An illumination is held at a commercial facility “NAMBA PARKS” in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture on November 15, 2022. Approximately 650,000 LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs are decorated to imagine waterfalls and meadows at the event. (Photo by Naoya Azuma/Yomiuri/The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP Photo)

“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)

“Sokolica”. Sokolica, Poland. (Photo and caption by Marcin Kęsek/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

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This lemur looks like he is channelling the spirit of Buddha – as he sits meditating. Sitting with his legs crossed, the lemur clasps his thumb and fore finger together with outstretched arms – just like the spiritual teacher. And amateur snapper Sebastien Degardin, 32, was on hand to capture the bizarre moment the animal searched for enlightenment on film. Sebastien, who moved from his native Belgium to Finchley, North London, said: “I was gobsmacked when I saw this lemur meditating”. (Photo by Sebastien Degardin/Caters News)

People dressed in underwear run into a store to pick free clothes during a promotional event starting the summer sale at an outlet of the Desigual clothing retailer in Berlin, June 20, 2014. Desigual treated the first 100 customers with a free outfit if they stripped down to their underwear for the first day of the outlet's summer sale. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A man rides his motorcycle along an empty street in Cali on April 17, 2021, during a curfew imposed by the government to help curb infections of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, as weekend partial lockdown takes effect in four Colombian cities. In recent weeks, the Colombian government has imposed, and then tightened, a series of restrictions to stem a third wave of infections that is bringing its health system to the brink of collapse. (Photo by Luis Robayo/AFP Photo)

Victoria of Bulgaria performs during the second semi-final of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands, May 20, 2021. (Photo by Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)

Pakistan fans during the first one day international match at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Thursday, July 8, 2021. (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)