Heesco, Windsor. Born and raised in Mongolia and now living and working in Melbourne, Heesco is well known for his skill in rendering photo-realistic portraits. They speak to the viewer in a way that the subtext is enjoyable to decipher. Just what is the Blue Lady’s message? The sunglasses might mask the confronting gaze but her body language fills in the gaps. Heesco’s characters often wear traditional jewellery and clothing that remind us of his Mongolian cultural heritage. (Photo by Lou Chamberlin/The Guardian)

Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)

This 2014 series Shanghai Tian Wa saw Chinese photographer Liu Tao train his lens on two distinct districts in Shanghai. Here: “Shanghai Tian Wai №26, 2014”. (Photo by Liu Tao/The Guardian)

The Spanking. (Photo by Vika Valter/Getty Images)

A woman poses for a photo in front of an installation to promote the film “Godzilla Minus One”, which won the Oscar for best visual effects at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, outside a popular shopping centre and official development in the Hibiya area of Tokyo on March 11, 2024. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks/AFP Photo)

A radio-controlled flying witch makes a test flight past a moon setting into clouds along the pacific ocean in Carlsbad, California October 8, 2014. Reuters was invited to photograph the testing of the life sized device by inventor Otto Dieffenbach lll. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

A partially frozen Niagara Falls is seen on the American side lit by lights during sub freezing temperatures in Niagara Falls, Ontario March 3, 2014. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Reuters)