When Colin Garratt went to photograph the traditional sentinels of the British countryside, he found they ranged from the dapper to the downright sinister. “They are not from the anaesthetised world of the craft fair”, says Colin Garratt, “but are the direct descendants of the ancient spectres which have haunted the landscape for centuries”. The Scarecrow Exhibition is at Geddes Gallery, London, from 25 to 30 March. (Photo by Colin Garratt)

A child, from Municipal school Parana, poses during the project “Fencing School” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 30, 2016. Children in Rio de Janeiro lift their sights and their swords to new idols, as a round of fencing workshops takes to public schools. The International Fencing Federation, together with the Brazilian and state federations, will reach 40 public schools in March and April. The aim is to whip up a following for the Olympic sport, little known in the soccer-mad nation, as Rio sets the stage for the Summer Games in August. (Photo by Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

Kiritimati is a far-flung outpost of the Republic of Kiribati. The world's largest coral atoll, Kiritimati has just one flight a week to either Fiji or Hawaii, four-and-a-half hours in either direction. Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati lies nearly 3,300 km (2,000 miles) to the west – about three weeks by boat. No lawyers are based on Kiritimati and the High Court only comes once or twice a year to clear a backlog of the most serious cases, bringing a public lawyer for defendants who can't afford their own. (Photo by Lincoln Feast/Reuters)

Aerial Emery trains on the cyr wheel at the Aloft Loft circus training and teaching school which was converted from a church, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., September 20, 2016. (Photo by Jim Young/Reuters)

“Tasty Nature” by Dipesh Bhatt. “The blue banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) is pointing this sheath towards the flowers in preparation for sipping nectar”. Taken in Gujarat, India. (Photo by Dipesh Bhatt/2016 Royal Society of Biology Photographer of the Year competition)

Winner. “This was taken in the South Ari Atolls, Maldives, as the south-west monsoon season was setting in. It features my partner – and dive buddy – Emma after surfacing at the end of the last dive of the day to find 1.5 metre swells and dark monsoon clouds. MICK RYAN, JUDGE: This beautiful portrait of a diver in an ocean swell below a menacing sky stands out this month for its emotional and elemental beauty. It is a reminder that while we may play among nature we are always dwarfed by its power and must be constantly on our guard”. (Photo by Simon Dunn/The Guardian)

A truck carrying gold miners across the Sahara desert to far northern Niger drives outside Agadez, Niger, May 9, 2016. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

Dancers of the Czech National Ballet warm up backstage during a performance of “The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol” at the National Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic, late 16 December 2017. Peter I. Tchaikovsky's “The Nutcracker”, one of his most famous compositions and seasonal ballets, premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 18 December 1872, celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. (Photo by Martin Divisek/EPA/EFE)