A ballet dancer stretches backstage during Nacho Duato's “The Nutcracker” at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia November 21, 2015. For theatregoers in St Petersburg, Nacho Duato's “The Nutcracker” demonstrates the global appeal of a Christmas classic. When the curtain rises at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, among the oldest opera and ballet houses in Russia, it's the culmination of hundreds of hours of toil and sweat by dancers, costume makers, set designers and musicians playing the famous score by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. (Photo by Grigory Dukor/Reuters)

Crowds cheer during a parade before the 23rd annual Wing Bowl at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 30, 2015. Professional competitive eater from Chicago Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti downed 444 chicken wings in 30 minutes at the 23rd annual Wing Bowl in Philadelphia, narrowly edging out his nearest rival and shattering the record of 363 wings set a year earlier. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)

At the beginning of the 20th century, Edward S. Curtis set out to document what he saw as a disappearing race: the Native American. From 1907 to 1930, Curtis took more than 2,000 photos of 80 tribes stretching from the Great Plains to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. He then published and sold these photos, along with narrative text, in 20 volumes of work known as “The North American Indian”. It is one of the most significant collections of its kind, “probably the most important photographic document of its age and its topic,” said Jeffrey Garrett, associate university librarian for Special Libraries at Northwestern University. (Photo by Edward S. Curtis)

People are often fascinated by things that baffle them. For example, Livia Marin creates porcelain pottery that looks as if it has partially melted. This pottery might serve little purpose, yet it is definitely a curious thing to have in your house. This set of pictures shows off her “Nomad Patterns” series of deformed vases, pitchers, and teacups. The most appealing thing about these pieces of art is that the patterns on the “melted” parts are as beautiful as on the rest of the pottery. (Photo by Livia Marin)

Italian artist Marcello Barenghi draws incredibly realistic everyday objects that appear almost three dimensional with the help of colored pencils and occasional enhancements using markers or watercolor. Each work appears ever so slightly stylized which I think sets these apart from similar hyperrealistic drawings that are meant to ‘trick’ a viewer. If you want to see more, Barenghi runs a YouTube channel where he documents the process of almost every drawing.

Aerial shots always amaze us by their magnificence. Human-sized footprints look like ant trails, trees resemble little pieces of broccoli, and landscapes are transformed into breathtaking images, which look like something that can be seen under a microscope. This set of pictures features surreal aerial shots of Botswana taken by Zack Seckler. In the past, to make these kinds of shots, someone had to go up in a helicopter to take a picture. However, today, such images can be easily made using quadcopters, such as DJI Phantom or any other. Thanks to the new technology, we are able to view our world in new ways, allowing us to better appreciate its complexity and beauty. (Photo by Zack Seckler)

Do tears of joy look the same as ones of woe—or ones from chopping onions? In “The Topography of Tears,” the Los Angeles-based photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher explores the physical terrain of one hundred tears emitted during a range of emotional states and physical reactions. Using a Zeiss microscope with an attached digital camera, she captures the composition of tears enclosed in glass slides, magnified between 10x and 40x. “There are many factors that determine the look of each tear image, including the viscosity of the tear, the chemistry of the weeper, the settings of the microscope, and the way I process the images afterwards,” she says.

“These are the stunning images of some of Americas most breathtaking churches – all of which are abandoned. Matthew Christopher travels around the United States taking shots of its most beautiful decaying wonders. He shot those in his churches series in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he works as a photographer and lecturer. Matthew’s fascination with such abandoned spaces started when he was a child when he enjoyed looking at artwork set in buildings that have since decayed”. – Caters News. Photo: St. Boniface Church, Philadelphia Pa. (Photo by Matthew Christopher/Caters News)