A man walks his dog through Los Berros Mountain in El Paso with the Cumbre Vieja volcano in the background, on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, October 24, 2021. (Photo by Borja Suarez/Reuters)

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

John Hawkley and his wife Patty Hawkley stand next to their 2,058 pound pumpkin and celebrate after winning the 41st Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on October 13, 2014 in Half Moon Bay, California. John Hawkley of Napa, California won the 41st Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off and broke a state record with his gigantic pumpkin weighing in at 2,085 pounds. Hawkley took home a cash prize of $12,510, or $6.00 a pound. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

During a break from the rain of Storm Aileen, the leaves of the Virginia creeper begin to take on their Autumn colour at the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont tea room on the banks of the River Conwy at Llanrwst in north Wales on September 13, 2017 in Llandudno, Wales. The cottage named Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) was built in 1480 and has become a magnet for phtographers and tourists from across the world during Autumn. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A man flies a kite made of 110 Tukkal or paper lanterns for the Hindu festival of “Makar Sankranti”, which marks the start of spring, in Ahmedabad January 13, 2011. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A tufted puffin is seen in Kamchatka Territory, Russia on July 17, 2018. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

Florence Welch of Florence And The Machine performs at Spark Arena on January 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Simpson/WireImage)

Australian model Shanina Shaik arrives to attend the Givenchy Menswear Spring/Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, on June 22, 2022. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)