A man walks casually through the smoke from a launching rocket at the Bun Bang Fai festival in Vang Vieng, Laos, on Sunday, May 22, 2016. Bun Bang Fai festival is a traditional Laotian and Thai celebration, the highlight of which is the homemade rocket competition. Over the years a number of people have been injured in these contests due to the unstable nature of the projectiles and relaxed regulations regarding their ignition.

A Thaipusam participant looks out from under his "kavadi" at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India, Singapore, on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016. Thaipusam is a Hindu festival that commemorates the occasion when the goddess Parvati gave Lord Murugan a spear so he could vanquish a particularly vexing demon. Many people celebrate this victory by practicing mortification of the flesh, where they pierce their bodies with decorative spears symbolizing the divine "vel" Lord Murugan wielded. Some participants choose to demonstrate their faith by carrying a "kavadi," a semi-circular frame that sometimes is adorned with spikes that pierce into the devotee as they shoulder it the length of the procession. "Kavadi" literally means "sacrifice at every step" in Tamil.

Big Basin Winery owner Bradley Brown poses for a portrait amidst burnt vines in his vineyard on Oct. 23,  2020. Flames from the CZU Lightning Complex Fire torched his vineyards and his home, destroying everything except the winery. Fruit that survived the flames was lost to smoke.

Participants of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, throw firecrackers at passing shrines to bring good luck and drive out evil spirits during one of the temple processions through town on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. The festival celebrates the Chinese community's belief that abstinence from meat and various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar will help them obtain good health and peace of mind. Participants wear white as a sign of their faith and commitment during the festival.

Revathi D/o Subramaniam falls into a trance-like state while other Thaipusam participants chant around her at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India, Singapore, on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016. Thaipusam is a Hindu festival that commemorates the occasion when the goddess Parvati gave Lord Murugan a spear so he could vanquish a particularly vexing demon. Many people celebrate this victory by practicing mortification of the flesh, where they pierce their bodies with decorative spears symbolizing the divine "vel" Lord Murugan wielded.

A fisherman looks for a spot to cast his net in the Nam Khan river on an overcast afternoon in Luang Prabang on May 31, 2016. A man was found dead from an apparent drowning on a nearby shore the night before and neighbors speculated foul play.  

Boulder Creek local Brian Garrahan tends to the fire break he cut into the hillside on West Park Avenue in Boulder Creek, Ca on Aug. 21, 2020. Garrahan noticed the encrouching fire from the CZU Lightning Complex Fire above his neighborhood earlier in the day and proceeded to shovel an approximately 4 foot by 400 yard path between the flames and the houses below. Multiple fire agencies came to check on him throughout the day.

Allegra Keller holds her 20-month-old son Cristian as she walks through the wreckage of their home on Last Chance Road in Davenport on Sept. 11, 2020. Allegra Keller’s husband Geoffrey Keller is a Cal Fire fighter and was on duty when she got the call to evacuate. His captain let him off the shift and he raced to meet her. They grabbed their things and left behind the small cabin he built for them when they married in 2017.

Lobsang Chophel sits in his bed during an interview about his life as a Tibetan refugee and former member of the Mustang resistance on Dec. 12, 2016 in his village near Pokhara, Nepal. The Mustang resistance was a CIA sponsored group of guerilla fighters who joined local Kham men in Eastern Tibet to fight against the Chinese invasion in the 1950s. Prior to joining the effort, Chophel had been a monk.

Sergey Busargin looks on at his unconscious opponent after delivering the decisive blow at Island Muay Thai on Ko Tao, Thailand, Friday, March 11, 2016. The fighting gym was the first of its kind to open on the small southern Thai island and provides a place for locals and foreigners to train in the traditional martial art and engage in weekly matches.

A man washes blood from his feet next to a pile of bull heads discarded after their ritualistic slaughter during the muslim festival Eid al-Adha, also known as the Sacrifice Feast on September 12, 2016 in Yogajakarta, Indonesia. Eid al-Adha is one of the largest Islamic holidays and honors Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son for god. Older male goats and bulls are typically sacrificed and their meat is divided into three parts: a portion for the family who owned or sponsored the animal, one for friends and relatives, and the third to be given to the poor.

A participant of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, displays his act of mortification of the flesh during one of the temple processions through town on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. The festival celebrates the Chinese community's belief that abstinence from meat and various stimulants during the ninth lunar month will help them obtain good health and peace of mind. Some participants also undergo trances and perform ritualized mutilation to show their faith and commitment to the gods.

Mercedes "Cougar" Eulitt flies with the rest of the West Coast Ravens Formation Team as they prepare to fly over the Wings Over Watsonville Fly-in and Air Show for the National Anthem in Watsonville, Calif. on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015. Eulitts is a test pilot for Lockheed and recently built her RV-7a plane from a kit.

Michael Turner (left) and Thao Hill embrace and close their eyes against a thick mist of makeup setting spray on the set of the trailer for the 39th San Francisco International LGBTQ Frameline Film Festival in front of the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, Calif. on March 16, 2015. In one of the final scenes for the "Wizard of Oz" themed short drag film, Dorothy defeats the wicked witch and lifts the curse on the evil flying monkeys, who immediately begin making out.

A participant in the Boulder Creek 2017 Fourth of July Parade waves to the crowd from her float. 

Police and fire fighters check on the driver and passenger of a Honda Civic that was hit by debris after a logging truck traveling northbound crashing into the center divide, sending it's cargo flying into oncoming traffic on 101 South in Marin, Calif. on May 2, 2014.

Thousands of surfers poured down the stairs at Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz to join in the world record breaking paddle out in honor of local hero and surfing legend Jack O'Neill on July 10, 2017.

A swimmer prepares to surface at Honey Moon Island in Fiji on July 18, 2019. 

Edward Villo prepares to cross the finish line for the non-competitive division of the Tour of Guam at Skinner Plaza in Hagatna on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Joe Gauvain poses for a portrait in his search and rescue gear at USCG Station Bodega Bay, Calif. on Oct. 4, 2015. 

A member of Camp Meeker’s fire department chainsaws a fallen tree during a storm on Gilson Avenue in Occidental on February 8, 2015. The downed tree was one of many in the area after torrential rains and high winds swept through the county.

A muslim woman prays at Kauman Great Mosque in Yogajakarta, Indonesia the night before Eid al-Adha, also known as the Sacrifice Feast, on Sept. 12, 2016.

Sister Marguerite Bartling, executive director of Good Shepherd Gracenter poses for a portrait in front of a painting given to her by a former boarder on Monday, May 11, 2015. The center gives up to thirteen women at any given time a place to live and recover from their addictions.

Hafthor Bjornsson, Iron Man Champion and portrayer of "The Mountain" on HBO's "Game of Thrones," attempts to beat his own world record of 19 feet 3 inches in the over-the-bar weight toss at the Scottish Gathering and Games in Pleasanton on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015.

A building at the corner of Brown Street and Second Street sustained some of the most dramatic structural damage in downtown Napa after a magitude-6.0 earthquake shook the city on Sunday, August 24, 2014.

USCG Seaman Dan Gehring throws back a rock fish he caught at Station Bodega Bay on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015.

Bull sharks at a research dive site off of Barefoot Kuata Island, Fiji on June 16, 2019. 

Bedouin Mustafa leads the way across the Sahara to his camp in Erg Chebbi on Friday, March 24, 2017.

Master blacksmith Phan Keosoulinya crafts knives with his eldest son while the rest of his family plays inside his house in Luang Prabang, Laos, on Thursday, May 26, 2016.

Chris Woolf watches his 4-year-old mastiff Sir Anthony Brutus Brewcephus II (BruTwo for short) in the back of his truck in San Martin on Sept. 17, 2020. Woolf, a former Navy medic and Burning man ranger, waited until the last possible moment to pack up his truck and evacuate his home in Butte County after the North Complex Fire swept through the area. BruTwo has never left the property and is now showing signs of anxiety being away.

Krystal Evans comforts her son Derrick, 4, on their living room couch. Derrick woke up grumpy around 5:30 a.m., marking the start of Evan’s day caring for people and animals. Evans said the work she does is both extremely exhausting and extremely rewarding.