Winner. “This was taken in the South Ari Atolls, Maldives, as the south-west monsoon season was setting in. It features my partner – and dive buddy – Emma after surfacing at the end of the last dive of the day to find 1.5 metre swells and dark monsoon clouds. MICK RYAN, JUDGE: This beautiful portrait of a diver in an ocean swell below a menacing sky stands out this month for its emotional and elemental beauty. It is a reminder that while we may play among nature we are always dwarfed by its power and must be constantly on our guard”. (Photo by Simon Dunn/The Guardian)

When Colin Garratt went to photograph the traditional sentinels of the British countryside, he found they ranged from the dapper to the downright sinister. “They are not from the anaesthetised world of the craft fair”, says Colin Garratt, “but are the direct descendants of the ancient spectres which have haunted the landscape for centuries”. The Scarecrow Exhibition is at Geddes Gallery, London, from 25 to 30 March. (Photo by Colin Garratt)

A visitor takes pictures with a smartphone of an artwork entitled “Blue Europe, 2015” by Chinese artist Liu Bolin, on display during the exhibition “Visible Invisible” at the Mudec Museum in Milan on May 14, 2019. Liu Bolin known as “the invisible man” for his photographic self-portraits, focused on a body-painting blending with the surrounding area. (Photo by Miguel Medina/AFP Photo)

A leather worker with his frightening types of clothes prepares after painted themselves using chimney soot as they participate in a programme within the September 6 celebrations, in Balikesir, Turkey on September 06, 2019. According to the story, “Tulutabaklar” were painting themselves with ash and wearing goatskin or sheep skin to frighten the Greek soldiers occupying Balikesir during the National Struggle period. Every year on September 6, Tulutabaklar perform this ritual as part of the celebration of liberation of the city for 96 years. (Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Visitors are seen inside a newly opened bookstore in Chongqing, China on January 29, 2019. Covering an area of 1,400 square meters, the Zhongshuge Bookstore in Chongqing attracts readers with its creative decor. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)

A person watches the sunrise from the Edge observation deck at Hudson Yards on the first day of spring on March 20, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

A zoo curator using a kayak tries to catch a pelican in order to move him into its winter enclosure at the zoo in Liberec, Czech Republic, Tuesday, November 16, 2021. (Photo by Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

Women sells vegetables at Kaporo market in Conakry, Guinea Monday, September 13, 2021. (Photo by Sunday Alamba/AP Photo)