Readers’ pictures of the year 2018

Eric Etchart: “I took this shot in the Eurostar on my way to Paris for a long holiday weekend. This man sitting near me spent the journey looking out of the window.”

• ERIC ETCHART

  Eric Etchart: “I took this shot in the Eurostar on my way to Paris for a long holiday weekend. This man sitting near me spent the journey looking out of the window.”

• MILES GOMME

  Miles Gomme: “A heron waits for fish.”

• SUJITH SUDARSAN

  Sujith Sudarsan: “Boys wait for a corner kick to be taken during a game of football on Arthunkal Beach, in Kerala, India.”

• CARLOS GRASSO

  Carlos Grasso: “The harsh weather conditions, the dust storms and the hyper-dry soil make the Burning Man festival experience very challenging for many – but I still love it. Or, in other words, [it’s] the one place your body hates but you still want desperately to go back each year.”

• GUY NEEDHAM

  Guy Needham: “I took this photograph in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. I’d spent some time there already with the Huli tribe, when I was invited to watch this man prepare for a traditional gathering called a sing-sing.”

• GORDON PETERSEN

  Gordon Petersen: “Emperor penguin chicks at Atka Bay Rookery, Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Emperor penguins have no natural predators on the ice, so these chicks were very excited to come over and check us out.”

• PAUL FOWLER

  Paul Fowler: “I spent a summer’s day in the sky, following a hot air balloon ride over woods and fields near the Chateau de Chenonceau, in France’s Loire Valley.”

• JOYDEEP GROVER

  Joydeep Grover: “I was not expecting such a beautiful still water reflection when we went deep underground in the Cheddar Gorge caves, near Somerset, last year. It was absolutely mesmerising.”

• RAHUL TUKOL

  Rahul Tukol: “One of Munich’s many avant-garde U-bahn stations, in Germany.”

• KARI BJORN THORLEIFSSON

  Kari Bjorn Thorleifsson: “This photo was taken on the corner of 7th Avenue and 32nd Street, New York, between 16:00 and 18:00 as people rush to Pennsylvania Station to catch the trains.”

• BERGINA LEKA

  Bergina Leka: “A rainy night in Piccadilly Circus.”

• JENNY DOWNING

  Jenny Downing: “Disaster struck. Tears were shed.”‌

• HANNAH MOORE

  Hannah Moore: “My daughter and I were getting ready to shower, when we decided to take this picture. It will always remind me not of how our hair looked but of a golden age when I was as much her world as she will always be mine.”

• GRAHAM BOLTON

  Graham Bolton: “A chance photo taken while having lunch behind St Paul’s, also known as the Actors’ Church, in Covent Garden, a couple of years ago. The man was busy with his paper and the bear was obviously interested in what he was doing.”

• ELENA ROMANTSEVA

  Elena Romantseva: “Yesterday happened to be my favourite cup’s last coffee time. It was a beautiful morning near the Neva River that flows through Saint Petersburg, Russia.”

• PREMA KAKADE

  Prema Kakade: “In 1940s India, girls often weren’t educated. This photograph is dedicated to my mother-in-law, a self-taught lady, who learned to read and write the English language with the help of an English-to-Marathi dictionary by her side.”

• DOUGLAS TAYLOR

  Douglas Taylor: “This image of the summer night skies came about while chasing a lightning storm in southern Arizona. The passing thunderstorm moved south towards the border and the night skies began to clear overhead, unveiling the Milky Way alongside the distant storm.”

• DAVID CAMPBELL-LENAGHAN

  David Campbell-Lenaghan: “Community groups who dress up as devils parade the streets during certain festivals in Barcelona. La Merce is one such event. The devils run up the streets with bangers and handheld fireworks. Lots of bangs and fire are the order of the day.”

• MARCUS LUDEWIG

  Marcus Ludewig: “This picture is a bit of a happy accident. Cleaning up after our local summer festival, I put half a bag of leftover ice into part of the candyfloss machine and got this amazing mix of colour.”

• LUCY BELL

  Lucy Bell: “Snow on leaves, taken with a pinhole camera.”

• KAREN CRAWCOUR

  Karen Crawcour: “Otherwise known as Dragon Jaw Mountain, Ham Rong is situated right in the centre of Sapa[, Vietnam]. This photo was taken at the entrance stairs – a local was burning rubbish nearby and the smoke mingled with the sunlight filtering through the trees to create a magical quality to the pathway.”

• PUBARUN BASU

  Pubarun Basu: “This is a ritual performed by the Santhal tribes in Nepal and India, where the young women of the community pray for the first time under the guidance of the elders. The younger generation are always blessed while under the shadows of the elders.”

• SOPHIE CHICK

  Sophie Chick: “At FolkEast festival in Woodbridge, Suffolk, we stumbled across a performer using a fibre-optic whip. I asked if I could take photos and her friend standing nearby encouraged me to make the exposure time longer and longer.”

• RESTE ANDRADA

  Reste Andrada: “Just for one day, I wish I could be as strong and determined as this girl. While I was visiting a village called Miheleu, Romania, she noticed my camera and politely asked if I could take a picture of her with her new pink jacket. Against all odds, she manages to keep her chin up and be hopeful.”

• LES BATEMAN

  Les Bateman: “A blurred view from my car’s window of flowering jacaranda trees during an early morning rainstorm in Pretoria[, South Africa].”

• PIOTR LISOWSKI

  Piotr Lisowski: “A view through the windows of an enduro biking track lit by steel wool.”

• GUNTHER DE BRUYNE

  Gunther de Bruyne: “This portrait of Bornean orangutans was made in the Tanjung Puting National Park, in Indonesia. The national park is known for this critically endangered species. However, habitat destruction by logging and mining (most of it illegal) keeps on lowering the numbers of this magnificent great ape.”

• MRIDUL PANDA

  Mridul Panda: “A tiny beautiful spider is roaming around his shelter and I captured this photo of him, in the forest of Jajpur, India.”

• KATY HULLAND

  Katy Hulland: “The neon front of this wig shop makes it stand out from the dimly lit bars and Mexican taquerias down this side street in the centre of Boston, Massachusetts. The window display only hints at the vast number of wigs contained inside.”

• WILL FELLINGHAM

  Will Fellingham: “A reminder of how fast we are all moving in time and space, and how important it is to stop every now and then to look around us as these celestial events pass us by.”

• SABA MUSHTAQ

  Saba Mushtaq: “On our fantastic journey from tropical Kuala Lumpur to the Dubai desert, I began to truly appreciate how nature can beautify even the most concrete of jungles. I took this using my phone during a foggy sunrise, from the 31st floor while getting my daughter ready for school.”

• CAROLINE BOYFIELD

  Caroline Boyfield: “A stainless steel sculpture of dandelion clocks against a misty sky provides a still and atmospheric image.”

• DIMITRA STASINOPOULOU

  Dimitra Stasinopoulou: “This was taken during a performance in a theatre at an altitude of over 3,000m [10,000ft] on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang, in the Yunnan province of China.”

• SAMANTHA COLEMAN