“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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A boy, who came with the humanitarian transport of children from Ukrainian public orphanages following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reacts as he has breakfast at the Hotel Ossa near Rawa Mazowiecka, Poland on March 5, 2022. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

Aleksandra Miroslaw, of Poland, competes during the speed portion of the women's sport climbing final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, August 6, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Tsuyoshi Ueda/Pool Photo via AP Photo)

A Vietnamese artist acting as a medium, performs the “Hau Dong” ritual at Viet Theatre in Hanoi January 16, 2016. For the first time, Vietnamese drama director Viet Tu has brought the ritual from religious temples to the theatre partly to draw tourists. The “Hau Dong” is a ritual where a medium puts on special costumes and tells stories of gods and heroes while being accompanied by “Chau Van” music, as part of the act of Dao Mau – the worship of mother goddesses in Vietnam. It is believed that the medium is capable of having a direct contact with spirits during the ritual. (Photo by Reuters/Kham)

A participant of the Castle Party festival poses for picture as a man walks past in Bolkow, southwestern Poland, July 16, 2015. The annual festival features around 50 musicians and artists playing on various stage Gothic rock and other styles of the dark music subculture. Outside Germany, it is one of the biggest festival with this genre of music, the event attracts regular international audience of up to 5000, the organizers said. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

Urszula Sidoruk, 19, from the paramilitary group SJS Strzelec (Shooters Association), trains her workout at a gym in Siedlce, eastern Poland March 18, 2014. Inspired by the war in Ukraine, growing numbers of Poles are joining volunteer paramilitary groups, where they receive basic army training and prepare to defend their homeland. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

Alpacas peek out of their box in Kielnarowa, Poland, June 11, 2014. A total of 35 female and 3 male alpacas were imported from Chile by the Rzeszow University of Information Technology and Management Center Zoo to be used for the therapy of children. Alpacas also provide one of the most expensive wools. (Photo by Darek Demanowicz/EPA)