“In 1967, Zhang Yaxin was 34 and working as a photojournalist at China’s state-controlled Xinhua News Agency when he was assigned to a top-secret government project. He was to be the official photographer of a new arts program led by Chairman Mao and his wife – the Model Operas. Though he was not to know it then, Zhang would spend the next seven years documenting the evolution of one of the most dramatic and elaborate attempts to redefine artistic sensibilities in modern art history”. – Chengcheng Jiang via TIME. Photo: Raid on the White Tiger Regiment, 1971. (Photo by Zhang Yaxin/Courtesy See+ Gallery, Beijing)

A model's make up picture is stuck to a mirror backstage during the Autumn/Winter Madrid's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, in Madrid, Wednesday, February 1, 2012. (Photo by Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP Photo)

M42 Subtle V1 cropped. One of the most well-known astronomical objects in our universe is the Orion Nebula and this image depicts the wider region of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that is its home. This complex also includes another popular target for astrophotographers, the Horsehead Nebula, as well as Barnard’s Loop and the Running Man Nebula, which can be seen to the left of this photograph. (Photo by Patrick Gilliland)

“A photo series representing many cultures by illustrating romance in the LGBTQ community. “All Love Is Equal” is a campaign that I envision being seen on a global scale to raise awareness and build compassion. I, along with my producer/assistant, would like to travel to different countries throughout the world to create photos of LGBT members in love within culturally diverse settings”. (Photo and caption by Braden Summers)

Maratus is a spider genus of the Salticidae family (jumping spiders). These spiders are commonly referred to as peacock spiders due to their colorful abdominal flaps that they display during courtship. In at least one species, Maratus vespertilio, the expansion of the flaps also occurs during ritualised contests between males. All described species, except M. furvus, are endemic to Australia. (Photo by Jurgen Otto)

Snorkellers approach an adult manatee at Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River, Florida. You might imagine that coming face to face with one of these enormous underwater mammals would cause some concern. However, the likelihood is that the rotund creature just wants you to scratch its belly while it floats around happily, as world-renowned underwater photographer Alex Mustard discovered. (Photo by Alexander Mustard/Barcroft Media)

Highly commended birds : Crested guan by Tim Hunt (UK). ‘This photo shows a crested guan in the cloud forests of Costa Rica as it pauses while foraging on a lone branch. Due to the clouds that are so typical for this habitat, I could often only photograph the bird’s silhouette against a grey sky. But then, for a short moment only, the sun broke through the clouds, and I overexposed the image by over two stops in order to blow out the background and allow this beautifully marked bird to stand out’. (Photo by Tim Hunt/GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015)

“Guns have a massive amount of power associated with them. They are designed to kill. We decided to photograph portraits of them in a similar way you might photograph a powerful person. Like powerful people, pistols have this “perfect” quality that we wanted to explore. As we started shooting them, we could see flaws in their design. Metal burring around the barrels, scratches in the metal. This imperfection and detail were very interesting to us; connecting us back to these images as portraits”. – Peter Andrew. (Photo by Peter Andrew/Simon Duffy/Derek Blais)