Tony North; First place, Breathing Spaces; Overall Winner; Blue Tajinaste, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. “Echium thyrsiflorum is endemic to the mountains of La Palma island – from high up, there was a magnificent view of both the caldera below, and the stars above. The Unesco La Palma biosphere reserve encompasses the entire island, with the Caldera de Taburiente containing mountains with a highest peak of 2,426 metres – the Roque de los Muchachos”. (Photo by Tony North/IGPOTY)

An Olive Ridley sea turtle hatchling releases into the sea at Lhoknga beach, Indonesia's Aceh province on January 16, 2024. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

(L-R) Jade Chapman, Maryam Maquillage, Mariah Carey, Laura Lee and Arika Sato attend M.A.C Cosmetics Mariah Carey Beauty Icon Launch at Baccarat Hotel on December 3, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for M.A.C)

A man walks on the Cobb as storm waves break behind on December 13, 2011 in Lyme Regis, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

The Kung Fu King was spotted in Botswana, Africa, as the two giraffes fought for dominance. Thomas Retterath, 53, says hes often seen the mammals fight, but they usually do it by banging their heads against each others bodies.Here: A giraffe lands a karate kick on a rival on the plains of Botswana. (Photo by Thomas Retterath/Caters News)

This photo take on December 16, 2016 shows macaques monkeys playing on a motorbike in the grounds of a temple in Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. (Photo by Dominique Faget/AFP Photo)

A Ukrainian woman begs Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to stop the bombing in Donetsk after shell hit the residential area where she lives, killing two civilians in Donetsk's Kyibishevsky district, on January 29, 2015. (Photo by Manu Brabo/AFP Photo)

Meghan Puhr participates in a virtual realty presentation during an Intel news conference before CES International, Wednesday, January 4, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Photo by John Locher/AP Photo)