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)

People and Nature category winner: Why did the sloth cross the road? by Andrew Whitworth (Osa Conservation and University of Glasgow), taken in Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. “I was driving out from the Osa Peninsula, located on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica on a dark, stormy day. This female three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) had luckily just about made it across the road, and the drivers of the Toyota on this occasion had spotted her in good time”. (Photo by Andrew Whitworth/2019 British Ecological Society Photography Competition)

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Neil Zeller's snaps were taken across Canada, where he photographs the northern lights dancing across a dark night sky. In one stunning shot, Zeller, 42, even manages to capture a flash of lightning beneath a storm cell while an aurora gives off a magnificent green glow. The photographer, from Calgary, Alberta, describes himself as a night person, and became interested in night photography about 10 years ago. (Photo by Neil Zeller/Caters News)

A girl dances in front of the digital art installation “Light in Dark” created by teamLab, a collaborative of Japanese digital artists, during a special exhibition of “Shake! Art Exhibition! and Learn and Play! teamLab Future Park” at National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (or Miraikan) in Tokyo, Japan, 19 January 2015. The exhibition is held through 01 March 2015. (Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA)

Pontoons, which were previously used as a floating jetty, are seen on the cracked ground of the Atibainha dam, part of the Cantareira reservoir, during a drought in Nazare Paulista, Sao Paulo state February 12, 2015. Brazil's worst drought in 80 years has left the Cantareira system, that provides greater Sao Paulo with most of its water, with the lowest water level on record. Brazil's economy is already expected to post zero growth this year. Worse yet, since Brazil depends on hydroelectric dams for about three quarters of its electricity, power shortages are also possible due to the drought, federal officials have said. (Photo by Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

Crampus from Netherworld Haunted House with Amber Thompson, spa staff, at Bliss Spa at W Atlanta Downtown hotel on Thursday, October 7, 2014. A self-guided, dark attraction known for its over-the-top special effects, intense make-up, costuming and stunt actors as well as unique monsters, unusual themes and chilling detail, Netherworld Haunted House in Atlanta is taking over the Halloween holiday this season for its 18th season. (Photo by Hyosub Shin/AJC)

The photos, created by Tito Mouraz in Portugal, look too surreal, and it takes a while to realize that these are actually not painting but reality. The way people can completely transform the terrain is very reminiscent of the way people tend to change themselves. Chip away the granite of their soul, turning it into something that fits their idea of perfection. However, in the end, most of them end up with an obscene parody of beauty, rather than something truly marvelous. The reason for it is probably that people are actually oblivious to the true image of beauty, making them stumble around in the dark, hoping to find something that might not exist at all. (Photo by Tito Mouraz)