October winner. “A burst of the aurora borealis over Kirkjufell, taken in September 2016. This shot has been a holy grail for me and was finally captured after many trips”. MICK RYAN, JUDGE: Iceland is a hotspot for aurora photography and this composition of the symmetric, free-standing Kirkjufell and the trident waterfall is much-sought after. If you can time your visit when the aurora “kp” index is high and know the settings for nighttime aurora images, you may end up with a beautiful photograph like this. (Photo by DВ/The Guardian)

“I have been photographing this group of urban foxes in Bristol for over 12 months; what started off as a chance encounter has become an obsession for me and has changed my feelings and attitudes towards urban foxes forever...”. – Ian Wade. (Photo by Ian Wade)

“They’ve been obsessing me for years. I searched and found them in Benares, on the banks of the river Gange (India). They arrive here to get rid of everything and to wait for death. This existence can last for years, sometimes decades, almost a life. Opposite to mine, well organised and filled as a human life can be, to try in vain to push the limits of its end”. – Denis Rouvre. (Photo by Denis Rouvre)

I would like to tell you why many artists, who like me, have painted portraits and landscapes in oils on canvas, worked with acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink drawings, have turned to the art of gourd carving.

Keep your eyes peeled: A Chinese teenager slipped and stabbed himself in the face with a 7cm knife while peeling an apple. Ren Hanzhi's father recalled: “He was walking to the sofa while peeling the apple. Suddenly he slipped down and his face hit onto the sharp knife. I dared not pull out the knife as my son was screaming”. The nearest hospital referred the 13-year-old to a larger unit. Chief surgeon Peng Liwei, who operated to remove the knife, commented: “It's shocking. The knife, which is more than 20cm long, penetrated 7cm into his face. The surgery was successful and the patient could recover fully in around a month”. (Photo by Rex Features)

A mongoose growls at a startled lion on September 10, 2011 in Maasai Mara, Kenya. Four lions were left with their tails between their legs when a mongoose bravely took on the predators. Despite being under two feet tall, the aggressive mongoose growled at the felines and even bit one on the nose. The shocking fight, which was photographed in 2011 but has just been released, began in the Masaai Mara National Park, Kenya, when photographer Jerome Guillaumot came across four young lions surrounding the terrified marsh mongoose. The lions chased the mongoose into a hole in the ground but the small animal reemerged to fight the predators once again before running for cover. (Photo by Jerome Guillaumot/Barcroft Media)

“Former Harry Potter star Emma Watson has shed her squeak-clean image by parading the streets in a bra and hot pants for her role in Sofia Coppola's latest movie. The actress has signed up for a leading role in The Bling Ring, playing one of the real-life teens who stole from the homes of stars including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Orlando Bloom in 2008 and 2009. A series of images from the Los Angeles film set are set to shock the Brit's younger fans as she has been photographed strutting in tiny shorts, a bra-style top, leather jacket and towering high heels”. (Photo by PR Photos/Gaz Shirley/KVS/PacificCoastNews.com)

In this Thursday, May 16, 2013 file photo, Finland's Krista Siegfrids, second right, kisses a dancer as she performs her song “Marry Me” during the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden. That was the first girl-on-girl kiss in the history of the annual competition. Previously, organizers had sought to prevent similar embraces citing the competition's status as a family event. (Photo by Alastair Grant/AP Photo)