“I wanted to give others the opportunity to see the nature of a pristine planet"

By the numbers: 5, 247 Photographers, 124 Nationalities, 101, 254 pictures. Three hundred and fifty images by 57 photographers of 24 nationalities were awarded prizes in nine categories. To view the entire collection of winning images from the 55th World Press Photo Contest: 2012 World Press Photo. -- Paula Nelson

Explore Benthichi's 860 photos on Flickr!

Beth Moon, a photographer based in San Francisco, has been searching for the world’s oldest trees for the past 14 years. She has traveled all around the globe to capture the most magnificent trees that grow in remote locations and look as old as the world itself.

In 1947, John Schultz purchased this dugout for $16 at the headwaters of the Amazon River, equipping it with a deck and crossing the Caribbean over more than 5,000 miles.

Moths have a bad rep as being dull, drab pests, but these insects are fascinatingly diverse, from the huge Atlas moth to the caterpillars people eat!