A group of young men use a selfie stick to take a picture of themselves in shallow waters known as the first cataract of the River Nile outside Khartoum, Sudan, May 22, 2015. In Sudan, which faces insurgences in the western region of Darfur and along its border with breakaway South Sudan, as well as double-digit inflation and high unemployment, life goes on for young people in the capital Khartoum. (Photo by Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)

“Secrets of the Whales”. Skerry’s photographs celebrate the lives and culture of whales, illuminating recent research and their diverse behaviours. His latest work focuses on four key species: sperm whales, humpbacks, orca and beluga whales. Humpback whales bubble-net feeding off the coast of Alaska. They work cooperatively to feed on herring by blowing a perfect ring of bubbles underwater to form a net encircling the fish. The whales then swim up through the centre of the bubble net with their mouths open. (Photo by Brian Skerry/National Geographic Photo/Visa pour l'Image)

Runner-up; Hon Yen marine ecosystem. Phu Yen, Vietnam. Every year between May and August, the coral of this rich and diverse ecosystem becomes exposed at low tide. (Photo by Truong Hoai Vu/Royal Society of Biology Photography Competition)

This strange coral-looking specimen is actually a mushroom. The photo, “Beautiful Destroyer”, was taken in the Panamanian tropical rainforest where the mushroom produces nitrogen, an element vital to soil health. (Photo by Sarah A. Batterman)

Birds behaviour winner: Land of the Eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway. High on a ledge, on the coast near his home in northern Norway, Rikardsen carefully positioned an old tree branch that he hoped would make a perfect golden eagle lookout. To this, he bolted a tripod head with a camera, flashes and motion sensor attached, and built himself a hide a short distance away. From time to time, he left road‑kill carrion nearby. Very gradually – over the next three years – a golden eagle got used to the camera and started to use the branch regularly to survey the coast below. (Photo by Audun Rikardsen/2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A Pure Green Sweat Bee (Augochlora pura) covers itself in pollen while pollinating the flower of a squash plant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on August 23, 2024. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A photographer has done her best to guess what her dog is daydreaming about – creating a series of fantasy adventures around her unaware pooch as he takes his daily naps. (Photo by Caters News)

In this undated photo entitled “Close Call”, a Hawaiian green sea turtle swims through a breaking wave on the North Shore of Oahu near Haleiwa, Hawaii. The image appears in photographer Clark Little's new book, “The Art of Waves”. (Photo by Clark Little via AP Photo)