Hardy Dutch swimmers brave the icy North Sea on January 1, 2012 in Scheveningen, Netherlands. A record number of 10,000 people took the plunge in this year's traditional New Year's dip. The high turnout was attributed to the mild weather with a sea temperature of 8 degrees compared to 4 degrees last year. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Duncan Fenton from the Society of William Wallace stands next to a 700-year-old letter believed to have been in the possession of William Wallace, which has returned to National Records of Scotland on January 12, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

Before he was a controversial film-maker, Larry Clark was a controversial photographer, recording his teenage life of drugs and addiction in Tulsa (1971) and Teenage Lust (1983). Photo: Untitled, 1963. (Photo by Larry Clark/Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York)

People will spout about impermanence of digital records, but books are really fragile, too. Alexis Arnold from San Francisco wanted to illustrate that with her project The Crystallized Book: collecting books and growing Borax crystals on them. Books range from literature classics to magazines, and there’s even a mysterious and arcane tome called “Linux: The Complete Manual”.

A man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask enjoys a ride on a 350-meter (1148 feet) long water slide during 2015 City Silde Festa in central Seoul, South Korea, July 19, 2015. A 350 meter-long waterslide has been installed in downtown of Seoul, the longest waterslide to be recorded in Korea, according to local media. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

Crowds cheer during a parade before the 23rd annual Wing Bowl at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 30, 2015. Professional competitive eater from Chicago Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti downed 444 chicken wings in 30 minutes at the 23rd annual Wing Bowl in Philadelphia, narrowly edging out his nearest rival and shattering the record of 363 wings set a year earlier. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)

Martin Rietze is a “volcano-chaser”, a particular breed of photographer who takes big risks for big shots. He was able to capture destructive and beautiful forces of nature at work on a trip to Japan in February 2013. His photos show the Sakurajima Volcano, an active volcanic who's record-breaking 1914 eruption sent lava flows across the island. (Photo by Martin Rietze/Guzelian)

Thomas Barbèy grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, across the street from the “Caran D'ache” factory, the largest manufacturer of art supplies. He started drawing seriously at the age of 13, using black “encre de Chine” and gouaches for color. His influences were Philippe Druillet, Roger Dean and H.R. Giger. After living in Geneva for 17 years and designing posters for musical bands, he decided to move to Italy, where he lived in Milan for 15 years making a living as a successful recording artist, lyricist and fashion photographer.