Guardian of the Mangroves – Overall Winner. Tanya Houppermans, Cuba. A curious American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) swims right up to Tanya, at Gardens of the Queen (Jardines De La Reina), an archipelago off the coast of Cuba. It has been strictly protected since 1996, and is one of the most untouched marine ecosystems in the world. ‍ “The healthy population of American crocodiles is down to the pristine condition of the mangroves and I wanted to capture close ups of this gentle giant in its natural habitat. I hope this image can illustrate that protecting areas like this is so critical”. (Photo by Tanya Griffin Houppermans/Mangrove Photographer of the Year)

People of the LGBTQI community pose for a photo on a large rainbow colored flag as they take part in the parade to mark Thailand Pride Festival 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, 27 November 2022. Thailand's LGBTQI groups and foreigners attended the Pride festival to raise awareness and promote sexual diversity and equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community. The festival also aims to promote tourism in Thailand as Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted, with hopes to becomes an annual and sustainable event in November. (Photo by Narong Sangnak/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A woman applies lipstick in a car that is parked at a beach facing a volcanic rock called Devil's Finger outside Yuzhno-Kurilsk, the main settlement on the Southern Kurile island of Kunashir September 15, 2015. Russian residents of the island chain at the centre of a dispute between Japan and Russia that has held up a treaty to formally end World War Two hope a diplomatic solution will lure tourists and investment to help refurbish rickety infrastructure. The Southern Kuriles are referred to in Japan as the Northern Territories. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

With "Art Eggcident," Dutch artist Henk Hofstra demonstrates what it would look like if God threw giant eggs down at us. The eight large, sunny side up eggs measure almost 100 feet wide in diameter. The installation took place in Leeuwarden, a city in the north of the Netherlands.
"I hope it becomes a meeting place with room for art," says Henk. "Art that is different than a framed picture on the wall or a boring bronze sculpture. Art that shows us a different look, surprises us, or makes us angry or happy. Art that allows photographers to grab their cameras and arouses journalists. Art that evokes emotion, or provokes wild laughter."

Christian families living in a refugee camp stand under a tree in Kaga-Bandoro, Central African Republic, Tuesday February 16, 2016. Refugees in the north of Central African Republic say they hope the new president will bring peace but no one is heading home just yet. Thousands are still living in displacement camps in Kaga-Bandoro, a stronghold of the former Muslim rebel group known as Seleka that was in power for nearly a year. The one-time rebels say they are waiting to see how the election turns out before taking any action. (Photo by Jerome Delay/AP Photo)

Floralis Genérica is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum located in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas, Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, Buenos Aires, a gift to the city by the Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano. Catalano once said that the flower "is a synthesis of all the flowers and is both a hope that is reborn every day to open." It was created in 2002. The sculpture moves closing its petals in the evening and opening them in the morning, although this mechanism is currently disabled. The sculpture is located in the center of a park of four acres of wooded boundaries, surrounded by paths that get closer and provide different perspectives of the monument, and placed above a reflecting pool, which apart from fulfilling its aesthetic function, protects it. It represents a large flower made of stainless steel with aluminum skeleton and reinforced concrete, which looks at the sky, extending to it its six petals. Weighs eighteen tons and is 23 meters high.

“Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar show caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have been found. The caves, produced by the activity of an underground river, contain stalactites and stalagmites”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A general view of Cheddar Gorge is seen on March 22, 2012 in Cheddar, England. With only a few months to go until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic games, Britain's tourist industry is hoping to benefit from the influx of athletes, officials and visitors. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)