The Masks We Wear

We wear masks for many reasons: for fun, for protection, or to make a statement. In turbulent public settings, obscuring one’s face can protect an individual from retaliation while evoking fear and uncertainty in others. Donning the mask of a cultural, political, or religious figure can lend that person power and further his or her legacy. Those who wear masks to protect their faces from environmental hazards may also end up sending a message of caution to outside observers. In many cases, though, masks play a more lighthearted role, allowing the wearer to take part in a festival and become someone (or something) else for a time. I’ve gathered here a few recent images of people wearing masks, covering their faces for a wide variety of reason From The Atlantic

An Egyptian boy wearing a Guy Fawkes Mask holds bread, a symbol of poverty, during an anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstration in Cairo, Egypt, on March 22, 2013. Thousands of protesters from different areas of Cairo marched on Friday to express their rejection of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohammed Morsi’s rule. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Protesters wearing masks perform during anti-austerity and anti-graft protests in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on January 11, 2013. More than 5,000 Slovenians gathered in the center of Ljubljana on Friday to protest against a corruption scandal that threatens to bring down the government. Slovenia’s anti-corruption commission said earlier this week that Prime Minister Janez Jansa had been unable to explain the source of some of his income in recent years. (Reuters/Srdjan Zivulovic)

A man dressed in traditional Perchten mask performs during a Perchten festival in the western Austrian village of Heitwerwang, some 90 km (56 miles) west of Innsbruck, Austria, on November 23, 2012. Each year in November and January people dress-up in Perchten (also known in some regions as Krampus or Tuifl) costumes and parade through the streets to perform a 1,500 year-old pagan ritual to disperse the ghosts of winter. About 15 hours are needed for a woodcarver to sculpt each demon mask which is made from stone pine wood with goat horns attached. (Reuters/Dominic Ebenbichler)

An Afghan woman receives winter supplies at a UNHCR distribution center for needy refugees at the Women’s Garden in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 2, 2013. (Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

Protestors wear orange prison jumpsuits and black hoods on their heads during protests against holding detainees at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay during a demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on January 8, 2013. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

A Bahraini boy takes part in a demonstration against the killing of a Shiite protester during clashes with Bahraini police, on February 22, 2013 in the village of Daih, West of the capital Manama. (Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images)

Utterly fascinating, go and see them all here

Lighting Up the Night

My other go to place for great photography is The Atlantic, another one you should bookmark for the future. This week they have images on the theme of Lighting up The Night

Around the world, people are using light to paint, perform, honor, work, and play. In villages and cities alike, lanterns and candles are used to celebrate and commemorate events. In Berlin, famous landmarks are currently being illuminated for the annual Festival of Lights. In Florida, a private spacecraft climbed into orbit atop a pillar of fire, and around the globe, dozens of buildings were bathed in pink for breast cancer awareness month. Gathered here is a handful of recent images of humans pushing back the dark and lighting up the night

Magician David Blaine performs his “Electrified: 1 Million Volts Always On” stunt in New York, on October 7, 2012. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Paper lanterns float on the Motoyasu River in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome (center) in Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 2012. Tens of thousands of people marked the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, as a rising tide of anti-nuclear sentiment swells in post-Fukushima Japan. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)

Runners and walkers wearing light emitting suits and holding light sticks make their way up Arthur’s Seat as part of a dress rehearsal of a mass participation public art piece called “Speed of Light” on August 8, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The piece which forms part of the annual Edinburgh Festival is set to illuminate the iconic natural monument as hundreds of people make their way up and around, creating streaks of light as they go. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Go here to see another 30 of these special images

National Geographic Photo Contest 2012

As reported in the excellent the Atlantic magazine:

Once again, National Geographic is holding its annual photo contest, with the deadline for submissions coming up on November 30. Beginning on September 1, the society started gathering and presenting galleries of submissions, encouraging readers to vote for them as well. National Geographic was kind enough to let me choose among its entries from 2012 for display here on In Focus. Gathered below are 50 images from the three categories of People, Places, and Nature, with captions written by the individual photographers.

Here is a sample of some of the 50 images in the gallery here

Ninja Kangaroos: Young male kangaroos test their strength with “boxing” matches that mostly occur at dawn. One buck gets in the others face with its forepaws until the second one concedes and hops away, or stands up tall and faces its tormentor. Then the two grapple until an advantage is gained and one rears back onto its tail and kicks out with both its feet. Here the roo on the left clearly has its opponent on the retreat. Photo taken at Lake Cootharaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. (© raoul slater/National Geographic Photo Contest) #

Yosemite Valley at Dusk: A mist had settled over Yosemite Valley, as automobiles passed through, headlights illuminated the fog. (© Phil Hawkins/National Geographic Photo Contest) #

Chaos: A huge flock of Red-billed Queleas flies in to drink at the same time as an African Elephant in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. (© Antero Topp/National Geographic Photo Contest) #

Butterfly at sunset: Photographer Toni Guetta submitted this macro shot of a butterfly with the sunset in the background near Hod ha’sharon, Israel. (© Toni Guetta/National Geographic Photo Contest)

See the rest of these amazing images here

The Naked World of Spencer Tunick

The Atlantic has 33 images by Spencer Tunick of nakedness around the world, as it says: For 20 years now, New York-based photographer Spencer Tunick has been creating human art installations all over the world, calling together volunteers by the hundreds or thousands, asking them to remove their clothes, and photographing them in massive groups. His philosophy is that “individuals en masse, without their clothing, grouped together, metamorphose into a new shape.” He aims to create an architecture of flesh, where the masses of human bodies blend with the landscape, or juxtapose with architecture. Collected here are images from several of his installations as they were being composed. Warning: The following photos all depict naked human bodies, and are not screened out. The nudity is central to Tunick’s art.  See all of the images here

Naked volunteers pose for the US photographer Spencer Tunick on the largest glacier in the Alps, Aletsch glacier, in Switzerland, as part of an environmental campaign about global warming near the mountain resort of Bettmeralp, on August 18, 2007. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Naked volunteers lie on Aletsch glacier, posing for photographer Spencer Tunick as part of an environmental campaign about global warming, on August 18, 2007. The campaign organized by Greenpeace is aimed at drawing attention to melting Alpine glaciers, a clear sign of global warming and man-made climate change according to the organization. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Naked volunteers stand look toward Aletsch glacier, posing for photographer Spencer Tunick as part of an environmental campaign about global warming on August 18, 2007. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Naked volunteers, numbering around 1700 people, pose for U.S. artist Spencer Tunick in downtown Munich, on June 23, 2012. (Reuters/Michaela Rehle)

You can the rest of these strange but compelling images here

Do you like horses – The Last Horse Drive

“Reuters photographer Jim Urquhart recently captured these scenes from a fading culture, as he followed Montana ranchers on their final horse drive, moving more than 300 horses down from their winter range. Every spring the Mantle family, along with with a group of wranglers, drives the herd north over 35 miles and three days, through the small town of Three Forks to their ranch. After decades of supplying and tending to horses, the Mantles, citing financial challenges, now plan to sell off their herd and shift to raising beef cattle. Take a moment to travel with the Mantle family through big sky country, on a journey once so familiar and iconic, now fading into memory with the rest of cowboy culture.” From The Atlantic, more here

Wrangler Shad Boardman rides his horse through a river on May 4, 2012. The drive is not without dangers — over the years, a number of wranglers have suffered minor injuries, from head injuries to broken bones. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

Wranglers gather a herd of horses off the winter range south of Three Forks, Montana, on May 4, 2012. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

Wrangler Shad Boardman rides into a pasture during Montana Horses’ final horse drive outside Three Forks, Montana, on May 6, 2012. The Mantle family, who own Montana Horses, held their last horse drive where they rounded up approximately 300 horses and drove the herd 35 miles from their winter range to the Mantle ranch. The horses will be picked up by leasers to be used as pack and trail horses at dude ranches and national parks.(Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

Horses cross a river during Montana Horses’ annual horse drive, on May 4, 2012. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

See the rest here

Animals in the news in pictures

A great set of very varied images from around the world collected together on The Atlantic site here

Polar bear cub Anori explores the outdoor enclosure at the zoo in Wuppertal, Germany, on Monday, April 23, 2012. Anori was born on January 4 and is becoming a visitor’s highlight. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Researchers dressed in panda costumes carry a cage as they transfer giant panda Tao Tao to a new living environment at the Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan province, on May 3, 2012. Tao Tao, 21-months-old, and its mother Cao Cao are being transferred to a bigger living environment with a higher altitude and a more complicated terrain, which marks the beginning of the third phase of its training to be reintroduced to the wild. Researchers wear panda costumes to ensure that the cub’s environment is devoid of human influence, according to local media. (Reuters/China Daily)

A dog runs through a parade route after the Popemobile passed in Guanajuato, Mexico, on March 24, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI was on a visit to Mexico at the time. (Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images)

There are 41 images in this series, if you like animals and photography you will like these, here