An Armenian serviceman fires a cannon towards Azerbaijan positions in the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Tuesday, September 29, 2020. (Photo by Sipan Gyulumyan/Armenian Defense Ministry Press Service/PAN Photo via AP Photo)

Revellers take part in the Els Enfarinats festival, in the town of Ibi near Alicante, Spain, Saturday December 28, 2019. For about 200-years the inhabitants of Ibi annually celebrate with a battle using flour, eggs and firecrackers, outside the city town hall. (Photo by Alberto Saiz/AP Photo)

A counter-protester gestures during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, in London, Britain, June 13, 2020. (Photo by Simon Dawson/Reuters)

England fan stripped down to her underwear and jumped in the canal in Birmingham, United Kingdom after team lose the 2018 World Cup semi- final against Croatia in Moscow on July 11, 2018. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

Jakub Przygonski at the stage 1 of Dakar Rally, Pisco, Peru on January 7, 2019. (Photo by Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool)

A man observes the smoke from the zone where fuel storage tanks exploded near Cuba's supertanker port in Matanzas, Cuba on August 9, 2022. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean – Winner – Steve Woods. A free diver interacts with a sperm whale among a cloud of sargassum weed, Dominica. (Photo by Steve Woods/Ocean Photographer of the Year 2022)

Guardian of the Mangroves – Overall Winner. Tanya Houppermans, Cuba. A curious American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) swims right up to Tanya, at Gardens of the Queen (Jardines De La Reina), an archipelago off the coast of Cuba. It has been strictly protected since 1996, and is one of the most untouched marine ecosystems in the world. ‍ “The healthy population of American crocodiles is down to the pristine condition of the mangroves and I wanted to capture close ups of this gentle giant in its natural habitat. I hope this image can illustrate that protecting areas like this is so critical”. (Photo by Tanya Griffin Houppermans/Mangrove Photographer of the Year)