A pile of destroyed cars of teachers sits outside Briarwood elementary school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma May 22, 2013. Rescue workers with sniffer dogs picked through the ruins on Wednesday to ensure no survivors remained buried after a deadly tornado left thousands homeless and trying to salvage what was left of their belongings. Curvature of horizon in the photo is due to an ultra-wide angle lens. (Photo by Rick Wilking/Reuters)

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)

Sabine Pearlman‘s photographs find beauty in the destructive engineering of ammunition with this series of cross-sections of bullets cartridges from a Swiss bunker. They reveal the complexity inside each case. This series, which consists of 900 specimens, was photographed inside a WWII bunker in Switzerland. Pearlman says that she is intrigued by the beautiful complexity of the ammo set against its destructive purpose, at once showing off humanity’s ability to create and destroy.

A car stands destroyed by debris, one day after a magnitude 5.1 quake killed at least 9 people, on May 12, 2011 in Lorca, Spain. After spending the night outside, residents of the historic Spanish town are awaiting the safety assessment of their houses to see wether they can return home or not. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Brush and trees are engulfed in flames after firefighters set a backburn along Highway 191 in an attempt to control a raging wildfire on June 10, 2011 in Nutrioso, Arizona. The fire, which is five percent contained, has so far consumed over 400,000 acres of land and destroyed 29 homes. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

“A prototype lunar lander was destroyed on August 9, 2012, at Kennedy Space Center during its first free flight”. – James Dean via Florida Today

Photo: Morpheus Ground Level Hot Fire. Photo Date: April 2nd 2012. Location: VTB Flight Complex; Photographer: Joe Bibby

An ancient sculpture is displayed in the Kabul Museum August 4, 2011 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The sculptures, which had been destroyed by Islamists during the Taliban regime, were repaired after the collapse of the hardliners in 2001. Portions of the collection have been exhibited in seven countries. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Banger racers take part in one of the final races of the banger racing season at the Mendip Raceway on October 9, 2011 in Cheddar, England. Banger racing is a popular contact motorsport, especially in the UK and Ireland – in which drivers of old and scrap vehicles race against one another around a dirt or tarmac race track, while deliberately attempting to destroy opposing vehicles. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)