October winner. “A burst of the aurora borealis over Kirkjufell, taken in September 2016. This shot has been a holy grail for me and was finally captured after many trips”. MICK RYAN, JUDGE: Iceland is a hotspot for aurora photography and this composition of the symmetric, free-standing Kirkjufell and the trident waterfall is much-sought after. If you can time your visit when the aurora “kp” index is high and know the settings for nighttime aurora images, you may end up with a beautiful photograph like this. (Photo by DВ/The Guardian)

Shooting star by Tony Wu, US/Japan. Winner, underwater. The electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Wu faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view. The dancing posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water. Kinko Bay, Japan. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A bodybuilder applies tan on another participant during the Mr and Mrs East Africa Natural Body Building Contest at Rupaz Gym in Eldoret, western Kenya, on October 8, 2022. 168 bodybuilders from Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenia participate in this competition in Eldoret, a city known as “The City of Champions” for producing some of the best long distance runners in the world, that has not hosted a bodybuilding event since 2015. (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt/AFP Photo)

Indonesian air force personnel carry the flight data recorder of the ill-fated AirAsia Flight 8501 that crashed in the Java Sea, at airport in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, Monday, January 12, 2015. Divers retrieved one black box Monday and located the other from the AirAsia plane that crashed more than two weeks ago, a key development that should help investigators unravel what caused the aircraft to plummet into the Java Sea. (Photo by Achmad Ibrahim/AP Photo)

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)

Waves crashing on the shore at sunrise at St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay in Tyne and Wear on the north east coast of England on Friday, October 22, 2021. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images)

Torchbearers Charles Antoine Kouakou, Fabien Lamirault, Elodie Lorandi, Nantenin Keita and Alexis Hanquinquant gesture after lighting the Cauldron to conclude the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Place de la Concorde on August 28, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)