The Belgian rider Wout van Aert crashes during an ascent on the 11th stage of the Tour de France in Col de Néronne, France on July 10, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Photo)

“Eye of a toad”. Animal Portraits, Łukasz Bożycki, Poland. Early spring sees a pond near Łukasz’s home city of Warsaw, Poland, full of mating frogs and a few toads. On this March day, Łukasz shared the pond with them for an evening, sitting in the icy water in his chest-high waders, keeping as still as possible, despite the numbing cold, so that the amphibians could get used to him. “I wanted to find a fresh way of portraying the amphibians”, he says, “at water level”. Using a telephoto lens, he focused on one lone toad and waited for the sun to dip almost below the horizon before pressing the shutter, using flash to bring out the details in the shadow. His prize was “the glorious pool of sunset colour” and fiery glow of the toad’s eye. Nikon D80 + 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens + extension tube; 1/125 sec at f9 (-2.3 e/v); ISO 100; built-in flash. (Photo by Łukasz Bożycki)

A reveller takes part in an annual block party known as “Cordao de Prata Preta”, one of the many carnival parties to take place in the neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro, February 6, 2016. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

Alphajet aircraft draw a heart-shaped message in the sky during the 2010 presentation show of the French aerobatics team Patrouille de France, over the French city of Salon-de-Provence. (Photo by Gerard Julien/AFP Photo)

People dressed in period costumes take part in the “Fetes Galantes” fancy dress evening at the “galerie des glaces” in the Chateau de Versailles, France on May 27, 2019. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP Photo)

A member of the Unidos do Viradouro samba school performs during the last night of the Carnival parade at the Marques de Sapucai Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 13, 2024. (Photo by Pablo Porciuncula/AFP Photo)

A performer dances during Salgueiro performance at the Rio de Janeiro Carnival at Sambodromo on February 26, 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Raphael Dias/Getty Images)

Mexican fashion model Daniela de Jesus Cosio attends the screening of “Nostalgia” during the 75th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 24, 2022 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters)