“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)

A Santa Claus puppet holding a Christmas tree is pictured against the sun in Berlin November 23, 2014. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

A 6-month old female giant panda cub, an offspring of Xing Xing, formerly known as Fu Wa and Liang Liang, formerly known as Feng Yi, plays at the Giant Panda Conservation Center at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, February 18, 2016. (Photo by Joshua Paul/AP Photo)

Evangelia Platanioti of Greece competes in the Solo Technical Routine at the Glasgow 2018 European Synchronised Swimming Championships, Glasgow, Britain, 06 August 2018. (Photo by Neil Hall/EPA/EFE)

Looking for love by Tony Wu, USA. Highly commended, Animal Portraits. “Accentuating his mature appearance with pastel colours, protruding lips and an outstanding pink forehead, this Asian sheepshead wrasse sets out to impress females and see off rivals, which he will head-butt and bite, near Japan’s remote Sado Island. Individuals start out as females, and when they reach a certain age and size – up to a metre (more than 3 feet) long – can transform into males. Long-lived and slow-growing, the species is intrinsically vulnerable to overfishing”. (Photo by Tony Wu/2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

On the second straight day of record-setting temperatures, Maddy Hacker is hoisted up by friend Jasmine Harper, both of McLean, Virgnia, as they attempt an acrobatic stunt in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., February 21, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Members of the SubCielo company perform during the fifth annual Puerto Rico Circo Fest in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, March 10, 2018. The festival is held simultaneously in several spots on the streets of the Old San Juan city on March 10–11. (Photo by Ricardo Arduengo/AFP Photo)

A model presents a creation by Colombian brand Elena Plus Clothing at Colombiamoda during Medellin's fashion week in Itagui municipality near Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia, on July 24, 2017. Colombiamoda will take place between the 24th and 27th of July. (Photo by Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP Photo)