Actress Cristin Milioti attends the HBO Max Primetime Emmy Awards Afterparty at San Vicente Bungalows on September 14, 2025 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Jon/Getty Images for HBO Max)

The shadow of a cross is pictured as Catholic faithful arrive to attend a reenactment of the “Via Crucis” (way of the Cross) during Holy Week in Abobote, an area of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Luc Gnago/Reuters)

A man lies in the sea grass at a beach on July 18, 2016 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. The enteromorpha prolifera spread on the beaches in Qingdao and were under clearing. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Students from CAS Ballet Theatre School stretch on the sidewalk Saturday, February 20, 2016, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Photo by Junfu Han/The Ann Arbor News via AP Photo)

“Kim Kardashian surfs up an impressive sight as she wanders along a Miami beach in a colourful bikini on August 4, 2012. The reality TV star looked stunning as she wandered barefoot along the shore in the black and orange two-piece”. – Miranda Prynne via The Sun. (Photo by Splash News)

Abbey Clancy attends Warner Music Brits after party on February 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by FameFlynet)

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)

An Indian soldier from the international peace keeping force (IPKF) instructs young Sri Lankan recruits in shooting, part of the training given to the citizen's volunteer force in the North-Eastern Sri Lankan city of Batticaloa, September 28, 1989. (Photo by Barbara Walton/AP Photo)