Special Merit Award. Mallory Franklin (2019). The British slalom canoeist has competed internationally since 2009 and won nine medals in total at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with four golds, four silvers and a bronze. She has also won eleven medals at the European Championships. (Photo by Richard Pelham/World Sports Photography Awards 2021)

Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)

“The power of nature”. Magma, ash and gas erupt from Mount Etna in December 2015, rising to a height of several kilometres. Winner: Nature. (Photo by Giuseppe Mario Famiani/SIPA Contest)

On Guard, Indonesia, by Riksa Dewantara. The explosive eruption and loud rumbling of the Mount Bromo volcano in Bromo Semeru Tengger national park scared the horse causing it to rear up onto its hind legs. Second place, Journeys and Adventures category. (Photo by Riksa Dewantara/SIPA Contest)

A cave diver in Anhumas Abyss, Bonito, Brazil. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/Epson International Pano Awards 2018)

Ava Max poses with the Best Push award at the backstage during the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards at the FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre in Seville, Spain, November 3, 2019. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

The Epson International Pano awards showcase the work of the best panoramic photographers from around the world. Here: “Paepalanthus at Moonlight” Veadeiros Tablelands, Brazil. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/Epson International Pano Awards 2017)

Brain-on-a-chip. Dazzling in green and magenta this image shows the nerve fibres (in green) produced by neural stem cells (in magenta) as they grow on a synthetic gel. Captured by a technique known as confocal microscopy, the image is part of research shedding light on how tinkering with the environment can affect the way in which nerve fibres grow. (Photo by Collin Edington and Iris Lee/Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Wellcome Images)