Turkish police detained dozens of demonstrators participating in an LGBT pride march in Istanbul, Turkey on June 26, 2021. Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and blocked attempts by protesters to gather in large numbers after a government decision to ban pride events in recent years. (Photo by Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Highly commended birds : Crested guan by Tim Hunt (UK). ‘This photo shows a crested guan in the cloud forests of Costa Rica as it pauses while foraging on a lone branch. Due to the clouds that are so typical for this habitat, I could often only photograph the bird’s silhouette against a grey sky. But then, for a short moment only, the sun broke through the clouds, and I overexposed the image by over two stops in order to blow out the background and allow this beautifully marked bird to stand out’. (Photo by Tim Hunt/GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015)

Brian Skerry can be called many things – explorer, journalist, conservation advocate – but he is first and foremost a photographer. His journeys to capture amazing underwater photographs have taken him across the world’s oceans. Photo: This Bahamian oceanic whitetip shark, known for the distinctive coloring on its white-tipped, rounded extremities, is part of a globally threatened species due to overfishing demands, primarily for its fins. (Photo by Brian Skerry)

Maja, a 40-year-old elephant, extends her trunk into a bakery as a customer buys a newspaper while Maja took a stroll through the neighborhood with her minders from a nearby circus on July 1, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

This perfectly-timed GoPro snap captures the moment an angrymagpiecame within inches of a biker, as swooping season takes hold in Australia. The notoriously aggressive bird can be seen flying with its wings tucked in so it looks exactly like a torpedo in the magnificent photograph from Middlemount, Queensland. Retail businesswoman Monique Newton, 53 was riding pillion with a friend when she spied the divebombing bird – but rather than speed off, they slowed down to capture it up close. (Photo by Monique Newton/Caters News Agency)

Stunning image capture the moment a tiny harvest mouse uses wheat stems as stilts as he munches on a kernel in UK in August 2025. The minute-mouse, who weighs as much as a 2p coin and is only two-inches-long, uses his prehensile tail to keep himself perfectly level. (Photo by Tony Nellis/South West News Service)

This is the mesmerising image of a colourful Milky Way shining down on Mount Fuji. Steve Lance Lee, 37, captured the sky above the iconic mountain whilst on his honey moon in Lake Kawaguchiko, Japan. Mount Fuji is illuminated underneath the galaxy of stars, creating an impressive landscape. Here: The beautiful image captured by Steve Lance Lee of the Milky Way seemingly errupting from Mt. Fuji in Japan. (Photo by Steve Lance Lee/Caters News)

The Royal Observatory just announced its Astronomy Photographer Of The Year 2013 winners. Australian photographer Mark Gee was chosen among a thousand amateur and professional photographers around the globe to win the top title. His work is part of an exhibition of the winning photographers, which opened on Sept. 19 at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The Royal Observatory shared with us the winners and notable mentions of the competition. Their descriptions of the prizewinners can be found below the images.