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.

James Kerr started his project “Scorpion Dagger” without any real direction, except for the intention to make one GIF everyday(ish) for one year. He had been making collages for some time and “Scorpion Dagger” started out to be a test of discipline and a way for him to learn how to animate. Making GIFs was a logical evolution to him. The project represents many different things to him, the works from which he draws upon are so powerful and inspirational to him, that he is now nearly obsessed with repurposing them to share his vision of the world, and perhaps inspire people to look at art differently. The project is tremendously personal to him, it’s a lot more than the humor that’s at its surface and he is still trying to work out what “Scorpion Dagger” really is.

A riot policeman watches as a police vehicle burns in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, October 25, 2016. Rioters in South Africa set a police vehicle on fire Tuesday and stoned vehicles near a Johannesburg university that has been the scene of sometimes violent protests by students demanding free education. The violence broke out in streets near the University of the Witwatersrand at around the same time that student protesters met and marched off the campus, South African media reported. (Photo by Yeshiel Panchia/AP Photo)

Iraqi army soldiers fire mortars against the Islamic State militants, at Shahrazad village 2 miles (3 kilometers) east of Mosul, Iraq, Monday, November 14, 2016. A suicide bombing in Iraq targeted the Shiite sacred city of Karbala on Monday, killing at least six civilians, the latest attempt by the Islamic State group to distract from the government forces' offensive on the IS-held northern city of Mosul. (Photo by Hussein Malla/AP Photo)

People pause at a memorial set up for victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nev., on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. A gunman opened fire on an outdoor music concert on Sunday. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, with dozens of people killed and hundreds injured, some by gunfire, some during the chaotic escape. (Photo by John Locher/AP Photo)

A competitor shouts as he takes part in the “Tough Guy” adventure race near Wolverhampton, central England, on January 29, 2017. The Tough Guy event, which is being held for the final time in its 30th year, challenges thousands of competitors to run a gruelling course whilst negotiating over 200 obstacles including: water, fire, and tunnels. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

The Boeoegg, a giant symbolic snowman made of wadding and and filled with firecrackers burns on top of a bonfire in Sechselaeuten square on April 24, 2017 in Zurich. When the bells of the Saint Peter's church chime six o'clock, the bonfire under the snowman is set in fire and the guildsmen wearing historical costumes ride around the bonfire. The faster the head of the snowman explods the warmer and more beautiful the summer will be. (Photo by Michael Buholzer/AFP Photo)

A Mongolian Shamaness or Buu, beats her drum while taking part with others in a fire ritual meant to summon spirits to mark the period of the Summer Solstice in the grasslands on June 22, 2018 outside Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Banned for 70 years under Communist rule, shamanism has seen a resurgence in Mongolia since 1992, when the ancient practice became protected by the country's Constitution. Known as Tengrism, in which Shamans channel ancestral spirits, it is widely regarded as Mongolia's national religion and part of its indigenous identity. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)