Ryo Minemizu, one of Japan’s emerging stars in the field of marine life photography and the 2017 winner of the Nikkei National Geographic photography prize, captures the beauty and complexity of plankton that drift in our planet’s oceans and other bodies of water in meticulous detail. Here: Batesian mimicry by a Soleichthys fish larva. (Photo by Ryo Minemizu/The Guardian)

Renowned amphibian and reptile photographer Matthijs Kuijpers has released his first book, “Cold Instinct”. Kuijpers says the aim of the work is “for the viewer to abandon the fear and negative thoughts that often surround these animals”. What’s left is the bizarre beauty of these creatures in their simplest form – no backgrounds and no distractions. Here: Mossy frog (Theloderma corticale). (Photo by Matthijs Kuijpers/The Guardian)

Model Elise Daniels dons a Balenciaga suit while surrounded by street performers in Paris, France in 1948. (Photo by Richard Avedon/Victoria and Albert Museum London/The Guardian)

Shoes worn by cosplayer dressed as Elizabeth Goddess during the Otamatsuri Anime x Manga convention held in Nairobi, Kenya on August 24, 2023. (Photo by Sarah Waiswa/The Guardian)

Entitled Feasting at Sunset, this photo of a Brandt’s cormorant among pilchards was the winner of the Birds in the Environment category in the 2025 Bird Photographer of the Year competition. (Photo by Franco Banfi/The Guardian)

During the spring harvest season, a group of traditional Malaysian honey hunters travel to the rainforest near the Thai border to collect honeycombs from giant bees – and risk their lives climbing 200ft trees. Here: Bees are sensitive to light, which makes them follow the glowing embers down to the ground. (Photo by Hasnoor Hussain/The Guardian)

Fireplace for children, Trondheim, Norway, by Haugen/Zohar. The children of Trondheim come to sit around the fire and tell stories in this whimsical cone hut, made with materials recycled from a construction site. (Photo by Jason Havneraas/The Guardian)

Performers of circus company Circa perform during a photocall for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Calton Hill on August 1, 2017 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. (Photo by Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian)