“A snapshot from mountaineer's life”. Have you ever wondered how does a mountaineer's day start? I will give you a hint: you wake up at 3 am, set the stove, wake up your partner, pretend it is warm, quickly consume a high-calorie breakfast, watch your friends slowly ascending the icy slopes of your dream summit with their tiny head torches glimmering against perfectly blue ice, and hope for the good weather. One would ask: why all this trouble? The answer is easy: for the love of the adventure and the unknown. Location: Chamonix, Haute Savoye, France. (Photo and caption by Kamil Tamiola/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

“Attacking Howler Monkey”. Due to a major tropical rainstorm my wife and I were forced to stay overnight in a Howler Monkey Rescue center in Panama. I used the time to explore the area and to take photos of the monkeys. Just after the rain finally stopped, I ran into this monkey that tried to mock attack me. I quickly took a couple of photos before retreating to a (more) safe distance. (Photo and caption by Christian Mueller-Planitz/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

Youths play a traditional pillow fight game on a bamboo pole during festivities marking the 69th anniversary of Myanmar Independence Day on the outskirts of Yangon on January 4, 2017. Various traditional and local events were held on the holiday which marks the 69th anniversary of the country known before as Burma when British colonial rule ended on January 4, 1948. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP Photo)

“Locusts & Men”. Oppression, interaction, collaboration. In the life cycle of nature nothing is lost, but the coexistence of different species is sometimes difficult. In Madagascar periodically returns the archaic antagonism between man and the migratory locust, in a circle of life where the two species are looking for space and food for their survival. At the end of the day a man walks home carrying on his shoulders the heavy bag which contains the locusts captured during the day. The insects provide nutritious meals for the man and his family. Photo location: Madagascar, 2013. (Photo and caption by Michele Martinelli/National Geographic Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

A boy takes a picture of a car crash in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, August 4, 2014. Two passengers were sent to hospital but no death was reported as a result of the accident, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Participants cross cold and muddy waters during the Strong Race competition near Tukums May 4, 2014. About 6500 people competed in this extreme running race, which includes cross-country running, elements of agility and power discipline. (Photo by Ints Kalnins/Reuters)

A member of a Chinese opera troupe applies make-up before performing at a shrine during the annual vegetarian festival in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 4, 2016. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Goats wait to get unloaded from a vehicle at a livestock market during Dashain, the biggest religious festival for Hindus in Nepal, in Kathmandu, Nepal October 4, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)