An adult White-naped Crane comes in to land at Arasaki, Japan (Image by Mark Beaman)

A priest holding his crucifix at Lalibela in Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Portrait of a 'Snow Monkey', Honshu, Japan (Image by Inger Vandyke)

These Dalmatian Pelicans in Romania's Danube Delta are showing the bright red bill pouches of breeding birds (Image by Attila Szilagyi)

It is hard to tell if Nazca Boobies in Galapagos are being affectionate or squabbling... (Image by Mark Beaman)

An Ibisbill in flight over the Indus River in Ladakh (Image by Mike Watson)

A herd of Siberian Ibex run up a mountainside in Ladakh (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A White-naped Crane bugles as it crosses the dawn moon at Arasaki, Japan (Image by Mark Beaman)

A line of Indian Wild Asses at sunset in the Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat (Image by Mike Watson)

A Polar Bear rests on the ice after a meal, watched by an Ivory Gull (Image by Mike Watson)

Some Pantanal Jaguars specialize in killing Caimans (Image by Mike Watson)

Everything is fine in Galapagos until one of those damn Espanola Mockingbirds climbs on your back! (Image by Mark Beaman)

The secretive Agami Heron loves quiet Pantanal backwaters (Image by Mike Watson)

Chukar Patridge, Ladakh, India (Image by Mike Watson)

The priests of Lalibela (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Walrus in the snow, Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Collared Laughingthrushes in southern Vietnam (Image by Pete Morris)

Mating Indian Skimmers on the Chambal River in Uttar Pradesh, India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Black-browed Albatross with motion blur in the Southern Ocean (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Blakiston's Fish Owl, the largest owl in the world, with its fish dinner, Hokkaido, Japan (Image by Pete Morris)

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) on an ice flow off northern Spitsbergen in Svalbard, as the sun sets on the horizon (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Leopard Seal, one of Antarctica's most iconic predators (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Little Cormorant watches the sunset at Tadoba, India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A herd of oryx runs across the grasslands of Sossusvlei, Namibia at sunset (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Black-legged Kittiwakes adorn an almost incredibly blue, upturned iceberg in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

The beautiful Himba people of Kaokoland in Namibia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A Lalibela priest reads his bible by the light shining through a crucifix shaped 'window' in a rock church (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A Brown Skua with his prized Gentoo Penguin egg (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Light conditions as winter fades into early spring are perfect for bird photography in northern Norway, as this King Eider image demonstrates (Image by Roy Mangernes)

A Chinstrap Penguin has a scratch (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Walrus male portrait from Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Sly portrait of a Red Fox in Japan (Image by Pete Morris)

It's Baloo! A Sloth Bear in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

The scenery of the Antarctic Peninsula is truly awesome (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Portrait of a Ladakhi woman wearing a traditional Perak (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Ah, that feels good! (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Svalbard Polar Bear comes really close! (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Common Guillemots (or Common Murres) with sunrise reflection bokeh at Hornøya, northern Norway (Image by Audun Lie Dahl)

These Gentoo Penguins make for a pleasing pattern as they head for the sea (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Polar Bear mother and cub (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

The dead Camelthorn trees of Deadvlei, Namibia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Svalbard's small icebergs can offer interesting photographic opportunities, especially in autumn light (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Polar Bears, understandably, prefer to keep their feet dry (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Beautiful dancing Red-crowned (or Japanese) Cranes in the snows of Hokkaido (Image by Pete Morris)

It is not just the wildlife that is unusual in Simien. Giant Lobelias near Chenek (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Adelie Penguins are surely the cutest of the smaller species (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Tiger wanders down to a waterhole in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A Little Auk in flight on our Spitsbergen trip (Image by Mike Watson)

An Arctic Fox in its dark summer pelage peeks out at a photographer in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

The low light in spring and autumn makes for atmospheric Polar Bear shots in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Eurasian Hoopoe in flight in Hungary (Image by János Oláh)

Antarctica has a fearsome majesty (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

An Iberian Lynx, one of the world's rarest wild cats, pauses to look at our group while it crosses a path in southern Spain (Image by Mike Watson)

Siamese Fireback male at Cat Tien, Vietnam (Image by Pete Morris)

Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus, female walking on an ice-floe north of Svalbard. Our expedition ship MS Origo is seen in the background (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Jaguar rests by the riverside in the Pantanal, unafraid of our presence (Image by Mike Watson)

Bar-bellied Pitta in Vietnam (Image by Pete Morris)

Displaying Red-crowned (or Japanese) Cranes in winter in Hokkaido. Cranes mate for life (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Gelada Baboon males are magnificent creatures and you can, with care, approach them very closely in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Japanese Macaques (Snow Monkeys) engaged in mutual grooming in Honshu, Japan (Image by Pete Morris)

A young Blackbuck peers at a Black Drongo that has landed on its back, Velavadar, Gujarat (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Hooded and White-naped Cranes in the snow at Arasaki , Japan (Image by Mark Beaman)

Dardic Brokpa women of Ladakh in traditional dress (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Ladakh is the place to see and photography the shy, fabled Snow Leopard (Image by Mike Watson)

As the first sunlight catches the hoar-frost-covered trees at Otawa, the steam rising from the river adds to the other-worldly scene of roosting Red-crowned Cranes, Hokkaido, Japan (Image by Mark Beaman)

A Gemsbok oryx takes off into the grasslands of Sossusvlei, Namibia. This image was taken on an aerial safari by helicopter from Sesriem (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Atlantic Puffins in the snow at Hornøya island, northern Norway (Image by Audun Lie Dahl)

When a Giant Otter crunches down a fish one can hear the noise from 50 metres! Pantanal, Brazil (Image by Mike Watson)

A pair of Steller's Sea Eagles go head to head in Hokkaido, Japan! (Image by Pete Morris)

A Northern Fulmar is lost against the awesome backdrop of Spitsbergen (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A male Walrus at sunset in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Burchell's Zebras are constantly bickering. Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tanzania (Image by Mark Beaman)

A Chinstrap Penguin surveys the dramatic Antarctic world around it (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Painted Stork in flight in India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Aba Mezgebe, the father of the church at Asheten Maryam near Lalibela, reveals one of his church's ancient bibles (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Portrait of a Panther Chameleon in Madagascar (Image by Dani Velasco)

Ladakhi women wearing their traditional costume of Perak was a highlight of our 2017 Ladakh Women's Project (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Black-browed Albatrosses nesting at West Point Island, the Falkland Islands (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Himba Head Man in remote Kaokoland, Namibia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Portrait of a Red-crowned Crane, Hokkaido, Japan (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Portrait of a European Shag in northern Norway (Image by Espen Lie Dahl)

View from the crater rim of Erta Ale, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, into the active, red-glowing lava lake. Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, only some kilometers from the border with Eritrea

Frigatebird at dawn in Baja California (Image by Mark Beaman)

Some frisky Walruses in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Baja California sunsets are legendary (Image by Mark Beaman)

Namibia features many different colours of sand dunes including the spectacular garnet sand dunes of Dorrob National Park near Swakopmund (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Driving across Lake Assale, Danakil, Ethiopia

Steller's Sea Eagles in the dawn light of Hokkaido, Japan (Image by Inger Vandyke)