Close Encounter of the Insect Kind: “Check out the awesome face on this praying mantis. I can't get over the mouth, it's like something from a science fiction movie. Of all photographic styles macro is definitely my favorite. I am constantly amazed, in every photo that I take, by the intricate level of detail that exists on even the smallest of creatures. It's a stark reminder that a very complex and infinitely beautiful world exists just beyond our human-sized level of perception. Photo taken in Donnybrook, Queensland, Australia” – Andrew Young. (Photo by Andrew Young/National Geographic Photo Contest via The Atlantic)

“A Hawaiian photographer braved freezing temperatures for this cold SNAP – of what appears to be a firebird bursting from an aurora. Keen snapper CJ Kale, more used to sun, sea and sand while at work than snow, captured the incredible moment while on a trip to Alaska. It was his first time seeing the spectacular sight and lucked out – capturing some of the rarest colors of aurora on his first night”. – Caters News

A gravedigger has lost his job of 40 years after a photograph of him standing half-naked in a burial plot was deemed offensive and provoked outcry among local newspaper readers.

A polar bear fast asleep at London Zoo. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 1961

This is the incredible moment a fierce lightning bolt crashed against the Grand Canyon illuminating the steep canyon walls. Shrouded in darkness, the breath-taking landscape was shocked into life as mother nature sent the bolt storming down to Earth. As it cracked against the rocks the bright blue bolt illuminated the South Rim of the canyon, considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. With just the Desert View Watchtower in the foreground, the lightning was perfectly framed by the canyon which is located in Arizona, USA. (Photo by Travis Roe/U.S. Dept. of the Interior/Caters News)

Two young women jump into a pool on the beach on June 20, 2025 in Margate, United Kingdom. Yellow heat health alerts have been issued by the Met Office with temperatures set to climb as high as 33°C by the weekend. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Hindu holy men display their yoga skills before media on International Day of Yoga at the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, Assam, India, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. The holy men from different parts of this northeastern state arrived at the temple to attend the Ambubachi festival that starts on Thursday. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)