A mahout rides an elephant at Tad Sae Waterfall outside Luang Prabang, Laos July 31, 2016. Protected by the United Nations cultural heritage agency UNESCO, Luang Prabang is one of the most alluring places in the region – a city that evokes old-world romance that has gained a reputation as a travellers' Shangri La. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A wild water buffalo eats tree branches standing in flood water at the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary in Pobitora, Morigaon district, Assam, India, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed dozens of people in this northeastern region. The floods also inundated most of Kaziranga National Park, home to an estimated 2,500 rare one-horned rhinos. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

A view of popular train street in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam on July 30, 2022. Hanoi Train Street is one of the most well-known and exciting tourist destinations in the city and trains pass the street twice a day close to buildings on either side of the tracks. (Photo by Chris Humphrey/Anadolu Agency via AFP Photo)

California-based glass artist Loren Stump specializes in a form of glasswork called murrine, where rods of glass are melted together and then sliced to reveal elaborate patterns and forms. While the murrina process appeared in the Mideast some 4,000 years ago, Stump has perfected his own technique over the past 35 years to the point where he can now layer entire portraits and paintings in glass before slicing them to see the final results. His most complex piece to date is a detailed interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, which involved hundreds of glass components that were melted into a final piece.

“Vull sortir a la superficie, i ... respirar”. (Photo by Véronique Carreño Andreu)

P.S. Most 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).

“Originally published in the April 9, 1951, issue of LIFE magazine, W. Eugene Smith’s photo essay, «Spanish Village», has been lauded for more than six decades as the most moving photographic portrait ever made of daily life in rural Spain during the rule of dictator Francisco Franco”. – Time & Life Pictures. Photo: His wife, daughter, granddaughter and friends have their last earthly visit with a villager. (Photo by W. Eugene Smith/Time & Life Pictures)