Sydney bird photographer Leila Jeffreys on portraiture at human scale, the Arctic, slow-motion flight, Antarctica with the Australian Antarctic Division, and her forthcoming Thames & Hudson book.

He grew up with the sounds of the Sicilian sea and always carries his camera. His signature: the face you can almost see. NSIRIES — Alessio Maria Ciacio, Bologna — on instinct, mystery, and the feeling that opens the doors of imagination

She puts bells on her fingers because they fit like they were made for them. She puts sprouts behind her ear. A petal becomes an extension of the tongue. Maria Luneva, Moscow, 23 — on nature, transformation, and the adventure of finding beauty in the ordinary.

He spent years as a refugee before photography gave him a language. He covered the war against ISIL, developed PTSD, then turned the camera on his own community. Younes Mohammad — Open Wounds, Erbil, Iraq — on sensegraphy, the human cost of conflict, and why beauty must be allowed to breathe.

Architecture student turned photographer. Istanbul to Berlin. Samsung, Nikon, Audi, Swatch. Helin Bereket on bucket lists, happy accidents, and why every person is their own icon.