Buddhist monk Wilatha holds a rescued Burmese python at his monastery that has turned into a snake sanctuary on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, November 26, 2020. Wilatha is trying to play a part in saving scores of snakes that might otherwise be killed or destined for the black market. (Photo by Shwe Paw Mya Tin/Reuters)

Shortlisted: Pooyan Shadpoor, Houcheraghi. While walking along the shore of Larak, Iran – an island in the Persian Gulf – Shadpoor came across this luminous scene. The “magical lights of (the) plankton ... enchanted me so that I snapped the shot”, he writes. (Photo by Pooyan Shadpoor/2016 EPOTY)

British underwater photographer of the year – winner. “Love Birds” by Grant Thomas (UK). Location: Luss Pier, Loch Lomond, Scotland. Thomas’s initial idea was to frame a split shot of one swan feeding below the surface of the water but when he noticed how comfortable they were around him he was confident, with some patience, he could get that magical shot of the two. (Photo by Grant Thomas/UPY 2018)

“The fantastic landscape of Bagan in Myanmar features hundreds of temples and pagodas as far as the eye can see. Experiencing this sight at dawn from the basket of a hot air balloon will remain engraved in my memory for ever. Mick Ryan, judge – What a magical photograph and place. The Buddhist temples and pagodas fill the plains of Bagan in Myanmar at sunrise… the golden hour providing beautiful light to illuminate the retrogression of the temples and balloons toward a misty, mountainous distance. An excellent, exotic photograph that makes you want to book a flight”. (Photo by Alastair Swan/The Guardian)

Scarlett points at the huge ice sculpture of a bear during a Photocall for Magical Ice Kingdom at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park on November 17, 2016 in London, England. It is the event's 10th anniversary this year. (Photo by Ben Perry/Getty Images)

In this March 2, 2018 photo, an Andean man rests with his llama while tourists take in the natural wonder of Rainbow Mountain in Pitumarca, Peru. Tourists gasp for breath as they climb for two hours to the 16,404-foot (5,000-meter) peak in the Peruvian Andes, but stunned by the magical beauty that unfurls before them. (Photo by Martin Mejia/AP Photo)

People visit the artwork titled Seven Magic Mountains by artist Ugo Rondinone, Wednesday, May 11, 2016, near Jean, Nev. The artwork was recently completed in the desert south of Las Vegas. (Photo by John Locher/AP Photo)