A woman arrives at the Shinto Meiji Shrine to pray on the first day of the new year in Tokyo, Japan, January 1, 2016. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

“Hippo Chase”. As we approached the camp the Selinda Reserve of northern Botswana our boat passed by a hippo resting in the water. I turned around to look back at the boat's wake and saw the hippo charging after us! The hippo must've been tired from an all-nighter because he was angry. He rose way up out of the water three times trying to chase our boat! He was coming at us with such force that he created a wake of his own. Photo location: Selinda Reserve of northern Botswana. (Photo and caption by Curtis Simmons/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Jennifer Lopez Gets Loud for Hillary Clinton at Get Out The Vote concert on October 29, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Larry Marano/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

American actress Kiernan Shipka poses with “May flowers” in Venice, Italy in the last decade of May 2022. (Photo by kiernanshipka/Instagram)

An Iraqi camel herder poses in the desert of Samawa in Iraq's southern province of al-Muthanna on January 27, 2024. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

Alexander Levine crosses the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the marathon in New York on November 3, 2024. (Photo by Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters)

Professional wrestler “p*ssy Willow” overpowers client Wilfred during their BDSM wrestling session at The Submission Room session wrestling and BDSM gym in Seven Sisters, on December 12, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Susannah Ireland/Barcroft Images)

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)