Daniel Trim managed to capture this mesmerising image of a European beewolf on Sandy Heath in Bedfordshire. He said: ‘Beewolfs nest in sandy soil, burying a paralysed honeybee with a single egg. I waited patiently near an unsealed burrow for the owner to return with a victim. On arrival they hover briefly, so I laid down and waited for that split second of hovering before firing a few frames and hoping for the best. Taking multiple shots increases the chance of getting a good wing position. Being at eye-level made the focus much trickier and the hit rate far lower, but when it’s sharp the photo is more intimate and the background much cleaner, which is a worthwhile trade off’

Runner-up in the light on the land category was Dutch photographer Daniel Laan, who snapped this stunning image in Lofoten, Norway. He explained: ‘Stjerntinden is a sheer-walled 930m peak rising from the often frozen and snow-covered Storvatnet lake. Along its shoreline the ice is punctured by unyielding rocks, which create tiny ice caves. I decided to put my camera inside this particular one because its curvy roof and virgin snow complemented the inhospitable background so well’

Brazilian photographer Marcio Esteves Cabral was highly commended in the light on the land category for this stunning picture of the Paranal Observatory in Chile. He said: ‘This image shows a Very Large Telescope (VLT) at work. These are the largest and most modern telescopes in the world. This is a panoramic image consisting of three vertical images. It shows the telescope’s laser guides, which are the most powerful in the world and can reach more than 50 miles’

A commended image in the light on the land category was this dramatic snap taken by Sven Teglemo at the Lunsen Nature Reserve in Sweden. He said: ‘The summer of 2018 was very dry and this caused a lot of forest fires in Sweden. Some of these occurred around my hometown, including this one on an evening in July. The fire department extinguished the fire during the night and the next morning there were around 10 volunteers still working to secure the area and prevent the fire from starting to burn again. The ground was still very hot and there were some small fires visible from where I was. The fires caused a lot of serious damage, but at the same time I love the beauty of them’

Winner of the small world category was Stefan Gerrits, who captured this close-up image of a mountain apollo butterfly in Parainen, Finland. He said: ‘In Finland, the mountain apollo was one of the first species of insects to be protected by law, as the population decreased because of a disease, acid rain and climate change. The apollos were hardest hit in the south-west, where there had been heat waves and little precipitation. The presence of orpine flowers are critical for apollos and the lack of rain means there are fewer host plants for caterpillars to feed on. I photograph this species each summer, although it gets harder every year. This individual is warming up on a heath that had already turned into autumn colours in June. I overexposed the image to create a high-key effect, which helped to make its red eyes stand out

UK photographer Jay Birmingham was named runner-up in the small world category for this shot of a solitary mushroom in Wyming Brook in the Peak District National Park. He said: ‘Struggling to find any unique angles, I cast my eyes over the smaller features around me and spotted, in the middle of the water, a small mossy island with a solitary bonnet mushroom growing on it. Even better, there was a small waterfall just behind. I crouched as low down in the water as I could to position the mushroom in front of the waterfall, and then used a neutral density filter to capture the path of the water swirling through this beautiful micro landscape’

On a trip to Loch Ard Forest in the Trossachs, Scotland, photographer Pete Hyde captured this frosty image, which was commended in the small world category. Pete explained: ‘On this morning a friend and I had been watching the clearing mist at Lochan a’ Ghleannain in Loch Ard Forest. Near the western end of the loch there was an area of mossy humps. I thought this small fern growing up through the frosted tips of the moss made an interesting subject. Using a tripod and a geared head I tried to find a pleasing arrangement for the image’

French photographer Greg Lecoeur took top prize in the ‘live the adventure’ category wih this stunning shot captured in French Polynesia. He said: ‘I usually travel to the different oceans of the planet to photograph marine creatures. But in Polynesia it was another type of creature that I immortalised. One of my dreams was to go and face the waves breaking on the reefs and see how surfers were able to tame the power of nature. It was in Rangiroa in the small pass of Avaturu that I dipped my fins with the local surfers. That day the waves were powerful and I hesitated to get into the water but the good lazy atmosphere on the site motivated me and we shared exciting moments in the middle of thunderous waves’

British photographer Alex Palmer was joint runner-up in the ‘live the adventure’ category thanks to this shot he captured in Yosemite National Park in California. Alex explained: ‘I was taking a day off from the route that my partner and I were attempting on the West Face of El Capitan. We headed down to the meadow opposite the peak to watch the climbers on the wall and get some images. The hardest thing I’ve found about photographing this rock face is to get any idea of how vast it really is. I spotted two climbers approaching the El Cap Tower feature and just started to snap photos. When I zoomed in to preview the images, I was really pleased with the scale and atmosphere they showed’

The second joint runner-up in the live the adventure category was Australian photographer Alison Perkins, who shot this picture of a diver travelling through the Sistema Sac Actun cave system on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. She said: ‘The immensity of the area to light up is a challenge, the water works against you and there are the complexities of maintaining diver safety while executing a photography plan. My partner and I have worked closely together for years to get to a point where I can start to take images like this. I wanted to give the viewer a sense of scale and capture the majesty of the cave, using the cave diver to lead you into the image, but not detract from the main event, which is the cave itself’

Spanish photographer Salvador Colvee Nebot was named winner of the wildlife insight category with this image of a pair of kestrels in Valencia, Spain. He said: ‘I was hidden 30 metres away and saw that a pair of common kestrels were using these dead agave flower plants as a perch from which to access the waterhole. The weather that day was cloudy and the light wasn’t good, so I decided to increase the exposure to create a high-key image’

Portuguese photographer Jose Fragozo snapped this image of a well-known female cheetah called Imani in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The image was runner-up in the wildlife insight category. He said: ‘She is recognisable by the bracelet of spots around the left front leg. This image shows Imani and her cub during a rainstorm, crossing an area with a high density of lions and hyenas. To avoid predators, cheetahs move their cubs around to different places every few days. However, seeing a cheetah moving its cub in a severe rainstorm is a very rare phenomenon’

Photographer Christoph Ruisz was highly commended in the wildlife insight category for this stunning shot of a hare taken near Lake Neusiedl in Austria. He said: ‘When I spotted two hares in a field, I hid behind a tree. After some minutes of waiting, I lay down and started crawling in the direction of them. The hares didn’t realise that I was next to them. Suddenly one of them started running in my direction and stopped only a few metres in front of me. I pressed the shutter release and took the first pictures. He came closer and closer until he was within the minimum focusing distance of my lens’

Norwegian photographer Olav Thokle was highly commended by judges in the wildlife insight category for this shot captured over Svalbard in Norway. He explained: ‘On the day of departure from the capital Longyearbyen, there was great light that created nice reflections in the water. Some birds followed the vessel out of the fjord and I saw an opportunity to take this sort of image. It was hard to handhold my 600mm lens steady on the moving ship, so I had to use my tripod with a gimbal head. After a couple of hours of trying I got some nice pictures, including this one of a northern fulmar’

Israeli photographer Roie Galitz was commended in the wildlife insight category for this image of a sleepy Arctic fox in Svalbard, Norway. Roie explained: ‘The Arctic fox is one of the ultimate survivors in the high Arctic, thanks to its super-insulating fur and food storing and collecting strategies. This specific fox’s territory is in and around the abandoned Russian town of Pyramiden, so it is less concerned about people, which gave me the opportunity to get closer without him running away. He felt comfortable and eventually yawned before falling asleep’

British photographer James Lewin captured this amazing image of fighting zebras in the Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. The stunning picture was commended by judges in the wildlife insight category. James explained: ‘I could never have imagined the way the elements came together, but I couldn’t have been better prepared to take the opportunity’

The winner of the spirit of travel category was Matt Parry for this image of a man hanging upside down doing stomach crunches in a wrestling pit in Varanasi in India. He said: ‘I was in India on an assignment and had wanted to photograph a Kushti wrestling akhara. This form of the sport is steeped in history, culture and tradition but is gradually dying out due to government pressure for participants to move on to a modern mat-based wrestling format in order to compete at international level. The wrestler pictured, Siya Ram has been training in this akhara for 13 years, and what started as a hobby is now a major part of his daily life’

Hungarian photographer Peter Racz travelled to Lake Baikal in Siberia to capture this image of stunning ice caves. It was runner-up in the spirit of travel category. Peter explained: ‘There are many ice caves on the shore of Lake Baikal and I took this picture from inside one of them. I was lying onthe ice, trying to frame the vehicle perfectly in the gap in the ice. The cave looks far bigger in the image due to the use of the wide angle lens’

British photogrpaher Jeremy Flint was commended by the judges in the spirit of travel category for this snap of two tribeswomen on Mount Hagen in Papua New Guinea. He said: ‘Few lands are as exotic and mysterious as Papua New Guinea, a region of dense, rugged valleys and magnificent tribes. Deep in the jungle highlands of Jiwaka province, I arranged to visit a local tribe in its village. I have always been fascinated with the tribes of Papua New Guinea and wanted to create an image that captured the country’s incredible culture and spirit of humanity. After witnessing a sing-sing (a combination of song and dance) among the tribe members, I captured this moment as two women touched noses to honour their friendship’

The winner of the under exposed category was French photographer Greg Lacoeur for this shot of an otter in the water off the Shetland Islands. Greg said: ‘Presumed to have been introduced to the Shetland Isles during Viking times, or maybe earlier, the otter has adapted to marine life and jiwapkv proliferated. The otter is a very fearful and shy animal, so to make this image it was necessary to spend time studying its behavior and habits at sea. Once I was immersed, it was necessary to be patient. I was lucky to eventually have the opportunity to capture this image’

Photographer Pier Mane was runner-up in the under exposed category for this unusual shot of a jelly fish that he snapped at Protea Banks off the east coast of South Africa. Pier said: ‘It was the biggest jellyfish I’ve ever seen, over one metre in diameter. Its purple head and yellow fuselage were simply amazing. With no background objects present to provide perspective, and wishing to exalt this crown jellyfish with its stunning colours, majestic size and dancing elegance, I opted to purposefully crop the jellyfish to fill the frame’

This magnificent image of a humpback whale was snapped in the warm tropical waters of Tonga by Australian photographer Judith Conning. It was commended in the under exposed category. Judith said: ‘This image was captured on a dream trip to swim and snorkel with the magnificent humpback whales and their calves in Tonga, their winter breeding ground. On the first trip of the day a very energetic calf joined us that just wanted to play with these tiny creatures that were bobbing around on the surface, while his mother slept 20m below. I allowed myself to sink a little below the surface so I could fill the frame as the calf slowly rose towards the light, surrounded by a fizz of bubbles’

While flying over the Namib Desert in Namibia, Australian photographer Tom Putt snapped the winning image in the view from above category. Tom said: ‘Flying low over the endless sand dunes of the Namib Desert, I noticed the cloud cover provided this interesting play of light on the landscape. When the sun heats up the dunes, it draws the black minerals to the surface. When I came to process the image, the stunning colours revealed themselves’

Runner up in the view from above category was Roie Galitz for this stunning image of sockeye salmon and a grizzly bear in Lake Kuril in Russia. Roie said: ‘I wanted to show the abundance of salmon and the lone bear in one image, but from the ground it’s very difficult to see through the water and grasp the quantity of fish, so I flew a drone high above the scene. On seeing the view, my eyes opened wide, as this was exactly what I was looking for. It’s interesting to observe how the fish keep an exact radius from the bear, which in turn is waiting for the right opportunity to charge’

British photographer Ross Farnham was highly commended by judges in the view from above category for this chilly image of an area of allotments in Farnborough taken on a drone. Ross said: ‘I had already visited this spot when snow hit at the end of February last year and I thought that would be it until the following winter, so when it snowed again in mid-March I headed back to the allotment to take this image. I love the way that it looks like an etching’

Italian photographer Roberto Marchegiani scooped the winning prize in the at the water’s edge category for this image of Lake Martin in Louisiana. He said: ‘The wetlands of Louisiana are a gigantic tangle of canals, swamps and forests that stretch around the great Mississippi estuary. In autumn the great cypresses are covered with Spanish moss. I was there for a week and every day at dawn and at dusk I went out sailing in a small boat. Eventually the fog and the delicate light of dawn turned the bay into a fairytale setting, and when this small, solitary tree appeared through the mist in the middle of the canal, it looked like the entrance to a mysterious world’

This image of moody clouds over Wastwater in the Lake District was taken by Alex Wrigley, who won the runner-up prize in the at the water’s edge category. Alex said: ‘It was the morning after one of last winter’s vicious storms and I headed to Wastwater hoping for some fresh snow blanketing the iconic peaks at the head of the lake. Unfortunately the gale force winds had stripped the slopes of the majority of the snow, but when one opportunity closes off another one opens up. The clearing storm left a dramatic sky just in time for sunrise, and the eye-wateringly strong winds were creating some coastal-esque waves on the shores of the lake. I waited for the perfect wave and then had to hold the tripod steady to combat the wind’

A commended image in the at the water’s edge category was this autumnal shot of the Grand Union Canal in Solihull in the West Midlands. It was snapped by British photographer Chris Fletcher, who said: ‘This shot was taken handheld using the diffused sunrise light to soften the subject and surrounding woodland. This helped to bring out the colour of the autumn leaves and of the boat. I regularly explore the canal network in the West Midlands and in autumn the atmosphere and colour of the waterways offer fantastic scenes to capture’

Ian Snowdon was highly commended by judges in the ‘at the water’s edge’ category for this image captured in Saltburn-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire. He said: ‘The low winter sun produced beautiful light and the darkening sky added to the mood. The shot I wanted was from an elevated view, so I rushed to higher ground. The low winter sun illuminated the turbines beautifully, which were visually engulfed by the dark sky and rough sea’

A commended image in the at the water’s edge category was this serene shot taken by Matthew James Turner while visiting the famous lighthouse in Kalsoy in the Faroe Islands. Matthew explained: ‘This wasn’t the picture I’d originally planned, but I loved how from this viewpoint the nearby island of Eysturoy appeared to dramatically surface from the dark waters’

British photographer Mark Cornick was commended in the at the water’s edge category for this shot captured in Reynisfjara, Iceland. He said: ‘I wanted to create an original image at the well-known black sand beach at Reynisfjara, which is famous for its basalt stacks. I felt that this small cave offered some intriguing possibilities. Not only were the rock formations particularly interesting, but the ice shards hanging down created an otherworldly atmosphere, especially when combined with the black sand’

The young photographer of the year category (for under-18s) was won by Riccardo Marchegiani from Italy, who snapped this sweet shot of two monkeys in Simien National Park in Ethiopia. He said: ‘These monkeys are very photogenic both for the colour of their thick manes, which are similar to those of lions, and for their red breasts that look like hearts. Every morning they explore the slopes and then return to the caves at sunset’

Runner-up in the young photographer of the year category was Anya Burnell who snapped this image of a butterfly in Devon. Anya said: ‘Timing was crucial as there was only a brief moment when the sun aligned perfectly behind the butterfly. I really enjoy being among nature in the great outdoors, and this has inspired me to take many photographs of butterflies’

Canadian Josiah Launstein was commended in the young photographer of the year category for this image of a goldfinch in Porcupine Hills near Pincher Creek in Alberta, Canada. Josiah recalled: ‘My dad, sister and I were loading our truck to photograph grizzly bears in the mountains when we saw a streak of yellow fly by. Right away I knew it might be a male American goldfinch, and it didn’t take me long to find him in the native grass on our acreage’