A man gets ready backstage before performing in the 35th Cochin Carnival, which is held annually to welcome the start of the New Year at Fort Kochi in the southern state of Kerala, India, January 1, 2019. (Photo by Sivaram V/Reuters)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

From the “Paradise Revisited” story in the November 2013 issue of National Geographic magazine, this image is a beautiful vision of father and son fishermen as they move through the multicolored coral gardens of Kembe Bay, Papua New Guinea, in a traditional outrigger canoe. (Photo by David Doubilet/National Geographic Creative)

A stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) is seen perched on a tree during monsoon rain on July 25, 2016 in Bintan, Indonesia. The stork-billed kingfisher is a tree species which is widely but sparsely distributed in the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India to Indonesia. This kingfisher is resident throughout its range. It is very large, measuring 35 to 38 cm (14 to 15 in) in length. The adult has a green back, blue wings and tail, and grey head. (Photo by Sijori Images/Barcroft Images)

This photo taken on June 19, 2017 shows Indian yoga teacher Mahesh Yogiji attempting a world record for the longest yoga session in Ahmedabad, ahead of International Yoga Day on June 21. According to Guiness World Records, the longest yoga marathon undertaken by a man lasted 69 hours and was achieved by V Gunasekaran in Tamil Nadu in June 2016. (Photo by Sam Panthaky/AFP Photo)

Costumed dancers parade on the first day of the annual Qoyllur Rit'i festival on May 27, 2018 in Ocongate, Peru. Every year, since 1783 in the Sinakara Valley at the foot of Mt Ausagante, the Qoyllur Rit'i, or “Snow and Star” festival draws tens of thousands of pilgrims from across the Peruvian Andes and beyond to what is the biggest religious gathering of its kind. Since 1780 the event merged into a mosaic of indigenous, pagan and Catholic worship when an image of Jesus appeared on a boulder after the death of a young shepherd. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

An Embraer E-190 E2 aircraft featuring a spray painted tiger's face on the nose of the aircraft is displayed during a media preview of the Singapore Airshow February 4, 2018. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

American singer-songwriter Maggie Lindemann poses on the red carpet at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Californian, U.S., March 22, 2022. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)