Nature – first prize, stories. Pandemic Pigeons – A Love Story. The photographer’s daughter, Merel, cowers after Dollie flies past and perches on the balcony before entering the house in Vlaardingen in the Netherlands on 6 April 2020. “She’s still frightened when Dollie suddenly lands on the balcony railing. I hide my smile behind the camera, as I try to comfort her by saying they won’t hurt you. “I thought he was going to attack me”, she replies. As the nesting pigeons keep coming back to our place, slowly my girls have started to appreciate them – perhaps not as much as I do, but it’s a start”. (Photo by Jasper Doest/World Press Photo 2021)

This picture taken on November 1, 2014 shows Japanese body-painting artist Hikaru Cho (L) adding the finishing touches to a body painting of fingers sticking out from prison cell bars on the head of Ryonosuke Tanaka during “Tokyo Designers Week” in Tokyo. Cho, 21, was born to Chinese parents in Japan and burst onto Tokyo's art scene when she entered the city's Musashino Art University in 2012. Cho's ultimate ambition is to paint an entire – and naked – body. (Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP Photo)

View of an egg fried on the pavement in Pozo Hondo, Santiago del Estero, Argentina on January 23, 2016, while the real feel was 57 degrees Celsius. Pozo Hondo's Mayor Claudio Nicolau fried an egg on the pavement of the main square of the city Saturday. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

A woman aims a World War II machine gun at a military show during celebration of the Defenders of the Fatherland Day in St.Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, February 23, 2016. The day, celebrated in Russia on February 23, honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

German photographer Tanja Brandt has created a series which captures the absolutely heart-breaking friendship between Ingo, her two-year-old German Shepherd, and a tiny owl called Napoleon. "Ingo is not always the calmest dog, however when he is around the birds, and particularly Napoleon, he is very soft and gentle", said the photographer. "He seems very at peace with them".

People ride a motorcycle near Koudoukou Mosque where Pope Francis meets Imam Tidiani Moussa Naibi in Bangui, Central African Republic, November 30, 2015. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

Competitors Hope Garcia (L) and Francesca Esker during the newly reintroduced Muscle Beach Vintage Swimsuit competition at Venice Beach, California on May 30, 2016. Venice is one of two historic bodybuilding locations and took over as the most famous spot when the nearby Santa Monica Muscle beach was shutdown due to overcrowding. California Governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger used to be a regular amongst the many famous bodybuilders and actors who have trained there and still makes an occasional appearance. (Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP Photo)

Principle Ballet Dancer, Ekaterina Bulgutova, of the Russian State Ballet, with the Nutcracker part of Christmas Ballet Season in Cardiff which starts at St Davids Hall on December 20, 2016 in Cardiff, England. (Photo by Kiran Ridley/Barcroft Images)