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)

Ali Asair, who has left his family behind and traveled hundreds of kilometers in search for a pasture for his animals, attends to his camel in a pastoralists' settlement in the Bandarbeyla district in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Somalia, 24 March 2017. According to media reports, the United Nations says only 31 percent of 864 million US dollars appeal for a drought-hit Somalia is funded. The UN said the world is facing the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945, adding that more than 20 million people are facing the threat of famine in Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan and Nigeria and 1.4 million children could die from starvation this year. (Photo by Dai Kurokawa/EPA)

In this April 1, 2002, file photo, Mike Cole, of Jenkintown, Pa., right, performs a kick-flip over a trash can with his skateboard as tourists pose for photos in front of artist Robert Indiana's sculpture in John F. Kennedy Plaza, also known as Love Park, in Philadelphia. Granite slabs from Philadelphia's famed Love Park, a skateboarding mecca though for a long stretch an illegal one, are being shipped in 2017 to the city of Malmo, Sweden, nearly 4,000 miles away, for use in construction of a skate park there. (Photo by Douglas Bovitt/AP Photo)

US President George W. Bush (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin wave as the two presidents go for a ride in Putin's 1956 Volga before dinner 08 May 2005 at the his residence outside of Moscow. Bush hailed Russia's “bravery and sacrifice” in defeating Nazism, as he met Putin ahead of ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Bush, who the previous day criticized the decades-long Soviet occupation of central Europe, said he was looking forward to the 09 May ceremony on Moscow's Red Square, to be attended by over 50 national leaders. (Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP Photo)

A student of the Sri Lankan ancient martial art “Angampora” performs during a practice session at the angam maduwa or fighting field, in Korathota, a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, 07 September 2022. Sri Lanka's ancient martial art, Angampora, is thought to be thousands of years old. Anga translates to “body parts” and Angampora is a fighting art that uses body parts. Martial arts practitioners in Angampora were mostly in the king's service, and they were tasked with protecting the king and his kingdom. Angampora was practiced in secret for most centuries because the British, who colonized Sri Lanka, banned it in 1818 after seeing it as a threat. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA/EFE)

Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)

“The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is an air-to-air tanker aircraft in service with the United States Air Force derived from the civilian DC-10-30 airliner. The KC-10 was the second consecutive McDonnell Douglas transport aircraft to be selected by the US Air Force following the C-9 Nightingale. The similar KDC-10 is in service with the Royal Netherlands Air Force.”

Photo: A B-52G Stratofortress aircraft takes off with another B-52G close behind. Three cells of six B-52 and KC-10 Extender aircraft will takeoff seconds apart under combat conditions during the minimum interval takeoff exercise. The exercise is a part of an operational readiness inspection by the Strategic Air Command Inspector General Team. (Photo by USAF). 1998

“Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (17 June [O.S. 5 June] 1882 – 6 April 1971) was a Russian-born, naturalized French, later naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely acknowledged as one of the most important and influential composers of 20th century music. He was a quintessentially cosmopolitan Russian who was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the century. He became a naturalized French citizen in 1934 and a naturalized US citizen in 1945. In addition to the recognition he received for his compositions, he also achieved fame as a pianist and a conductor, often at the premieres of his works”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Composer Igor Stravinsky (right) and impresario Sergei Diaghilev in Seville during their Ballets Russes collaboration. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1921