South Korean tightrope walker Nam Chang-dong performs “Jultage” or Tightrope walking during the traditional festival “Dano” at Namsan Hanok village in Seoul, South Korea, 14 June 2021. The festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. Only 30 audience members were allowed to attend the performance amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA/EFE)

Revellers in Leeds, United Kingdom were excited to be out and about again on July 18, 2021. At a minute past midnight, England dropped most of its remaining Covid-19 social restrictions, such as those requiring indoor mask-wearing and limits on group gatherings. These changes come despite rising infections, pitting the country's vaccination programme against the virus's more contagious Delta variant. (Photo by Ioannis Alexopoulos/PA Wire Press Association via Getty Images)

This November 8, 2019, photo provided by John Guillote shows a view from the main lab of the Sikuliaq in the Chukchi Sea. University of Washington scientists onboard the research vessel are studying the changes and how less sea ice will affect coastlines, which already are vulnerable to erosion because increased waves delivered by storms. More erosion would increase the chance of winter flooding in villages and danger to hunters in small boats. (Photo by John Guillote via AP Photo)

Grand title winner: Environmental photographer of the year. The Bitter Death Of Birds by Mehdi Mohebi Pour. This photo shows the efforts of the environmental forces to collect the bodies and prevent the spread of this disease. The Miankaleh wetland is being destroyed by changes in the climate and it is my duty as a photographer to highlight these problems and create a record for history. I want to prevent the complete destruction of the wetland and the potential environmental disaster by showing the issues and threats to these beautiful natural places. (Photo by Mehdi Mohebi Pour/Environmental Photographer of the Year)

“24.27 N, 81.44 W. These coordinates mark the spot of the final resting place of an old brave soldier, the USS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. In 2009 it underwent a complete change when the creaky steel monster became a mystical bearer of secrets. In May of that year, the Vandenberg was lowered down into the darkness of the ocean off the coast of Florida to become an artificial reef, where it would dwell in rigor mortis at a depth of 130 feet. This lively, animate, secretive nothingness, this menacing, wild emptiness would haunt and seduce the renowned Austrian photographer and passionate diver Andreas Franke...”. – The Sinking World (Photo by Andreas Franke)

Sun Jifa, a farmer in China, had his life changed forever when an explosive he planned on using for fishing went off prematurely. He lost his arms and when he couldn’t afford high-end, hospital-made prosthetics he opted for a cheaper set. Finding those to be less than acceptable, Sun started building his own pair of arms, which he currently wears. It’s an incredible story of ingenuity and personal strength.

“Alice in Waterland” is a beautiful series of photographs re-imagining the Lewis Carroll classic underwater. It’s a creation of photographer Elena Kalis, who lives on a small island in The Bahamas, surrounded, she says, “by pristine clear warm water. Underwater is where I spend a lot of time; snorkeling, diving, photographing. It is fascinating how the world changes down below: light, sound, gravity and proportions are different from what we are used to”. (Photo by Elena Kalis)