These kaleidoscopic images showcase the sheer beauty of the mammoth firework displays held across Japan every summer. The Japanese word for fireworks, hanabi, means fire flower, and each year, local governments in Japan throw around 7,000 festivals, or hanabi taikai. Here: Tsuchiura National Fireworks Competition, Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture. (Photo by Makoto Igari/Caters News Agency)

The Historic Photographer of the Year awards celebrate historic places and cultural sites across the globe, from national treasures to hidden gems. Entries were judged on originality, composition and technical proficiency as well as the story that inspired the submission and its historical impact. Here: Overall winner. Mont Saint-Michel by Daniel Burton. (Photo by Daniel Burton/The Guardian)

A Common seal named Groot is prepared for release in a transfer cage at Seal Rescue Ireland wildlife sanctuary where two rescued and rehabilitated seals are released back into the sea after months of care in Wexford, Ireland, June 12, 2016. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

A large storm cloud covers the Sydney CBD on March 5, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Sydney metropolitan area late this afternoon with heavy rainfall due to cause flash flooding in areas. (Photo by Cassie Trotter/Getty Images)

A man rides his bicycle as a wave crashes at La Libertad malecon on May 13, 2015. El Salvador emergency authorities has declared an orange alert along the Pacific coast due to a large swell that affected the Salvadoran coast. The swell originated from the extra-tropical storms that formed in New Zealand and the Southern hemisphere, according to El Salvador's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)

A huge atlas moth, with a wingspan of more than 9in, photographed on an areca nut plantation in Sirsi, India. (Photo by Uday Hegde/Close Up Photographer of the Year)

An empty beer bottle stands in front of the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, May 21, 2021. All people gathering on the square for drinks and food left when the police started checking if they are abiding by the coronavirus restrictions. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Aerial photography platform SkyPixel received 27,000 entries to its 2016 competition. Here are the winning shots plus some of our favourites. Here: Dam near perfect. Second prize in the same category was of the Huia Dam in Auckland, New Zealand. Hong Kong-based SkyPixel was launched in 2014. (Photo by Brendon Dixon/SkyPixel)