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)

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)

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)

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)

American model Kaia Gerber (L) and American actress Kate Hudson attend the “Shell” After Party during the Toronto International Film Festival at Elevation Pictures on September 13, 2024. In this dark comedy and body horror about society's obsession with youth and good looks, an actress (Elisabeth Moss) challenges a beauty firm CEO (Kate Hudson) over her company's questionable science. (Photo by ZUMAPRESS.com/The Mega Agency)

New Jersey based artist, Joe Iurato creates art using hand-cut paper and spray paint to make small wood cutout figures and placed in public spaces. According to Iurato, “a puddle can become a lake, a small crack in a cement wall can become a magnificent climb, a planter box can become a place for a child to play, and a shadow might be a tangible space for a few seconds a day”. Photo: “Small World”. (Photo by Joe Lurato)

Illuminated Cut Paper Light Boxes by Hari & DeeptiDeepti Nair and Harikrishnan Panicker (known collectively as Hari & Deepti) are an artist couple who create paper cut light boxes. Each diorama is made from layers of cut watercolor paper placed inside a shadow box and is lit from behind with flexible LED light strips. The small visual narratives depicted in each work often play off aspects of light including stars, flames, fireflies, and planets.

Even the powerhouse of Europe has its fair share of abandoned properties and empty shop fronts as seen in these pictures of decaying buildings in Germany. Photographer Daniel Barter, 30, from London traveled Berlin and the surrounding countryside to capture buildings in need of work on film. Far from being resplendent in vintage glory, the deserted music venues and crumbling hospitals are a shadow of their former selves. German eagle motifs flake off ceilings and concert halls designed for hundreds have not seen a show for years. Photo: Lung sanatorium. (Photo by Daniel Barter/Caters News)