This footage captures the moment hundreds of sky lanterns are released into the skies above Chiang Mai, Thailand. The ultralight paper body fills with hot gas and sends each lantern soaring skyward, the suspended flame propelling its glowing form into the night.

The whirling silks of this Tshechu dancer’s costume blossom into an impressive shape as he loses himself in the rhythm of the traditional Cham (or Tscham) dance as part of the Lhuntse Tshechu, an annual festival held in northeastern Bhutan. These masked dancers perform to a musical accompaniment provided by brother monks or other locals.

This year, Ouro Preto’s Festival Tudo é Jazz will pay homages to Tom Jobim, the great master of Brazilian music. In its 10th year, the festival usually brings jazz fans from all over Brazil, who gather around a few stages erected around the town.

My chance encounter with Sadriddin occurred in a local coffee shop in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. What started as an inquisitive chat between tables ended with an invitation to join him and a musician friend for a jam session in his living room. After three or four songs, he suggested that, later that night, I attend a local wedding reception at which he was performing.