There isn’t exactly a college out there for face painting so Elsa Rhae Pageler‘s talent is as raw as it comes. Perhaps what’s even more amazing is that the video editor and producer from Kansas City graduated with a degree in Film and Media Studies and only does face painting and airbrushing as a side job. An application may take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours and apart from outside gigs, she features video tutorials on her YouTube channel showing how she paints herself to recreate video game and fictional characters. Photo: “Face Palm”. (Photo by Elsa Rhae Pageler)

Los Angeles native Mike Stilkey has always been attracted to painting and drawing not only on vintage paper, record covers and book pages, but on the books themselves. Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, Stilkey depicts a melancholic and at times a whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales. A lingering sense of loss and longing hints at emotional depth and draws the viewer into their introspective thrall with a mixture of capricious poetry, wit, and mystery. (Photo by Mike Stilkey)

These ink-redible, explosive masterpieces are like say-what-you see inkblots tests only in water. The vibrant colors burst from Brian Tomlinsons works, appearing as though they may be coloured ash clouds from an erupting volcano, rather than simply everyday substances. By doing so, Brian challenges viewers to identify what images can be imagined when mixing one fluid with another. In order to shoot the series, entitled Liquid Ink Art, Brain, 40, drops different coloured inks into a fish tank full of water before capturing high-speed shots with a flash. Here: Brian Tomlinsons ink artwork. (Photo by Brian Tomlinsons/Caters News Agency)

Associated Press photographer Wong Maye-E tries to get her North Korean subjects to open up as much as is possible in an authoritarian country with no tolerance for dissent and great distrust of foreigners. She has taken dozens of portraits of North Koreans over the past three years, often after breaking the ice by taking photos with an instant camera and sharing them. Her question for everyone she photographs: What is your motto? Their answers reflect both their varied lives and the government that looms incessantly over all of them. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

Most Russians intending to vote for Vladimir Putin in Sunday's election say stability is at the root of their faith in their candidate – though many young voters believe it's time for a change of leader. Putin, 65, is expected to win a fourth term in office with 69 percent of the vote, according to the latest survey by a state-run pollster. Reuters correspondents and photographers who travelled around the country talking to voters ahead of the March 18 election found nothing to contradict expectation of an emphatic Putin victory. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

Few things are more beautiful than puffy white clouds floating in the bright blue sky. Do you remember the time when you would lay on the soft green grass, look up at the sky, and try to recognize shapes in the clouds floating overhead? Wasn’t it wonderful, just lying there, letting the wind caress your skin, as you imagine that the clouds in the sky are actually mystical or not-so-mystical creatures? Dragons, ducks, teddy bears, dinosaurs, everything was up there. It was good old times. As adults we forget about simple pleasures of life. However, an Argentinian artist Martin Feijoo didn’t forget those times, and took them a step further. After imagining what a particular cloud looks like, he draws that particular shape over the picture of the cloud, allowing the entire world to see what goes on in his mind. (Photo by Martin Feijoo)

It is simply staggering how complicated some items really are. We never think about it, but some items that we use every day consist of hundreds of parts meticulously put together and working perfectly. Todd McLellan is a photographer who based his newest book “Things Come Apart” on the complexity of various old and new tech. By carefully taking apart various items and arranging all of the parts in perfect order, Todd has allowed us not only to look inside various appliances, but also to appreciate the astounding complexity of these items. Just like the human mind, we are so used to seeing and talking with people that we forget just how complicated their minds really are. It would be great if we could “take apart” the human mind in order to gain some insight into the person’s thoughts and desires. However, very few people are capable of doing it, while the rest will remain blind to the obvious. (Photo by Todd McLellan)

For many of us, simply bending over to touch our toes can be a difficult. But it's not a problem for the world's bendiest woman Julia Günthel aka Zlata (27). Russian-born Zlata can twist herself like a snake into the most extreme poses imaginable – and has broken numerous world records for her flexibility. The former gymnast, who is 5ft 8in, is so flexible she can cram herself into a 50cm squared box. Photo: Russian-born Zlata is pictured in Fifties style glam while still managing to bend herself in half. (Photo by Barcroft Media)