Shortlisted: Sólheimasandur aircraft crash site, Iceland by Ollie Conway. (Photo by Ollie Conway/Historic Photographer of the Year Awards 2019/The Guardian)

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)

The shortlist for the coveted Bird Photographer of the Year awards has been announced by Nature Photographers and the British Trust for Ornithology. Here: Red-billed oxpecker on an impala, Kruger National Park, South Africa. (Photo by Edmund Aylmer/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

The sun rises between Sgurr nan Gillean and Knight’s Peak, Black Cuillin, Isle of Skye. (Photo by Adrian Trendall/Mountain Photo of the Year)

“Misty Rainbow”. A rainbow appears over tea fields in Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. (Photo by Dani Agus Purnomo/Royal Meteorological Society’s Weather Photographer of the Year Awards)

Winner, photojournalism. Elephant in the room, by Adam Oswell, Australia Zoo. Visitors watch a young elephant performing underwater. Oswell was disturbed by this scene, and organisations concerned with the welfare of captive elephants say performances like this encourage unnatural behaviour. In Thailand, there are now more elephants in captivity than in the wild. With the Covid pandemic causing tourism to collapse, elephant sanctuaries are becoming overwhelmed with animals that can no longer be looked after by their owners. (Photo by Adam Oswell/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021)

Rebecca Smith poses for a photograph during winter solstice with her Irish Wolfhound dog called Amazing Grace at the 5000 year old stone age tomb of Newgrange (not in view) in the Boyne Valley at sunrise in Newgrange, Ireland, December 21, 2016. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

A Nepalese Gurung community woman, wearing traditional attire, prepares to participate in a parade to mark their New Year known as “Tamu Loshar” in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, December 30, 2016. The indigenous Gurungs, also known as Tamu, are celebrating the advent of the year of the bird. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)