Sports have the ability to transform groups of strangers into a united community. In the celebratory spirit surrounding the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Sony and the World Photography Organisation present UNITED – a contest honouring the passion of football fans around the world. Seven inspirational photographers have been selected by Sony and WPO to capture the atmosphere and celebration of the World Cup across the globe. Photo: France – French fans cheering for their team. (Photo by Anthony Lepinay)

“Scott Linstead is an internationally published, freelance wildlife photographer/writer. His clients include Natural History Magazine, Hewlett Packard, Ranger Rick Magazine and a number of wildlife publications in North America and Europe. Scott's column on the techniques of bird photography appears in every issue of Outdoor Photography Canada”.

Photo: A veiled chameleon extends its tongue to catch a cricket. Canadian wildlife photographer Scott Linstead, formerly an aerospace engineer and high school teacher, uses a device called Phototrap “to not only photograph the elusive, but also the unimaginably quick”. (Photo by Scott Linstead)

A photographer has weathered some of America's most violent storms to capture these stunning snaps. Storm chaser Mike Mezeul II, 30, has traveled all over the US to shoot the likes of mammoth thunderstorms and surreal cloud patterns. His incredible collection of storm images are the result of more than 15 years of photography and thousands of miles of travel. Here: Mike waiting for the storm at Cheyenne, Wyoming, June 2014. (Photo by Mike Mezeul II/Caters News)

Ever wondered what life is like in miniature? An Italian photographer has perfected his own brand of macro photography with stunning pictures of miniscule drops of dew on flowers. Alberto Ghizzi Panizza, 40, has been a photographer for 18 years and specializes in macro images. All of these pictures were taken on the riverbanks of the Po River, in northern Italy, as Panizza pursued his passion for nature. “I'm deeply fond of nature and animals and always look for the beauty in the world around us”, Panizza said. (Photo by Alberto Ghizzi Panizza/Caters News)

On Dale A. Browne’s first trip to Yellowstone, he “got the best shot” he’d ever taken after chasing this weasel for 30 minutes. The trip for the 58-year-old from Manassas, Va., was a gift from his wife and an opportunity to improve his photography skills with the help of guide and professional photographer Tom Murphy. (Murphy did not assist in the taking of this photo). (Photo by Dale A. Browne)

Israeli couples attend a “trash the dress” event at a paint-ball venue in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, December 25, 2015. Twelve Israeli couples wore their wedding outfits once again on Friday as they took part in a video clip where they deliberately ruined their wedding outfits, in keeping with the trendy wedding style photography dubbed “trash the dress”. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Kacper Kowalski was born in 1977. With a degree in architecture, he focuses on aerial photography. Both a pilot and a photographer, he has unique control over each shot. As a result he captures previously unseen natural environments and ordinarily inaccessible cityscapes. In this way unreal, almost graphic pictures come into being. They show patterns, symmetries and asymmetries created by humans and the nature.