Andy Rouse / Maasai Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) silhouetted by beams of light from setting sun, Maasai Mara, Kenya, Africa. Winner of the African section of the Nature? Best Windland Smith Rice...

Floris van Breugel / Sand dunes reflecting pink and orange glowing colours from the sky at sunset. Death Valley National Park, California, USA. November 2009. Highly Commended in the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photoga...

Heike Odermatt / English Bluebell (Hyacinthoides nonscripta) carpet in the European Beech (Fagus sylvatica)forest, Halle, Brussels, Belgium

Owen Newman / Female red kangaroo backlit in evening sun {Macropus rufus} Sturt NP NSW Australia

Owen Newman / Female Red kangaroo backlit at sunset {Macropus rufus} Sturt NP New South Wales Australia

Staffan Widstrand / Polar bear resting at sunset {Ursus maritimus} Arctic

Loic Poidevin / Waves breaking against port wall with lighthouse during storm, Vendee, France. December.

Alex Mustard / Southern stingray (Dasyatis americana) two swimming over sand bar, under stormy sky. Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. British West Indies.

Gabriel Rojo / Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) diving, with tail fluke splash. Monumento Natural Ballena Franca Austral, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Valdes Peninsula, Patagonia, Argentina.

Marie Read / Common loons (Gavia immer), two adults and chick swimming on a misty lake in early morning, Michigan, USA. June.

Marie Read / Snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) flock in flight during a snowstorm, New York, USA, January.

Guy Edwardes / Natural Arch, Siabost, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK. March, 2015.

Guy Edwardes / River Etive with isolated cottage beneath Buachaille Etive Mor, Rannoch Moor, Glen Coe, Highlands, Scotland, UK. November, 2013.

Guy Edwardes / Fairy Pools and Black Cuillins, Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, UK. February 2017.

Guy Edwardes / Colmer's Hill, Bridport, Dorset, England, UK. December 2016.

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Bay of Laig, Isle of Eigg towards Isle of Rum, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, UK, April 2014.

Brent Stephenson / Sunset off Scott Island, with floating pieces of sea ice, Scott Inlet, Baffin Island, Canadian Arctic, August 2015.

Espen Bergersen / Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) in distance at sunset, Svalbard, Norway. April.

Olga Kamenskaya / Clouds over Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia, October 2010.

Richard Du Toit / Black wildebeest (Connochaetus gnou) bull silhouetted at dawn, Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Chris & Monique Fallows / Long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis) school off the coast of False Bay, with dramatic sky, South Africa, May.

Chris & Monique Fallows / Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) flying off coast of South Georgia Island.

Chris & Monique Fallows / King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) colony with storm approaching. Grytviken, South Georgia Island.

Chris & Monique Fallows / Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) flying off coast of South Georgia Island. Silhouetted.

Chris & Monique Fallows / Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans), engaged in mating display. South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean.

Chris & Monique Fallows / Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans), engaged in mating display. South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean.

Erlend Haarberg / Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) silhouetted against stormy sky, Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway, July.

Denis-Huot / Lioness (Panthera leo) and Thomson's gazelles (Eudorcas thomsonii) silhouetted at sunset, Masai-Mara game reserve, Kenya.

Denis-Huot / Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) female standing below dark storm clouds, Masai-Mara game reserve, Kenya.

Ross Hoddinott / The Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis over a river, Vik, Iceland. February 2014.

Ernie Janes / Full moon behind clouds, seen from Norfolk, England, UK, January 2010.

Jussi Murtosaari / Northern Lights over forest, central Finland, March 2013

Benoit Stichelbaut / Rough seas at Creac'h lighthouse during Storm 'Ruth', Ile d'Ouessant, Armorique Regional Park, Iles du Ponant, Finistere, Brittany, France, Iroise Sea. 8th February 2014. France, Bretagne, Finister...

Benoit Stichelbaut / Rough seas at Nividic lighthouse during Storm 'Ruth', Ile d'Ouessant, Armorique Regional Park, Iles du Ponant, Finistere, Brittany, France, Iroise Sea. 8th February 2014. France, Bretagne, Finister...

Benoit Stichelbaut / Rough seas at d'Ar-Men lighthouse during Storm 'Ruth', Ile de Sein, Armorique Regional Park. Iles du Ponant, Finistere, Brittany, France, Iroise Sea. 8th February 2014. France, Bretagne, Finistere,...

Andy Rouse / Maasai Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) under setting sun Maasai Mara, Kenya, Africa

Ernie Janes,Ernie Janes / RSPB Nature reserve at Titchwell Marsh Norfolk, May

Benjamin Barthelemy,Benjamin Barthelemy / Landscape view of the Manneporte, a natural rock arch and needle, Etretat, Normandy, France, June

Andy Rouse / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) silhoutted against setting sun. Maasai Mara, Kenya, Africa, August.

Niall Benvie / Cloud formations lit by low sun. Brechin, Angus, Scotland, December 2012.

Ernie Janes / Boats on Cley Beach with stormy clouds above, UK November 2012

Peter Cairns / Reynisdrangar sea stacks at dusk, Vik, Iceland

Andy Trowbridge / Moody sky over stoney beach, with mountains just visible in the background, Kaikoura, Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand. September, 2006.

Erlend Haarberg / Fumaroles at Hverir at night with northern lights in sky above, Namafjall, Iceland, February 2011

Erlend Haarberg / Grasses moving in wind in front of acidic steam and solidified lava surface at Leirhnjukur, Iceland 2008

Nick Turner / Downham Hill, a jurassic limestone outlier on the edge of the Cotswolds AONB conservation area, Gloucestershire, UK, October 2011.

Bence Mate / Confrontation between a great egret (Ardea alba) and grey heron (Ardea cinerea), Lake Csaj, Kiskunsagi National Park, Hungary.

David Noton / Rough seas at Durdle Door, Dorset, England, November 2009.