Shooting star by Tony Wu, US/Japan. Winner, underwater. The electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Wu faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view. The dancing posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water. Kinko Bay, Japan. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Revelers perform during the Myths and Legends parade in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia on December 8, 2021. (Photo by Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP Photo)

Sudan cheetah cub Assama inspects a camera bag in its enclosure at the Landau Zoo, in Landau, Germany, 03 September 2025. Assama, born in July as the only cub to a cheetah cat, was rejected by its mother, and is now being bottle-fed by its caretakers. (Photo by Ronald Wittek/EPA)

Cosplayer Barbie Chula poses for a photo on the last day of the New York Comic Con 2021 at the Jacob Javits Center on October 10, 2021. The four-day event is the largest pop culture event on the East Coast. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

People wade through a road flooded by heavy rain in Kurume, Fukuoka prefecture, western Japan, Saturday, August 14, 2021. Torrential rain pounding southwestern Japan triggered a mudslide early Friday that swallowed some people and was threatening to cause flooding and more landslides in the region. (Photo by Kyodo News via AP Photo)

A selection of work by four photojournalists who have won grants of $10,000 and editorial support from the agency. Here: “Chasing Winter” by Katie Orlinksy. In late summer and early autumn polar bears flock to the native village of Kaktovik in the Alaskan Arctic to eat at “the boneyard” – the remains of whales annually hunted by the community. (Photo by Katie Orlinsky/Getty Images)

The sun sets behind artist Luke Jerram's “Floating Earth” at Pennington Flash on November 22, 2021 in Wigan, England. The floating Earth will hover over Pennington Flash for 10 days from November 19, as part of a celebration of Wigan and Leigh's watercourses and is the first time one of Jerram's globes has been floated on an open expanse of water. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Photo taken at the top of the Canton Tower, a landmark in Guangzhou, on August 7, 2022 shows the Pearl River running through downtown of Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo by Liu Dawei/Xinhua News Agency)