“Eye of a toad”. Animal Portraits, Łukasz Bożycki, Poland. Early spring sees a pond near Łukasz’s home city of Warsaw, Poland, full of mating frogs and a few toads. On this March day, Łukasz shared the pond with them for an evening, sitting in the icy water in his chest-high waders, keeping as still as possible, despite the numbing cold, so that the amphibians could get used to him. “I wanted to find a fresh way of portraying the amphibians”, he says, “at water level”. Using a telephoto lens, he focused on one lone toad and waited for the sun to dip almost below the horizon before pressing the shutter, using flash to bring out the details in the shadow. His prize was “the glorious pool of sunset colour” and fiery glow of the toad’s eye. Nikon D80 + 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens + extension tube; 1/125 sec at f9 (-2.3 e/v); ISO 100; built-in flash. (Photo by Łukasz Bożycki)

A young girl sits on a mat, as worshippers arrive to pray to mark the Muslim Eid-al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifices) without observationg precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, in Kara, Ogun State in southwest Nigeria, on July 31, 2020. Nigerian Muslim faithfuls joined their counterparts across the world to celebrate Eid-El-Adha, Islamic festival of sacrifice. (Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP Photo)

A woman walks past the barbed wire separating Belarusian servicemen and Belarusian opposition supporters during a rally in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, August 30, 2020. Tens of thousands of demonstrators have gathered in the capital of Belarus, beginning the fourth week of daily protests demanding that the country's authoritarian president resign. The protests began after an Aug. 9 presidential election that protesters say was rigged and officials say gave President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. (Photo by Tut.By via AP Photo)

Rescue team members search through buildings damaged due to the massive explosion at Beirut's port area, in Gemmayze, Lebanon on September 4, 2020. (Photo by Aziz Taher/Reuters)

An Indian villager wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus sells his ware at market in Jammu, India, Friday, October 9, 2020. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)

Woolland Woods, Dorset. Landscape photographer of the year 2020. “Taken in spring of 2018 in a wooded area close to Milborne St Andrew in Dorset, this was the third visit to the area in a matter of days. On the previous days, both devoid of morning mists, the light had been harsh and unappealing but the third day delivered stunning conditions with mist swirling through the trees. The low shooting position allowed more emphasis to be placed on the wild garlic and pathway”. (Photo by Chris Frost/UK Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020)

A worker sprays disinfectant at Independence Square during a disinfection operation, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kuala Lumpur on October 17, 2020. (Photo by Lim Huey Teng/Reuters)

Aerial view of a farmer feeding ducks at a farm on November 6, 2020 in Sihong County, Jiangsu Province of China. (Photo by Zhang Lianhua/VCG via Getty Images)