Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)

In this November 30, 2017 photo, Douglas scoops up mud from the bottom of the polluted Guaire River, in search of gold and anything valuable he can sell, in Caracas, Venezuela. Some stretches of the river smell of sewer while others emit a toxic odor of fuel, a stench that stays in ones nose for hours after leaving the water. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

Visitors make snowmen beside a pool at a hot spring in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang province on January 26, 2018. China's central and eastern regions have been hit by heavy snowfalls in recent days, causing disruptions to flight and train schedules. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

People take part in a gay pride parade in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday, June 8, 2019. The Equality Parade is the largest gay pride parade in central and Eastern Europe. It brought thousands of people to the streets of Warsaw at a time when the LGBT rights movement in Poland is targeted by hate speeches and a government campaign depicting it as a threat to families and society. (Photo by Czarek Sokolowski/AP Photo)

In this May 17, 2017 photo, cowboy cook Odair Batista carries a case with food in Corumba, the Pantanal wetlands of Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. Dressed with leather chaps on top of their jeans, stetson hats and a machete attached to their waists, before setting off, the men finish their breakfast with Terere, an herbal “mate” beverage served ice cold in an ox drinking horn. (Photo by Eraldo Peres/AP Photo)

Visitors photograph an animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex at the National Museum of Scotland, July 29, 2011. (Photo by David Moir/Reuters)

Members of the Unidos da Tijuca samba school parade at the “Opening of Carnival 2022” event, at the Cidade do Samba, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 27 February 2022. The event is a preview of the parades of the Samba Schools of the Special Group, postponed to April due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. (Photo by Andre CoelhoEPA/EFE)

Young gorillas monkey around with zoo visitors, sticking their tongues out and pressing their faces against the glass, February 2025. Mobi, 1, and Gaia, 10 months, are half sisters and often push each other away at the glass to get the attention of their observers at the Prague Zoo. (Photo by Lucie Stepnickova/Solent News & Photo Agency)