This article, with a publishing date of 20 Feb 2023, includes the "striking" image that won National Geographic's ‘Pictures of the Year’ photo contest.
My favorite is one of the honorable mention winners, a photograph showing a man hunting with an eagle. I can't save the photo, which is not really a surprise, but here is the caption:
Asiilbek, a nomadic Kazakh eagle hunter, preps his golden eagle, Burged, for a horseback hunt in the grasslands outside of Bayan-Ölgii, the westernmost province of Mongolia. The eagle’s training begins when fledglings are captured from their cliff edge nests and taught how to hunt for hare, fox, and even deer. The tradition stretches back 3,000 years. “For this image, I was lying on my stomach in the prone position looking through the electronic viewfinder at the edge of the stream,” says photographer Eric Esterle. “The ground shook as Asiilbek's horse passed less than a few feet away, splashing me with ice cold water. I remember covering my camera with my body and putting my head down.” PHOTOGRAPH BY ERIC ESTERLE
edited to add: Can you imagine the excitement, the adrenaline rush, of lying on the ground as close to the action as this photographer was, to get this shot?