Republic of Korea Army Band members perform the traditional Korean farmers’ dance nongak, showcasing the “jaban-dwijipgi” (headpiece flip) during a sangmo ribbon-spinning routine.

Lt. Cmdr. ABHC Wilson Theodore, center, and two crew members signal clearance on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt following a jet’s launch for an evening bombing mission in the Persian Gulf. The Theodore Roosevelt remains an active Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy fleet.

Dut Akech, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, holds the official refugee identification photo taken in Kenya after fleeing his homeland.

U.S. Navy Customs Supervisor Chief Donald Hatch inspects the interior of a light armored vehicle struck by an RPG in Iraq, now at the supply yard of Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on December 7, 2005. The blast’s extreme heat melted the interior and blistered the paint. Five Marines were killed in the attack. Today, the incident remains one of many studied in U.S. military training for convoy protection.

‘There were many nights when I didn’t know if I was dead or alive… but when I could feel Monkey next to me, I knew I was still here,’ says Wes Harvey of the stuffed animal his wife gave him when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer six years ago. To this day, it remains his anchor when nightmares carry him to unfamiliar worlds. This photograph was taken with his permission on the morning of October 2006, as he slept at his home in Norfolk, Virginia.

A student enters Seigfred Hall, home to Ohio University’s famed mural by the late art professor Æthelred Eldridge. Painted in 1965–66, the large black-and-white work—featuring bold, blocky forms and cryptic phrases inspired by poet William Blake—has been restored and reimagined multiple times, remaining a distinctive landmark on campus.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds spends time with his son, Gus, on the road to Halifax, Virginia, between campaign events on September 25, 2009. In the years after his father’s election loss and his parents’ divorce, Gus struggled with severe mental illness and later died by suicide. Creigh Deeds has since become one of Virginia’s most prominent advocates for mental health reform.

Jets soar against the warm glow of sunset during Naval Air Station Oceana’s annual air show, a showcase of precision flying and military aviation.

Korean traditional dancers Sojin Park and Minsun Kim wait as fellow performer Jiwon Bae makes an international call to her boyfriend in Korea between shows at the Virginia International Tattoo Festival. The tattoo, with centuries-old Scottish roots, is part of the Virginia Arts Festival in cooperation with NATO and is the largest event of its kind in the United States.

While an Executive Protection Unit officer and press secretary Kevin Hall secure the area, then–Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, far left, listens to Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine as they wait for their to-go burger order outside a Five Guys restaurant in Alexandria on September 28, 2005—between Kaine’s campaign for governor and Warner’s final months in office. Both Warner and Kaine now serve as U.S. Senators from Virginia.

A woman poses for a portrait moments after receiving a fresh tattoo, its ink and blood still visible on the skin. The image captures the raw artistry and immediacy of body modification.

On Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile, a taxi driver enjoys a cigarette in rare sunshine during what became a record-breaking rainfall season. The Royal Mile, stretching from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, is the city’s most famous street, steeped in centuries of Scottish history.

Agriculture agent Ray Flanagan feels the grains of wheat stalks as he walks through a testing plot in Chesapeake, Virginia. Farming remains the largest industry in Virginia.

University of Wisconsin–Madison rowing teams take to Lake Mendota for their first practice of the season. In early spring, colder temperatures increase water density, giving the oars a heavier, more resistant feel with each stroke.

A rainbow sweeps over Norfolk’s First Baptist Church, its colors a fleeting pact between earth and sky.