The sky

The sky

In "Love and a Question" by Robert Frost, the poet writes "Let us look at the sky, And question what of the night to be, Stranger, you and I." There may or may not be answers there for us or for Frost's bridegroom, but the simple pleasure of gazing skyward is a profitable pursuit. Photographers have chosen the sky as a subject for as long as the camera has existed. Atmospheric and celestial phenomenon create an endless canvas for hungry eyes.

The sunset animates the sky on February 1, 2013 in Rustenburg, South Africa.

A vivd lightning storm passes over Dorchester Bay in Boston on July 24, 2012. 

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, glow near Tromsoe, Norway on January 24, 2012. 

A fishing boat motors during a sunset in Mazatlan, Mexico on December 27, 2012.

A sky lantern is launched in Zagreb on December 20, 2012. The event "Kapulica & Lanterns" involves people releasing about a thousand lanterns to symbolize sending wishes to the universe.

Horses race down the back straight in The Castle Hotel In Taunton 'National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle Race at Taunton racecourse on January 7, 2013 in Taunton, England. 

A noctilucent cloud, a rare super high altitude cloud barely visible from Earth, floats at dawn in the mesosphere in a photograph made the from International Space Station by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on January 6, 2012.

Newfoundland and Labrador lie under clouds in a photograph made the from International Space Station by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on January 7, 2012.

A storm formation tinged with red dust travels across the Indian Ocean near Onslow on the Western Australia coast on January 9, 2013.

People enjoy the seafront at Galle face green in Colombo, Sri Lanka on October 6, 2012.

Dark clouds cover the sky in downtown Shanghai on August 6, 2012. 

People stand on the Arabian Sea coast after sunset in Mumbai on November 1, 2012.

A meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Geminid meteor shower on December 13, 2012, near Lafayette, Ind. The meteors radiate from the region of sky containing the constellation Gemini.

A lightning bolt flashes on the horizon over the River Plate off the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay on December 29, 2012.

Heavy clouds cover the skies over Beirut on January 7, 2013. 

An Ultra orthodox Jewish man looks at a rainbow over the Mediterranean sea in Tel Aviv on January 9, 2013.

Clearing skies await a tripod-toting photographer looking for a spot to capture the early-morning light at Portland Head Light on January 17, 2013, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. 

With the temperature at minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit, steam vapors from the Sappi paper mill dissipate into the early morning sky in Westrbook, Maine on January 24, 2013.

An atmospheric phenomenon known as a "sun dog" appears in the sky in Fort Ann, New York on January 25, 2013. The halo around the sun is caused by the refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals in the atmosphere.

The San Gabriel Mountains loom in the background during cloud cover over the Los Angeles skyline on January 26, 2013. 

The full moon rising over the Chugach Mountains behind Anchorage, Alaska, is reflected in the waters of Cook Inlet on January 26, 2012. 

A surfer takes on the large swells as storm clouds gather at Coogee Beach after winds and rain battered Sydney on January 29, 2013. 

A cyclist pedals during severe pollution in Tiananmen Square on January 29, 2013 in Beijing.

Autumn 2012: Celebration of the season

Autumn 2012 : Celebration of the season

The arrival of autumn brings falling leaves; vibrant and rich jewel-toned colors across the landscape; a distinct change in temperature; festivals and some celebrations. The world often marks the September event as special. Throughout history, the first day of autumn has been considered a good time to take stock of the year’s successes and failures. A myth in many cultures holds that some mystical forces let us stand eggs on their ends for a short time immediately before or after the exact time of the equinox. In Greek mythology, autumn begins when the goddess Persephone returns to the underworld to live with her kidnapper, Hades – in repayment of the six pomegranate seeds she illicitly ate. Here, a look at a diverse collection of autumn photographs.

Two Adirondack chairs sit vacant on a dock along the misty shore of the Androscoggin River in Turner, Maine, Oct. 3, 2012, as the fall foliage nears peak color.

A Red Deer stag roars in the early morning light in Richmond Park, Oct. 10, 2012 in London, England. Autumn sees the start of the 'rutting' season where the large Red Deer stags can be heard roaring and barking in an attempt to attract females known as bucks. The larger males can also be seen clashing antlers with rival males.

A leaf on a raindrop-covered car windscreen in Munich, southern Germany, Oct. 5, 2012.

A sail boat on Lake Leman during a warm autumn day in Chexbres, Oct. 5, 2012.

Little polar bear, Anori, plays with his mother, Vilma, on a cold and rainy autumn day at the zoo, Wuppertal, Germany, Sept. 14, 2012.

A woman enjoys a sunny autumn weather day at Lake Chiemsee near Seebruck, southern Germany, Oct. 8, 2012. 

The "Seepyramide" (Lake Pyramid) reflects in a lake, Sept. 25, 2012 at the Fuerst-Pueckler-Park in Branitz near Cottbus, eastern Germany. Count Hermann Ludwig Heinrich von Pueckler-Muskau, a German nobleman who is known for his passion for landscape gardening, is buried in the interior of the pyramid.

A colored maple leaf lays in the grass, Sept. 24, 2012 in a park in Frankfurt an der Oder, eastern Germany.

A cow grazes in a meadow near Maierhoefen, southern Germany, Sept. 28, 2012. Autumn brought a mild and sunny day to Bavaria. 

Visitors walk past a colourful display of flowers and plants at the Flower Dome in Gardens by the Bay as part of the Autumn harvest display, Singapore, Oct. 2012. The 850 square metre Flower Field with 18,000 blooms for the Autumn Harvest display, includes the blooms of Sunflowers, Marigolds, Lavend

Visitors tour the illuminated decorations of small bulbs set up at popular Victoria Park to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Hong Kong, Sept. 27, 2012. Like ancient Chinese poets, Hong Kong people appreciate the beauty of the full moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, which fell on Sept. 30 this year.

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Visitors tour the illuminated decorations set up at popular Victoria Park to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Sept. 27, 2012.

Two school-boys play near large decorative lanterns at a Mid-Autumn Festival carnival in Hong Kong, Sept. 29, 2012. Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the lunar new year, this year- September 30, 2012, is traditionally a time when family and friends gather in the evening to celebrate, eat mooncakes and to appreciate the moon.

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A fire dragon dance is performed at Hong Kong's Tai Hang district on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Sept. 29, 2012. The annual ritual began around 100 years ago as a bid to keep away bad luck when the former fishing village suffered from a plague, following a typhoon.

Residents dressed as movie characters chat during festivities for Saint Michael the Archangel in the town of Zacualpan de Amilpas, on the outskirts of Cuernavaca, Sept. 30, 2012. According to local media, the community held a carnival in honor of their patron, Saint Michael the Archangel, to thank him for the autumn harvest.

A girl throws leaves in the air at the estate of Mariendaal in Arnhem, Sept. 30, 2012.

A woman walks her dog past a carpet of mushrooms in a forest at the estate of Mariendaal, Arnhem, Sept. 30, 2012.

Dairy farmer, Gerard Bilan, holds a decoration he made to adorn one of his cows, Sept. 29, 2012 before joining the Desalpe near Charmey. The Desalpe is an annual traditionnal Swiss festival marking the descent of cattle herds from their summer Alpine pastures to valleys at the beginning of autumn.

Miniature statues and toys made of rice dough by an artisan are displayed for sale at the mid-Autumn festival's toy market in downtown Hanoi, Sept. 25, 2012. 

The Krasnoyarsk hydro electric power station and dam is surrounded with colourful autumn foliage of the Siberian taiga, some 45 km (28 miles) south of the city of Krasnoyarsk, Sept. 22, 2012. The dam and power station on the Yenisei River, one of the world's largest hydro electric projects, was completed in 1972.

As summer comes to an end, the color and beauty of autumn is visible in the colorful leaves that provide a backdrop for these bloom wildflowers in LaPorte, Indiana. as a light rain falls, Sept. 21, 2012.

People eat under Chinese lanterns displayed at a restaurant as part of celebrations for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival on Penang Island, Malaysia, Sept. 25, 2012.

A European peacock butterfly (Inachis io) unfolds its wings in the sun on a blossom in a garden in Frankfurt an der Oder, eastern Germany, Sept. 20, 2012. Meteorologists forecast sinking temperatures for that week, that ended the astronomical beginning of autumn, Sept. 22, 2012.

A duck swims during an autumn day in a pond in the Tsaritsino estate in southern Moscow, Russia, Sept. 19, 2012.

Ears of field corn lay in piles along a roadside during the autumn corn harvest on a farm on the edge of Kaesong, North Korea. It has been a tough year for North Korea's farmers, who grappled with an extended dry spell in the spring, followed by heavy rains from a series of summer storms and typhoon. The U.N. is launching a field mission across North Korea to gauge the state of the food situation.

Visitors to the annual Harrogate Autumn Flower Show admire and discuss prize winning flowers, Sept. 14, 2012 in Harrogate, England.

Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2013

Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2013

The opening ceremonies for this year's Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China were held earlier this week. The event, held since 1963, can last more than a month, depending on the weather, and attracts visitors from around the world who come to see the elaborate ice and snow sculptures.

People visit the Ice and Snow World at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, in northeast China's Heilongjiang province on Jan. 5. This year's "Ice and Snow World" features majestic ice castles and sculptures of fairytale characters equipped with LED lights, bringing a colorful and warm aura to the icy wonderland. 

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People visiting Ice and Snow World watch as fireworks fill the sky at the opening ceremony.

Visitors ride on a horse cart among large ice sculptures at the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, northern China, on Jan. 6. The three-month-long subzero festival is in its 29th edition, attracting both foreign and local visitors. 

People visit the Ice and Snow World at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Harbin Internatoinal Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, in northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

A visitor posed before a snow sculpture in Ice and Snow World at the opening ceremony. 

This year's Ice and Snow World features majestic ice castles and sculptures of fairytale characters equipped with LED lights, bringing a colorful and warm aura to the icy wonderland. 

Fireworks burst in the sky over the Ice and Snow World at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival on Jan. 5.

A woman poses in front of a large snow sculpture of German composer Ludwig van Beethoven on display at the Sun Island Park during the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China's northern Heilongjiang province, on Jan. 5. 

A woman poses for a photograph in front of a large snow sculpture at the Sun Island Park during the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. 

Fireworks go off behind a large ice sculpture during the opening ceremony of the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China's northern Heilongjiang province, on Jan. 5. 

Fireworks explode over ice sculptures during the official opening of the 29th Harbin
 International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin in northeast China's Heilongjiang province on Jan. 5.

Tourists visit ice sculptures during the testing period of the 13th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival officially launched January 5, 2012.

A group of girls pose in front of a castle made from blocks of ice before the opening ceremony of the Harbin International Ice and Snow festival. 

Sunset near a castle made from blocks of ice in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province. 

Ice sculptures displayed at the annual Ice and Snow festival in Harbin. Fairy tale palaces, towering pagodas, and even an Egyptian Sphynx -- all carved from ice -- are among the sights at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. 

The Harbin Ice and Snow festival, an annual event, now in its 26th year, draws crowds from across China and even a few visitors from overseas, drawn to the unique visions of an international roster of sculptors who illuminate their creations with multicolored electric lights encased in the translucent ice. 

Ice block sculptures of fairy tale palaces, towering pagodas, and an Egyptian Sphynx draw crowds from across China and even a few visitors from overseas. 

Spectators watch fireworks explode over ice sculptures during the official opening. 

Fireworks explode while Chinese dancers perform on a snow hill during the opening ceremony.

A woman takes pictures of the colorful ice block buildings. 

Visitors tour a building structure made from blocks of ice and lit with colorful lights. 

Visitors enjoy the sights at the Harbin International Ice and Snow festival.

A climber demonstrates his skill on a building made of blocks of ice during the opening ceremony. 

Visitors watch fireworks shoot above the ice block buildings during the opening ceremony of the festival.

Tourists visit ice sculptures.

The colorful lights of the ice block sculptures create a intriguing overall scene for tourists. 

Visitors lose themselves in the fantasy-like colorful buildings of the Harbin festival. 

Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province is known for its bitterly cold winters and is often called the "Ice City." 

Even the staircases are made from ice blocks at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. 

A horse carriage carries tourists through the ice sculptures.

A horse carriage carrying tourists adds to the fairy tale mystique of the Harbin festival. 

People visit the Harbin Ice-Lantern Show at Zhaolin Park. 

Spectators watch fireworks explode over ice sculptures.

Harbin, known as "Ice City" - a nickname well-earned - for winters that are dry and bitterly cold, with a 24-hours average in January of only minus18.4 degrees celcius. Workers install a tree with lights near buildings made from blocks of ice.