Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean – Winner – Steve Woods. A free diver interacts with a sperm whale among a cloud of sargassum weed, Dominica. (Photo by Steve Woods/Ocean Photographer of the Year 2022)

A lone male cheetah is set upon by a pack of African wild dogs. Peter Haygarth had been following the dogs as they hunted in Zimanga Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. On first encountering the cheetah, the dogs were wary, but as the rest of the pack arrived, their confidence grew and they began to encircle the cat. Peter kept his focus on the cat’s face. In a few minutes the spat was over as the cheetah fled. (Behaviour: mammals category). (Photo by Peter Haygarth)

The snaps show photographers from around the world, who are willing to do just about anything for the perfect picture – whether that be tussling with a seal or withstanding a sharp shove from an angry gorilla. Other brave snappers can be seen getting up close and personal with leopards and great white sharks as they persist in getting the ultimate wildlife shot. Here: Christophe Vasselin gets pushed over by a gorilla. (Photo by Christophe Vasselin/Caters News Agency)

Creative imagery bronze winner. Make-up by Chengbo Sun, China. (Photo by BPOTY/Cover Images)

Bouwe Brouwer: Postcards from Fryslân (series finalist). “People from Fryslân are looked upon by the rest of the Netherlands as stubborn people. Going back as far as the Spanish occupation, they have a history of resisting authority. Postcards from Fryslân is still an ongoing project – hopefully a lifelong one. When it started, it represented only a collection of places that seemed interesting. Currently, the hope is to cover most of the province, as you never know in advance where the best narratives are. But still, it is all candid, unposed and in the public realm”. (Photo by Bouwe Brouwer/Street Photographers Awards 2021)

AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus laughs as she attends a swimming event at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, August 21, 2004. Niedringhaus, a veteran Associated Press photographer who had covered wars around the world was shot dead and another reporter was wounded on April 4, 2014 when an Afghan policeman opened fire on them in eastern Afghanistan, the news agency said. (Photo by Reuters/Staff)

Gerald Herbert is a staff photographer for the AP based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Before that he was a staff photographer for the Washington Times, the New York Daily News and a freelancer for the AP in New Orleans, Boston and New York. Photo: A worker grooms away tracks after an alligator crossed through a sand trap on the 14th hole during the first round of the PGA Tour Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Thursday, April 25, 2013. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

Felipe Dana discovered photography at age 15 when he started working as an assistant for event and commercial photographers. At the close of 2009, he decided to focus his career solely on photojournalism. Dana has focused his work on documenting the consequences of social changes in slums due to upcoming major sports events scheduled for 2014 and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, where he currently lives and works as a staff photographer for The Associated Press. Photo: A model wears a creation from the Triya summer collection during Fashion Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, April 19, 2013. (Photo by Felipe Dana/AP Photo)