Tony North; First place, Breathing Spaces; Overall Winner; Blue Tajinaste, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. “Echium thyrsiflorum is endemic to the mountains of La Palma island – from high up, there was a magnificent view of both the caldera below, and the stars above. The Unesco La Palma biosphere reserve encompasses the entire island, with the Caldera de Taburiente containing mountains with a highest peak of 2,426 metres – the Roque de los Muchachos”. (Photo by Tony North/IGPOTY)

Performers walk past a light installation “Butterfly Effect” designed by Japan artist Masamichi Shimada, at the Battersea Power Station in London, Thursday, January 25, 2024. The Light Festival involved seven light installations from British and international artists at Battersea Power Station, which illuminated the winter evenings between Jan. 25 and Feb, 25. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

The aerial photo taken on November 20, 2024 shows a general view of buildings during a foggy day in Yinchuan, in northern China's Ningxia region. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

An athlete takes part in a warm-up around the track of the National Stadium in Tokyo on September 12, 2025, ahead of the World Athletics Championships. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

The 29-year-old English actress Kimberley Garner is seen in Cannes, France on May 20, 2019. (Photo by The Mega Agency)

Clash of the storms, New Mexico, US by Camelia Czuchnicki. “A clash between two storm cells in New Mexico, US, each with its own rotating updraft. The curved striations of the oldest noticeable against the new bubbling convection of the newer. It was a fantastic sight to watch and it’s the rarity of such scenes that keep drawing me back to the US Plains each year”. (Photo by Camelia Czuchnicki/Weather Photographer of the Year 2016)

Under Exposed: Pekka Tuuri (Finland) – Great white shark, Isla Guadalupe, Mexico. “Isla Guadalupe is the world capital when it comes to observing great white sharks, but cage diving seriously limits the possibilities to take ‘fresh’ pictures. When I took this, the water close to the surface was quite milky, making photography very challenging. From out of the “mist”, I saw this great white shark lurking behind a school of fusiliers. I quickly focused on the shark and set a wide aperture to get focus blur on the fish, along with a fast shutter to avoid excessive motion blur”. (Photo by Pekka Tuuri/The Outdoor Photographer of the Year/The Guardian)

A one month old Turquoise colored Green Veiled Chameleon perches on a finger in the Cardin's Chameleons boothat Repticon 2014 Sunday, August 3, 2014 in Jacksonville, Fla. The vendor specializes in captive bred and born Veiled Chameleons and this particular specimen cost $40.00. The Repticon reptile and Exotic Animal show made its stop in Jacksonville over Saturday and Sunday offering a variety of cold blooded critters and related supplies for sale at the University Center on the University of North Florida campus. The show, which travels nationally stops in Jacksonville several times a year according to event vendor team leader Patty Healey. (Photo by Bob Self/AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union)