Polar frame, by Dmitry Kokh, Russia. When Kokh’s boat approached the small island of Kolyuchin in the Russian High Arctic, which had been abandoned by humans since 1992, he was surprised to spot movement in one of the houses. Binoculars revealed polar bears – more than 20 in total – exploring the ghost town. Dmitry used a low-noise drone to document them. (Photo by Dmitry Kokh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022)

The Milky Way rising above Durdle Door in Dorset, United Kingdom on Saturday night, March 18, 2023. The image consists of 19 two-minute exposures, ten of the foreground and nine of the sky which needed a motorised star tracker to ensure the Milky Way wasn't blurry. All the photos were merged together to reveal more detail than what the naked eye can see. (Photo by Nick Bull/Picture Exclusive)

A curious grey seal investigates photographer Brian Matthews at Lundy Island off the north Devon coast, July 2024. *Photo by Brian Matthews/Solent News)

Leeds revellers didn't let the storms put a dampener on festivities on December 31, 2023. (Photo by Nb press ltd)

Three Chinese soldiers at the time of a civil war in China. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images). 1922

Zhou Xiaoxuan, center, weeps as she speaks to her supporters upon arrival at a courthouse in Beijing, Wednesday, December 2, 2020. Zhou, a Chinese woman who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against a TV host, told dozens of cheering supporters at a courthouse Wednesday she hopes her case will encourage other victims of gender violence in a system that gives them few options to pursue complaints. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

People play with toy guns outside a bar at night, almost a year after the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on December 11, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

A performer wears a face shield at a shopping center on New Year's Eve during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand on December 31, 2020. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)