“Tea Hills”. Early-morning mist over the tea hills of Phu Tho province in Vietnam. (Photo by Vu Trung Huan/Royal Meteorological Society’s Weather Photographer of the Year Awards)

The winners of the Historic Photographer of the Year Awards 2020 from triphistoric.com celebrate the places and cultural sites around the world that offer a window to the history that exists all around us. This year, restricted by Covid, photographers were called on to scour their photographic archive to share their imagery of those places that dominate our past. Here: The Brighton Palace Pier. (Photo by Michael Marsh/Historic Photographer of the Year 2020)

Mammal Photographer of the Year and Mammal Society Member’s prize winner: Foxhall Zafira by Roger Cox. (Photo by Roger Cox/Mammal Photographer of the Year 2020)

Ice Age – Tibet, China. “This is the Chinese version of the blue ice lake, Pumoungcuo, at an altitude of 5,070 metres (16,600 feet). This lake in Tibet freezes every winter. At night, under the low temperatures of -20C, you can listen to the sound of the ice cracking while capturing the most beautiful winter sky. The blue ice surface and dazzling Orion constellation create a fantasy landscape. I felt so happy to have the stars as my companion on this magical night”. (Photo by Daniel Zafra Portill/Milky Way Photographer of the Year)

Portrait category, bronze award winner. Purple-crested Turaco Gallirex porphyreolophus. Lower Mpushini, near Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. (Photo by Richard Flack/Bird Photographer of the Year 2022)

New Year's Eve fireworks display illuminates the sky over the Dom Tower on January 01, 2012 in Utrecht, Netherlands. The Dom tower is with 112.5 metres high the tallest church tower of the Netherlands. Built in Gothic-style, the tower, part of the Cathedral of Saint Martin, is the symbol of the city of Utrecht. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Fireworks light up the skyline over Sydney Harbour during the midnight fireworks session as Sydney Celebrates New Year's Eve with the theme of “Time To Dream” on on January 1, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these striking images of 2017 are no exception. The photo highlights include incredible snapshots of the natural world as well as some awesome animal and human encounters. The vibrant gallery also shows thrill-seekers pushing themselves to the limit with breathtaking stunts captured in perfect clarity. The pictures have been taken by a host of photographers from around the world. Here: The two lion cubs singing their hearts out at Antelope park in Zimbabwe. (Photo by David Jenkins/Caters News Agency)