Photographer Peter Lik’s "Inner Peace" took first prize in the “Natural World” category of FotoWeek’s fourth annual International Awards Competition. (Peter Lik) FotoWeek DC 2011, which began last weekend, is well underway, with exhibitions and other programming taking place through Saturday at festival headquarters, as well as many other galleries and art spaces all across the area. If you haven’t gotten your free festival pass, yet, read our tips on navigating FotoWeek before you head out, and check out some of the eye candy that’s in store — as well as a few images that provide more nutritious food for thought — after the jump.

Annie Collinge’s surreal image is part of FotoWeek’s "Flash Forward" showcase of emerging photographers. (Annie Collinge/The Magenta Foundation)

“Facing Change: Documenting America” includes portraits and landscapes taken along the Mississippi River. Some of these works focus on the struggles of the region’s residents — such as Leo, an African American fisherman — to endure poverty and racism. (Debbie Fleming Caffery)

Ioran Etchechury of Brazil trips and falls head first into the water hazard during the Boys 2,000-meter steeplechase in the Youth Olympics at Bishan Stadium in Singapore on Aug. 18, 2010. (Adam Pretty)

A young Tibetan man embraces his yak on the shore of Qinghai Lake, China. The lake, China’s largest inland body of water, has been shrinking in recent decades, as a result of increased water-usage for local agriculture. (Sean Gallagher)

Hale Gurland documented the wreckage of the World Trade Center at Ground Zero in the nights immediately following the 9/11 attacks. (Hale Gurland/Contact Press Images)

This strange and stunning scene by Allesandro Belgiojoso took top honors in FotoWeek's fine art competition. (Allesandro Belgiojoso)

Victoria F. Gaitan’s "Lollipop" is on view at Conner Contemporary, one of FotoWeek’s many partner galleries. Her exhibition is called “Scenes of Mild Peril.” (Victoria F. Gaitan/Conner Contemporary)