First place, The Beauty of Plants. “There are many stages of lotus growth on display at the Aquatic Gardens, but to come across twotwisted dancing stems of nelumbo nucifera was unexpected and quite magical”. (Photo by Kathleen Furey/The Guardian)

Photographer of the year second place. “Girl with the Violin”. Location: Colorado, US. Shot on iPhone 13 Pro. United States. (Photo by Kelly Dallas/Courtesy of the artist and IPPAWARDS)

Snow surrounds one of the Anthony Gormley statues called Another Place at Crosby Beach Merseyside, United Kingdom on Friday, March 10, 2023. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)

The first autonomous and electric shuttle of PostAuto Schweiz in the old village of Sion, Switzerland, June 2016. (Photo by Ruben Sprich/Reuters)

People walk in the Old City of Damascus, Syria, decorated for the upcoming Christmas holidays, Tuesday, December 14, 2021. (Photo by Omar Sanadiki/AP Photo)

An Afghan woman walks with a child in the old city of Herat province, Afghanistan on October 15, 2018. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

Four-year-old Eve Hill enjoys the wet weather in York, northeast England on August 2, 2023. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times)

Young people fight for fun with their pillows, during the International Pillow Fight Day at the Place des Grottes, in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, April 4, 2015. The annual International Pillow Fight Day takes place in hundreds of cities around the world. (Photo by Salvatore Di Nolfi/AP Photo/Keystone)