Wide-angle category winner. Part of the Illusion by Marcus Blatchford (UK). Location: National Dive & Activity Centre, Chepstow, Wales. “This is the deepest inland dive centre in the UK. The dive plan was to explore the deep end, but this time I dived ‘unplugged’ (without my strobes). With the exception of this change to my camera technique, there were no planned shots I wanted to achieve – just a fun dive with ad-hoc photos along the way. Shortly after this photo was captured, in 6C water and two hours of decompression ahead of us, we turned and started the long ascent back to the surface”. (Photo by Marcus Blatchford/Underwater Photographer of the Year 2016)

Guardian of the Mangroves – Overall Winner. Tanya Houppermans, Cuba. A curious American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) swims right up to Tanya, at Gardens of the Queen (Jardines De La Reina), an archipelago off the coast of Cuba. It has been strictly protected since 1996, and is one of the most untouched marine ecosystems in the world. ‍ “The healthy population of American crocodiles is down to the pristine condition of the mangroves and I wanted to capture close ups of this gentle giant in its natural habitat. I hope this image can illustrate that protecting areas like this is so critical”. (Photo by Tanya Griffin Houppermans/Mangrove Photographer of the Year)

A girl salutes to visitors before a show at the Mangyongdae Children's Palace in central Pyongyang, North Korea May 5, 2016. Pyongyang held a gala of song and dance performances by local school children on May 5 for visiting delegations of foreign journalists and tourists at the Mangyongdae Children's Palace. The event included orchestral, choir, and acrobatic performances, many of them with political undertones. The Seventh Worker's Party Congress commences on May 6, 2016. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

At first, British photographer Martin Usborne just wanted to do some reporting on people who leave their dogs locked up in cars. But as he went around scouring parking lots, “making barking noises to try and awaken sleeping dogs that were not actually there,” his project took on a new artistic direction. “The Silence of Dogs in Cars” was inspired by a “childhood memory of waiting in a car whilst his parents were shopping in a supermarket, and the youthful fear that they would not return.”

Using acrylic paint, 19-year old Japanese student and artist Chooo-San has transformed the bodies of herself and a handful of lucky volunteers into ones that appear to be from another planet. Bored with technology, she wanted to see how far she could go with creating eye-catching illusions in the real world, rather than relying on programs like Photoshop.

SEE ALSO: «A frightening-realistic Body Art by Chooo-San»

The close-up of the Pecteilis radiata is very reminiscent of a beautiful white bird soaring in the skies. This is probably the reason why people have started calling this flower the White Egret Flower. Truly, the resemblance of this flower to an egret flying through heavens is staggering. It is too bad that these flowers are so small. Otherwise, they would make for a stunning bouquet. However, who wouldn’t want to receive such a precious flower as a gift; a flower which can be used as a symbol for beauty, good intentions, and the purity of soul. (Photo by AngiBudd)

The time of selfies with duck faces is long gone and ridiculed, though some persist in doing it. Helene Meldahl, however, didn’t want to give up the trend, but had to think of a creative way to keep doing it. So she decided to create comical pictures by drawing over the selfies that she has made. Some people just can’t stop taking pictures of themselves. It makes you wonder, what they would do in an era before the existence of cameras… Oh, poor souls, they would definitely suffer greatly without the possibility of sharing on instagram their “stunning looks” and the pictures of food that they eat every 2 seconds. (Photo by Helene Meldahl)

This photo taken on February 1, 2018 shows a worker trimming the skin imperfections of a silicone doll at a factory of EXDOLL, a firm based in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian. With China facing a massive gender gap and a greying population, a company wants to hook up lonely men and retirees with a new kind of companion: “Smart” sеx dolls that can talk, play music and turn on dishwashers. (Photo by Fred Dufour/AFP Photo)