Israeli woman, Nora Lifschitz, 28, holds an injured Egyptian fruit bat at her home in Tel Aviv February 22, 2016. Lifschitz says that she began caring for injured fruit bats from her home two years ago and now has some 70 of the flying mammals which she plans to release back into nature once they are healthy. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)

Light is the sole reason why life exists. It provides us with warmth; it allows us to see; it nourishes all the living things on this planet. Many painters, especially the masters of Old Renaissance Period, have recognized the importance of light and its intimate connection with nature and life itself. In their paintings they gave tribute to light, giving the impression that their paintings had a light source hidden within them. Al Hogue, the artist who created the paintings that you see before you, has studied their techniques for many years. As time went by, light permeated not only his paintings by also his life, becoming his sole philosophy.

Redhead Day (Roodharigendag in Dutch) is the name of a Dutch summer festival that takes place each first weekend of September in the city of Breda, in the Netherlands. The two-day festival is a gathering of people with natural red hair, but is also focused on art related to the colour red. Activities during the festival are lectures, workshops and demonstrations which are aimed specifically at red-haired people. The festival attracts attendance from 50 countries and is free due to sponsorship of the local government.

Hawa Mahal, which translates as the Palace of Winds, was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. The design of the palace was created by Shreyansh Jain to resemble the crown of Krishna. The design of this unique five-story building is akin to a honeycomb. The main purpose of this building was to allow royal ladies to watch the street below while remaining unseen, since during those times they had a strict code of dressing, which meant covering their faces. The palace was designed to produce the Venturi effect, which created natural air conditioning and kept the interior relatively cool during hot summers.

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)