“I started photography in June 2009. At the time, I was searching for a way to express both the rigorous scientist and the creative artist in me. There are few hobbies that let these two approaches work together, so I really was enthusiastic about it: I am now spending all my free time studying various techniques, contemplating others' fantastic work, and of course, making pictures”. – Christophe Kiciak. Photo: “The Hero”. (Photo by Christophe Kiciak)

“Diver in Magic Kingdom”. Green Lake (Grüner See) is located Tragöss Austria. In spring snowmelt raises the lake level about 10 meters. This phenomenon, which lasts only a few weeks covering the hiking trails, meadows, trees. The result is magical to watch diving landscapes. Photo location: Grüner See at Tragöss, Austria. (Photo and caption by Marc Henauer/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Bloodthirsty by Thomas P. Peschak, Germany/South Africa — winner, Behaviour: birds. When rations run short on Wolf Island, in the remote northern Galápagos, the sharp-beaked ground finches become vampires. Their sitting targets are Nazca boobies and other large birds. The finches rely on a scant diet of seeds and insects, which regularly dries up, so they drink blood to survive. ‘I’ve seen more than half a dozen finches drinking from a single Nazca booby,’ says Tom. Rather than leave their nests the boobies tolerate the vampires, and the blood loss doesn’t seem to cause permanent harm. (Photo by Thomas P. Peschak/2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Tourists take photographs with a statue of Shakira at the Malecon in Barranquilla, Colombia, on December 26, 2023. Arms interlocked high, belly exposed, and torso folded to one side anticipate Shakira's iconic hip movement, immortalized on Tuesday in a 6.5-meter-high statue in the Colombian port city of Barranquilla, where she grew up. (Photo by Carlos Parra Rios/Reuters)

This photo taken November 10, 2015 shows homeless street children sleeping in a park in Manila. The Philippines has swept 20,000 homeless from the streets, cancelled hundreds of flights and declared public holidays in Manila to ensure a safe and efficient summit of 21 world leaders next week, officials say. (Photo by Jay Directo/AFP Photo)

A boy jumps from a swing during sunset in Valras-Plage, southern France December 29, 2014. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Migrant children play with leaves during Christmas Eve at a shelter, as they travel with their parents as part of a caravan with humanitarian visas to transit throughout the country, in Monterrey, Mexico on December 24, 2021. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

A streaker races across the field and is caught by security during the Super Rugby match between New Zealand's Highlanders and South Africa's Sharks at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on February 7, 2020. (Photo by Marty Melville/AFP Photo)