Overall winner: The Art of Flight by Alwin Hardenbol (University of Eastern Finland). A panning shot of a Dalmatian pelican in flight. The picture was taken on Lake Kerkini in Greece. (Photo by Alwin Hardenbol/2020 British Ecological Society Photography Competition)

Revellers take part in New Year's Eve celebrations in Kyiv, Ukraine on December 31, 2020. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

A U.S. President Donald Trump mask is seen for sale in a market in Hong Kong, China on December 23, 2019. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Solid Light, an exhibition of the immersive works of Anthony McCall, opens at Tate Modern in London on June 25, 2024. Installations use beams of light projected through a thin mist to create large three-dimensional forms. (Photo by Guy Bell/Alamy Live News)

Japanese designer Masaya Kushino creates dream couples, blurring the boundaries between footwear and impressive artwork.

It's not often that two ferocious tigers have to beat a hasty retreat from a confrontation. But it seems that the wrath of a mother bear protecting two cubs on her back was more than enough to scare this pair off. Wildlife photographer Aditya Singh captured the encounter during a visit to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, India.

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

“Entwined Lives”. Tim Laman, US Winner, Wildlife photographer of the year. A young male orangutan makes the 30-metre climb up the thickest root of the strangler fig high above the canopy in Gunung Palung national park, one of the few protected orangutan strongholds in Indonesian Borneo. Laman had to do three days of climbing to position several GoPro cameras that he could trigger remotely. This shot was the one he had long visualised, looking down on the orangutan within its forest home. (Photo by Tim Laman/2016 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)