When Israeli photographer Tomer Ifrah stepped foot in the Moscow Metro for the first time, he instantly fell under its spell. “I think it was then that I decided to make it a long-term project,” he says. “I’ve documented life inside the metro for almost three months now.”

The Moscow Metro, a feat of Soviet engineering, is a tourist attraction in its own right. While many photographers focus on the architectural splendour of the metro, Ifrah’s work explores the space as a place of social contact and as a cinematic backdrop for everyday interactions.

“The unbelievable pace, the unique sound and the atmosphere of the stations fascinated me,” he says. “The artfully designed stations together with passengers’ style of dress reminded me of images of classic films and this is what I was trying to capture.”

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Steve Arhancet has his dream job. As the co-owner of Team Liquid, he runs one of the most popular professional gaming organizations in the world.  

His teams compete in professional leagues and tournaments in every major competitive video game, earning big cash prizes and netting lucrative sponsorships from companies like HTC, Nissan, and Red Bull. 

It didn’t start that way. In 2012, Arhancet left behind his six-figure salary as a Washington D.C.-based consultant to build a business from scratch based around a professional video gaming team. Along the way, Arhancet has had to use every skill he learned on the corporate ladder to grow his team in a cutthroat market.

Team Liquid is still a work in progress, but in a dynamic and growing space like professional video gaming, the team has the chance to become the next Yankees.

Arhancet wakes up at 6:30 a.m. Though the majority of the pro-gaming world doesn't start their day before 12 p.m., Arhancet has found it hard to let go of his East Coast-go-getter mentality.

While eating breakfast, Arhancet takes a look at his calendar for the day. It is absurdly packed. As Team Liquid's general manager Steve Perino told me, Arhancet is often so busy meeting with sponsors and e-sports organizations that if Perino asks to discuss an issue, Arhancet's answer is "Find an empty slot in my calendar." There aren't usually many.

At 7:00 a.m., Arhancet takes a call with his co-owner Victor Goossens, who is based in the Netherlands, to discuss what needs to get done that day. The two merged Arhancet's Team Curse — which focused on League of Legends, the most popular game right now — with Goosens' Team Liquid, which had teams in every other major e-sport, to create a professional gaming juggernaut. The deal is still fresh, so they are still working out the details.

Late last week, BBC reported that conservative Party of Free Citizens in the Czech Republic member Vit Jedlicka has declared a 2.7-square-mile "no man's land" between the borders of Serbia and Croatia to be a new sovereign nation.

Naming it "Liberland," Jedlicka appointed himself the president.

Liberland is just the newest in a long history of "micronations," pieces of land that claim to be independent or sovereign nations, but are not recognized by world governments. They are founded for many reasons, some as protests, some to boost tourism, and some just for fun.

Reports put the number of current micronations at over 400. Photographer Leó Delafontaine found himself fascinated by these places and began photographing them in 2012, visiting six countries and three continents to capture 12 unique micronations.

Delafontaine shared the following images with us. You can see more on his website or purchase the book of the series, out now on Diaphane Editions.

The first micronation that Delafontaine discovered and photographed was the Principality of Sealand. Located on an abandoned WWII military platform about 8 miles off the coast of Great Britain in international waters, the micronation was first established in 1967 by Paddy Roy Bates in order to emit pirate radio broadcasts.

Prince Michael, seen below, is Paddy Roy Bates's son and took over control of Sealand in 1999. Sealand has its own flag, its own currency, and even issues passports. After an electrical fire damaged the facility in 2006, Prince Michael attempted to sell the platform for $906 million, sources say.

Finding no buyer, Sealand's government and the Bates family have decided to renovate the base and keep it for themselves, making sure the Principality lives on. It currently has a population of four.

When photographer James Mollison looked back on his childhood, he was struck by how many of his memories revolved around the school playground. "It had been a space of excitement, games, bullying, laughing, tears, teasing, fun, and fear," Mollison writes in the afterword of his latest book, "Playground."

Mollison traveled all over the world to capture the wildly different school playgrounds. The diversity of children’s experiences fascinated Mollison, and it shows in the photographs, which record playground life with an anthropologist's detail.

Mollison shared photos with us here, and you can check out the rest in the book or at the Aperture Gallery in New York.

Because of the high cost of land in Tokyo, this playground was constructed on the roof of this school. The children are allowed to play only with soft balls, in case one lands on pedestrians on the streets below. The playground has a retractable roof that plays music as it closes. Every two days, the children clean the school; the principal says it's important they learn to clean up after themselves.

The Kroo Bay Primary School in Sierra Leone was once used as an army base. There's no sanitation or garbage collection, and the school must close from July to September because of floods from the Crocodile River. Teachers rely on fees paid by parents.

Inglewood High is a public school in Los Angeles. Mollison took this photo before a pep rally.

This high school in Tel Aviv is affiliated with the Israeli air force. Almost all students will be drafted into the force as computer engineers, electronics specialists, and mechanics. The tables are for chess and ping-pong.

The ancient Dechen Phodrang Monastery overlooks Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. Living conditions at the school are basic: Children sleep on mats on the floor, and infections, lice, and scabies are common. Most boys are sent to the monastery because their families cannot afford to feed them.

The school is in the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem. Battles during the First Intifada were close by, and walls were thickened to protect students. Outside the entrance is the Israeli security wall. When soldiers aren't looking students throw stones at them.

The Valley View school in Nairobi, Kenya, is in the Mathare slum. The classrooms are concrete blocks with corrugated metal roofs. When it rains classes stop. The classrooms are so crowded that students have to climb over desks to get out.

SEE ALSO:  Here's how school lunch in the US stacks up against what's served in the rest of the world

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As conflict in World War II ramped up, both the Nazi and Allied forces raced to fortify their shores from invading troops. They built thousands of structures, from simple rudimentary "pillboxes," small concrete rooms with peepholes for firing weapons, to more complex fortresses with multiple purposes.

Now, with the end of the second World War almost 70 years behind us, many of these structures still exist, dotting Europe's coastline. Many have not been preserved, and serve as a painful reminder of an earlier time, slowly crumbling back into the sea.

Photographer Marc Wilson hasn't forgotten about these buildings, though. Wilson, an Englishman, has traveled more than 23,000 miles over five different countries to document the abandoned pillboxes, bunkers, gun emplacements, observation posts, and command centers of Europe. He visited 143 sites and captured what remained before the structures were totally gone.

"I have always been interested in the idea of the landscape and the objects we place in it as holding the stories, histories and memories of the past," says Wilson, who says his European background and family history also drew him to the story.

While some structures have been preserved as historical sites, Wilson focused on those that were hidden or forgotten. 

"I was more interested in the locations where the histories and memories were being left to fade into the landscape," Wilson told Business Insider. 

Wilson used both online research, satellite imagery, and history books to find locations in Britain, France, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway, many which were unknown to even the locals. "Some locations were fairly simply to find whilst other took a matter of hours of walking and searching," he says. Many of the sites had been abandoned, Wilson theorizes, because they were unwelcome reminders of the areas' dark pasts. 

"I  learned a huge amount in historical terms but more than that, I saw first hand how the histories and memories of these places, and the period of time, are still affecting people’s lives today," explains Wilson.

Often, getting his shot proved arduous. Once, he was forced to stand next to a dead seal for a few hours, waiting for the perfect tides and light. Another time, he was forced to wake up and begin his trek to a location at 3:45 a.m. "I had driven 10 hours to get there and was not going to be stopped!" he says.

After spending for four years documenting the structures, Wilson whittled his images down to 86 of the finest and compiled them into a book, titled "The Last Stand," which is available for purchase now. Along with the photos comes text, detailing the history of every site and grounding the images in reality. The book stands as a testament to the power of time and of history, good or bad.

"It is my act of remembrance," says Wilson.

SEE ALSO:  Declassified photos show the us's final preparations for the nuclear attacks on hiroshima and nagasaki

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NOW WATCH: Secret US military program to train animals as suicide bombers included a plan to attack Japan with explosive-laden bats

HTC isn't expected to unveil its flagship successor to the One until March 25, but one thing's for sure: Its camera is likely to be the main attraction.

While previously leaked images have shown the purported device with a  dual-lens setup, a new ad details its capabilities.

A leaked brochure from Australian carrier Telstra, (obtained by GSM Arena) says the new One's Duo Camera will be capable of capturing photos with 3D effects.

According to the pamphlet, HTC is also touting the phone's ability to capture clear photos in low light conditions. The ad's Duo Camera section reads as follows: 

"Create vivid images even in low light and professionally edit memories after you've taken the shot. Choose where to focus, highlight what you love, soften backgrounds and add 3D effects." 

It's unclear exactly how HTC plans to implement 3D photography in its next major smartphone, but the company is bragging that its Duo Camera will add more depth to images.

This is far from being the first leak regarding HTC's next-generation One. A video from last week demonstrated a 12-minute tour of the device, and credible Twitter account @evleaks revealed that the phone will come with a 5-inch 1080p display.

We expect to learn more when HTC officially unveils its new flagship on March 25.  

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NOW WATCH: Here's how much sex happy couples have every month

For women in Afghanistan, riding a bicycle is a big no-no.

On the spectrum of cultural taboos, it ranks between driving a car and keeping company with a man who is not a relative.

But no one ever said anything about riding a skateboard. Frankly, so few people owned them in the country's capital, that it was never an issue.

Now, thanks to non-profit Skateistan, girls from marginalized and displaced families can learn to ride for free at the largest indoor sports arena in Afghanistan. And they become all the more badass for it.

Photographer Jessica Fulford-Dobson visited Skateistan's Kabul location, one of the largest indoor sports sports facilities in the country, in 2012 and captured these portraits of the participants. 

Skating in Afghanistan?

In 2007, Australian skateboarder Oliver Percovich relocated to Kabul when his former girlfriend took a job there. He began cruising on his skateboard to pass the time, and noticed crowds of children marvel as he passed. They would follow him around, asking for rides and lessons.

Shortly after, Percovich dedicated himself to the creation of a small non-profit skate school, the country's first. Using the three boards he brought with him from Australia, he began teaching a handful of young adults on the streets of Kabul. Fired up by their rapid progress, Percovich, who the kids call "Ollie," set out to build an indoor skatepark and education facility.

Using land donated by the Afghan National Olympic Committee, his dreams came to fruition in October 2009. Today, the organization operates schools in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa, and reaches 1,200 youth each week.

Blazing a new trail

The opportunity is especially meaningful for the school's female students, who make up 40% of the class. For them, the skatepark serves as a platform for personal development.

As recently as 10 years ago, almost all women were excluded from education systems and institutions in Afghanistan. Skateistan seeks to overcome those deep social barriers by bundling academics and skateboarding in one school.

Students enrolled in lessons may also participate in an arts-based curriculum, which focuses on developing the tools young people need to express themselves, think critically, and solve problems abroad in their own backyard. In addition, Skateistan offers an accelerated learning program and a leadership initiative.

The little girl shown below was just seven years old at the time the photo was taken. She's since passed three educational grades and enrolled in the national school system — an incredible accomplishment. Photographer Fulford-Dobson credits her success in part to skateboarding.

"I met so many impressive woman and girls in Afghanistan," Fulford-Dobson wrote in a press release, "[who were] passionate about being seen as strong and willing to fight for themselves, rather than as victims of circumstance."

She met teachers "as tough and determined as any man," and children who lit up with the unadulterated fun that can only come from sports.

To learn more about the skater girls, you can check out Jessica Fulford-Dobson's website and her upcoming book, "Skate Girls of Kabul." A photography exhibition of the same name is now underway at Saatchi Gallery in London.

SEE ALSO: I rode the one-wheeled skateboard of the future around New York City — and people kept stopping me to ask where to get one

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NOW WATCH: These guys are turning trash into beautiful skateboards

Over the past several days, the streets of Baltimore have erupted into chaos. Riots were sparked by anger over the recent death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a fatal spine injury while in police custody, but the seeds of that anger were sown long ago.

As Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby told Fox News on Tuesday, the protests are about the "social economics of poor, urban America."

Mosby described those protesting in the community as "showing decades old of anger, frustration for a system that's failed them."

AP photographer Patrick Semansky captured the poverty-stricken state of the Baltimore's poorest neighborhoods in a photo essay in 2013. It seems especially relevant today.

Baltimore has lost nearly a third of its population since its peak of about 950,000 residents in the 1950s. Here, two young men walk through a neighborhood of vacant row houses.

More than 30,000 people in Baltimore experience homeless in a given year. Some choose shelters; other become squatters on abandoned properties. In the picture below, two homeless men eat ice cream cones across the street from a block of vacant row houses.

Source: Health Care For The Homeless

A homeless man displays a pin that holds his jaw together; he said he received it after being beaten and robbed while sleeping in the vacant row house seen behind him.

A thick sheet of winter ice on Lake Michigan has melted away revealing scores of shipwrecks that can be spotted from the sky.

"With Lake Michigan ice gone for the season the crystal clear, deep blue waters of northern Michigan are back," the  Traverse City Coast Guard station wrote on its Facebook page. 

The ships were spotted by the Coast Guard aircrew while out on a standard patrol mission. They began to notice shipwrecks beneath the water and photographed ones they came across.  

The Traverse City Coast Guard station began posting images of the wrecks to its Facebook page in an effort to identify some of the remains in a series dubbed "Shipwreck Sunday."

The guard station thanked its fans and followers for the "frenzy over the beauty of our home state and our lakes."

Check out the Traverse City Coast Guard station's Facebook page for more photos.

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NOW WATCH: Here's what Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen actually found at the bottom of the ocean in the Philippines

In 1954, America entered into a messy war to support South Vietnam against the communist regime in North Vietnam and its allies in southern Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong.

The two-decade long war claimed the lives of more than 3 million people, with the majority of the casualties being Vietnamese civilians.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, here are some of the most gripping and recognizable photos from the conflict.

Editors note: Some of the following images are graphic in nature and may be disturbing to viewers.

In what might be the most enduring image from the war, a South Vietnamese general executes a suspected Viet Cong fighter in Saigon. The image won a Pulitzer Prize, but the photographer, Eddie Adams, dealt with an enduring sense of guilt over the photo.

Source: TIME, CNN 

In another of the war's most iconic photos, a 9-year-old girl is seen running naked from a napalm attack. This photo, by photographer Nick Ut, also won a Pulitzer Prize.

Source: Associated Press

In this photo, American paratroopers launch themselves into the largest ground-air assault in the war.

Facial symmetry is often pointed to as one of the chief indicators of attractiveness in males and females. But how true is that hypothesis?

Fashion photographer Alex John Beck recently decided to test the symmetrical theory of attractiveness by photographing regular people and then making symmetrical versions of each person's face, by using first the left and then the right side. 

Beck's results are definitely odd and a little disconcerting. He shared a few with us below, but you can check out the rest of his work at his website:

Beck took a portrait of each person and then divided it into the left and right side of the face. Then he mirrored each to create symmetrical portraits from each side.

For people with more naturally symmetrical faces, the effect is far more subtle.For each portrait session, he made the symmetrical version immediately so that he could show his subjects.Those with more symmetrical faces were pleased with the results.

According to Beck, in most cases, subjects looked more like a long-lost sibling than a version of him or herself.People with less symmetrical faces were less enthusiastic, even if one of the portraits looked flattering.The effect was disturbing for some.Certain features get pronounced in each portrait. This man's face and neck looks thin from his left side, but far more thick and full on the right.Beck says that they tried to maintain the structural integrity of each face because they wanted each one to look realistic.Beck declined to include the original portrait of each person because then people would focus on finding the differences between the faces. Instead, he wanted viewers to look critically at each face by itself.

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Paris is one of the most romantic cities in the world — and it's most beautiful in the springtime. 

Over fifty years ago, avid traveler and amateur photographer Charles W. Cushman traveled to Paris in the springtime and documented the city.

The images of Paris in 1960 show a glamorous and romantic city that hasn't changed all that much today.

These photos are being shared with permission from the Indiana University Archives. 

It's amazing how many of the city's iconic sites have not changed at all. The Eiffel Tower looks exactly the same.

As does the famous Arc de Triomphe.

Notre Dame de Paris has stood in the same spot since the 1300s.

In China, like many other places around the world, online shopping is spreading rapidly, connecting consumers to goods they may never have had access to before.

China's biggest online retailer, Taobao, has been racking up serious numbers since it was founded in 2003. It's created 9.7 million jobs and is currently the 10th most visited site on the web.

Chinese photographer Huang Qingjun was recently commissioned by Taobao to document online shopping in China. He decided to offer as a diverse portrait as possible. "I wanted to find people from all directions: east, west, south and north," he told the BBC.

Qingjun discovered that even the most isolated parts of the country have started to use the internet as a point of contact to the modern world. Thanks to the growth of mobile technology, it's estimated that 81% of Chinese citizens have access to the internet. This means that people in even the most remote areas can still shop online for things they need.

Qingjun asked his subjects to pose with every object they've purchased online. The results give us a surprising look at the far-reaching effects of online consumption today. The captions are Qingjun's own, edited for clarity.

You can see more at Qingjun's site.

"Wang Yafeng, a 28-year-old young man from northeastern China, owns a travel service business and youth hostel in a remote arctic village. He recalls his first memory of online shopping, when he spent over $35,000 on Taobao, China's most popular internet shopping website. Almost all the items in his hostel and home were purchased online."

"Mao Hongwei, a 48-year-old man, is not very familiar with the internet. His first online shopping experience came from last year’s Taobao “1212” promotion, during which he was aided by a Taobao agent in his village. After the first attempt, he began to buy things himself and got gradually got used to the new shopping method. All the material and furniture in his new house are bought online, costing $3,200. To him, shopping online is finding a new life."

"Liu Jun and his family are Mongolian, and his ancestors lived a nomadic and herding life. He settled down in a town named Ulanhot, but goes back to his Mongolian yurt every spring and autumn. While living in the yurt, he used to have to drive almost 90 miles to the town to buy necessities. Since he began to shop online in 2012, he has spent over $4,800 on Taobao. To Liu Jun and his family, the greatest benefit brought by online shopping is its convenience, which saves time and energy."

"Liu Chunxiao was a student living and working in Europe for over 20 years, who experienced ups and downs in both studies and business. When she returned to China, she began to use Taobao for online shopping. More than half of the new products she's bought from the internet are toys and clothes for her little son. To her, online shopping is a special way to express love."

'The very first thing Li Nian bought from the internet was a model airplane, which opened a new window in his life. He’s a young entrepreneur and a model plane enthusiast who has spent over $322,000 on his pursuits. He set up an aerial-photographing company and us Taobao to grow his business. To Li, online shopping is a foundation for his career."

'Mahmoodjan, the only college student in a family of four boys, used to be a foreign language guide, a civil servant, and a volunteer. He registered for Taobao in 2006 and likes to buy digital products, such as headsets, Kindles, and USB flash drives. He recently bought an iPhone 6 Plus, which he didn’t want to take out at first." 

"Huang Jianguang is an engineer who loves outdoor sports and bike riding. He loves to buy tools and parts on Taobao, using them to create his own bicycles. He has spent almost $6,500 on online. To him, online shopping is the biggest support for his hobby."

"Yang Chin, who was born in the Shannan district of Tibet, moved to China for work when she was 17, where she worked in a café. Her boss taught her how to shop online in 2010. Now, Yang Chin often buys clothing and other things online. Her favorite purchase is a ripped pair of jeans, which her mother found inappropriate. To Yang Chin, online shopping is a way to touch the world."

I"n May, 2011, Jia Yuhao and Lu Xuefeng resigned from well-paying jobs and settled down in Lhasa, China. Today, they run an inn together there. About 80 percent of the stuff in the inn was bought online, including an automatic coffee machine, a doll, and board games, some outdoor equipment they love, and the sleeping bags they are wearing in the photo above. Jia spent over $80,500 on Taobao during the past 9 years, but Lu spent even more, 860,000 in 10 years. To them, online shopping can help them to achieve themselves."

"Gyatsoling Rinpoche was born in 1990 and was chosen as the reincarnation of the Living Buddha when he was four. Gyatsoling graduated from Tibet Medical College in his 17th, and is now the youngest teacher in the college. He only buys Buddhist goods on Taobao, such as butter lamps and candles. To him, online shopping is a way to cut down expenses."

"Because of his interior decorating background, Sun Bin has spent over $88,500 over the past six years. He pays a lot of attention to his 126 favorite online stores on Taobao, checking them for new products often. The wall behind him is made up with clocks selected from Taobao. To him, finding distinctive things on Taobao is a new way to enjoy life."

"Zhang Boya loves designing clothes, as well as making handcrafts and home decorations. She married her husband last year and 80% of her furniture was bought online by her wedding guests."

"Aer Yingming, seen here with her family, started online shopping in 2008 with several of her coworkers. They’re all frequent users of Taobao and often select products together. To Aer Yingming online shopping is part of her life."

SEE ALSO: 31 awesome inventions made by ordinary Chinese people

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NOW WATCH: Here’s the newest phone from Xiaomi — the company that’s outselling Apple and Samsung in China

Not everyone is lucky enough to have the time to travel regularly.

Thanks to Instagram, though, you can at least feel like you're somewhere far, far away.

Numerous avid travelers and travel photographers use the app to document the trips they take to exotic destinations all over the world.

So next time you're feeling gloomy on a Monday morning at the office, take a look through one of these Instagramers' feeds for some travel inspiration.

Gary Arndt (@everythingeverywhere) says he's been "perpetually traveling since 2007." He's been to over 100 countries and all 7 continents. He took this one from a float plane flying over the Northern Rocky Mountains in British Columbia.

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 Click here to see more of Arndt's photos >

It's no surprise that Arndt's bio says he's the "2014 Travel Photographer of the Year;" his Instagrams — this one was taken at a yacht club in the British Virgin Islands — are mesmerizing.

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Foster Huntington (@fosterhunting) is both an author and stellar Instagramer. He documents everything from tree houses, to vans, to extreme snowboarders.

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 To see more of Huntington's photos, click here >

Think fast: What's the most valuable thing that you own? What would you grab first if your house was on fire? More than likely, the thing you're thinking of is high in emotional (not monetary) value.

For a project called "What We Really Value," credit comparison site TotallyMoney.com asked 50 photographers in 20 different countries to give photographic answers to these very questions.

The resulting images and quotes will make you think long and hard about your own valuables. Here, we highlight a few that struck a chord with us. 

SEE ALSO: 31 stunning photos from Sony's World Photography Awards

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MY GRANDFATHER'S COFFEE CUP: "This is the cup my grandfather used to drink his coffee from every morning. Now I do the same."— Nikos, Pastra, Greece

A HAND-ME-DOWN MIT: "I grew up playing softball with this glove, which was given to me by my father. Today, my own son uses it."— Dyana, Wisconsin

A SYMBOL OF FREEDOM: "I can go virtually anywhere with [this]. Without it I am trapped."— Whitney, Stone Mountain, Georgia

The before-and-after weight loss update is a social media staple at this point.

A Canadian woman and her photographer friend have taken the medium one step further by adding hair, makeup, wardrobe, elaborate sets and digital post-production to the mix.

Beth Beard approached Blake Morrow to ask if he would take her picture before she underwent gastric bypass surgery, Morrow told Business Insider.

"I was immediately onboard and excited about the idea," he said, "and in no time turned it into this giant series of dramatic imagery that was created. Beth and I brainstormed a bit, and then I went away and conceived and conceptualized the portraits, and then photographed, art directed, and composited them together."

He and Beard have known each other for almost 10 years, he said, and share "a love for geeky pop culture stuff." Morrow is active on Twitter and Instagram, and Beard is also a photographer in her own right. 

The first round of photos were shot a few weeks before Beard's surgery, Morrow said, while Morrow's friends provided clothing, styling and makeup and hair for the concepts he'd devised. Two years later, after she'd lost 150 pounds, Morrow brought her in for the "after" photos. 

He shot about 24 versions of Beth and ended up using 12 of the Beth personae for the portraits. It took four to five months just to select the portraits and make the composites. He added environments in Photoshop while compositing the before-and-after portraits, he said.

"Beth's energy on set was great," Morrow said. "She was the perfect muse to photograph. She was fearless and was able to take advantage of her theatre background to bring drama to the shoots."

Morrow called Beard's weight loss an "amazing" accomplishment.

"The portraits I created as 'The Beth Project' are my way of celebrating her accomplishment," he said, "and hopefully putting something out there that encourages others to reach for their own personal best. Beth and I have already been hearing from people all over the world in the midst of their weight-loss journeys, or have been encouraged to start theirs after seeing the imagery."

SEE ALSO: Size 22 model goes Photoshop-free in new plus-size clothing store ads

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NOW WATCH: Celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson explains why exercise is not enough to lose weight

Vincent Laforet gives incredible insight into what it's like to be an aerial photographer. 

Video courtesy of Vincent Laforet

To learn more about project "AIR" click here

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Tech entrepreneur and CEO of startup studio Science Inc. Mike Jones may have lived in Los Angeles for nearly 20 years, but he still values his Oregon upbringing.

When he and his wife were looking for a place to raise their children, they wanted a property where they could teach their children the value of nature and provide ample space for play. That’s not exactly easy to find in the confines of Los Angeles County.

They eventually found a stunning 6,000 square foot, five-bedroom house on three acres of property in Malibu, California, bordered by state parks on one side and a gorgeous ocean view below. 

Jones invited us over to check out the property.

Mike Jones and his wife, psychologist Dr. Jennifer Jones, live with their two kids in Malibu, off the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. To get there, you have drive up a long and snaking set of roads.

And through a private gate. Their house is set so far into the property that you won't even see it until you make your way halfway through the "driveway."

The house was built in 1958, but you wouldn't know it from the outside. It is one of the most booked houses in California for shooting commercials. The house has been featured in Verizon, Bose, and Apple commercials, among others.

Photo agency Getty Images is celebrating an anniversary this year. They've been supplying the world with stock, news, and celebrities images for 20 years and have become one of the foremost places for publications to go to get quality photos when they need them.

In celebration of this milestone, Getty has teamed up with ad agency AlmapBBDO to create an ad campaign to mark the occasion. Mining their massive archive of over 80 million images, the company found images of some of our favorite well-known personalities, to see how they have changed along with Getty over the past 20 years.

The result is a fascinating look at aging, as well as a testament to the depth of Getty's library. Scarlett Johansson's is especially telling.

SEE ALSO: Here's what it actually means to die 'of old age'

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NOW WATCH: Here's how the stars of 'Fast & Furious' have changed over the years

There are only so many times you can hike the Great Wall of China, take in the lights of Times Square, or steady the Leaning Tower of Pisa before these typical tourist rituals lose their thrill. 

Inspired by this Quora list asking about the best travel destinations most people never knew existed, we put together our own list of the 35 hidden gems around the world that are worth the trek.

Additional reporting by Megan Willett.

The Stairway to Heaven, also known as the Haiku Stairs, provides the most stunning views of Oahu, Hawaii. The US military built the 3,922-step hike during World War II so soldiers could access a radio antennae 2,000 feet up.

Norway's Lofoten Islands are best explored as a local. Rent a fisherman's cozy cottage, try your luck at catching cod, and take in the beauty of the midnight sun and northern lights from the islands' pebble beaches.

A small fishing village, 300 kilometers removed from Brazil's capital, Jericoacoara is the kind of place where the streets are paved with sand, beaches stretch for miles in every direction, and electricity arrived just 20 years ago. The sleepy beach town attracts kite-surfers and windsurfers from around the world.