Animal rights activists covered with fake blood sit on the floor during a protest against the use of animals in research to mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories in central Madrid April 24, 2014. The sign reads, “How many rabbits do your shampoo kill?”. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)

Women take part in an annual block party known as “Banda do Candinho e Mulatas” (Candinho Band and Mulatto Women), during carnival festivities at Bixiga neighbourhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil February 7, 2018. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A young Sandinista guerrilla takes aim with his 45 pistol as he stands waiting to do combat with the Nicaraguan National Guard in Managua June 23, 1979. The guerrillas still occupy major parts of the Capitol City. (Photo by McLendon/AP Photo)

Drum queen of the Unidos do Viradouro samba school Erika Januza performs during the first night of the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 23, 2022. (Photo by Amanda Perobelli/Reuters)

A drone view shows vehicles in the area affected by the floods, in Encantado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on May 3, 2024. (Photo by Diego Vara/Reuters)

“Sometimes i feel like photographers have uncovered a special secret. A crazy, amazing, and beautiful secret. The key to truly living. All i want is to be alive”. – Karrah Kobus

Photo: “All my life i lived in a bubble”. (Photo by Karrah Kobus)

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)