A girl competes during a Hobby horsing competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Several dozen kids, 48 girls and one boy, from first-graders to teenagers gathered in a gymnasium in northern St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, for a hobby horsing competition. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

American fashion model Bella Hadid is seen promoting Orabella in SoHo on May 02, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)

Michael Olivant, a Times reader, saw a chance to contribute when a Dalmatian pelican landed on his wife’s head at Lake Kerkini in northern Greece in the first decade of February 2025. (Photo by Michael Olivant/The Times)

Dozens of contestants attend the “Bring Your Own Big Wheel” Race on Easter Sunday at Potrero Hill in San Francisco, California, United States on April 20, 2025. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Annika Robbins from Georgia carries firearms on her belt during the NRA annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. April 27, 2025. (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Australian performers illuminated with real clocks titled “The Time Minder” attend a media preview of the Night Festival in Singapore on August 23, 2017. Singapore's arts and heritage district will be transformed into Singapore largest outdoor performing arts festival to celebrate its 10th year edition Night Festival from August 24 to 26. (Photo by Roslan Rahman/AFP Photo)

British fashion model Twiggy plays around on the bumper cars at the Bertram Mills Circus in London, England on January 10, 1967. (Photo by AP Photo)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)