Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Ariana Lamcellari, 4, holds a sign at a protest against violence, following the charge of a British police officer in the London kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everard, in Dublin, Ireland on March 16, 2021. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Runner-up. “The City of London, looking towards the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England. The ever-changing London skyline provides many excellent opportunities for cityscape photography, none more exciting than the ebb and flow of traffic at night”. (Photo by Mark Caldon/The Guardian)

This absolute hero came to the rescue when flash floods in a World Cup city left two women stranded in their submerged cars. Here: A woman is rescued from a car after a flash flood in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia on June 19, 2018. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Dublin student beat depression by befriending sharks, stingrays and pigs in the Bahamas. Awesome underwater pictures show the 23-year-old diver cosying up to a range of animals including turtles, stingray and sharks. The sunny selfies were taken in the Bahamas by Stuart’s Cove dive instructor and native of the island, Amelia Klonaris – who beat depression by embracing her incredible beach paradise lifestyle. (Photo by Amelia Klonaris/Mediadrumworld)

“Emmy” award-winning cinematographer, Shawn Heinrichs teamed up with model and diver Hannah Fraser to carry out a unique underwater conservation fashion shoot in a remote location in the South Pacific Ocean. The pair are aiming to raise awareness for the plight of the marine mammals at the hands of whalers. During the ten day shoot Fraser swam and glided with pilot and humpback whales. Photo: “In this startling image model Hannah Fraser appears to be “dancing” with the giant whale ”. (Photo by Shawn Heinrichs/Barcroft Media)

These stunning images capture some of America's most intense storms from an extraordinarily close perspective. Here: A tornado storm is rolling over the town of Stratford, Texas on May 17, 2016. (Photo by Maximilian Conrad/Caters News)