Nearly 8,500 pictures were whittled down into 26 categories in a stunning collection for the Photographer of the Year Awards, at the Societies of Photographers.
They depicted powerful shots, from refugees reaching out for help in the Mediterranean to futuristic makeup and fearsome insects.
Among the worldwide field of talents, British photographers made their mark, particularly when it came to animals.
Scotsman Lenny Smith won the wildlife category with this photo of a pine marten, moments before it is about to kill a mouse in Cairngorms National Park
Scot Lenny Smith won the wildlife category with a stunning picture of a pine marten with a mouse taken in the Cairngorms National Park.
The professional photographer from Morayshire said: ‘Although my main genre of photography is wedding photography I am passionate about wildlife and nature.
‘I had been trying to get an image of a pine marten for years but never expected to get one as good as this.
‘The pose, the lighting, the mouse all came together on that day to create the impact I needed.’
Kuttub Uddin, from West Sussex, won the Macro and Close Up category with a fearsome snap of a Malaysian soldier ant.
Kuttub Uddin, from West Sussex, won the Macro and Close Up category with this stunning picture of a Malaysian soldier ant, looking fierce and powerful
Terry Donnelly from Liverpool won the Nature segment with a barn owl scouting a field for prey.
Mr Donnelly, whose day job as a photographer is in sport, PR and architecture, said: ‘The barn owl photograph was taken on a local farm close to where I live whilst I was testing the focusing ability of the latest Sony A9 camera.
‘Owls are beautiful animals in flight and although graceful, cover a lot of ground quickly so you need to be fast with the camera.’
Terry also came second in the sports category after getting a great shot of a bike crash during a race in Cheshire.
Terry Donnelly, from Liverpool, had two successes, his first was this beautiful shot of a barn owl scouting a field for prey, for which he won in the Nature category
Mr Donnelly’s day job is as a photographer in sport, PR and architecture and he also came second in the sports category after snapping the moment of a bike crash during a race in Cheshire
He said: ‘The motorcycle shot was from Oulton Park, when a rider had lost control of the motorbike and slid into the run off area and become detached from the motorbike.
‘The rider was unhurt and quickly stood up and walk away, which is a testament to the safety of UK race circuits and their designs.’
Other winners from around the world included Chan Onn Fong’s photo of a fisherman’s hut in the Malacca Straits in Malaysia which won him the Landscape prize.
The 73-year-old former minister of human resources, from Kuala Lumpur, said: ‘It was taken one afternoon at Port Dickson a town along the Malacca Straits in Peninsular Malaysia.
‘It was hot and the strong wind signalled an oncoming storm.
This photo from Chan Onn Fong’s showed a fisherman’s hut in the Malacca Straits in Malaysia and it won him the top Landscape prize
‘I used a long exposure of four minutes, so as to calm the sea as well as capturing the movement of the clouds.
‘The little ‘nest’ is a hut for the fishermen to rest. But the photo suggests the clouds trying to seek shelter at the nest away from the storm.’
Italian-born Kitty Cohen won the Travel category with this shot from the 32nd floor of a New York hotel.
The banker, who lives in France, said: ‘I was trying to catch NY waking up at sunrise with yellow cabs and delivery tracks around St Patrick Cathedral.
‘The photo was taken between four and five am in New York August 2017 from a window of a room at the Lotte New York Palace on the 32nd floor.’
A futuristic model was runner-up in the Advertising and Commercial category and was taken by American Erich Caparas.
In the travel category, Italian-born banker Kitty Cohen won with this majestic urban shot from the 32nd floor of a New York hotel, taken at 5am in August 2017
This is the stunning and dramatic shot of a golden eagle earned Norwegian Bjorn Stuedal second place in the Monochrome section
The 58 year old from Florida said: ‘This shot was taken for Scandinavian Makeup Academy in Bangkok. It was a part of the students’ final exam for the academy.
‘My job for this was to properly interpret the concept through lighting, composition, and posing in a way that it showcased the makeup and the model to their very best.’
A stunning and dramatic shot of a golden eagle earned Norwegian Bjorn Stuedal second place in the Monochrome section.
Third in the Media and documentary category was Darrin Zammit Lupi’s powerful picture of capsized migrants reaching out for help in the Mediterranean
Snapper Bjorn, 51, said: ‘The picture was taken in Dalen, Telemark in Norway.
‘I have spent quite some time in this area, capturing images of eagles. Norway has around 2000 of this large bird, and the Telemark region is one of the best places to photograph it.’
Although also captured in black and white, this picture of a bull flinging a man into the sea in Denia in southern Spain won local snapper Jaime Mezquaida second place in the Events section.
Jaime, 36, from the town between Valencia and Benidorm, said: ‘We have our local Bulls in the Sea festival.
Captured in black and white, this photo of a bull knocking a man into the sea in southern Spain won local snapper Jaime Mezquaida second place in the Events section
‘It is held in July in honour of the patron of the city and in memory of the monk Pedro Esteve who according to legend, in 1633 saved the city from the plague.
‘In the Denia port they built the Plaza de toros ‘Square of the bulls’ which has access to the sea on one side.
‘The young bulls enter the arena and the contestants draw them into the water. More often than not the contestants are in the water with the bulls.
‘Later, using a lasso thrown off the ship, the bulls come ashore. It’s very fun for everyone to watch.
‘The people play with the bull and one part of the place is the sea so if the bull comes close to you, you can jump into the sea.
‘The animal is not hurt and they got a boat just in case the bull jumps into the sea.
‘Sometimes because is too hot in summer, the bull jumps directly into the sea and they save him with the boat.
New Zealand snapper Ross Grieve, who now lives in Pembrokeshire, picked up second place in the Media and Documentary category with this picture of a Muslim man walking near Brick Lane in London’s east end
‘It is for fun. People from 16 years can participate and they don’t hurt the bulls. In this case the man in the photo was OK and nobody was hurt.’
In the Media and Documentary section, New Zealand snapper Ross Grieve, who now lives in Pembrokeshire, came second with his picture of a Muslim man walking near Brick Lane in London’s east end.
And third in the same category was Darrin Zammit Lupi’s striking picture of capsized migrants reaching out for help in the Mediterranean.
Darrin, 49, a professional photographer who lives in Malta, spent three days with the crew of the rescue boat Phoenix, documenting their battle to save the lives of migrants.
This futuristic model was runner-up in the Advertising and Commercial category, she was captured by American photographer Erich Caparas
He said: ‘We saved thousands of migrants, counted the dead, and covered the shivering, trying to make the sea less of a cemetery.
‘In this picture, a group of migrants were issued with life jackets and lined up on the edge of their dinghy, ready to transfer to a boat.
‘Suddenly one of them slipped and fell into the sea, taking 10 others with him.
‘Through my lens I saw two people going under. One stretched out a hand towards me from about four metres away.
‘The rescuers jumped in and saved both. I put down my cameras and helped pull some on board.’