A reveller takes part in the “Free Parade” during LGBTIQ Pride Month in Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil on June 12, 2022. (Photo by Diego Vara/Reuters)

A woman carries portraits of Red Army soldiers during the celebrations of Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters)

This hazel dormouse is being given a once-over by a disease risk team at ZSL London Zoo, UK in May 2025, as part of reintroduction programme. (Photo by David Levene/The Guardian)

A police officer adjusts her helmet on the sidelines of an anti-government protest against food scarcity at soup kitchens and economic reforms proposed by President Javier Milei, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 7, 2024. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

The Spanking. (Photo by Vika Valter/Getty Images)

Heesco, Windsor. Born and raised in Mongolia and now living and working in Melbourne, Heesco is well known for his skill in rendering photo-realistic portraits. They speak to the viewer in a way that the subtext is enjoyable to decipher. Just what is the Blue Lady’s message? The sunglasses might mask the confronting gaze but her body language fills in the gaps. Heesco’s characters often wear traditional jewellery and clothing that remind us of his Mongolian cultural heritage. (Photo by Lou Chamberlin/The Guardian)

This 2014 series Shanghai Tian Wa saw Chinese photographer Liu Tao train his lens on two distinct districts in Shanghai. Here: “Shanghai Tian Wai №26, 2014”. (Photo by Liu Tao/The Guardian)

Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)