A black-winged stilt patrols a reservoir in Jezreel Valley in Israel early April 2023. Their eggs are a golden colour mottled with brown. (Photo by Itamar Procaccia/Solent News)
Shortlist, open competition, lifestyle. Healing Vibes – the hot springs of Bagno Vignoni in Italy flow out at a temperature of about 49°C. They were appreciated by the Romans for their healing powers, and have been used as therapeutic treatments since the 12th century, under Emperor Federico II. (Photo by Stefano Butturini/Sony World Photography Awards)
Walkers cross the river Waalbrug during the first day of the 98th annual four-days walking event, the “Vierdaagse” in Nijmegen, Netherlands, July 15, 2014. The “Nijmeegse Vierdaagse” is an annual public four-day field march which is held since 1909 in the third week of July. (Photo by Erik van 't Wout/EPA)
These men are chased by the defiant elephants on May 4, 2013. Taken by Biplab Hazra in Bishnupur, India, the images show the extreme lengths the inhabitants of the town go to to deter elephants from damaging their crops and property. Elephants encroaching out of their habitats is an increasingly common occurrence with deforestation in much of India. (Photo by Biplab Hazra/Caters News Agency)
Leicester City hostesses take pictures in front of a billboard as people gather to watch the team's English Premier League soccer match against Everton on a big screen, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 7, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)
Ride operator Van Mai wears a face mask against the spread of the coronavirus while working at the Playland amusement park at the Pacific National Exhibition, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, July 10, 2020. (Photo by Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)
Participants celebrate the awakening of the Hoppeditz, a fictional character whose return to life marks the start of the carnival season in Düsseldorf, western Germany on November 11, 2021. The 11.11. is celebrated this year again under Corona conditions in presence. However, in the carnival strongholds of Cologne and Düsseldorf, this only applies to the vaccinated and the recovered. (Photo by Federico Gambarini/dpa/Alamy Live News)
Elements of nature are too powerful for humans to subdue, yet it didn’t stop the most courageous individuals from trying. Conquering air, land, fire, water, and even the very fabric of reality – this is the ultimate goal of humanity. For now, we can only marvel at the beauty and tremble in awe before the Mother Nature. A short film “Ocean Gravity,” written and directed by Julie Gautier and Guillaume Nery, reminds us of how small and insignificant a human body is, as it is being swept away by an ocean current. Nevertheless, it never stopped people from attempting to subjugate these unstoppable forces, and someday, maybe the humanity will come out victorious.