Fireworks explode over the Kremlin in Red Square which was blocked by police during New Year celebrations in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, January 1, 2017. New Year's Eve is Russia's major gift-giving holiday, and big Russian cities were awash in festive lights and decorations. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr./AP Photo)

Todd Bretl specializes in underwater photography, and is able to capture striking photos of aquatic life big and small. His photos of sharks are particularly striking; though he rarely faces hostility from the animals, he tries not to spend too much time looking through his viewfinder and many shots are framed by educated guesses and impeccable timing. What follows are photographs taken over the past several years on trips to the Bahamas and Isla Guadalupe, an island off the coast of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. (Photo by Todd Bretl)

Bao Bao the panda, one of the National Zoological Park’s cutest inhabitants in Washington, D.C., recently celebrated her first birthday on August 23rd. As part of the celebration, Bao Bao got her very own cake. The large tiered cake showcased a big number 1.

Girls pose during a photocall to promote the Big Royal Wedding Sleepover at “Camp Royale” on Clapham Common on March 8, 2011 in London, England. The “Pop Up” campsite will cater for up to 10,500 people between April 28 and May 1 to coincide with the weekend of the Royal Wedding on April 29. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images). LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 08 2011

British Gas engineer Martin Caulfield, 69, services and cleans a gas lamp in front of Big Ben on October 31, 2011 in London, England. Caulfield has been looking after the traditional lights since 1982. There are still around 1600 left in the capital. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)

Shortlisted: “Two big eyes” by Miao Yong (Zejiang province, China). Damselflies look over the leaves. “I was photographing insects in a park near my home when suddenly I found two damselflies in the grass. They kept flying and it was very difficult to focus until suddenly they parked behind a leaf”. (Photo by Miao Yong/2017 Royal Society of Biology Photographer of the Year)

Wild weather drenches tourists, Sydney, Australia on March 7, 2017. A series of photographs as tourists take a soaking on Sydney's iconic Manly Ferry sailing big swells near Sydney's North Head. The Weather Bureau warns of large and powerful surf conditions expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing. (Photo by Hugh Peterswald/Pacific Press via ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, shelters from the rain under an umbrella as she arrives at the London School of Economics to mark the launch of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, where she took part in a roundtable discussion on the Centre's inaugural report, “Big Change Starts Small” which was released today, in London on June 18, 2021. (Photo by Richard Pohle/Pool via AFP Photo)