Shortlisted: “Two big eyes” by Miao Yong (Zejiang province, China). Damselflies look over the leaves. “I was photographing insects in a park near my home when suddenly I found two damselflies in the grass. They kept flying and it was very difficult to focus until suddenly they parked behind a leaf”. (Photo by Miao Yong/2017 Royal Society of Biology Photographer of the Year)

David Yeo’s photography places naturally small species alongside animals that have been selectively bred to be tiny and cute. Here: “The most difficult aspect of this shoot was to get each African pygmy dormouse – also known as micro squirrels – on to a separate camera. Once in place, they needed to remain still long enough to get them both in the frame and looking at me. Often solitary, they naturally wanted to move away”. (Photo by David Yeo/Leica Studio Mayfair/The Guardian)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, December 20, 2016, dancers of the U.S. company “Catapult” create a group of ostriches, during their show “Magic Shadows”, in Milan, Italy. Dancers in the company create shadow sculptures with their bodies, giving a contemporary twist to the ancient Chinese art of shadow theaters. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham arrive to attend the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne is to be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and will be attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

This photo taken on November 6, 2023 shows people posing for photos next to the statue of “Hachiko” in front of Shibuya station in central Tokyo, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the legendary dog's birth this month. A century since its birth, the tale of the loyal companion who had waited at the Shibuya train station for its master to come home – not knowing he had already died – continues to inspire the public, who have made the statue a singular landmark at a glitzy hub of Tokyo's street culture. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks/AFP Photo)

People clean up debris at a traditional market damaged by flood after torrential rain on August 09, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. The heaviest rainfall in 80 years has pounded Seoul and surrounding regions, leaving seven people dead and six others missing, as well as flooding homes, vehicles, buildings and subway stations, government officials said. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

People look at the lava flowing on Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland on Wednesday August 3, 2022, which is located 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of the capital of Reykjavik and close to the international Keflavik Airport. Authorities in Iceland say the volcano in the southwest of the country is erupting just eight months after its last eruption officially ended. (Photo by Marco Di Marco/AP Photo)

People with his face covered in oil and soot and carrying bull horns representing a devil join a carnival festival on February 14, 2015 in Luzon, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)