A member of an Egungun masquerade group, his identity obscured under his ornate costume in Ouidah, Benin on March 13, 2019. The exclusively male practitioners, found across Yoruba culture, use dance and spinning in the belief that they will summon the spirits of ancestors. (Photo by Massimo Rumi/Barcroft Images)

Aurorae category runner-up: Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora by Tom Archer (UK). The photographer decided to explore the area around the hotel on a very crisp -35C evening in Finnish Lapland. When he found this tree, he decided to wait for the misty conditions to change and could not believe his luck when the sky cleared and the aurora came out in the perfect spot. Archer spent about an hour photographing it before his camera started to lock up because of the harsh conditions, but by then he was happy to call it a night. (Photo by Tom Archer/2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

An Indian women offers early-morning prayers or a “puja” at a ghat early in the morning on the banks of the Betawa River in Orchha in the state of Madhya Pradesh on July 5, 2015. (Photo by Rebecca Conway/AFP Photo)

Julia Gracheva and Anna Speak takes photos as they attend the 10th edition of “Diner en Blanc” at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan September 19, 2022. The legendary all-white secret pop-up, the location of which is revealed hours before the event, draws over 5,500 guests who dress in head-to-toe white attire for an under the stars dining experience. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

“Himalayan Dog”. This dog just appeared out of nowhere and followed us for an entire week during our trekking trip in the Himalayan outback. He always used to sleep in front of our tent and guarded us in the nights. When I decided to get up at 4 a.m. to climb the next 5000 m peak for sunrise he accompanied me as well. On the top he was sitting for the entire 30 minutes on this place looking straight into the countryside. Photo location: Ladakh, India. (Photo and caption by Sebastian Wahlhuetter/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A stuntman performs in a car at the “Well of Death” at an exhibition in Srinagar, India, Friday, May 23, 2014. In the Well of Death, stunt drivers on motorbikes and cars drive in circles around the vertical walls of the well-shaped construction. (Photo by Dar Yasin/AP Photo)

This picture taken on July 15, 2014 shows a bridge submerged in floodwaters in the ancient town of Fenghuang, central China's Hunan province. Rainstorms lashed central China's Hunan Province and southwest China's Guizhou Province, affecting over 1 million people and flooding a historical town, state media reported. (Photo by AFP Photo)

Soccer player David Beckham (C) with Cruz Beckham (L) and Romeo Beckham (R) get slimed onstage during Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards 2014 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion on July 17, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)