snapped it while taking a break on a trail run

adorable smile and the most expressive eyes

A clam seems to stick its tongue out while it has its photo taken. Brazilian-born photographer, Lucy Chien took the picture while on a family holiday to Garibaldi, Oregon

Inside America’s suburban dream:

Edwards has been capturing idyllic middle-class life in America and Europe for 16 years and her work reveals comfort, aspiration and stability, but also the more mundane aspects of a suburban existence.
She took her first series of evocative photos, entitled Suburban Dreams, in the Silicon Valley in 1997, where she had lived for many years.
The photographer explains that: ‘Sometimes, I’m so interested in what’s going on with people in their homes that I want to know what’s in the closet or under the bed.
‘In my photographs I aspire to tell the viewer not just about what can be seen, but also about things that are hidden and locked away…’
Edwards visits the homes first and interviews her subjects. She then collaborates with them, asking the families to improvise poses based on their lives.
She says: ‘As I attempt to reveal some basic truth about my subjects, I’m attracted to the peculiar or surprising. This can take many forms, ranging from humor to visual quirkiness to a sense of universality, or even the uncanny.’

‘I think of my images as being like genre paintings because they’re intended to depict a typical event in the home rather than a decisive moment.

America’s pastime: A family plays baseball in their drive in this sunny photograph entitled Samantha

Domesticity: ‘Bruce and Melissa’ take in the game with some friends

Calm: A young family enjoy some peaceful time with a sleeping toddler

‘Laurel’: A girl practices cheerleading while her teenage brother plays guitar and the parents look on

‘John’: Morning rush hour as this family heads for the door

‘Dyanne’: A woman takes a quiet moment before a dinner party

‘Erin’: A teenager poses with her collection of must-have toy of the time – Troll Dolls

Routine: ‘Art and Carol’ eat breakfast in their kitchen

‘June’: A mother who exercises in the family room when her children are sleeping

‘Colby’: An extended family enjoys Saturday morning together

Young people throw flour over each other on a beach of the Dnieper River in Kiev, Ukraine. (PA)

Come on in, the water’s lovely: A four-week -old Malayan tapir calf takes a swim with mum Gertie at London Zoo. (Rex)

Thousands battle with the authorities during protests over educational reforms organised by students in Santiago, Chile (Rex)

School graduation celebration, Russia

The best travel photos in the world: National Geographic announces winners of its prestigious 2013 Traveler Photo Contest

The winning entry featured the Brazilian Aquathlon championship in Manaus, Brazil, in which the participants had to swim and run in the Rio Negro, or Black River. I photographed it from the water and my lens got completely wet, but there was so energy in this boys that I just didn’t worry about that,’ Araujo wrote in his submission.

The range of entries is inspiring and shows just how diverse the world is, from an owl hiding in a tree to traditional Taiwanese performers painting their faces in preparation for a show.

Money shot: The top prize went to photographer Wagner Araujo, who captured this incredible image while attending the Brazilian Aquathlon (swimming and running) championship in Manaus

Mystic haze: Max Seigal hiked out to these ruins at Canyonlands National Park at night hoping to photograph them with the milky way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through creating this dramatic image

Wild things: Cheetahs jumped on the vehicle of tourists in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya, and Yanai Bonneh was in the right place to capture the big cats in action

Merit prize: Marcelo Salvador captured this poetic image of a woman drawing water from a river near Bagan, Myanmar

What a hoot: The Eastern Screech Owl is seen here doing what they do best: blending into their surroundings

Little helper: Mikael Ande, a child of Sami reindeer herders, takes a break indoors after a long, cold day of rounding up the animals for vaccinations and slaughter

Timeless: Hideyuki Katagiri captured the blossoming of cherry trees, or Sakura, in Japan

True colors: Guanjiang Shou troupes are one of Taiwan most popular activities that may be seen all over the country at traditional folk religion gatherings. With their fiercely painted faces, fangs and choreographed performances, they are easily recognized

As old as time: A fisherman is seen casting a net at Bira Beach, Indonesia, like generations of his ancestors