Woman dons a mask a she prepares to dance in the streets during the feast of La Diablada, in Pillaro, Ecuador, Friday, January 4, 2019. The town of Pillaro kicks off the feast of the La Diablada with neighborhoods competing to bring as many people dressed as different characters. (Photo by Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo)

People in Kathmandu joke that the face mask has now become part of the national dress – an indispensable accessory in an effort to protect themselves from the dust. Nepal has the worst air quality in the world, according to the Environmental Performance Index. (Photo by Pete Pattisson/The Guardian)

Daniela Burza, 45, wears a Nasty Woman t-shirt and a mask of U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as she competes during the Haunted Heats Halloween Surf Contest in Santa Monica, California, U.S., October 29, 2016. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Anti-pollution protesters wearing traditional costumes and contemporary gas masks ride bicycles in the Qingming Grand river park in Kaifeng, Henan Province, China on January 1, 2017. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau extended an “orange alert” for heavy air pollution for three more days. (Photo by SIPA Asia/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A vendor sells Guy Fawkes masks and items with the colors of the national flag at a market ahead of Independence Day celebrations in Karachi, Pakistan, 13 August 2023. Pakistan celebrates its 76th independence anniversary from British rule in 1947 on 14 August 2023. (Photo by Shahzaib Akber/EPA/EFE)

A Brighton and Hove Albion fan wearing a mask of a seagull outside the stadium ahead of the Premier League match at the American Express Stadium, Brighton and Hove on Sunday, December 15, 2024. (Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)

Kevin Russ, a photographer & image moderator for iStockphoto, grew up in Arroyo Grande, California. In 2003, he made the move to Portland, planning to study at Multnomah Bible College. Finding the workload to be minimal, Kevin invested in a camera, filling his free time and finding himself instantly smitten with the craft. A year and a half later, photography had evolved into his full-time job. However, after 4 years of consistent portrait work, Kevin became burnt out and took a step back from photography altogether. Two years later, he picked up the camera again and now spends the majority of his time on the road, exploring & photographing the rustic landscapes & wildlife he encounters.

At this year’s Venice Bienniale in Italy, the Korean pavilion has a curious exhibit called “Commissions for Utopia”. It includes renderings from North Korea’s top architects and artists (all anonymous), many of whom studied at the Paekho Institute of Architecture, North Korea’s state-run architectural college, and none of whom have ever left the country. They were asked to create a vision of North Korea’s future sustainable architecture for its expanding tourism industry. Their final products are a glimpse into what it would be like to envision the future after being entirely cut off from the present for almost 70 years. (Photo by Nick Bonner/Kyle Vanhemert/Venice Architecture Biennale)