Farmer Ash Whitney stands in the middle of a dried-up dam in a drought-effected paddock on his property located west of the town of Gunnedah in New South Wales, Australia, June 3, 2018. “I have been here all my life, and this drought is feeling like it will be around a while”, said Whitney. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

Professional conceptual category winner. Greetings from Mars, by Julien Mauve, France. Mauve says: “I have always wondered what it would be like to discover a totally different world ... and to photograph it for the first time as if I was Ansel Adams. So I came up with this project, which is about space exploration and discovery. But it’s also about our behavior in front of landscapes and how we create pictures that will share our personal story with the world”. (Photo by Julien Mauve)

Tanzania, 1964. A touching moment between primatologist and National Geographic grantee Jane Goodall and young chimpanzee Flint at Tanzania's Gombe Stream Reserve. (Photo by Hugo van Lawick via National Geographic)

“Early morning in Mandawa, rural Rajasthan: it was the morning of Diwali and the streets were swept by smiling women in brightly coloured sarees as I took an early morning cup of chai. Celebrations started later, when darkness fell”. (Photo by Hamish Scott-Brown/Guardian Witness)

Ethnic Wa performer dressed as United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers perform a traditional dance in Mongmao, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar October 1, 2016. Wa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar (Burma) and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of northern Shan State. The Wa were once known as the “Wild Wa” by the British due to their practice of headhunting. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Aerial view of workers repairing fishing nets in preparation for a new round of fishing season on July 27, 2025 in Wenling, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by Zhu Haiwei/Zhejiang Daily Press Group/VCG via Getty Images)

A fisherman brings his catch ashore from the Deduru Oya Reservoir, where giant snakeheads have become an invasive species in Walpaluwa village, Sri Lanka, Thursday, October 30, 2025. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)

People pose for photos with scarecrow installations during the Scarecrow Art Festival at Huatuo Baicao Garden on November 22, 2025 in Bozhou, Anhui Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)