Gallery icon26 ImagesThe week in photos from our award-winning staff photographers and regular contributors at The Age.May 23, 2026 — 1:06pm1/26Cirque du Soleil performer Mitch Wynter poses for a photo for the new show Kooza. Credit:Jason South2/26Lunch with Fashion Critical, wearing a pale blue Rebecca Vallance dress, who takes her anonymity seriously.Credit:Simon Schluter3/26Carmel Bell, 64, is renting her house in retirement with no hope of owning.Credit:Eddie Jim4/26Dr Maxwell Lechte has unearthed evidence for the most ancient complex organisms on Earth - humanity’s most ancient and fundamental ancestors - from rocks in the Northern Territory. Pictured with a rock showing accumulations of seafloor bacteria approx 1.5 billion years old - stromatolite.Credit:Simon Schluter5/26When Natasha Tualau walked into the Melbourne clinic of one of Australia’s largest dental chains, she was looking for a simple fix for a discoloured front tooth. Instead, she claims she stepped into a high-pressure sales environment that drained $35,000 from her retirement savings, left her in constant pain, and landed her in an emergency department.Credit:Paul Jeffers6/26ABC Radio Melbourne presenter Ali Moore is leaving the Drive shift for the Italian countryside, with her last show being May 29. Her replacement will be Charlie Pickering, host of ABC TV’s The Weekly and, since late 2024, the nationally syndicated radio comedy panel show Thank God It’s Friday.Credit:Justin McManus7/26His Grace Bishop Evmenios of Chora and the Holy Monastery of Axion Estin in Northcote. A development of the heritage precinct owned by the Holy Monastery of Axion Estin, Greek Orthodox Church in Northcote is currently open for community consultation. Credit:Joe Armao8/26Unveiling of Scott Morrison’s bust on the Prime Minister’s Avenue, Ballarat. Scott Morrison and Sculptor, Martin Moore.Credit:Ruby Alexander9/26Bakery owners Joe Shin with his wife Hwayoung Choi at Bajery Café, Abbotsford Convent.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui10/26Don Cook at his property near Ruffy.