At 10,582 square kilometres, the Bolivian salt flats – otherwise known as Salar de Uyuni – are the largest on the planet and contain between 50 and 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. After exploring Chile and Argentina, photographer Joel Santos decided to travel to Bolivia in January 2017 to check the salt flats off his bucket list. With an electrical storm rolling in, Joel and his two travelling companions were the only souls left on the vast flats and captured the eerie flats without a person in sight. (Photo by Joel Santos/Barcroft Images)

Birds behaviour winner: Land of the Eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway. High on a ledge, on the coast near his home in northern Norway, Rikardsen carefully positioned an old tree branch that he hoped would make a perfect golden eagle lookout. To this, he bolted a tripod head with a camera, flashes and motion sensor attached, and built himself a hide a short distance away. From time to time, he left road‑kill carrion nearby. Very gradually – over the next three years – a golden eagle got used to the camera and started to use the branch regularly to survey the coast below. (Photo by Audun Rikardsen/2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Bangladeshi laborers unload watermelons from a boat at the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 03 April 2024. Watermelon is in harvesting season and is filling the city markets as it arrives from the southern part of Bangladesh. According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Barishal has set an ambitious goal to expand watermelon cultivation to 54,002 hectares across six high-yielding districts in the division, which is 14 percent higher than last year. (Photo by Monirul Alam/EPA/EFE)

A labourer drinks water from a pipe at a brick kiln on a hot summer day in Sukkur, Sindh province on May 23, 2024. The Pakistan Meteorological Department said temperatures are expected to hit as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of rural Sindh. (Photo by Shahid Ali/AFP Photo)

Edgar Sanchez stops on a walk with his dogs who cool off in a pool beside a fire hydrant sprayer, Saturday, June 22, 2024, in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York. (Photo by John Minchillo/AP Photo)

A longhorn steer approaches a bystander after it got loose, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Fairview Township, Pa. Authorities managed to corral the animal and successfully recaptured it. (Photo by Dan Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP Photo)

A young exiled Tibetan girl gets her lips painted by her teacher before she performs a traditional dance at an event to celebrate the 89th birthday of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala, India, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)

An Afghan Hound in the grooming tent at the 147th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in Queens, NY on May 8, 2023. (Photo by Peter Fisher for The Washington Post)