“Eye of a toad”. Animal Portraits, Łukasz Bożycki, Poland. Early spring sees a pond near Łukasz’s home city of Warsaw, Poland, full of mating frogs and a few toads. On this March day, Łukasz shared the pond with them for an evening, sitting in the icy water in his chest-high waders, keeping as still as possible, despite the numbing cold, so that the amphibians could get used to him. “I wanted to find a fresh way of portraying the amphibians”, he says, “at water level”. Using a telephoto lens, he focused on one lone toad and waited for the sun to dip almost below the horizon before pressing the shutter, using flash to bring out the details in the shadow. His prize was “the glorious pool of sunset colour” and fiery glow of the toad’s eye. Nikon D80 + 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens + extension tube; 1/125 sec at f9 (-2.3 e/v); ISO 100; built-in flash. (Photo by Łukasz Bożycki)

Cave Diver, Anhumas Abyss, Bonito, Brazil: The Anhumas Abyss is an underground cavern with a crystal-clear lake below, more than 260 feet (79 m) deep. A visitor must enter through a narrow opening at the top of the chamber and rappel into the cave. Snorkeling and scuba diving in the lake reveal amazing scenery. Distinctive, conical limestone stalagmites and stalactites occupy the lake and the surrounding area, some reaching 65 feet (20 m) high. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/Nature’s Best Photography Awards 2017)

An aspiring Catholic priest Jose Luis Guerra, a member of Raza Nueva in Christ, a project of the archdiocese of Monterrey, and other missionaries hand out a Bible to Angel Castillo, who wants to become a missionary with Raza Nueva, in the municipality of Garcia, outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico, July 12, 2016. In the troubled fringes of the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, an aspiring priest is using his faith to reach out to young gang members and at-risk youth, and bring them into his “Gang of Christ”. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

A worker assembles a sеx doll at the WMDOLL factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, China, July 11, 2018. The factory has over 200 full-time workers, all dolls are handmade and each requires the cooperation of at least five workers. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

Looking for love by Tony Wu, USA. Highly commended, Animal Portraits. “Accentuating his mature appearance with pastel colours, protruding lips and an outstanding pink forehead, this Asian sheepshead wrasse sets out to impress females and see off rivals, which he will head-butt and bite, near Japan’s remote Sado Island. Individuals start out as females, and when they reach a certain age and size – up to a metre (more than 3 feet) long – can transform into males. Long-lived and slow-growing, the species is intrinsically vulnerable to overfishing”. (Photo by Tony Wu/2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon walks the runway for Gypsy Sport show during New York Fashion Week on September 12, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

General view of festival goers at the main stage on Day 3 of Download festival at Donnington Park on June 12, 2022 in Donnington, England. (Photo by Chris Bethell/The Guardian)

Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps compete in the pairs short program during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing on December 7, 2023. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)