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 Natures Best Windland Smith Rice...

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Meerkat (Suricata suricatta) on alert, Tswalu Game Reserve, South Africa

Nigel Cattlin / Leaf tipping on Rice (Oryza sativa) caused by Leaf scald (Microdochium oryzae) disease, Thailand

Espen Bergersen / Killer whales / orcas (Orcinus orca) feeding on a bait ball of Herring. Extremely cold conditions (- 15 C) with backlit ice fog. Kvanangen, Troms, Norway. January

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Red squirrel, (Sciurus vulgaris), two backlit on pine branch, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK.May

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Red squirrel, (Sciurus vulgaris), three animals backlit on pine branch, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK.May

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Crested tit (Parus cristatus) backlit on lichen-covered branch, Inshriach Forest, Scotland, UK, January.January

Ross Hoddinott / Close-up of backlit Porcelain fungus (Oudemansiella mucida) showing gills, Golith Falls, Bodin, Cornwall, UK. September.

Marie Read / Canada geese (Branta canadensis) two during territorial fight in early spring, Ithaca. New York, USA

Ralph Pace / Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), San Diego, California

Jeff Foott / Geyser spouting, Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Jack Dykinga / Backlit silver cholla cactus (Cylindropuntia echinocarpa) surrounded by California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), beneath the eroded boulders that define the park. Joshua Tree National Park, Moja...