First place, Portrait. Three flat-coated retrievers – Crew, Darcie and Pagan – by Carol Durrant from the UK. (Photo by Carol Durrant/Dog Photographer of the Year 2018)

A creative Dad brings family-favourite cartoon characters to life by putting them into hilarious situations. You would be forgiven for thinking that the following images are created using Photoshop – but complete with real fire and coffee splashes, Mitchel Wuís images are all shot in real-time. Using plastic toy characters from family-favourite films such as Toy Story, Star Wars, ET and The Muppets, the California-based photographer puts the plastic characters into surreal situations. (Photo by Mitchel Wu/Barcroft Images)

Aurora Australis from Beerbarrel Beach, by James Stone. Runner Up: Aurorae. (Photo by James Stone/Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

Birds behaviour winner: Land of the Eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway. High on a ledge, on the coast near his home in northern Norway, Rikardsen carefully positioned an old tree branch that he hoped would make a perfect golden eagle lookout. To this, he bolted a tripod head with a camera, flashes and motion sensor attached, and built himself a hide a short distance away. From time to time, he left road‑kill carrion nearby. Very gradually – over the next three years – a golden eagle got used to the camera and started to use the branch regularly to survey the coast below. (Photo by Audun Rikardsen/2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

American nature and wildlife photographer Paul Souders is very well-travelled around the globe. In one of his exploits, we have his series of images shot in the ice capped shores of Churchill, Canada. Souders took his Zodiac boat to Hudson Bay in midsummer and waited there for three days before he finally saw a bear, a young female while on sea ice around 30 miles offshore.

Komodo Judo by Andrey Gudkov. Finalist, Amphibians & Reptiles. Two large male Komodo dragons hissing angrily at each other in Indonesia’s Komodo national park. Komodo dragons can grow up to 8ft. (Photo by Andrey Gudkov/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015)

A security guard looks at the models during La Perla’s presentation at the Dream Hotel. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, New York City, Spring 2014. From the series “Fashion Lust”. (Photo by Dina Litovsky)

Steve McCurry has been a photojournalist for over 30 years. He is the recipient of the Robert Capa Gold Medal, the National Press Photographers Award and four first prize awards in the World Press Photo contest. Photo: Afghanistan. (Photo by Steve McCurry)