A giant sculpture of a seven-month-old baby by artist Marc Quinn entitled “Planet” contrasts against the stately grandeur of Chatsworth House and the Derbyshire countryside on 4 September, 2008, Chatsworth, England. The bronze sculpture painted white is part of the Beyond Limits exhibition of modern and contemporary sculpture displayed in the gardens of Chatsworth by Sotherby's. More than 20 works will be on display from 9 September to 2 November 2008. In past years acclaimed artists Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, Salvador Dali and Henry Moore have had work exhibited. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

In his book “Side Effects”, aerial photographer Kacper Kowalski took to the skies to paint a portrait of the complex relationship between humans and nature. From the sky, he captured where nature and civilization collide into aesthetic, abstract colors and shapes. Photo: A view over fields of grain in Spring chamomile, cornflower and other weeds growing amongst the grain sprouts. (Photo by Kacper Kowalski/Panos Pictures)

Photochromes are vibrant and nuanced prints hand-coloured from black-and-white negatives. Created using a process pioneered in the 1880s, these images offer a fascinating insight into the world when colour photography was still in its infancy. A Tour of the World in Photochromes is at the Swiss Camera Museum, Vevey, until 21 August. Here: Street food in the Strada del Porto in Naples, Italy, 1899. (Photo by Swiss Camera Museum/The Guardian)

“Mehndi or menhdi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India, as well as by expatriate communities from the country. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā. The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books. Haldi (Staining oneself with turmeric paste) as well as mehndi are important Vedic customs as a symbolic representation of the Outer and the Inner Sun. Vedic customs are meant to awaken the “inner light” and so the gold of the inner Sun has an important symbolic function”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Application of henna or “Mehndi” to a girls hand in a market on October 18, 2010 in Jaipur, India. (Photo by Simon de Trey-White/Getty Images)

Russian soldiers are pictured next to the Reichstag building in this undated photo taken May 1945 in Berlin. Some 70 years on from the Battle for Berlin, instrumental in the end of World War II, Reuters photographer Fabrizio Bensch unearthed pictures by Red Army photographer Georgiy Samsonov, showing his portrayal of a city laid siege. Bensch bought an exactly equivalent FED camera, a Soviet copy of the German-made Leica II, choosing to use black and white film to capture images of the self-same locations he detected his way to in modern-day Berlin. (Photo by Georgiy Samsonov/Reuters/MHM)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

“Einar Erici (1885–1965) was a physician by profession, working at a tuberculosis hospital in Stockholm, even running a private medical practice. He was by then the most renowned Swedish expert of church organs and organ builders, and his archival collection is today held by the Swedish National Heritage Board. This archive includes mostly writings, such as letters and manuscripts for published articles and essays, but also more than 2 000 black and white photos – original prints, glass plates and film negatives”. – Swedish National Heritage Board

Photo: Priest, Valamo Monastery, Karelia, Russia (then Finland), 1930s. Father Venerius with a birchbark basket. (Photo by Einar Erici)