-join others at the park and eventually join their breeding program. (Photo by SWNS/ABACAPress)

Astronaut Edward H. White II, pilot for the Gemini-Titan 4 (GT-4) spaceflight, floats in the zero-gravity of space during the third revolution of the GT-4 spacecraft on June 3, 1965. White wears a specially designed spacesuit. His face is shaded by a gold-plated visor to protect him from unfiltered rays of the sun. In his right hand he carries a Hand-Held Self-Maneuvering Unit (HHSMU) that gives him control over his movements in space. White also wears an emergency oxygen chest pack; and he carries a camera mounted on the HHSMU for taking pictures of the sky, Earth and the GT-4 spacecraft. He is secured to the spacecraft by a 25-feet umbilical line and a 23-feet tether line. Both lines are wrapped together in gold tape to form one cord. Astronaut James A. McDivitt, command pilot, remained inside the spacecraft during the extravehicular activity (EVA). Astronaut White died in the Apollo/Saturn 204 fire at Cape Kennedy on January 27, 1967. (Photo by NASA)