Entries of the Week: Of Whales, Wild Places and Water Droplets

Photography can reveal something extraordinary in the most familiar places. A tiny creature becomes a captivating portrait, a simple leaf turns into an abstract composition, and an unexpected encounter transforms an ordinary moment into a memorable photograph.

This week's Entries of the Week brings together ten photographs that invite us to look a little closer.

Underwater, Mohamed Ibrahim captures the remarkable detail of a tiny seahorse, revealing the character of a creature that is easily overlooked. Atsuko Watanabe takes a similarly close look at nature, discovering a perfectly curled leaf with a droplet of water reflecting a flower at its centre.

Some photographers travelled further for their images. At Tipsoo Lake in Washington, Carl Prothman arrived before sunrise, hoping to catch the first pink light on Mount Rainier. His patience paid off when the mountain briefly glowed above its reflection in the still water. Meanwhile, Yu Sun photographed the densely packed residences of Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in western China, using black and white to emphasise the extraordinary patterns created by thousands of buildings across the mountainside.

Other images tell more personal stories. Hannes Pramstrahler photographed a young artist proudly holding his painting in a dark parking garage, using flash to contrast the artwork with its surroundings. MINCH LEE explores the relationship between people and nature through a portrait in which strands of hair and dry grass cross a woman's face.

There's also a child playing beneath an intricate structure at London's Kew Gardens, a solitary oryx standing on a dune, an underwater self-portrait in a flooded cave, and a striking view of a whale's tail against a distant city skyline.

From carefully planned compositions to unexpected discoveries, these ten photographs show just how many different stories can be told through a single image.

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