“The Last Pollen Spore Preparing to Leave a Ladybug Trying to Hold On, Because It Didn't Want to Be Alone”. Photo by Hiep Nguyen Hoang (Hanoi, Vietnam). Photographed in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 2012.
A clock showing a countdown to the start of the London 2012 Olympics is unveiled on March 14, 2011 in London, England. The clock is starting five hours from midnight when 6.6 million tickets for the Olympics will become available and 500 days before the Games start. There is a six-week window to apply for tickets on the London 2012 website.
More than 700 underwater images were submitted for the 2012 Annual Underwater Photography Contest, hosted by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. This year, for the first time, the University of Miami set up a “Fan Favorite” category for its underwater photo competition. Internet users could vote for their favorite among five pictures. Todd Aki's photo of a jellyfish took the prize, snaring 599 of the 1,221 votes cast. (Photo by Todd Aki)
Actress/Singer Victoria Justice arrives at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards at Gibson Amphitheatre on July 22, 2012 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Jeffrey Mayer)
The crowd is reflected in the glasses of a bearded competitor at the third annual National Beard and Moustache Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 11, 2012. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP Photo)
Close Encounter of the Insect Kind: “Check out the awesome face on this praying mantis. I can't get over the mouth, it's like something from a science fiction movie. Of all photographic styles macro is definitely my favorite. I am constantly amazed, in every photo that I take, by the intricate level of detail that exists on even the smallest of creatures. It's a stark reminder that a very complex and infinitely beautiful world exists just beyond our human-sized level of perception. Photo taken in Donnybrook, Queensland, Australia” – Andrew Young. (Photo by Andrew Young/National Geographic Photo Contest via The Atlantic)