An activist blocks a highway during a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas and calling for the Israeli government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City and other areas in the Gaza Strip, near the city of Lod, Israel, Tuesday, August 26, 2025. (Photo by Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Photo)

A man wearing a hazmat suit and a mask holds a sign reading “The end is near – call grandma” at Times Square on March 14, 2020 in New York City. The World Health Organization said March 13, 2020 it was not yet possible to say when the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 5,000 people worldwide, will peak. “It's impossible for us to say when this will peak globally”, Maria Van Kerkhove, who heads the WHO's emerging diseases unit, told a virtual press conference, adding that “we hope that it is sooner rather than later”. (Photo by Johannes Eisele/AFP Photo)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

Bomarzo's main attraction is a garden, usually referred to as the Bosco Sacro (Sacred grove) or, locally, Bosco dei Mostri ("Monsters' Grove"), named after the many larger-than-life sculptures, some sculpted in the bedrock, which populate this predominantly barren landscape.

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)

A man watches the approaching flames as the Springs fire continues to grow near Camarillo, California, on May 3, 2013. The wildfire has spread to more than 18,000 acres on day two and is 20 percent contained. (Photo by David McNew)