Neil Zeller's snaps were taken across Canada, where he photographs the northern lights dancing across a dark night sky. In one stunning shot, Zeller, 42, even manages to capture a flash of lightning beneath a storm cell while an aurora gives off a magnificent green glow. The photographer, from Calgary, Alberta, describes himself as a night person, and became interested in night photography about 10 years ago. (Photo by Neil Zeller/Caters News)

From stuffed elephants to picnics under power lines, Leipzig-born photographer Frank Herfort coaxes magical, colour-saturated tableaux from intriguing slices of everyday Russian life. Here: A lonely dog watches the mailboxes in a typical Moscow residential block. (Photo by by Frank Herfort/The Guardian)

A landscape photographer turned the camera on himself to take a set of incredible selfie while visiting some of the world's most beautiful destinations. Paul Zizka, 39, from Alberta, Canada, has been a photographer for nine years, and thought that featuring in his own pictures would emphasize the nature surrounding him and create a more unique shot. Here: Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Paul Zizka/Caters News Agency)

A woman gets a pedicure in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on October 13, 2017. (Photo by Andres Martinez Casares/AP Photo)

Runner-up. “The heavens opened and the streets around Shibuya, Tokyo, were suddenly drenched in even more colour and movement. I was taking photos (my friend was holding the umbrella) when I noticed this woman at the crossing. I’m pleased with the futuristic feel of the image”. (Photo by Katherine Bridgestock/The Guardian)

A woman wearing a mask reacts at her garden which locates next to chimneys of coal-fired power plant in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China, January 28, 2015. Beijing introduced tougher regulations this year to combat pollution, keen to overhaul China's unwanted image of smog-choked cities, fouled waterways and heavy-metal tainted soil. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A machine assembles powder, cartridges and bullets tips together to make 300 AAC Blackouts at Barnes Bullets in Mona, Utah, January 6, 2015. (Photo by George Frey/Reuters)

A “nail house”, the last building in the area, sits in the middle of a road under construction in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region April 10, 2015. According to local media, the owner of the house didn't reach an agreement with the local authority about compensation of the demolition. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)