“A snapshot from mountaineer's life”. Have you ever wondered how does a mountaineer's day start? I will give you a hint: you wake up at 3 am, set the stove, wake up your partner, pretend it is warm, quickly consume a high-calorie breakfast, watch your friends slowly ascending the icy slopes of your dream summit with their tiny head torches glimmering against perfectly blue ice, and hope for the good weather. One would ask: why all this trouble? The answer is easy: for the love of the adventure and the unknown. Location: Chamonix, Haute Savoye, France. (Photo and caption by Kamil Tamiola/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

Visitors crowd an artificial wave swimming pool at a tourist resort to escape the summer heat in Daying county of Suining, Sichuan province, China, July 11, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A man is silhouetted in front of the Allianz-Arena as he walks his dogs at sunrise in Munich, southern Germany, Friday, April 10, 2015. (Photo by Peter Kneffel/AP Photo/DPA)

Two Chinese farmers got more than they bargained for when they pulled up the root of a fleece flower – and came face-to-face with the doppelganger of Homer Simpson, on May 17, 2013. The large root appears to have two bulging eyes and a prominent nose – giving it an uncanny resemblance to the famous cartoon character. With two offshoot roots shaped like arms, it even looks like it is pondering or confused – just what you would expect from the real Homer. (Photo by ImagineChina)

Gorgeous galaxies and stunning stars make up this selection of pictures from the shortlisted entries for this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 15 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Centre from 17 September. Here: “Seven Magic Points”. The rusty red swirls of the circular, iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway mirror the rippling aurora above. (Photo by Rune Engebø/Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016/National Maritime Museum)

People wear traditional Chinese outfits as they walk in Chinatown in Bangkok on February 11, 2021, ahead of the start of the Lunar New Year, which ushers in the Year of the Ox on February 12. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

An overview of “Closer”, an art projection by conceptual artist and photographer Wim Tellier, at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on June 15, 2021. Tellier, a Belgian photographer and artist, is known for his installation projects using giant-size photographs. (Photo by James Arthur Gekiere/Belga/AFP Photo)

White-robed men hold up flaming torches during an annual fire festival at the World Heritage-listed Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine in the Wakayama Prefecture town of Nachikatsuura, western Japan on July 14, 2022. (Photo by Kyodo News/Newscom/Avalon)