Prior to the invention of photography in the mid-19th century, the silhouette was considered an effective and inexpensive way to record a person’s likeness or capture a scene. Although the practice can be traced back to the early 17th century, the term ‘silhouette’ derives from the harsh policies of the French finance minister Étienne de Silhouette.
The silhouette reduces an object to its most basic form. Its historical uses in art can be seen in the paper cuts of Hans Christian Andersen and the artwork of Kara Walker. In photographic terms, the silhouette is created in situations where the subject is back-lit. It can be used to hide a person’s identity or highlight their distinctive features, and its graphic form is often used artistically to photograph sport and dance. It heightens drama, adds atmosphere and turns banal scenes into graphic wonders.
More than 200 years ago, the silhouette was the foremost way to document one’s appearance, but it’s still widely used in photographic frames today.
LightBox takes a look at the use of silhouettes on the wires over the past 12 months and presents a silhouette a day — 366 in all — for 2012.
Jan. 1, 2012. The Iranian navy conducts the "Velayat-90" naval wargames in the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.Ebrahim Noroozo—AFP/Getty ImagesJan. 2, 2012. Andrew Glassonbury, riding Double Dizzy, clears the last hurdle to win the At The Races Sussex National at Plumpton racecourse Plumpton, U.K.Alan Crowhurst—Getty ImagesJan. 3, 2012. Marielle Derice, 43, moved to this shelter made from sticks and tarps after being evicted from a rented room in Cite Soleil, Haiti. Ben Depp—ReduxJan. 4, 2012. The Dalai Lama is silhouetted as he teaches an assembly of monks and devotees during the Kalachakra Buddhist festival in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India.Altaf Qadri—APJan. 5, 2012. Athletes compete in the men's 4 x 7.5 km relay event of the IBU Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof, eastern Germany.Robert Michael—AFP/Getty ImagesJan. 6, 2012. Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol during a protest against the killing of a student by soldiers earlier this week during a demonstration over frequent power cuts in Srinagar, India.Altaf Zargar—Zuma PressJan. 7, 2012. A demonstrator with the "Occupy Movement" rallies outside the presidential debates at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.Eric Thayer—ReutersJan. 8, 2012. Parched corn grows in a field in Coronel Isleno, Argentina.Diego Guidice—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesJan. 9, 2012. Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during a "Faith, Family and Freedom" town hall at the Rivier College football field in Nashua, N.H.Win McNamee—Getty ImagesJan. 10, 2012. Iraqi Shiite Muslim pilgrims make their way into the holy city of Karbala, Iraq on the Arbaeen religious festival, which comes 40 days after Ashura.Mohammed Sawaf—AFP/Getty ImagesJan. 11, 2012. Vultures land on a tree in Belem, Brazil.Paulo Santos—ReutersJan. 12, 2012. The reflection in the water of fish farmer Aurélien Bergeron standing in front of silver bream in a tank at the Frioul fish farm near Marseille, France.Boris Horvat—AFP/Getty ImagesJan. 13, 2012. An ice sculptor works on a block of ice during the London Ice Sculpting Festival in Canary Wharf, east London.Carl Court—AFP/Getty ImagesJan. 14, 2012. A Buddhist nun carries a Nepalese flag after the inauguration ceremony of Visit Lumbini 2012 at Lumbini Province, Nepal.Navesh Chitrakar—ReutersJan. 15, 2012. A young Nepalese plays on a swing during the Hindu festival of Maghesangranti at Taraka village, Nuwakot district, Nepal.Prakash Mathema—AFP/Getty ImagesJan. 16, 2012. A man rides a horse through a bonfire in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals.Daniel Ochoa de Olza—APJan. 17, 2012. Indian soldiers from the Border Security Forces stand atop camels at attention in front of the Presidential Palace during a ceremony in preparation for the annual Beating Retreat in New Delhi, India.Kevin Frayer—APJan. 18, 2012. Thai soldiers march in a parade as part of celebrations of the Royal Thai Army national day at a Navy base in Thailand's restive southern province of Narathiwat.Madaree Tohlala—AFP/Getty ImagesJan. 19, 2012. An anti-Mubarak protester holds a noose outside the police academy where former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stood on trial in Cairo.Suhaib Salem—ReutersJan. 20, 2012. A Pakistani man who works in a brick factory smokes a cigarette before heading to work on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.Muhammed Muheisen—APJan. 21, 2012. People look on as the cruise ship Costa Concordia lies stricken off the shore of the island of Giglio, Italy.Tullio M. Puglia—Getty ImagesJan. 22, 2012. Chinese Filipinos pray at the Seng Guan Temple on the eve of the Chinese New Year for the Year of The Dragon at the Chinese district of Binondo in Manila.Dondi Tawatao—Getty ImagesJan. 23, 2012. Republican presidential candidate and former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney answers questions from reporters in Tampa, Fla.Brian Snyder—ReutersJan. 24, 2012. The light catches the rim of Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark as she loses to Kim Clijsters of Belgium in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia.Barbara Walton—EPAJan. 25, 2012. A girl silhouetted against the setting sun swings while playing at a park in Lahore, Pakistan.Mohsin Raza—ReutersJan. 26, 2012. A woman looks out from her hotel room along the beach in Daytona Beach, Fla.Chip Litherland—The New York Times/ReduxJan. 27, 2012. Nepalese Hindu women pray before taking a holy dip in the Triveni river during the month long Madhav Narayan festival in Panauti, Nepal.Niranjan Shrestha—APJan. 28, 2012. Hundreds of Taiwanese release "sky lanterns" in hopes of good fortune and prosperity in the new year and to celebrate the upcoming traditional Chinese Lantern Festival in New Taipei City, Taiwan.Wally Santana—APJan. 29, 2012. A Mexican soldier stands guard at a checkpoint on the road that links Navolato and Los Mochis, in Sinaloa State, Mexico.Alfredo Estrella—AFP/Getty ImagesJan. 30, 2012. Dancers take part in a lesson at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow.Denis Sinyakov—ReutersJan. 31, 2012. Riot police move a burning barricade during a rally in Dakar.Seyllou—AFP/Getty ImagesFeb. 1, 2012. A fan rides a zip-line at sunset before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Ind.Matt Slocum—APFeb. 2, 2012. Egyptian protesters stand on a cement barrier separating the Interior Ministry from Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Egyptian police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators outside the ministry protesting the security forces' failure to prevent a soccer riot that killed more than 70 people in Port Said, Egypt.Khalil Hamra—APFeb. 3, 2012. An Egyptian protestor throws away a tear gas canister fired by security forces during clashes near the Interior Ministry in Cairo.Muhammed Muheisen—APFeb. 4, 2012. Followers of Yemen's Shi'ite sect stand on a hill following a ceremony to mark the birth anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad in Dhahian, in the northwestern Yemeni province of Saada.Khaled Abdullah—ReutersFeb. 5, 2012. A general view of the New England Patriots playing the New York Giants during Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.Joe Robbins—Getty ImagesFeb. 6, 2012. Blacksmiths throw molten metal against a cold wall to create sparks as they celebrate the Lantern Festival which traditionally marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Nuanquan, Hebei province, China.Mark Ralston—AFP/Getty ImagesFeb. 7, 2012. Supporters of striking police demonstrate outside the Bahian state legislature building, where up to 300 police officers and their families holed up, in Salvador, Brazil. About one-third of Bahia's 30,000 police went on strike, demanding pay raises and amnesty for what a judge ruled an illegal work stoppage.Felipe Dana—APFeb. 8, 2012. Soldiers patrol the streets in the historic center of Salvador, Brazil.Felipe Dana—APFeb. 9, 2012. Striking police officers and their relatives, left, walk past soldiers as they leave the state legislature building in Salvador, Brazil. The strike has sparked a spike in violence in Brazil's third-largest city, with murder rates more than doubling since the strike started Jan. 31.Felipe Dana—APFeb. 10, 2012. A man is reflected in 'Gestell mit 6 stehenden Scheiben,' a piece by German artist Gerhard Richter in his exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.Tobias Schwarz—ReutersFeb. 11, 2012. Syracuse University photographer Michael Okoniewski takes a picture through the roof of the Carrier Dome before the start of a NCAA men's basketball game between Syracuse Orange and Connecticut Huskies in Syracuse, N.Y.Adam Fenster—ReutersFeb. 12, 2012. People enjoy a sunny winter afternoon on the frozen Lac de Joux in Le Pont, Switzerland.Denis Balibouse—ReutersFeb. 13, 2012. People attempt to salavage belongings as a fire rages in Xinfeng and Luotuan villages, 85km from Tongdao, China. The blaze completely detroyed the traditional "Hanging Houses" that house China's Dong ethnic group, yet no casualties were reported.ChinaFotoPress/Getty ImagesFeb. 14, 2012. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln is seen after sailing from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.Hassan Ammar—APFeb. 15, 2012. People visit the Jama Masjid, the principal mosque and a popular tourist destination in New Delhi.Dale de la Rey—AFP/Getty ImagesFeb. 16, 2012. Homeowners wait in line to register at the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America Save the Dream event in Los Angeles, Calif.Patrick Fallon—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesFeb. 17, 2012. German President Christian Wulff, front, arrives to announce his resignation with his wife Bettina, covered, at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany.Gero Breloer—APFeb. 18, 2012. Dancers parade on the first day of carnival celebrations in Oruro, Bolivia.Juan Karita—APFeb. 19, 2012. Soldiers stand at the entrance of a temporary shelter for relatives waiting to collect the bodies of victims who died in the Comayagua prison blaze, which killed over 350 inmates, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Oswaldo Rivas—ReutersFeb. 20, 2012. Audrey Labeau of France dives during the Women's 10m platform preliminary round at the FINA Diving World Cup at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in London.Toby Melville—ReutersFeb. 21, 2012. Pastor Hershael York waves his bible while preaching against casino gambling at the Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. Catholic bishops in Kentucky issued a stern warning Tuesday about the potential consequences if lawmakers approve a proposal to legalize casinos.John Flavell—APFeb. 22, 2012. Investigators and police officers stand next to pieces of a police plane after it crashed at the village of El Refugio in Jalisco, Mexico.Alejandro Acosta—ReutersFeb. 23, 2012. The statue of Victoria on top of Siegessaeule, the Victory Column, in Berlin.Tobias Schwarz—ReutersFeb. 24, 2012. A refugee boy from Myanmar stands in ruins of the Um-Piam refugee camp after a fire. According to local officials, around 5,000 people lost their homes in Um-Piam, which lies near Mae Sot and is the second largest refugee camp along the Thai-Myanmar border in Thailand, housing more than 17,600 Myanmar refugees.Damir Sagolj—ReutersFeb. 25, 2012. People hold a giant Libyan flag during a march to Martyrs' Square in Tripoli, Libya.Anis Mili—ReutersFeb. 26, 2012. Myanmar's pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is silhouetted against setting sun as she arrives to deliver her speech during an election campaign rally in Thongwa village, some 31 miles from Yangon, Myanmar.Altaf Qadri—APFeb. 27, 2012. A model displays a creation as part of the Giorgio Armani Fall-winter 2012-2013 show during women's fashion week in Milan.Giuseppe Cacace—AFP/Getty ImagesFeb. 28, 2012. Thai workers are silhouetted at a construction site in Bangkok.Sakchai Lalit—APFeb. 29, 2012. Senegalese youth jump on trampolines at sunset in Dakar.Nic Bothma—EPAMarch 1, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama walks to board Marine One helicopter from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC to travel to New Hampshire where he will speak on the economy.Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 2, 2012. Men hold a revolutionary Syrian flag atop a mosque during an anti-government protest in northern Syria.Rodrigo Abd—APMarch 3, 2012. Mexican federal policemen stand guard at a suspected drug-related murder site in Acapulco, Mexico. A forensics team excavated five corpses from the abandoned house.John Moore—Getty ImagesMarch 4, 2012. Mexican tourists and soldiers look on at the site of a suspected drug-related execution on Acapulco's famous Caleta Beach in Mexico. Drug violence has surged in the coastal resort in the last year, making Acapulco the second most deadly city in Mexico after Juarez.John Moore—Getty ImagesMarch 5, 2012. Soldiers stand guard on a pedestrian bridge in Tegucigalpa, Honduras ahead of a visit from U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.Esteban Felix—APMarch 6, 2012. Players in the Maasai Warriors cricket team play cricket on the beach in Mombasa, South East Kenya. The team is made up of Maasai warriors from the Laikipia region of Kenya who are aiming to be role models in their communities, where they are trying to promote healthier lifestyles by spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS, and fighting for the rights of women by actively campaigning against Female Genital Mutilation and early childhood marriages.Carl de Souza—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 7, 2012. A man scavenges for recyclable and other usable items at the Trutier dump on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.Spencer Platt—Getty ImagesMarch 8, 2012. Palestinians throw stones during clashes between protesters and Israeli soldiers near the Kalandia checkpoint in the West Bank, at a rally to mark International Women's Day.Atef Safadi—EPAMarch 9, 2012. Long Beach State guard Mike Caffey soaks his legs in the hotel pool after the team beat UC-Irvine to advance to the NCAA Big West Championship game in Long Beach, Calif.Patrick T. Fallon—The New York Times/ReduxMarch 10, 2012. A laborer rests between two track-laying vehicles at a subway tunnel that is under construction in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. The 17.4 mile line is the first phase of Line 2 of the Wuhan Metro, the first subway to cross the Yangtze River.ReutersMarch 11, 2012. Bhuddhist monks form a line on the water's edge to comfort souls of victims killed by the March 11, 2011 tsunami on the shore of the Pacific Ocean in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.Kimimasa Mayama—EPAMarch 12, 2012. French soldiers of the first regiment of marine artillery prepare a mortar to fire during an exercise in Surobi district, Kabul province.Shah Marai—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 13, 2012. A girl is silhouetted as she carries a child inside her shelter at Shwe Pyi Tar Industrial Zone in Yangon, Myanmar.ReutersMarch 14, 2012. Sri Lankan Buddhist monks walk outside the US embassy in Colombo to denounce Washington's move to censure the island's government over alleged war crimes.Lakruwan Wanniarachchi—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 15, 2012. Pods on the London Eye cast shadows against thick morning fog in central London.Andrew Winning—ReutersMarch 16, 2012. A man looks at his Apple iPad in front of an Apple store in downtown Shanghai, China.Aly Song—ReutersMarch 17, 2012. A Syrian rebel stands next to a flaming tire while shooting at a Syrian army checkpoint, in a suburb of Damascus, Syria. Two suicide bombers detonated cars packed with explosives in near-simultaneous attacks on heavily guarded intelligence and security buildings in the Syrian capital, killing at least 27 people.APMarch 18, 2012. A security guard walks along a path after a heavy overnight snowfall in Beijing, China.David Gray—ReutersMarch 19, 2012. Mike Layton, son of former New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton, during a television interview at the election-night party for Craig Scott, NDP candidate in the Toronto-Danforth federal by-election. The Toronto-Danforth seat has been vacant since Jack Layton's death this past summer.Mike Cassese—ReutersMarch 20, 2012. A government worker fumigates a house against mosquitoes at a neighborhood in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Jorge Cabrera—ReutersMarch 21, 2012. A visitor looks at jellyfish displayed at an aquarium in Shanghai, China.Eugene Hoshiko—APMarch 22, 2012. Balinese people walk on a fire during a ritual prior to Nyepi day in Ubud Gianyar, Bali. Nyepi is a day of silence to celebrate the Balinese new year, reserved for self-reflection, during which people are not allowed to use lights, light fires, work, travel or enjoy entertainment.Beawiharta—ReutersMarch 23, 2012. An Israeli soldier fires tear gas during clashes with Palestinian and foreign demonstrators, protesting against the confiscation of Palestinian land for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah.Abbas Momani—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 24, 2012. A man holds up a kite at a demolition site near residential areas in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China.Pillar Lee—ReutersMarch 25, 2012. People wave to Pope Benedict XVI outside Nuestra Senora de La Luz (Our Lady of Light) Cathedral, where he attended mass with Latin American Archbishops in Leon, Mexico.Ronaldo Schemidt—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 26, 2012. A man walks beside a large fire at the Myanmar International Terminals Thilawa, at a deep sea port located roughly 25km south of Yangon.Ye Aung Thu—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 27, 2012. A child peeks inside a tent at a Syrian refugee camp in Boynuyogun, Turkey, near the border with Syria.Tara Todras-Whitehall—PolarisMarch 28, 2012. A Colombian soldier sits atop an armoured personnel carrier, in position along a road in Miranda, Cauca department, Colombia.Luis Robayo—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 29, 2012. Men work on power transmission lines in Tezpur, India.Adeel Halim—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesMarch 30, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama enters the South Portico of the White House after disembarking Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington, D.C.Pete Souza—The White HouseMarch 31, 2012. People queue inside the Titanic Belfast visitor centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland.Peter Muhly—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 1, 2012. Afghan National Army soldiers stand silhouetted against a smoke screen during a partnered operation in Zhari, Afghanistan.Sebastian Meyer—CorbisApril 2, 2012. Men carry the statue of Jesus Nazareno de las Tres Potencias during a procession on the streets in the center of Guatemala City, Guatemala. The procession has taken place during Holy Week for the past 117 years and is attended by more than five thousand devotees, according to local media.Jorge Dan Lopez—ReutersApril 3, 2012. Visitors attend the launch of the Google Art project, which provides online tours of museums around the world, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.Oded Balilty—APApril 4, 2012. An eternal flame burns at the gravesite of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta during a ceremony marking the 44th anniversary of his assassination.David Goldman—APApril 5, 2012. Caddie Mark Sherwood holds a flag on the 18th hole for Swedish golfer Peter Hanson during the first round the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga.Matt Slocum—APApril 6, 2012. A child runs through the fountain in the overflow park during the 2012 Sydney Royal Easter Show at the Sydney Showground. The annual event is Australia's largest, attracting around 900,000 visitors over the course of the two week agricultural show.Mark Kolbe—Getty ImagesApril 7, 2012. U.S. soldiers from 82nd Airborne division smoke cigarettes before a joint mission with the Afghan Army in the Maiwand district in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan.Baz Ratner—ReutersApril 8, 2012. Memorial flags and rock piles are left on the main path up to Everest near Lobuche, Nepal in memory of those who have died so that climbers can pay their respects before trying to summit the mountain.David Cheskin—PA Photos/LandovApril 9, 2012. A police officer stands near evidence markers at a crime scene in Ajijic on the outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico. Gunmen shot dead three people who were sitting in two different cars outside their homes, according to local media.Alejandro Acosta—ReutersApril 10, 2012. U.S. Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne division are silhouetted as they walk during a mission in the Maiwand district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan.Baz Ratner—ReutersApril 11, 2012. A Kashmiri Muslim rides his boat in Dal Lake in Srinagar, India.Tauseef Mustafa—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 12, 2012. A firefighter stands amid the wreckage caused by an oil pipeline explosion in San Isidro Mazatepec, Mexico.Hector Guerrero—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 13, 2012. A protester waves an Egyptian flag as others walk on a wall, built a few weeks ago to stop clashes between security forces and protesters, near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt. Thousands of Egyptians packed into Tahrir Square to protest against a run for the presidency by former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.Asmaa Waguih—ReutersApril 14, 2012. France's Jean-Michel Lucenay, left, fights with Russia's Igor Tourchine during the Men's Team Epee competition at the 2012 World Fencing Championships in Kiev, Ukraine.Sergei Supinsky—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 15, 2012. People watch a fireworks display to mark 100 years since the birth of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-Sung, in Pyongyang, North Korea.Ed Jones—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 16, 2012. Afghan special forces are seen on top of a building which was occupied by militants, in Kabul, Afghanistan.Musadeq Sadeq—APApril 17, 2012. Barcelona soccer fan Deyler Carrasco plays soccer with friends near a mural of Cuba's revolutionary hero Ernesto 'Che' Guevara in Havana, Cuba.Javier Galeano—APApril 18, 2012. Greek parliament employees raise a mast after they replaced a torn Greek flag with a new one atop the parliament in Syntagma Square, Athens, Greece.Yannis Behrakis—ReutersApril 19, 2012. A woman walks inside the art piece 'Five Minutes Of Pure Sculpture' by British artist Anthony McCall at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin, Germany.Markus Schreiber—APApril 20, 2012. A giant puppet, part of a street theatre production entitled "Sea Odyssey", walks through Stanley Park in Liverpool, U.K.Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 21, 2012. Local residents carry plastic containers on their shoulders as they line up to fetch drinking water from a lake in Yangon, Myanmar.Khin Maung Win—APApril 22, 2012. Filipino workers perform maintenance on a globe structure outside a mall in Pasay, south of Manila, Philippines.Aaron Favila—APApril 23, 2012. A boy at the leukemia ward of the children's hospital in Basra, Iraq.Christian Werner—Laif/ReduxApril 24, 2012. Picture of the statue of Christ the Redeemer atop of Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Christophe Simon—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 25, 2012. Israeli soldiers stand before a Memorial Day ceremony on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem's Old City.Sebastian Scheiner—APApril 26, 2012. Commuters walk past an advertisement outside a clothing store in central London.Andrew Winning—ReutersApril 27, 2012. A teacher lectures students on the history of their former, leader Kim Jong Il, at the Kaeson Kindergarten in Pyongyang, North Korea.Vincent Yu—APApril 28, 2012. A woman sits in front of her cave shelter in Bram village in the Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, Sudan.Goran Tomasevic—ReutersApril 29, 2012. FIlipino activists apply the finishing touches to a mural that will be used in a Labor Day march to protest the government's migrant labor policy and to demand higher wages amid rising prices for basic commodities in Quezon City, east of Manila, Philippines.Noel Celis—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 30, 2012. Pedestrians walk along the OCBC Skyway, a 128-metre long walkway that connects the two 25-metre Supertrees at the Supertree Grove, in Gardens By The Bay, South Bay, Singapore.Wong Maye-E—APMay 1, 2012. A young man climbs a 30 meter high May pole in Petersthal, Germany.Karl-Josef Hildenbrand—DPA/Zuma PressMay 2, 2012. Actors perform during a ceremony for the 100 year anniversary of the founding of Springer Verlag publishing group Axel Springer in Berlin.John Macdougall—AFP/Getty ImagesMay 3, 2012. Chinese tourists watch the customary flag lowering ceremony at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China.Feng Li—Getty ImagesMay 4, 2012. Indians dive into a swimming pool in Mumbai, India.Rajanish Kakade—APMay 5, 2012. Birds fly past a mosque during a full moon in Amman, Jordan.Ali Jarekji—ReutersMay 6, 2012. An Egyptian anti-military protester climbs on top of a light post during a demonstration outside the Egyptian Parliament in Cairo to demand for the release of hundreds of detained demonstrators. The previous day, the military imposed a new curfew and detained 300 people after deadly clashes between troops and anti-army protesters, as tensions rise prior to a key presidential poll.Gianluigi Guercia—AFP/Getty ImagesMay 7, 2012. Supporters of the newly-elected French President Francois Hollande celebrate during a victory rally at Place de la Bastille in Paris.Pascal Rossignol—ReutersMay 8, 2012. Palestinian farmers harvest wheat during the harvest season on a farm near the West Bank town of Jenin.Mohammed Ballas—APMay 9, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews stand next to bonfires in Bnei Brak, Israel during Lag Ba'Omer celebrations to commemorate the end of a plague said to have decimated Jews in Roman times.Oded Balilty—APMay 10, 2012. Syrian rebels take position near Qusayr, nine miles from Homs, Syria.STR/AFP/Getty ImagesMay 11, 2012. A man is silhouetted against the setting sun as he walks with his camel in the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan.Athar Hussain—ReutersMay 12, 2012. A rescue team takes a break on top of Mount Salak, near Sukabumi, Indonesia. Teams have descended into a ravine to search for the flight recorders from the Russian Sukhoi Superjet that crashed, killing 45 people.Beawiharta—ReutersMay 13, 2012. The Soyuz TMA-04M rocket of the International Space Station is transported to a launch pad in the Russian leased Kazakh Baikonur cosmodrome.Vyacheslav Oseledko—AFP/GettyImagesMay 14, 2012. Fans climb to any available vantage point as Manchester City players display the Barclays Premier League trophy in front of thousands of fans during their victory parade around the streets of Manchester, U.K.Christopher Furlong—Getty ImagesMay 15, 2012. A boy works under a battery-run emergency light during a power outage at a printing press in Karachi.Akhtar Soomro—ReutersMay 16, 2012. Queen Elizabeth II watches a video presentation during a visit to Slaters Terrace Wharf as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the country, in Burnley, Lancashire, U.K.Christopher Furlong—PA Wire/APMay 17, 2012. An Israeli boy looks out from his home in Givat HaMatos on the southern fringes of the city limits of Jerusalem, Israel.Ronen Zvulun—ReutersMay 18, 2012. A woman holding a banner that reads, "Your benefits, our crisis. Another world is possible" takes part in a protest against capitalism and austerity measures implemented to tackle the Eurozone crisis outside the European Commission headquarters in Madrid, Spain.Susana Vera—ReutersMay 19, 2012. Customers walk inside the Emporium shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand.Brent Lewin—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesMay 20, 2012. The annular eclipse is seen through binoculars, which cast two images of the rarely seen ring of fire.Sacramento Bee/ MCT/LandovMay 21, 2012. A crow flies in South St. Paul, Minn.David Joles—Minneapolis Star Tribune/Zuma PressMay 22, 2012. A plume of ash rises from the Popocatépetl volcano in Puebla city, Mexico.Francisco Guasco—EPAMay 23, 2012. People exercising are seen reflected in the entrance of a beachfront apartment in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Felipe Dana—APMay 24, 2012. Students take their seats for the diploma ceremony at the John F. Kennedy School of Government during the 361st Commencement Exercises at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.Brian Snyder—ReutersMay 25, 2012. Supporters of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa Islamic organization raise party flags during an anti-American rally in Lahore, Pakistan.Mohsin Raza—ReutersMay 26, 2012. Spectators watch the World Rally Championship Acropolis Rally at the Klenia special stage in Agios Vasileios, Corinthia, Greece.Aris Messinis—AFP/Getty ImagesMay 27, 2012. Fireworks explode over the Golden Gate Bridge in celebration of its 75th anniversary today in San Francisco, Calif.Ezra Shaw—Getty ImagesMay 28, 2012. A woman walks past the Arlington West Memorial, built on the beach next to Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.Joe Klamar—AFP/Getty ImagesMay 29, 2012. A man carries a bin of recyclable materials as vultures fly nearby at Jardim Gramacho, one of the world's largest open-air landfills, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Victor R. Caivano—APMay 30, 2012. Soldiers and peasants work to eradicate coca crops, from which cocaine is made, in the mountains of the San Francisco municipality, Antioquia department of Colombia.Raul Arboleda—AFP/Getty ImagesMay 31, 2012. A U.S. Army soldier of the 82nd Airborne Division attaches C4 explosive to a tree during a mission to establish a check point in Zahri district of Kandahar province, Afghanistan.Shamil Zhumatov—ReutersJune 1, 2012. A young boy dives into a stepwell near the mosque of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya to cool off from the sweltering heat in New Delhi, India.Anindito Mukherjee—EPAJune 2, 2012. Contestant Yi Hui practices for the 2nd China Pole Dance semi-final in Tianjin municipality, China.Jason Lee—ReutersJune 3, 2012. A U.S. Army soldier from the 4th Infantry Division gestures to a goat while on patrol near Dokalam village in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.Tim Wimborne—ReutersJune 4, 2012. Thousands of people attend a candle-lit vigil in Hong Kong to commemorate the pro-democracy students who died in an army crackdown on June 4, 1989 in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.Jerome Favre—EPAJune 5, 2012. An Egyptian protester waves the national flag at sunset during a demonstration in Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest verdicts handed down in the trial of ex-president Hosni Mubarak.Mohammed Abed—AFP/Getty ImagesJune 6, 2012. A man paraglides behind the lines of another paraglider off the Torrey Pines Gliderport in San Diego, Calif.Gregory Bull—APJune 7, 2012. A man is seen playing football in front of the Rodina Monument in Kiev, Ukraine.Alex Livesey—Getty ImagesJune 8, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI after a meeting with the Sri Lankan President at the Vatican.Max Rossi—AFP/Getty ImagesJune 9, 2012. A U.S. Army soldier from the 4th Infantry Division guards a landing zone at Combat Outpost Pirtle-King in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.Tim Wimborne—ReutersJune 10, 2012. A ghost is reportedly haunting the Overlee community pool in Arlington. Greg York, the pool manager, pictured here, thinks that he's seen the ghost of a 14-year-old girl who died on the property in 1913.Michael S. Williamson—The Washington Post/Getty ImagesJune 11, 2012. A lone tree stands in a deforested section of the Amazon in Para state, Brazil.Mario Tama—Getty ImagesJune 12, 2012. A man walks through an alleyway with the images of former Indian politicians and Hindu Gods and Goddesses on display in the early morning in the old quarters of New Delhi, India.Ahmad Masood—ReutersJune 13, 2012. Indigenous peoples from several tribes participate in the Sacred Fire Lighting Ceremony at the Kari-Oca village, during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Felipe Dana—APJune 14, 2012. A diver swims next to a whale shark during a tagging project in Cenderawasih Bay, Province of Papua.Mark Erdmann—AFP/Getty ImagesJune 15, 2012. Brazilian activists dig in protest on the edge of the construction site of the Belo Monte Dam project at Vitoria do Xingu, near Altamira, Brazil.Lunae Parracho—ReutersJune 16, 2012. Firefighters and volunteers try to extinguish a forest fire at Thymari coastal village, 25 miles southeast of Athens, Greece.Yannis Behrakis—ReutersJune 17, 2012. A boy jumps from the 3m platform at Lake Storkow, Germany.Patrick Pleul—DPA/CorbisJune 18, 2012. Children play as monsoon clouds hover in the sky over Peepal village in Allahabad, India.Rajesh Kumar Singh—APJune 19, 2012. Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi wave Egyptian flags as they gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against the ruling military's bid to grab new powers.Marwan Naamani—AFP/Getty ImagesJune 20, 2012. Guests enjoy "Dinner in the Sky," 40 meters in the air, in front of the Cinquantenaire park in Brussels, Belgium.Francois Lenoir—ReutersJune 21, 2012. Racegoers attend Ladies Day, the third day of racing at the Royal Ascot, U.K.Stefan Wermuth—ReutersJune 22, 2012. A coal miner fires a handmade rocket at riot police officers during clashes in Mieres Figaredo, Spain.Jose Colon—APJune 23, 2012. Visitors run in circles around a bonfire in Freiburg, Germany.Patrick Seeger—EPAJune 24, 2012. A sandstorm blows past an inflatable blimp inside FOB Joyce in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.Lucas Jackson—ReutersJune 25, 2012. Two Indian border security soldiers stand guard at Baltal base camp, India.EPAJune 26, 2012. Josefina Vazquez Mota, presidential candidate for the ruling National Action Party, addresses supporters during a rally in Monterrey, Mexico.Daniel Becerril—ReutersJune 27, 2012. A boy cools himself off under a pipe during a hot day in Faisalabad, Pakistan.Fayyaz Hussain—ReutersJune 28, 2012. A boy plays in Phewa Lake in Pokhara valley, west of Nepal's capital Kathmandu.Navesh Chitrakar—ReutersJune 29, 2012. The feet of visitors are seen from below as they make their way along a translucent walkway at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.Kevin Lamarque—ReutersJune 30, 2012. A Nicaraguan player shakes hands with a Panamanian player during the final game of the Central American and Caribbean Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Managua, Nicaragua.Nicolas Garcia—AFP/Getty ImagesJuly 1, 2012. Members of the al-Nawajaa family stand near a cactus plant at dusk in the area where they live, near the Jewish settlement of Sosia and the Palestinian village of Yatta, in the West Bank.Abed Hashlamoun—EPAJuly 2, 2012. A helicopter throws water in an attempt to extinguish a fire in Liria, near Valencia, Spain.Kai Forsterling—EPAJuly 3, 2012. A man walks across the tops of fuel tankers, which were used to carry fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan, parked at a compound in Karachi, Pakistan.Athar Hussain—ReutersJuly 4, 2012. A bird flies past the Tian Tan Buddha, a major tourist attraction that measures 111.5 feet tall and weighs 250 metric tons, at Po Lin Monastery on Hong Kong's Lantau Island.Bobby Yip—ReutersJuly 5, 2012. A boy plays on a giant trampoline at a mall in Mumbai, India.Ahmad Masood—ReutersJuly 6, 2012. A reveller jumps from a fountain at the Plaza de Navarreria during the start of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain.Susana Vera—ReutersJuly 7, 2012. Youth attend "Rock in Rio" music festival in Arganda del Rey, Spain.Dani Pozo—AFP/Getty ImagesJuly 8, 2012. A Mongolian herder rides for shelter from a sudden rainstorm during the Naadam Festival in Karakorum, Mongolia.How Hwee Young—EPAJuly 9, 2012. Moroccan national Hayat Loukrichi kisses her mother Fatima before learning that the family's eviction has been suspended in Madrid, Spain. Their eviction, which has been caused by their failure to pay the rent to their landlord, has been postponed to October 26, 2012.Juan Medina—ReutersJuly 10, 2012. A man walks in front of Tower 2 of the International Finance Center in the main business district in Hong Kong.Kin Cheung—APJuly 11, 2012. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses US embassy staff at a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesJuly 12, 2012. Three girls jump into the Ohrid Lake at sunset in Ohrid, Macedonia.Robert Atanasovski—AFP/Getty ImagesJuly 13, 2012. Fans watch Andrew Clutton carry the Olympic Flame during the leg between Hamworthy and Poole, on the top of a ship's mast in Dorset, U.K. on Day 56 of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.LOCOG—Getty ImagesJuly 14, 2012. Libyan militia scan the desert at the top of an old Italian defense tower during a patrol in the Bir Doufan area, on the border between Misrata and Bani Walid, Libya.Manu Brabo—APJuly 15, 2012. Kanwarias, devotees of Hindu god Shiva, carry pots filled with water from the river Ganges in Allahabad, India. Hundreds of Kanwarias carry holy water from the Ganges to their hometowns to be offered to Shivling, a symbol of Lord Shiva.Jitendra Prakash—ReutersJuly 16, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at the Cincinnati Music Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio.Susan Walsh—APJuly 17, 2012. Local residents stand at sunset at the fishing pier of Puerto Obaldia in the archipelago of Kuna Yala, Panama.Carlos Jasso—ReutersJuly 18, 2012. A Colombian soldier throws a tear gas grenade at a group of indigenous peoples in Toribio, Colombia. Clashes occurred when indigenous peoples tried to expel the Colombian Army and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from their territory.Cesar Marino—Xinhua/EyevineJuly 19, 2012. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh watch performers descend onto the stage area during a visit to the Leeds Arena in Leeds, West Yorkshire, U.K.UPPA/Zuma PressJuly 20, 2012. An Israeli soldier stands guard as Palestinians wait to cross into Jerusalem at Israel's Qalandiya checkpoint outside Ramallah, West Bank on the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.Mohamad Torokman—ReutersJuly 21, 2012. People walk at sunset past a section of the former Berlin Wall near a construction site in Berlin.Thomas Peter—ReutersJuly 22, 2012. A boy refreshes himself with a water machine at the Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Pilar Olivares—ReutersJuly 23, 2012. Police patrol the Olympic Park in London.Alexander Hassenstein—Getty ImagesJuly 24, 2012. Ronika Massie, 25, right center, and Francesca Johnson, 27, right, lay flowers at a makeshift memorial across the street from the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo., where James Holmes is suspected of killing 12 and injuring 58 others during a shooting rampage at a screening of 'The Dark Knight Rises.'Matt McClain—The Washington Post/Getty ImagesJuly 25, 2012. A man walks past a poster showing the mascot Wenlock at the ExCel venue before the start of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.Kim Kyung-Hoon—ReutersJuly 26, 2012. The sun rises over a memorial across the street from the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo. where James Holmes is suspected of killing 12 and injuring 58 others during a shooting rampage at a screening of 'The Dark Knight Rises.'RJ Sangosti—Denver Post/PolarisJuly 27, 2012. Performers represent victims of the July 7, 2005 bombings during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium.Cameron Spencer—Getty ImagesJuly 28, 2012. Children play on a swing suspended from a tree in Kalupura village, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India.Parivartan Sharma—ReutersJuly 29, 2012. The moon is seen next to Olympic rings at St. James' Park soccer stadium during the men's Group D football match between Spain and Honduras at the London 2012 Olympic Games in Newcastle, U.K.Nigel Roddis—ReutersJuly 30, 2012. Panama's Air-Naval police stand guard near packages containing cocaine prior to a news conference in Panama City, Panama.Arnulfo Franco—APJuly 31, 2012. Fishermen ready their fishing gear as the summer fishing moratorium comes to a end on July 31 in Haikou, Hainan, China.APAug. 1, 2012. Orthodox Jews—among a crowd of 90,000—stand in rain ponchos, waiting for the beginning of the 12th Siyum HaShas, a celebration marking the completion of the Daf Yomi, a seven-and-a-half-year cycle during which each page of the Talmud, the canon of Jewish religious law, is studied in sequence one day at a time, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.Eric Thayer—ReutersAug. 2, 2012. Children dig for coins and metals in the coastal city of Navotas, in the suburbs of Manila, Philippines.Jay Directo—AFP/Getty ImagesAug. 3, 2012. Skydivers come together to complete a record-breaking 138 man formation over Ottawa, Ill.Norman Ken—Barcroft Media/LandovAug. 4, 2012. Athletes clear a water jump during round 1 of the women's 3000m steeplechase at the London 2012 Olympic Games in Olympic Stadium.Kai Pfaffenbach—ReutersAug. 5, 2012. People light paper candles at Ibirapuera lake in southern Sao Paulo, Brazil during a ceremony marking the 67th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack.Vanessa Carvalho—DPA/Zuma PressAug. 6, 2012. The figure of a man made of iron and fiberglass by British sculptor Antony Gormley is seen atop a building in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The piece is part of "Still Being," an exhibition of 31 life-size statues mounted on buildings, in squares, and on sidewalks.Pilar Olivares—ReutersAug. 7, 2012. An homeless Indian woman, front, walks with her children along the River Brahmaputra on the outskirts of Gauhati, India.Anupam Nath—APAug. 8, 2012. Protesters walk as police fire water canons and tear gas during a protest demanding free education in Santiago.Luis Hidalgo—APAug. 9, 2012. The Edinburgh International Festival is launched with the Speed of Light, a choreographed public art piece on Arthur's Seat involving endurance runners and walkers using fluorescent lights in Edinburgh, Scotland.Scott Campbell—Getty ImagesAug. 10, 2012. A man watches for meteorites under the Milky Way by Mount Blanc, while standing on the Col du Tronc above Verbier, Switzerland.Alessandro Della Bella—EPAAug. 11, 2012. Local men fish with trained cormorants perched on their boats in the early evening at an ancient village in Yongjia County, Zhejiang Province, China.ReutersAug. 12, 2012. The Olympic flame burns during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium.Pascal Lauener—ReutersAug. 13, 2012. The hands of Republican U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney are seen in silhouette as he speaks during a campaign stop in St. Augustine, Fla.Shannon Stapleton—ReutersAug. 14, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign event at Nelson Pioneer Farm and Museum in Oskaloosa, Iowa.Damon Winter—The New York Times/ReduxAug. 15, 2012. A horse, a boxer dog and a podenco dog are seen in Marinaleda, southern Spain.Jon Nazca—ReutersAug. 16, 2012. Students carry their belongings through the parking garage and into the Stophel dorms during freshman move-in day at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.Dan Henry—AP/Chattanooga Times Free PressAug. 17, 2012. Indonesian men participate in a greased pole climbing competition as part of independence day celebrations on Ancol beach in Jakarta, Indonesia.Achmad Ibrahim—APAug. 18, 2012. A young Syrian refugee stands inside an abandoned movie theater where he lives with his family in Tripoli, Lebanon.Moises Saman—The New York Times/ReduxAug. 19, 2012. A surfer waits for waves at dawn at Rockaway Beach, Queen, N.Y.Mario Tama—Getty ImagesAug. 20, 2012. A couple rehearses before competing at the Tango Dance World Cup 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Natacha Pisarenko—APAug. 21, 2012. Israeli arabs enjoy the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel during the third day of Eid al-Fitr.Oded Balilty—APAug. 22, 2012. Republican vice-presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) gestures during a rally at a hardware store in Roanoke, Va.Steve Helber—APAug. 23, 2012. Video displays that will be used during the Republican National Convention are tested at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.Win McNamee—Getty ImagesAug. 24, 2012. A worker walks under steam pipes at the Louis Dreyfus Commodities' Biosev sugarcane processing facility near Sertaozinho, Brazil.Dado Galdieri—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesAug. 25, 2012. Supporters of Angola's main opposition UNITA party stand on a lamppost as they wave flags during an election rally in Luanda, Angola.Siphiwe Sibeko—ReutersAug. 26, 2012. Supporters of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) at a rally at the University of South Florida Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.Damon Winter—The New York Times/ReduxAug. 28, 2012. Pakistani firefighters extinguish a burning vehicle after it was set ablaze by protesters angry over alleged targeted killings in Karachi, Pakistan.Asif Hassan—AFP/Getty ImagesAug. 27, 2012. Attendees of the Republican National Convention walk through a tunnel outside of the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.Spencer Platt—Getty ImagesAug. 29, 2012. Visitors walk through the "infinity room" before a public memorial service for U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio.Matt Sullivan—ReutersAug. 30, 2012. Firefighters walk past a blaze at a forest in Barranco Blanco in Coin, near Malaga, southern Spain.Jon Nazca—ReutersAug. 31, 2012. A performer from the Fuerzabruta company of Argentina is silhouetted as she acts in a show entitled "Mylar" on a translucent overhead water stage during the Night Festival in Singapore.Tim Chong—ReutersSept. 1, 2012. Amber Houghton, a competition winner, is one of the first people to walk on the new glass walkway at the top of Blackpool Tower in Blackpool, U.K.Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty ImagesSept. 2, 2012. A C-130 air tanker drops fire retardant onto a brush fire, as thick smoke rises from the hills above San Gabriel mountains in the Angeles National Forest, Calif.Gene Blevins—ReutersSept. 3, 2012. Australia's Russell Short competes in the Men's Shot Put F11/12 classification final at Olympic Stadium during the London 2012 Paralympic Games.Stefan Wermuth—ReutersSept. 4, 2012. Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire burning in Alvaiazere, near Ourem, Portugal.Rafael Marchante—ReutersSept. 5, 2012. Soldiers in a Jordanian military watchtower look out over newly-arrived Syrian refugees in Thnebeh town, Ramtha, Jordan. The refugees crossed the border from Tal Shehab city in Syria through the Al Yarmouk River valley to arrive in Thnebeh town.Mohammad Hannon—APSept. 6, 2012. U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama arrives on stage to introduce her husband, President Barack Obama during the final session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.Eric Thayer—ReutersSept. 7, 2012. Supporters wave scarves at sunset during the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifying football match between Liechtenstein and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.Fabrice Coffrini—AFP/Getty ImagesSept. 8, 2012. Republican presidential candidate and former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Va.Brian Snyder—ReutersSept. 9, 2012. People walk amongst U.S. national flags at a memorial dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 attacks on the campus lawn of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.Zhao Hanrong—Xinhua/Zuma PressSept. 10, 2012. A mounted machine gun manned by an Afghan National Army soldier is seen over residential houses during a helicopter flight from Kabul to Bagram Air Base for a prison handover ceremony.Shah Marai—AFP/Getty ImagesSept. 11, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a memorial service to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the US at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty ImagesSept. 12, 2012. Audience members watch a model during the J. Mendel Spring/Summer 2013 show at New York Fashion Week.Andrew Burton—ReutersSept. 13, 2012. An artist of the French art company Cie entre Terre et Ciel performs in downtown Bucharest, Romania during a three-day street theatre festival.Vadim Ghirda—APSept. 14, 2012. A military service member salutes during a transfer of remains ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. U.S. President Barack Obama arrived at Andrews Air Force Base on Friday to lead a ceremony honoring the return of the remains of the U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans killed in an attack on the U.S. consulate and a safe house refuge in Benghazi, Libya.Jason Reed—ReutersSept. 15, 2012. A protester covers his face as he stands in front of tear gas during clashes with riot police along a road at Kornish El Nile which leads to the U.S. embassy, near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Clashes near the U.S. Embassy in central Cairo between police and Egyptians incensed over a film denigrating the Prophet Mohammad, leaving one protester dead and dozens more injured.Amr Abdallah Dalsh—ReutersSept. 16, 2012. A model presents a creation by Matthew Williamson during the 2013 Spring/Summer collection show during the London Fashion Week.Ben Stansall—AFP/Getty ImagesSept. 17, 2012. A man walks along Atocha station in Madrid, Spain during a partial national rail strike. Hundreds of Spanish train services were canceled as rail and subway workers staged strikes to protest wage cuts and reforms.Andres Kudacki—APSept. 18, 2012. An Afghan National Army soldier stands his post at the gates of the headquarter compound located in Helmand province, Afghanistan.Max Becherer—PolarisSept. 19, 2012. A statue of Jesus Christ lays on its side atop St. John's School building following a high wind storm in Orange, N.J.Julio Cortez—APSept. 20, 2012. Republican presidential candidate and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney arrives in West Palm Beach, Fla., for private campaign fundraising events.Charles Dharapak—APSept. 21, 2012. Libyan civilians celebrate the raiding of Ansar al-Shariah compound after hundreds of Libyan civilians, soldiers, and police raided the compound in Benghazi, Libya.Mohammad Hannon—APSept. 22, 2012. Free Syria Army soldiers prepare to ignite a home-made bomb, which was placed next to a building housing several Assad forces in the al-Amaria district of Aleppo, Syria.Javier Manzano—PolarisSept. 23, 2012. Visitors ride a merry-go-round at the 179th Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.Michael Dalder—ReutersSept. 24, 2012. Palestinian security officers stand during a training session in the West Bank city of Jenin.Mohammed Ballas—APSept. 25, 2012. An Indian laborer throws ash into the River Ganges after burning a dead body in Varanasi, India.Rajesh Kumar Singh—APSept. 26, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama disembarks from Air Force One in the rain at Akron-Canton Regional Airport in Akron, Ohio.Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesSept. 27, 2012. An Ultra Orthodox Jewish man holds a hadas, a myrtle branch, which is one of four items used as a symbol on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, as he examines it for blemishes to determine if it is ritually acceptable before buying it in the city of Bnei Brak, Israel.Ariel Schalit—APSept. 28, 2012. Construction cranes are seen from Jersey City, N.J., as they rise above clouds and rain at 1 World Trade Center in New York City.Mel Evans—APSept. 29, 2012. Members of the Orange Order parade through Belfast city centre.Peter Morrison—APSept. 30, 2012. Europe's Rory McIlroy celebrates after winning the Ryder Cup PGA golf tournament Sunday at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill.Chris Carlson—APOct. 1, 2012. The facade of city hall in Stralsund, Germany.Stefan Sauer—DPA/Zuma PressOct. 2, 2012. Riot police chase Bahraini anti-government protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs on a tear gas engulfed street on the outskirts of the capital of Manama, Bahrain.Hasan Jamali—APOct. 3, 2012. A forest fire in Pará, in northern Brazil.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOROct. 4, 2012. A Palestinian Hamas militant stands guard during a rally to mark the 25th anniversary of movement's founding in Gaza City.Ali Ali—EPAOct. 5, 2012. A member of the ''New Mexico Sunrise'' crew lets a child touch the balloon as it starts to inflate at Bellehaven Elmn. school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 2012 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta kciked off with the Balloons Aloft program, during which balloonists all over the city inflate and take off from elementary schools.Jim Thompson—Albuquerque Journal/Zuma PressOct. 7, 2012. Models display creations by Rajesh Pratap Singh during the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in New Delhi, India.Tsering Topgyal—APOct. 6, 2012. A Greek presidential guard marches past the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in front of the parliament in Athens, Greece.John Kolesidis—ReutersOct. 8, 2012. Republican presidential nominee and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally in a downpour in Newport News, Va.Shannon Stapleton—ReutersOct. 9, 2012. Afghan police officers line up to wash their hands before breakfast at the police academy in Kabul, Afghanistan.Anja Niedringhaus—APOct. 10, 2012. A Red Deer stag roars in the early morning mist in Richmond Park in London, U.K.Dan Kitwood—Getty ImagesOct. 11, 2012. Senator Dean Heller (R-Nev.), left, and Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), wait with moderator Mitch Fox for the lights to come back up after a power failure in the middle of their televised senate debate, in Las Vegas, Nev.Julie Jacobson—APOct. 12, 2012. A reveller holding a rainbow flag is silhouetted during the opening ceremony of the first South Asia Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Sports Festival in Kathmandu, Nepal.Navesh Chitrakar—ReutersOct. 13, 2012. Amateur competitors wait for the start of the 2.4 mile swim portion of the Ironman World Championship triathlon in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.Hugh Gentry—ReutersOct. 14, 2012. Members of the Palestinian Fatafta family pick olives in their orchard during harvest season in West Bank village of Idna, near Hebron.Ammar Awad—ReutersOct. 15, 2012. A participant performs a re-enactment of the rise of the Chinese Communist Red Army in a theatrical production in Jinggangshan, Jiangxi Province, China. Jinggangshan is deemed as the birthplace of the Chinese Red Army, which saw Mao Zedong's ascent to power as a revolutionary.How Hwee Young—EPAOct. 16, 2012. A girl looks on as a member of the BOPE elite troops patrol an alley of Jacarezinho shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Christophe Simon—AFP/Getty ImagesOct. 17, 2012. A laborer walks by an idol of goddess Durga at a workshop in Kumartuli, a pottery colony that supplies idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, in Kolkata, India.Saurabh Das—APOct. 18, 2012. Daniel Stephens of Nero performs on stage at O2 Academy Leicester in Leicester, U.K.Ollie Millington—Redferns/Getty ImagesOct. 19, 2012. A man looks at bones and skulls as he visits an ossuary with the remains of more than 50,000 people under the Church of St. James in Brno, Czech Republic.Michal Cizek—AFP/Getty ImagesOct. 20, 2012. A long exposure image shows a meteor streaking across the night sky over the chapel of St. John Summer near Potsurnentsi, Bulgaria. The meteor display, known as the Orionids shower, is a result of the Earth's orbit passing through debris from Halley's Comet.Vassil Donev—EPAOct. 21, 2012. Muslim pilgrims pray at the top of Noor Mountain, near where the Hiraa cave is located on the outskirts of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.Hassan Ammar—APOct. 22, 2012. People observe police escorting forensic service personnel carrying the bodies of five men from a crime scene in Juarez, Mexico. The men were executed inside of a house by gunmen, according to police.Julio Cesar Aguilar—AFP/Getty ImagesOct. 23, 2012. Nepalese children play on a bamboo swing at sunrise during the ninth day of the 15-day-long Dashain festival in Kathmandu, Nepal.Narendra Shrestha—EPAOct. 24, 2012. Fire crackers are set-off before effigies of the 10-headed demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and his brother Kumbhakaran during the festival of Dussehra in Srinagar, India. The effigies are burnt on Dussehra, the Hindu festival that commemorates the triumph of Hindu god Rama over the Ravana, marking the victory of good over evil.Fayaz Kabli—ReutersOct. 25, 2012. Muslim pilgrims pray on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy on the Plain of Arafat near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.Hassan Ammar—APOct. 26, 2012. San Francisco Giants players and coaches warm up before Game 3 of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit, Mich.Matt Slocum—APOct. 27, 2012. Boys try to coax a reluctant ram into the Atlantic Ocean at dawn, as residents wash their sacrificial sheep in preparation for the Eid al-Adha feast, in Dakar, Senegal.Rebecca Blackwell—APOct. 28, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base for a trip to Orlando, Fla.Doug Mills—The New York Times/ReduxOct. 29, 2012. A rebel fighter belonging to the Qatebee Sokor Al-Islam group runs for cover as a Syrian army tank shells the rebel position during clashes in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria.Narciso Contreras—APOct. 30, 2012. A replica of a Chinese Jian-10 fighter jet is seen outside the Aviation Industry Corporation of China headquarters building in Beijing, China.Jason Lee—ReutersOct. 31, 2012. A Pakistani boy watches his friends play cricket at sunset on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.Anjum Naveed—APNov. 1, 2012. People visit the Nueva Esperanza cemetery during Day of the Dead celebrations in Villa Maria, Lima.Enrique Castro-Mendivil—ReutersNov. 2, 2012. A rider offers his horse some water during the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, Calif.Joe Klamar—AFP/Getty ImagesNov. 3, 2012. Boca Juniors' fans watch an Argentine league soccer match from the top of the Alberto J. Armando Stadium, also known as the Bombonera, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Victor R. Caivano—APNov. 4, 2012. Pakistani boys, who collect recycled items for a living, walk home at sunset after a day of work on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.Anjum Naveed—APNov. 5, 2012. Morning commuters from Staten Island arrived at the South Ferry terminal in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Long lines at bus stops, impossibly packed trains and padlocked platforms attested to the difficulties of the first Monday commute with a public transit system still hobbled from Hurricane Sandy.Angel Franco—The New York Times/ReduxNov. 6, 2012. Gilbert Zermeno holds his ballot as he prepares to drop it into a ballot box at Kenilworth School during the U.S. presidential election in Phoenix, Ariz.Joshua Lott—ReutersNov. 7, 2012. A boy plays over a damaged hut at sunset at Marina beach in Chennai, India.Babu—ReutersNov. 8, 2012. People enjoy an installation of the Argentinian artist and architect Tomas Saraceno, in Milan, Italy. 'On Space Time Foam' is a multilayered aerial installation featuring surfaces of clear film suspended the air for visitors to walk, crawl, and lie in.Luca Bruno—APNov. 9, 2012. Children play on the bank of the Yangon river on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar.Soe Zeya Tun—ReutersNov. 10, 2012. Israeli soldiers patrol outside the northern Gaza strip. Israeli tank shells killed at least four Palestinians and wounded 25 in the Gaza Strip after an apparent attack on an Israeli army patrol in the border area, Palestinian medics and local witnesses said.Amir Cohen—ReutersNov. 11, 2012. San Diego State guard Chase Tapley, center, sets to shoot as Syracuse defends during the second half of a NCAA college basketball game on the deck of the USS Midway in San Diego, Calif. Syracuse won 62-49.Gregory Bull—APNov. 12, 2012. Residents point to burned homes after returning to their neighborhood in Breezy Point, N.Y., which was left devastated by Hurricane Sandy.Adrees Latif—ReutersNov. 13, 2012. An onca pintada jaguar sits in the Jardim Zoo in Brasilia, Brazil.Eraldo Peres—APNov. 14, 2012. Demonstrators clash with riot policemen during a protest against austerity measures in Rome.Filippo Monteforte—AFP/Getty ImagesNov. 15, 2012. A Palestinian stone-thrower runs from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces during clashes against Israel's military operation in Gaza, outside the Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah.Mohamad Torokman—ReutersNov. 16, 2012. People watch fireworks from inside their rooms in the Wyndham Hotel along Point State Park during Light Up Night in Pittsburgh, Pa.Stephanie Strasburg—AP/Tribune ReviewNov. 17, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama arrives to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland en route to Bangkok, the first leg of his three-nation Asia tour.Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesNov. 18, 2012. Israeli soldiers prepare tanks near the border of the central Gaza Strip.Nir Elias—ReutersNov. 19, 2012. Guatemalan agents of the National Civil Police stand guard outside of a high security jail near Guatemala City, Guatemala.Saul Martinez—EPANov. 20, 2012. Israeli soldiers inspect a belt of bullets at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border for use in a potential ground operation in the Gaza Strip.Jack Guez—AFP/Getty ImagesNov. 21, 2012. Army and police officers examine the wreckage of a transport plane after it crashed in Sanaa, Yemen, killing ten of its crew members, an airport official said.Khaled Abdullah—ReutersNov. 22, 2012. Indian herders and their camels gather at the annual Pushkar Fair in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.Kevin Frayer—APNov. 23, 2012. Palestinians are seen during Friday prayers at The Great Mosque of Gaza in the Gaza Strip the day after a ceasefire was brokered between Israel and Hamas.Antonio Zambardino—Contrasto/ReduxNov. 24, 2012. A Rohingya family constructs a new house at an IDP camp on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar.Paula Bronstein—Getty ImagesNov. 25, 2012. A woman walks past a wall in Rome, Italy displaying 107 figures with the names of the women who have been killed by men in Italy during the year as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.Filippo Monteforte—AFP/Getty ImagesNov. 26, 2012. Vultures fly over graves in a municipal cemetery with the "Volcan de Agua" volcano in the background in Guatemala City, Guatemala.Jorge Dan Lopez—ReutersNov. 27, 2012. A soldier stands guard behind the main gate of the Bayi Building during a meeting between US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and China's Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in Beijing.Jason Lee—ReutersNov. 28, 2012. A Palestinian woman gestures during a Koran lesson at a makeshift mosque in the northern Gaza Strip.Mohammed Salem—ReutersNov. 29, 2012. Palestinians take part in a rally in Gaza City in support of the efforts of President Mahmoud Abbas to secure a diplomatic upgrade at the U.N.Suhaib Salem—ReutersNov. 30, 2012. The power stations of the Selby, U.K. send smoke into the sky as a man carries a sack of feed for pheasants across the flood plains of Ryther and Cawood at sunrise, with floodwaters making the daily task more difficult.John Giles—PA Photos/LandovDec. 1, 2012. History enthusiasts dressed as soldiers take part in a re-enactment of Napoleon's 1805 Battle of Austerlitz near the South Moravian city of Slavkov.Michal Cizek—AFP/Getty ImagesDec. 2, 2012. A Palestinian man emerges from a smuggling tunnel, which connects the Gaza Strip and Egypt in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Reports state that the network of secret tunnels that connect Egypt to the Gaza Strip is being rebuilt after it was destroyed during the eight-day offensive by Israel against alleged Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, which came to an end with a ceasefire agreement on Nov. 21, 2012.Ali Ali—EPADec. 3, 2012. The French Alps are seen at sunrise from Geneva under heavy clouds.Fabrice Coffrini—AFP/Getty ImagesDec. 4, 2012. Indian labourers thresh rice in a field at Milanmore village on the outskirts of Siliguri, India.Diptendu Dutta—AFP/Getty Images Dec. 5, 2012. A Muslim Brotherhood supporter chants slogans after a clash with anti-Morsi protesters near the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt.Tara Todras-Whitehill—The New York Times/ReduxDec. 6, 2012. Migratory birds fly above men rowing a boat on the Yamuna river in the old quarters of New Delhi, India.Ahmad Masood—ReutersDec. 7, 2012. A nun sings to the image of the Immaculate Conception as part of La Griteria, a traditional festivity honoring the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception, in Managua, Nicaragua.Hector Retamal—AFP/Getty ImagesDec. 8, 2012. Syrian refugees are seen reflected in the Orontes river as they cross from Syria to Turkey near the village of Hacipasa, Turkey.Manu Brabo—APDec. 9, 2012. Afghanistan border police march during an exercise at a police academy outside Herat, Afghanistan. The cadets have to complete an 8 week course before graduating.Aref Karimi—AFP/Getty ImagesDec. 10, 2012. The Christ the Redeemer statue casts a shadow on passing clouds atop Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Gary Hershorn—ReutersDec. 11, 2012. The sun rises in the coastal town of Cateel in Davao Oriental, southern Philippines, which was devastated during Typhoon Bopha.Erik De Castro—ReutersDec. 12, 2012. Indian labourers warm themselves around a bonfire in a rice paddy during a cold morning on the outskirts of Jammu in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India.AFP/Getty ImagesDec. 13, 2012. Indian army soldiers perform Mallakhamb, traditional Indian gymnastics, on a vertical wooden pole during a rehearsal for Victory Day celebrations in Mumbai, India.Rajanish Kakade—APDec. 14, 2012. Attendees at the lighting ceremony for the Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City State.Evandro Inetti—Zuma PressDec. 15, 2012. A Connecticut State Police officer guards the street leading to the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. following a shooting on Dec. 14 that left 28 people, including 20 children dead.Justin Lane—EPA/CorbisDec. 16, 2012. Two women paddle on stand-up paddle boards at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Pilar Olivares—ReutersDec. 17, 2012. Twenty-four hours after a shooting that killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. residents pin a banner to a fence that reads, "Pray for Newtown."Neville Elder—CorbisDec. 18, 2012. Christmas trees for sale at sunset on the Promenade Des Anglais in Nice, France.Eric Gaillard—ReutersDec. 19, 2012. A woman's silhouette is seen through Christmas lights at Usaquen Park during annual Christmas celebrations in Bogota, Colombia.Fredy Builes—ReutersDec. 20, 2012. Maasai children sit near a fire inside a hut at Mount Suswa in Kenya.Carl de Souza—AFP/Getty ImagesDec. 21, 2012. Anti-riot policemen stand guard outside a supermarket in San Fernando, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Marcos Brindicci—ReutersDec. 22, 2012. Indian demonstrators shout slogans as they protest the recent gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus. in New Delhi, India. Altaf Qadri—APDec. 23, 2012. A female ballet-dancer, behind a translucent fabric, and a male ballet-dancer, both from Russia's St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre, perform Swan Lake in Suining, China's Southwest Sichuan province, ReutersDec. 24, 2012. A Pakistani man, right, stands inside his grocery story which is decorated with festive lights, for the Christmas holiday in a Christian neighborhood in Islamabad, Pakistan. Muhammed Muheisen—APDec. 25, 2012. Indonesian workers climb the dome of a mosque's construction site in Aceh Besar, Aceh province, Indonesia.Heri Juanda—APDec. 26, 2012. A man crosses an almost deserted boulevard during a spell of sunshine in Bucharest, Romania. Vadim Ghirda—APDec. 27, 2012. People gather at Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sergio Moraes—ReutersDec. 28, 2012. A mahout climbs his elephant as he heads towards the Chitwan National Park at Sauraha in Chitwan, about 170 km (106 miles) south of Kathmandu.Navesh Chitrakar—ReutersDec. 29, 2012.A passenger sits on a public bus during a snowstorm in central Shanghai.. Aly Song—ReutersDec. 30, 2012. Mourners arrive at a cremation ground to attend the funeral of a 23-year-old student whose gang rape provoked protests and rare national debate about violence against women in India.Danish Siddiqui—ReutersDec. 31, 2012. Spectator boats in Sydney Harbour (below) look on as the 9pm family based New Year's Eve fireworks erupt over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Greg Wood—AFP/Getty Images
