“What did I know about Chechnya before last week? For someone who grew up in the 1990s the very word Chechnya meant a string of grainy images on TV showing people in battered camouflage outfits, shooting at each other amid destruction and ruin. Fear, wahhabis, Shamil Basayev, terrorism, mountains: these were the words that used to spring to my mind when someone mentioned Chechnya”. – Maxim Shemetov. Photo: Special forces officers stand guard during a government-organised event marking Chechen language day in the centre of the Chechen capital Grozny April 25, 2013. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Workers transport a model of a dinosaur at the exhibition “World of Dinosaurs” at a former lignite surface mining area in Grosspoesna near Leipzig, central Germany, Wednesday, October 29, 2014. A 100-foot long statue of a dinosaur had to be moved Wednesday because German authorities had deemed it a safety risk. Officials feared the sculpture could cause traffic accidents by distracting drivers on a nearby highway. The reptile, one of 50 species on show in the World of Dinosaurs exhibit near Leipzig, was moved to a less conspicuous position further from the road. (Photo by Jens Meyer/AP Photo)

“Ada Wong is a fictional character in the Resident Evil horror franchise by Capcom, introduced as a supporting character in the video game Resident Evil 2 in 1998. She is widely regarded as one of the most popular female characters in the series, alongside Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield, as well as one of the most attractive female characters in video games”. – Wikipedia

Photo: “Ada Wong” (Resident Evil Cosplay). Model: Giulia Valenti. (Photo by Massimiliano Pellegrini)

Arizona Cardinals cheerleader Claire Thorton, center, smiles as Air Force Capt. Eric Straub proposes to her during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, October 12, 2014, in Glendale, Ariz. Thorton accepted the proposal. (Photo by Rick Scuteri/AP Photo)

Participants dressed in Heroic Fantasy costumes pose for a picture as they wait backstage during the first edition of the HeroFestival in Marseille, November 9, 2014. The festival is dedicated to American superhero comics, Japanese mangas, Heroic Fantasy characters and video games universes. (Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)

China's Shang Chunsong prepares to compete in the uneven bars event of the women's individual all-around final artistic gymnastics competition at the Namdong Gymnasium Club during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, in this September 23, 2014 file photo. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

Austrian alpine skiers (LtoR) Georg Streitberger, Klaus Kroell, Max Franz, Joachim Puchner, Romed Baumann pose in the Olympic Rings on February 4, 2014 at the Mountain Olympic Village at the Rosa Khutor Alpine centre, four days prior to the start of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

Wildlife category, open shortlist. “Buffaloes and stars”. This picture, taken at Zimanga game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, used an in-camera multiple exposure, with the first lit for the buffaloes and the second focused on the stars. (Photo and caption by Andreas Hemb/2017 Sony World Photography Awards)