Tony North; First place, Breathing Spaces; Overall Winner; Blue Tajinaste, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. “Echium thyrsiflorum is endemic to the mountains of La Palma island – from high up, there was a magnificent view of both the caldera below, and the stars above. The Unesco La Palma biosphere reserve encompasses the entire island, with the Caldera de Taburiente containing mountains with a highest peak of 2,426 metres – the Roque de los Muchachos”. (Photo by Tony North/IGPOTY)

French fashion model Cindy Bruna walks the runway of the Julien x Gabriela AW23 show during London Fashion Week at Freemasons Hall on February 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for Julien MacDonald)

A view of the fireworks during the Edge at Hudson Yard's 4th of July Celebration at Edge at Hudson Yards on July 04, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Edge at Hudson Yards)

People walk under a light projection during the Shanghai International Light Festival at a shopping mall complex in Shanghai on September 22, 2025. (Photo by Jade Gao/AFP Photo)

People walk through Ginza’s shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 15 December 2025. Japan’s economic focus is on the upcoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting where the central bank is expected to raise its policy rate to combat inflation. The BOJ signaled a rate hike bar is cleared with the wage momentum still intact. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA)

Australian cosplay enthusiast Sunni Daniele dressed up as his favourite character from either animation, comic or video game poses for a photograph during Oz Comic Con in Sydney, Australia, 27 September 2015. Cosplay is a combination of the words 'costume' and 'play' where fans dress up as their favourite Japanese comic characters. (Photo by Dan Himbrechts/EPA)

Elephants spray villagers with water in celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, April 10, 2015. The annual elephant Songkran is held to promote the tourism industry prior the Songkran Festival which is celebrated with splashing water and putting powder on each others faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)