© Jill Waterman

On December 31, 1983 Jill Waterman began a long term project to photograph New Year’s celebrations in cities around the world. For more than 25 years her documentation has spanned many countries, cultures and events: from waiting for midnight in Paris; to religious observances on the beach in Brazil; to the Millennium celebration in Bethlehem; to this image of fireworks over Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle from 1999.

Shooting from an adjacent window that offered a panoramic view, Jill made this image within seconds of the firework’s first burst, before the scene became polluted by smoke accumulating in the air over time. For more tips for success when shooting fireworks, as well as many other nighttime subjects, check out Jill’s book Night and Low Light Photography.

And to see more of her New Year’s Eve images, visit NPR’s The Picture Show blog , or click here.

All photos © Aline Smithson. Above: Moses and the Star.

Growing up a stone’s throw from Hollywood and Vine, Aline Smithson has always been intrigued by the real and the manufactured Hollywood. The ongoing series, Hollywood at Home, elevates family and friends into a false stardom. To see more of Smithson’s work, click here.

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All Photos © João Canziani

“I was sent to shoot the city of Manaus by Travel & Leisure Magazine a few years back and was shocked to find that it wasn’t just a small village, but a thriving town of two million people in the middle of the Amazon jungle. Everything had changed more than 40 years ago when the Brazilian government decided to make the area a tax-free zone. Multinational corporations set up shop there, and everything else you found in a big city followed suit, like pollution and maddening traffic. Being there felt like being in the Wild West at the turn of the 20th Century. That was its charm to me; an odd mix of characters seeking opportunity in this totally incongruous place. As if such a big city doesn’t belong in the jungle, but somehow it’s there – and it’s definitely there to stay. Fitting that two big rivers meet here to form the Amazon River. The black waters of the Rio Negro meet the murky brown waters of the Solimões; but for some mysterious reason they don’t mix, instead running alongside each other for miles.” – João Canziani.

Canziani is an editorial and commercial photographer based in New York City. To see more of his work click here.

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© Ryan Heffernan.

A baby elephant guzzles a bottle of milk while under the care of The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya.  The elephants are part of the Orphans Project which tries to rehabilitate and release orphaned elephants into Tsavo National Park. To see more of Heffernan’s work click here.

© Nick LaVecchia.

“Winter is an exciting time to be a surf photographer in Maine. You never know when you may wake up to a blanket of snow on the beach, waves peeling through a heavy coastal squall, and beautiful lighthouses glowing with the spirit of Christmas.”

After a stultifying stint in a graphic design mill, Nick threw over his cubicle for a carriage house on a sea cliff in York, Maine. It’s from there that Nick travels the world photographing the unique people and places that are the focus of his interest. To see more of his work click here.