First place, The Beauty of Plants. “There are many stages of lotus growth on display at the Aquatic Gardens, but to come across twotwisted dancing stems of nelumbo nucifera was unexpected and quite magical”. (Photo by Kathleen Furey/The Guardian)

An Afghan woman collects cotton buds at governmental farms in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 20 October 2020. Afghanistan's agriculture and livestock department in Nangarhar province hire women and people in need of cash assistance to harvest cotton from their farms. (Photo by Ghulamullah Habibi/EPA/EFE)

A dog wearing ski goggles rides on the back of a man as they both stand in Times Square in New York, USA on January 25, 2021. (Photo by John Angelillo/UPI/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A Hindu devotee bathes in the Shali River during the Swasthani Brata Katha festival, marked with auspicious bathing in water bodies hoping for a prosperous life and conjugal happiness, on the outskirts of Kathmandu on January 28, 2021. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Singers Britney Spears and Madonna share a kiss onstage during the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 28, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

A white tiger cub growls at the Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The cub's mother, Cleo, a captive Bengal white tiger, gave birth to two females and two males on January 14. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture (if available; this principle works anywhere on the site AvaxNews).

A brown bear is checked by foreign veterinaries and local staff members at the Four Paws Bear Sanctuary in Pristina, on May 9, 2014. (Photo by Hazir Reka/Reuters)

Mark Wagner, the collage artist, challenges viewers to examine their relationship with money and the capitalist society in which we live. Photo: “Way of the Dinosaur”, cut one-dollar bills. (Photo by Mark Wagner)