Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)

Michael Bath, from McLeans Ridges in New South Wales, Australia, estimates that in his lifetime he has taken more than 3,500 images of lightning bolts illuminating the sky. Photo: Alstonville, New South Wales, Australia – January 8, 2003. (Photo by Michael Bath/Caters News)

Lyubomir Sergeev Bulgarian photographer Lyubomir Sergeev combines creepy contradictions in his masterfully composed shots.

A panel of 10 high-profile judges from within the surfing industry including seven-time world surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore were tasked with selecting the best of the best surfing photos for the 2020 Nikon surf photography awards. The judges were looking for innovation and creativity, uniqueness, dramatic affect and sensory impact. Here: “Free Fall”. (Photo by Ren Mcgann/2020 Nikon Surf Photography Awards)

Scene of action – Gonk Kong. Action time – 2012. Genre: street photo. In my opinion, very interestingly, enjoy. (Photo by Arnd)

Aerial photography platform SkyPixel received 27,000 entries to its 2016 competition. Here are the winning shots plus some of our favourites. Here: Dam near perfect. Second prize in the same category was of the Huia Dam in Auckland, New Zealand. Hong Kong-based SkyPixel was launched in 2014. (Photo by Brendon Dixon/SkyPixel)

Three elephant seals put on a show in Roie Galitz's “Three Tanors”, taken on January 7, 2016 in South Georgia Island. The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are in full swing, so check out some of the fierce competitors jostling for the top prize this year. Photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam founded the awards to spotlight wildlife conservation efforts and to inject some humour into the world of wildlife photography. (Photo by Roie Galitz/CWPA/Barcroft Images)