According to the Book of Genesis, light was the necessary beginning of all creation, transforming the earth from a formless void into an entity. Inaugurating many creation myths all over the world, light has been a source of fascination for millennia, its presence inspiring awe, relief, joy, and even terror. A symbol of both purity and severity, softness and grandeur, light is an enduring mystery.

In the startling photographs of this collection, Tom Jacobi captures the spectacle of light infusing timeless landscapes all over the world. From the glossy white steps of the “Cotton Castle” in Turkey to fist-shaped limestone rock formations in Egypt’s White Desert, from flash-frozen bubbles in the lakes of Canada to the craggy white cliffs of Antarctica, these photographs convey the austerity, eeriness, and beauty of light.