With the recent growth of affordable digital cameras and photo sharing websites like Flickr, the world of travel photography has expanded to an endless online collection – from both professional and amateurs alike – of incredible pictures spanning the globe (and beyond).

From the breathtaking to the bizarre, I’ve set out to find the web’s most intriguing travel photography. They aren’t your typical travel photos – you won’t find many stunning landscapes or picturesque sunsets. Rather, I’ve chosen the sites below because they delve a bit deeper into the identity of a place, and the people who live there.

Michael Wolf – 100 x 100
German photographer Michael Wolf has been living and working in China for the past ten years. Most recently, he’s been documenting cultural identity in Hong Kong. His 100 x 100 project is 100 photos of different 100 square foot rooms in Hong Kong’s oldest public housing estate.

Steve McCurry – Multiple galleries
Steve McCurry is perhaps best known for his “Afghan Girl” photo for the June ’85 issue of National Geographic. If you haven’t had a chance to see some of his less famous work, here’s your chance.

Zoriah – Thailand Tsunami Then and Now
Zoriah is a photojournalist based in Asia, and this gripping set of photos shows the photographer’s journey back to Thailand just after the tsunami, where he re-shot the same photos – from the same angle – that he’d shot the previous year.

I’ve featured only three sets of photographs this week, but I’d really like to make this a regular thing. If you’ve run across a photographer whose work captures a time and place in a unique or interesting way, please send it our way.