Skarphedinn Thrainsson must have decided that regular old landscapes just wouldn't cut it anymore when he decided to focus on volcanoes. These shots were taken in Thrainsson's native Iceland a couple years back when the Eyjafjallajokull eruption caused major delays at airports across Europe. Stay tuned for more from Thrainsson — he has plans to take more amazingly otherworldly shots of volcanoes around the world.

Kostadin Luchansky took this spectacular shot of the often-photographed Serra da Leba in Angola. With fog and little light to work with, Luchansky got lucky when a few cars traveled up and down the windy stretch of road to create this long exposure beauty. For this unique take on a well known landscape, Luchansky made it to the short list of the Sony World Photography Awards 2011.

Explosives were intentionally detonated along the Mississippi River three times this month. The resulting flooding has changed the landscape of hundreds of thousands of acres.

This is Sevilla's Metropol Parasol. Officially the largest wooden structure in the world, it debuted recently to mixed reviews both by residents and visitors of Southern Spain's largest city. The Metropol Parasol has a walkway and an observation deck, as well as restaurants, bars and a farmer's market.