The self-proclaimed “Queen of Swords,” Natasha Veruschka, a multiple Guinness World Record holder for swallowing swords, is quite reserved for a woman who makes a living performing in front of hundreds of people around the globe.

Not dissimilar to young girls playing dress up in their mothers’ clothes, Kyoko Hamada's self-portrait project evolved from a desire to dress the part of her older self, decades into the future. Unafraid to trade in her high heels for some oversized grandma gowns, the 40-year-old photographer started the series in May 2011.

Photographer Sara Forrest started documenting Heather Hardy’s daily routine last year. The 31-year-old boxer has never lost a professional fight, but she knows what it’s like to get knocked down. When Superstorm Sandy hit New York in October, Hardy was still recovering from losing her home in a fire a few months earlier.

Photography student Michael Anthony Schmidt takes the Staten Island Ferry at least three times a week to get to school. At first he was just people-watching, but about three months ago he started taking pictures of his fellow passengers. “It’s pretty wild,” he said. “The diversity is just incredible.”

Photographer Emine Ziyatdinova introduced herself to Yuriy Shelkaev while pursuing a long-term project on the Russian immigrant community in Brighton Beach. A self-proclaimed psychic and spiritual healer, he told her that their meeting was destined.

When Israeli photographer Natan Dvir first visited New York City, the skyscrapers and larger-than-life advertisements overwhelmed him. Everything was branded. He had never seen billboards at ground level before and was struck by the juxtaposition between the giant advertisements and the pedestrians on the street.

On her way to the grocery store or laundry, Melissa Kirschenheiter would pass a barbershop in New York’s Harlem area. She noticed barbers and customers drinking and listening to music and was intrigued. “It felt like a dance club,” Kirschenheiter said. “It did not feel like a barbershop.”

In 1946, as a 15-year-old, Harold Feinstein picked up a Kodak Vigilant camera and began shooting. Now at 81, he has six decades of photographs from Coney Island, along with images from around the world, some of which are published in his new book, "Harold Feinstein: A Retrospective."