“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 mountain hare shakes off rain from its fur, in Findhorn Valley, Moray, Scotland in the second decade of August 2024. In summer, the hare’s coat is a grey-brown colour with a tinge of blue, making them hard to spot against the heather moorland. In winter, it changes to almost completely white for camouflage in the snow. (Photo by Will Hall/Solent News)

A view of the world's highest 280-meter bungee jumping platform opened at the Milad Tower, a landmark in the Iranian capital Tehran, on September 11, 2024. The world's highest bungee jumping platform attracts great interest among the younger generation in Iran, especially women. Those who jump from the platform experience an unforgettable adventure with the thrill of soaring down from a height of 280 meters while watching the view of Tehran from above. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

In this December 8, 2020 file photo, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro playfully sprays a journalist with disinfectant as he exits a press conference at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Attorneys for the cash-strapped government blame the impact of U.S. sanctions for its inability to make an initial $18 million down payment to the United Nations for doses of the U.N.-supplied vaccines, whose deadline has already passed. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo/File)

A woman walks past a mural painting on a street in Tokyo, Japan on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. (Photo by Koji Sasahara/AP Photo)

Sean Tschigerl #19 of the Calgary Hitmen, Tyson Galloway #22 of the Calgary Hitmen and David Adaszynski #17 of the Calgary Hitmen jump into the stuffed toys after a goal in the first period on the Prince Albert Raiders during the annual Teddy Bear Toss at the Scotiabank Saddledome on December 03, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta. (Photo by Leah Hennel/Getty Images)

The car driven by Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, goes over the top of Jay Howard, of England, in the first turn during the running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 28, 2017, in Indianapolis. (Photo by Marty Seppala/AP Photo)

Soldiers take part in a drill during a heavy snow in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, February 26, 2014. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)