A surfer dressed as Santa gets to his feet as he braves the cold seas and near flat waves during the annual Surfing Santa as part of the Santa Run and Surf 2016 at Fistral Beach in Newquay on December 4, 2016 in Cornwall, England. Now in its third year, the santa surf and fun run is organised by Fistral Surf Center and Cornwall Hospice Care and raises funds for local charities. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

The truth can never be seen right away. Only by looking from a certain angle can we view the true nature of things. At other times, only with the help of some special object can we discern order in chaos. Anamorphosis is a form of art that allows us to see an object only by viewing it from a certain angle or by using cylindrical or conical mirror. Unsurprisingly, the first person in history to ever use this type of technique was the Leonardo Da Vinci. During late Renaissance period this technique was popularized as a children’s toy. Now, however, few people use this form of imagery due to its intricacy. Istvan Orosz, born in 1951, is one of the few people who specialize in anamorphosis. In our opinion, his most stunning piece of art is the one where a shipwreck scene turns into a portrait when viewed through a cylindrical mirror. (Photo by Jonty Hurwitz)

A member of staff prepares herself a crisp sandwich in the Simply Crispy sandwich cafe in Belfast, northern Ireland January 12, 2015. The sandwich shop which opened on Monday is the world's first crisp sandwich cafe, local media reported. The idea of a crisp sandwich cafe started as a joke article on a website called Ulster Fry. The hilarious piece poked fun at recent ridiculous foody trends like the cereal café that opened in London last year. What was once a satirical joke has now become reality, after Belfast cafe owner Andrew McMenamin decided to make it happen. Customers will be able to choose their bread and crisps and add cheese or ham to their sandwich, which will be served with soup and chips. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

A student of the Orchestra of Recycled Instruments of Cateura holds an instrument made from recycled material by craftsman Nicolas Gomez, in Cateura, near Asuncion, May 9, 2013. The orchestra is the brainchild of its conductor Favio Chavez, who wanted to help the children of garbage pickers at the local landfill, and the instruments are made from salvaged materials by craftsman Gomez. The orchestra now involves 30 schoolchildren who have toured countries in Latin America, North America and Europe to play music ranging from Beethoven and Mozart to the Beatles and Paraguayan folk songs. (Photo by Jorge Adorno/Reuters)

In a simpler time all a child or an adult needed to enjoy the outdoors was a ball and a stick. Or maybe an old tire tied to a high branch to fashion a swing. And the only instruction given to children was to “be home before dark”. Now there are iPads and computers and television screens and shrinking safe public spaces. But despite the distractions and limitations of space, these images show the charm of kicking a ball or skipping rope endures. Sometimes with modifications as a nod to changing times. Here: in this Saturday, June 20, 2015 photo, a boy runs while playing with a motorcycle wheel in Samugari, Ayacucho, Peru. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

“Der Jen (Dezhen; 德珍繪館) has achieved fame in her homeland and that fame is now spreading to other parts of the world as more and more people become familiar with her beautiful paintings. This Taiwanese artist depicts these beautiful ladies in classic, traditional dress that would have been worn by members of the royal court or an empress herself. Traditional hair styles and jewelry depicted in her pieces are also considered authentic. Der Jens art can be found in Chinese advertising, childrens magazines, romance novels, tarot cards, and even on public transit tickets. Its also making its way to our pcs as desktop wallpaper”.

Photo: Der Jen (Dezhen; 德珍繪館) – “The beauty of Brocade” (please click to enlarge).

Meirav Stardinner receives a snake massage from Ada Barak at Barak's snake spa on September 11, 2008 in Talmei Elazar, Israel. Barack's income comes mostly from exhibiting her plants which eat everything from insects to small mammals. She discovered snakes' therapeutic value after letting people hold them after her act “Some people said that holding the snakes made them feel better, relaxed”, she says. “One old lady said it was soothing, like a cold compress”. Now she uses a combination of big snakes for deep massage and little ones for light massage, though all are non-venemous. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)