A man with a painted face and traditional costumes takes part in the Schleicherlaufen festival in the western Austrian town of Telfs February 1, 2015. (Photo by Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters)

Pro-Russian separatists from the Chechen “Death” battalion take part in a training exercise in the territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, December 8, 2014. Chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), dozens of armed men in camouflage uniforms from Russia's republic of Chechnya train in snow in a camp in the rebel-held east Ukraine. They say their “Death” unit fighting Ukrainian forces has 300 people, mostly former state security troops in the mainly-Muslim region where Moscow waged two wars against Islamic insurgents and which is now run by a Kremlin-backed strongman. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Participants sit on a cable chair as they take part in the 30th edition of the Belalp Witches Ski Race on January 14, 2012 in Belalp, Switzerland. The race is inspired by a legend dating back to the middle ages, of a witch who tormented villagers in the area until she was burnt to death. (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)

Studio stack: Rabbit? Acanthocinus aedilis, Cerambycidae, A female Timberman (Timbermam perhaps?). Stacked from 216 exposures in Zerene Stacker (PMAX). (Photo by John Hallmén). P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.

The northeastern United States sweltered this week in a scorching summer heat wave, complete with stagnant, sticky air and no winds for relief, forecasters said. Even in a summer already filled with stretches of very hot weather, this week will be stubbornly brutal, with no relief in sight until the weekend brings thunderstorms to the region, they said. "Plain and simple, this week may feel the worst of any week for this summer in the Northeast," said Accuweather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. (Reuters)

Kirsty Mitchell is a former fashion designer who worked under both Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan as a student. However, she found her ultimate calling in photography. Her imaginative series 'Wonderland' takes you to alternate worlds where umbrellas drip with lavenders, backs sprout wings and limbs get lost in tree branches

Lyubomir Sergeev Bulgarian photographer Lyubomir Sergeev combines creepy contradictions in his masterfully composed shots.

Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.