The sun rises between Sgurr nan Gillean and Knight’s Peak, Black Cuillin, Isle of Skye. (Photo by Adrian Trendall/Mountain Photo of the Year)

A blurred panaroma of Roemerberg historic center is reflected in a soap bubble in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 09 July 2015. (Photo by Frank Rumpenhorst/EPA)

An orange oakleaf rests on a plant at the Taipei Zoo on November 26, 2020. (Photo by Sam Yeh/AFP Photo)

People watch the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks at the Edge at Hudson Yards on Thursday, July 4, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo)

Two rainbows emerge from a black storm above the mountains, on August 19, 2014, in Kingman, Arizona. Double tornadoes, lightning storms and rotating supercells – this is what it's like to chase storms for a year. These dramatic images show apocalyptic weather throughout 2014 from a lightning storm to a pair of rainbows. Roger Hill, 57, has been chasing storms in the United States for thirty years and runs a tour operation with his wife Caryn. His favourite photograph of the year was also one of the most difficult to get – as two violent tornadoes tore through Pilger, Nebraska on June 16. The spiraling winds killed a five-year-old girl and injured at least 19 others, and as Roger tried to get the perfect shot debris began to rain down on his car. (Photo by Roger Hill/Barcroft Media)

This breathtaking natural light show illuminating waters off the British coast looks like something out of hit film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. Photographer Adrian Campfield was out having dinner at a restaurant at Beachy Head, East Sussex, when the rays suddenly appeared. The 59-year-old and his wife Louise rushed outside onto the 535ft high cliffs to watch the spectacle. Mr Campfield, a former graphic designer, from Bexley, Kent, said the light was “changing all the time” for more than 15 minutes. (Photo by Adrian Campfield/Solent/Visual Press Agency)

Yala national park, Sri Lanka. Category: Action. “The daylight was fading and I was scanning the bush for a leopard. Then, I saw this garden lizard and a common bronzeback snake in the road. When the snake struck, the lizard performed amazing acrobatics to avoid it. The snake didn’t enjoy the extra attention from the crowd of jeeps. The distraction gave the lizard the chance to live another day”. (Photo by Sajith Buddikha Withanage/National Geographic Traveller UK)

Honourable mention, Behaviour category. Toss the scorpion – Indian roller playing with its kill by Susmita Datta. The image was taken during an early morning safari drive at Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India. (Photo by Susmita Datta/PA Wire/Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition 2017)