“The fantastic landscape of Bagan in Myanmar features hundreds of temples and pagodas as far as the eye can see. Experiencing this sight at dawn from the basket of a hot air balloon will remain engraved in my memory for ever. Mick Ryan, judge – What a magical photograph and place. The Buddhist temples and pagodas fill the plains of Bagan in Myanmar at sunrise… the golden hour providing beautiful light to illuminate the retrogression of the temples and balloons toward a misty, mountainous distance. An excellent, exotic photograph that makes you want to book a flight”. (Photo by Alastair Swan/The Guardian)

Getting her tongue pierced was “exciting and scary” says a teen who succumbed to pressure from her best friend in Austin, Texas, February 22, 2008. This image is featured in National Geographic's exhibition “Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment”, on view at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre, Jan. 22 - Mar. 22, 2015. (Photo by Kitra Cahana/National Geographic)

“The Dragon and The Hopper”. Eyrean earless dragon (Tympanocryptis tetraporophora) standing tall on a very hot rock in western Queensland. For a short time it was joined by a hopper, who jumped off before becoming lunch. (Photo by Harrison Warne/Nature Conservancy Australia 2021 Photo Contest)

Flocks of seagulls swarm small fishing boats in the first decade of January 2024 like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Colonies of Heuglin’s gulls can be seen almost every morning on the Yamuna River in Delhi, India. (Photo by Raghav Rai Ralhan/Solent News)

A traditional Chinese opera actress wearing a face shield poses for a picture during Lunar New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand, February 12, 2021. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

A pair of foxes seem happy to see each other in Zandvoort, the Netherlands in the last decade of September 2024. (Photo by Anna Stelloo/Solent News)

People walk through crop circles in a cornfield near Raisting, Germany, on July 28, 2014. According to media reports, a balloonist had discovered the circle some days ago. Since then, hundreds of people came to the field to watch it, however it is unclear who did create the pattern. (Photo by Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/DPA)

A rider holds on as a bull tries to throw him during the Bull Ride Spectacular on the first day of the 2014 Deni Ute Muster at the Play on the Plains Festival grounds on October 3, 2014 in Deniliquin, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)