An Afghan Army soldier secures the hill overlooking the Kart-e Sakhi mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, March 20, 2013. Thousands of Afghans will celebrate Nowruz on Thursday, March 21, 2013 to mark the first day of spring and the beginning of the year on the Iranian calendar. (Photo by Ahmad Jamshid/AP Photo)

David Yeo’s photography places naturally small species alongside animals that have been selectively bred to be tiny and cute. Here: “The most difficult aspect of this shoot was to get each African pygmy dormouse – also known as micro squirrels – on to a separate camera. Once in place, they needed to remain still long enough to get them both in the frame and looking at me. Often solitary, they naturally wanted to move away”. (Photo by David Yeo/Leica Studio Mayfair/The Guardian)

Iraqi Kurdish female fighter Haseba Nauzad looks through a pair of binoculars during a deployment near the frontline of the fight against Islamic State militants in Nawaran near Mosul, Iraq, April 20, 2016. (Photo by Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters)

First place, The Beauty of Plants. “There are many stages of lotus growth on display at the Aquatic Gardens, but to come across twotwisted dancing stems of nelumbo nucifera was unexpected and quite magical”. (Photo by Kathleen Furey/The Guardian)

Maxime Taccardi is an artist who is most notable for his unusual method – creating his pieces using his own blood. He studied art in collage, his thesis focusing on the monstrosity and what is considered abnormal by society. Currently he is a middle school art teacher, but plans to continue furthering his creative career. His catalogue of work is varied, including painting, drawing, filmmaking and music.

These brave models show no fear as they pose with bears, tigers and wolves in scenes straight from the pages of a fairy tale. The snaps show the models cuddling up to the deadly animals and even taking naps with the often unpredictable creatures. Here: “Marina with a bear”. Stepan, a 700-pound grizzly bear, was adopted by a Russian couple when he was just 3 months old. (Photo by Olga Barantseva/Caters News Agency)

Penguins majestically march on sand before heading out for a morning swim. Wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever, 45, visited the Falkland Islands this year to shoot pictures and scout the area for future tours. Wim’s breathtaking images show a small group of king penguins before they head out to sea at sunrise. Here: King Penguins marching during sunrise, Falkland Islands. (Photo by Wim van den Heever/Caters News)

Palestinians scuffle with Israeli forces at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on December 8, 2017. Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces after calls for a “day of rage” as US President Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital sent shockwaves through the region for a second day. (Photo by Thomas Coex/AFP Photo)