Maharashtrian women dressed in traditional costumes attend celebrations to mark the Gudi Padwa festival in Mumbai March 21, 2015. The festival marks the beginning of the new year for Maharashtrians and is celebrated widely in Maharashtra and in the Konkan region. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Nick Franklin, in action during the FMX competition at the 23rd edition of Free4Style this Saturday, July 2, 2016 in Estavayer-le-Lac,Switzerland. (Photo by Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone/APA)

Members of the “Exit Point” amateur rope-jumping group jump from a 44-metre high (144-ft) waterpipe bridge in the Siberian Taiga area outside Krasnoyarsk, September 13, 2015. Rope-jumping, an extreme sport, involves jumping from a high point using an advanced leverage system combining mountaineering and rope safety equipment. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

A man dressed as Hindu god Shiva, smokes during an annual Hindu religious festival locally known as Shyam Baba festival in Ajmer, in the desert Indian state of Rajasthan, April 12, 2015. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/Reuters)

(From L) Spanish actresses Aixa Villagran, Leticia Dolera and Celia Freijeiro pose on the pink carpet during the closing night of the 2019 Cannes International Series festival Canneseries, at the Palais des festival, in Cannes southern France, on April 10, 2019. (Photo by Valéry Hache/AFP Photo)

Drastic inequality is by no means new in New York. Jacob A. Riis was called a muckraker after he chose to spotlight the city’s poverty at the turn of the 20th century by photographing it. Here: Sweatshop in Hester Street, 1889-1890. (Photo by Jacob A. Riis/Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Roger William Riis)

The Spanish photographer Xavi Bou digitally combines sequential pictures of birds to create a single image, or chronophotograph, that reveals the shapes of their flight paths against Catalonian skies. His work shows the variety and beauty to be found in the daily activities of the local birds, including spiralling storks, swooping starlings and giddy swifts. Here: European herring gulls at Llobregat Delta. (Photo by Xavi Bou/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

It's often said that pets and their owners can start to look alike, but these adorable photographs take the old mantra to a new extreme. They are the work of Svetlana Valyiskaya (27), from St Petersburg, who snaps pets in everyday poses in her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer. The vibrant costumes and scenes, which Svetlana designs herself, have made the photos a hit in her native Russia – and it's not hard to see why. She said: “I really love animals, they are loyal, faithful and true and always interesting to work with – plus they never criticise the photographs afterwards”. (Photo by Svetlana Valyiskaya/Mercury)