When we need to illustrate a story or a concept where no editorial photo exists, we sometimes turn to stock photography. Stock photography is existing photography that can be licensed for various uses. This is an example of one of the more ridiculous stock photos I've seen. Enjoy!

This photo immediately caught my eye. That lion looks pretty ferocious. I wouldn't want my kid sticking his hand in a lion's mouth! Very cool photo nonetheless.

I have seen a gazillion campaign photos and this one really made me giggle. Quite the original way to show support for a candidate.

I've looked at a lot of winter weather pictures this week, but none says "cold" quite as effectively as this one. It's hard out there for a macaque.

This morning I was updating our slideshow on the violence happening in Kenya and as I went through the images I almost passed this one up. But on closer inspection I was struck by the look of fear in the boy's eyes in the middle. I can't imagine what he must be thinking and how scared he must be with everything that is going on in Kenya right now. That one expression is what made up my mind to include this picture in the slideshow.

Okay, after that Kenya intensity, I was drawn to the relief of this image. We get responses about images like this, that they're either too P.R.-y, or that we should show them more often to show the good in Iraq, but motives aside, I could feel this little girl's smile, which seems genuine to me, and that was refreshing. While this is by far not representative of what we see out of Iraq, sometimes we editors just want to look at something fun. I guess it's all about balance.

I came across this image while editing a slide show of the turmoil in Kenya. It still shocks me how intense that situation has become where it seems martial law now reigns and ethnic groups are using election results to declare war on one another. Go here to see more from that story and slide show: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22842413/

I know there's already been an image from the border wall breach in Gaza, but I found this image so interesting. I wonder what lies ahead for this mass of people and even their animals (there were cow images also). Check out the slide show we put together on this gaza story to see another, abstract shot of the camel crossing the border: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22794305

Congo was in the news this week for reaching a sad milestone - over 5 million Congolese killed in the last decade. Photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale shared pictures with msnbc.com of his work covering 10 years of conflict and humanitarian crisis in that country. Check it out and tell us what you think: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22781603/

This photo caught my eye while updating a slide show showing Palestinians crossing unto Egypt after part of the border wall was destroyed. I especially like the depth of this photo, the people walking (they look so calm) and the lines that draw your eyes into the image. Here are the rest of the compelling images - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22800473/

There's something really intriguing about the elements of this photo. The pedestrian in an apron, the snow, the tire tracks, the footprints and the "eat" sign all add to the mystery. Like an Edward Hopper painting, it forces your imagination to fill in the rest of the story.

Talk about making a fashion statement. I know it's the job of a designer to be as outrageous as possible, but it's hard to tell what they are selling here.

I thought the photoblog community might enjoy this image. I think the right hand against the white patch of water and the Marilyn Monroe gust of wind are the two elements that create the sense of moment.

A break from the icy images - We see images similar to this every year from the Luminarias celebration, but the rider is so completely engulfed in flames for this split second that it upped the "wow" factor of this performance photo for me. The Headless Horseman comes to mind.

I'm drawn to the body language of the two performers - who even with unmoving masks and in frigid temperatures seem to be reveling for the New Year. The image makes me want to do more research about this celebration and its origins, and for that reason, although the subjects are "performing" for the camera, I think it's a successfully interesting photo.

While this image is more of a snapshot or "postcard image" than the more complex photographs we often post - I find the situation and the color intriguing. While I would think the carved fish is so unique and enticing to the little rider, it looks like discouragingly hard work! I hope that's a small pond and not a great lake..

I guess I am on a "green" theme this week. I always smile when I see one of these Segways in motion. Do you think electric scooters like these offer any promise for our transportation mess, or do they just create a new set of problems?

We keep reading how business is "going green" to reflect the new global realities. Leave it to American automakers to tie their gas-guzzling new trucks to the resource intensive beef cattle industry. I guess that kind of ad campaign worked for Marlboro, didn't it?

I rarely see black and white pictures, although I can't be sure this wasn't shot in color. I love a good snow fall where it coats everything and makes the world seem magical. I can feel the cold and hear the sound of the snow crunching under my feet just by looking at this photo.

Your media team has been so focused on the primaries that this blog hasn't been getting its usual love. This picture doesn't meet my usual criteria for a strong news picture, but it stopped me in my tracks nevertheless. Politicians and their handlers are so careful to manage their public image that we hardly ever see them in an unguarded moment. This image of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks volumes about the stress of the campaign trail: the slumped shoulders, the downcast expression and the shopping bag. It reminds me of the work of photographer Robert Frank in the 1950s.

This is a daily weather photo from Cuba, but you can read so much more into it. The soft, monochromatic lighting, the drama of the waves and the old car makes it seem as if this picture is 50 years old. Could this be a metaphor for Cuba's uncertain political future?

Year in Pictures Out: The bodies in this picture are merged by camouflage and pretty much disappear, leaving only the binary floating heads. Each pair of heads has one behind the other, something like a shadow, which gives a feeling of rapid alternation.

Year in Pictures - Out: I find this to be an incredibly powerful moment. Members of the media team joke that we all have odd elements that we're repeatedly drawn to in images, and that mine is arms reaching into the frame. In this case, I think it works well to convey the empathy the person in pink is trying to show the woman and her child - whose perfectly lit face is looking to the heavens in a way reminiscent to me of Renaissance depictions of the Virgin and Child. All of their body language and quiet expressiveness work so well for me that I don't mind the messiness of the background. But it came just shy of qualifying for the Year in Pictures: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22200921

Year in Pictures Out: I'm always intrigued by the combination of high technology and simple human effort.I wonder if the engineers who designed this wing ever imagined that it might function as a pushing surface. Forgetting for a moment the context provided by the caption, there's also something terribly futile about this image: that pushing a jet backward through shin deep water will never get it to fly.

Year in Pictures Out: Though this is a very simple picture, its weirdness holds my attention. Perhaps it didn't belong in the Year in Pictures, but it's still worth sharing.