“Memoirs of a Geisha” – For its May 2013 cover story, Elle Vietnam gets inspired by the Japanese-influence of spring collections and Geisha beauty. Model Tian Yi evokes the theme perfectly in a series of images which juxtapose an urban backdrop with the ornate prints and sleek silhouettes of Prada, Dries van Noten, Dior, Thakoon and more selected by stylist Anna Katsanis. Photographer Oliver Stalmans captures the Chinese beauty in this elegant shoot. (Photo by Oliver Stalmans)

Bangladeshi Muslims travel on the roof of an overcrowded train as they head to their hometowns ahead of Eid al-Adha in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, September 1, 2017. The festival commemorates the story of Abraham and his readiness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, who provided a lamb to be used instead. (Photo by Bernat Armangue/AP Photo)

Tip turkey, dumpster chook, rubbish raptor – the Australian white ibis goes by many unflattering names. But it is a true urban success story, scavenging to survive in cities across Australia as wetlands have been lost. Wildlife photographer Rick Stevens captured them in Sydney. Here: Of all the species affected by river regulation in Australia, the ibis is one of the few that has changed its behaviour and moved to coastal cities. (Photo by Rick Stevens/The Guardian)

Kourtney Roy makes eerie self-portraits in desolate yet dramatic locations – with wigs and wardrobe straight out of 1950s melodrama. In these shots, from her “Enter as Fiction – California” series, she plays characters caught in desolate, often abandoned settings. (Photo by Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian)

A man dressed up as the Statue of Liberty walks in front of a new digital advertising screen in Times Square, New York, November 18, 2014. According to local media the screen is a full block long, 8 stories tall, is lit with 24 million LED pixels and has a higher resolution than most TV sets. The advertising rate is reported at $2.5 million USD for a four-week run making it one of the most expensive outdoor advertising spaces in the world. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Sun Jifa, a farmer in China, had his life changed forever when an explosive he planned on using for fishing went off prematurely. He lost his arms and when he couldn’t afford high-end, hospital-made prosthetics he opted for a cheaper set. Finding those to be less than acceptable, Sun started building his own pair of arms, which he currently wears. It’s an incredible story of ingenuity and personal strength.

“David Stoker creates images that tell a story. Rich and atmospheric, his images stop a moment in time letting the viewer decide, or wonder, just what each character is doing. David's work has been recognized in the 2011 Communication Arts Photo Annual, Communication Arts Fresh online, Graphis 100 Best in Photography 2012, PDN’s Photo Annual (2009, 2011), Luezer's Archive, and the International Photography Awards (IPA's – 2009, 2010)”.

Berlin-based artist Sebastian Bieniek unfolds the story of a two-faced female in his series of photographs “doublefaced”. Using an eye pencil and lipstick, bieniek simply draws an image of a face onto the side of skin. The sketch includes only one eye: carefully placed hair hides the rest of the face from view, revealing one, moving eye of the model. Blue, brown, awake, and sleeping variations create portraits with unique expressions and an illustrative sensibility. The 22 photographs of the hybrid girl expose her daily routine – drinking coffee, traveling on the train, taking a shower, and smoking cigarettes – capturing the daily life of a female with two faces.