In this Tuesday, April 16, 2019, file photo, a visitor posing for a photo walks though azalea blossoms at Nezu Shrine during a day of mild spring weather in Tokyo. Nezu Shrine is one of the oldest shrines in Tokyo. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo/File)

A giant classic Hindu Ramayana statue dons a face mask to remind passengers to keep to coronavirus precautions at the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has ordered a halt to all domestic flights operating from the most severely affected provinces effective Wednesday. Exceptions are allowed for flights to destinations that are part of a plan that allows vaccinated travelers from abroad to stay for two weeks on popular islands such as Phuket and Samui without quarantine confinement. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

Grand title winner: Environmental photographer of the year. The Bitter Death Of Birds by Mehdi Mohebi Pour. This photo shows the efforts of the environmental forces to collect the bodies and prevent the spread of this disease. The Miankaleh wetland is being destroyed by changes in the climate and it is my duty as a photographer to highlight these problems and create a record for history. I want to prevent the complete destruction of the wetland and the potential environmental disaster by showing the issues and threats to these beautiful natural places. (Photo by Mehdi Mohebi Pour/Environmental Photographer of the Year)

A student gets off a police vehicle which carried her to a high school to arrive in time for a college entrance exam in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, November 18, 2021. About 510,000 high school seniors and graduates across the country are expected to take the College Scholastic Ability Test. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

Children wearing cardboard lion dance masks walk along a street in Beijing on January 13, 2023. China has announced its first overall population decline in recent years amid an aging society and plunging birthrate. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Ty, a 15-year-old boy, poses for a picture while collecting usable items at a landfill dumpsite outside Siem Reap March 19, 2015. Ty, who finished six-grade primary school, said he makes 5 USD per month working at the dumpsite. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Supporters of the presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressive Congress hits with a motorbike another supporter during celebrations in Kano March 31, 2015. Nigeria's opposition APC declared an election victory on Tuesday for former military ruler Buhari and said Africa's most populous nation was witnessing history with its first democratic transfer of power. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

“Eye of a toad”. Animal Portraits, Łukasz Bożycki, Poland. Early spring sees a pond near Łukasz’s home city of Warsaw, Poland, full of mating frogs and a few toads. On this March day, Łukasz shared the pond with them for an evening, sitting in the icy water in his chest-high waders, keeping as still as possible, despite the numbing cold, so that the amphibians could get used to him. “I wanted to find a fresh way of portraying the amphibians”, he says, “at water level”. Using a telephoto lens, he focused on one lone toad and waited for the sun to dip almost below the horizon before pressing the shutter, using flash to bring out the details in the shadow. His prize was “the glorious pool of sunset colour” and fiery glow of the toad’s eye. Nikon D80 + 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens + extension tube; 1/125 sec at f9 (-2.3 e/v); ISO 100; built-in flash. (Photo by Łukasz Bożycki)