Aurora Australis from Beerbarrel Beach, by James Stone. Runner Up: Aurorae. (Photo by James Stone/Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

Dublin student beat depression by befriending sharks, stingrays and pigs in the Bahamas. Awesome underwater pictures show the 23-year-old diver cosying up to a range of animals including turtles, stingray and sharks. The sunny selfies were taken in the Bahamas by Stuart’s Cove dive instructor and native of the island, Amelia Klonaris – who beat depression by embracing her incredible beach paradise lifestyle. (Photo by Amelia Klonaris/Mediadrumworld)

Kourtney Roy makes eerie self-portraits in desolate yet dramatic locations – with wigs and wardrobe straight out of 1950s melodrama. In these shots, from her “Enter as Fiction – California” series, she plays characters caught in desolate, often abandoned settings. (Photo by Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian)

“Slow”. A calm cow in the messy streets of Jodhpur. Photo location: India. (Photo and caption by Matthias Troeger/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“The Challenge!” Young boy relishes in a game of tug of war before school. Photo location: Lake Titicaca, Peru. (Photo and caption by Paul Heyman/National Geographic Photo Contest)

From the waters edge a New York policeman urges two young children to put their bathing costumes back on. (Photo by Ed Clarity/Keystone/Getty Images). July 1949

“Hello! My name is Kindra, and photography, over the last six months has become a happily all-consuming activity for me. Through my photos and creation of them, I escape into another world entirely, and then share that world with others. It brings me unending amounts of joy, and I never plan to stop!”. – Kindra Nikole

Photo: “Where the Summer Grass Leads”. (Photo by Kindra Nikole)

A man steers with his legs while riding a motorcycle on a road in Vietnam's northern Hoa Binh province, outside Hanoi, October 15, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Kham)