Doris Pennman adjusts her umbrella as she walks along Mission Beach on January 8, 2005 in San Diego, Califonia. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

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)

Merit Prize Winner: “A Well Earned Rest in the Sahara”. This photo of Moussa Macher, our Tuareg guide, was taken at the summit of Tin-Merzouga, the largest dune (or erg) in the Tadrat region of the Sahara desert in southern Algeria. Moussa rested while waiting for us to finish our 45-minute struggle to the top. It only took ten minutes of rolling, running, and jumping to get back down. The Tadrat is part of the Tassili N'Ajjer National Park World Heritage area, famous for its red sand and engravings and rock paintings of cattle, elephants, giraffes, and rhinos that lived there when the climate was milder. Photo location: Summit of Tin-Merzouga, Tadrat, Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, Algeria. (Photo and caption by Evan Cole/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A woman holds her umbrella while walking against strong winds as Typhoon Soudelor approaches Taiwan in Taipei, August 7, 2015. Taiwan evacuated hundreds of people from their homes on Friday as the strongest typhoon to threaten the island in two years churned towards it and was expected to make landfall early on Saturday. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)

Poshia, 16, who said she is a fashion designer smiles as she holds an umbrella for her relative near princess town, Ghana on November 23, 2018. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

People are walking with umbrellas on a snow-covered street during the first snowfall of the year in Tokyo, Japan, on February 5, 2024. (Photo by Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Crowd members attempt to keep dry with umbrellas and ponchos prior to the 2012 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on March 3, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

A man holds his umbrella during snowfall on the Areopagitou pedestrian street beneath the Acropolis hill during snowfall in Athens, Greece, January 10, 2017. (Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)