The German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) has selected its Nature Photographer of the Year 2020. Here: Winner, Other animals. Jens Cullmann – Danger in the Mud. Crocodile in a drying pool. (Photo by Jens Cullmann/2020 GDT Nature Photographer of the Year)

Aurora Australis from Beerbarrel Beach, by James Stone. Runner Up: Aurorae. (Photo by James Stone/Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

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)

A pool ingeniously filled with clear water in the middle of Lake Kerniki in Greece enabled this shot of feeding pelicans. (Photo by Bence Mate/Close Up Photographer of the Year 2020)

The International Garden Photographer of the Year is one of the world’s premier competitions specialising in botanical photography. There are 11 main categories and numerous special awards including Young Garden Photographer of the Year, and the mobile-only category Gardens on the Go. Here: Winner, Wildflower Landscapes category. Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Goiás, Brazil. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/The Guardian)

Shooting star by Tony Wu, US/Japan. Winner, underwater. The electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Wu faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view. The dancing posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water. Kinko Bay, Japan. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

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)

First place, The Beauty of Plants. “There are many stages of lotus growth on display at the Aquatic Gardens, but to come across twotwisted dancing stems of nelumbo nucifera was unexpected and quite magical”. (Photo by Kathleen Furey/The Guardian)