Will Burrard-Lucas takes a photo while a Meerkat perches on his lens on January 2014 in Makgadikgadi, Botswana. These adorable Meerkats used a photographer as a look out post before trying their hand at taking pictures. The beautiful images were caught by wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas after he spent six days with the quirky new families in the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. Will has photographed Meerkats in the past and was delighted when he realised he would be shooting new arrivals. (Photo by Will Burrard-Lucas/Barcroft Media)

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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)

A Shariah law official whips a woman who is convicted of prostitution during a public caning outside a mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Friday, April 20, 2018. Indonesia's deeply conservative Aceh province on Friday caned several unmarried couples for showing affection in public and two women for prostitution before an enthusiastic audience of hundreds. The canings were possibly the last to be carried out before large crowds in Aceh after the province's governor announced earlier this month that the punishments would be moved indoors. (Photo by Heri Juanda/AP Photo)

Kashmiri villagers inspecting a house damaged in a gun battle flee from it after hearing rumors of Indian army soldiers returning back to the site, which turned out to be false, in Kundalan village, some 60 Kilometres south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 10, 2018. Government forces fired at protesters Tuesday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing a teenage boy and wounding at least 120 more who had been trying to reach the site of a gunbattle in which soldiers killed two rebels, police and residents said. (Photo by Dar Yasin/AP Photo)

“Sangoma” initiate Dipuo Banda (C) is led out of her teachers shack while she remains in a trance like state prior to dancing during her 3 day initiation ceremony with her teacher, family, friends and students in the Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, South Africa, 14 May 2021. Sangomas, the Zulu term for Medicine Women or traditional healers, fulfill different social and political roles in the community, including divination, physical healing, emotional and spiritual illnesses, directing birth or death rituals and finding lost cattle. (Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA/EFE)

A handout photo made available by the Indian Air Force (IAF) showing an IAF helicopters during the rescue operation in flood affected areas of Dhanyaghari of Khanakul in West Bengal, India, 02 August 2021. According to the IAF, helicopters of Indian Air Force rescued 31 people from rooftops and brought them to safety to Arambaug. The helicopters also dropped emergency food supplies in the affected areas after the torrential rain in the state has thrown life out of gear and created flood like situation in many districts. (Photo by Indian Air Force/Handout via EPA/EFE)

The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 21 mission began on July 21 as an international crew of aquanauts splashed down to the undersea Aquarius Reef Base, located 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The NEEMO 21 crew will perform research both inside and outside the habitat during a 16-day simulated space mission. During simulated spacewalks carried out underwater, they will evaluate tools and mission operation techniques that could be used in future space missions, including journeys to Mars. (Photo by Karl Shreeves/NASA)

In this photo taken Saturday, June 20, 2015, Mahmoud Abdulnabi tries out an oud, an Arabic instrument related to the lute, at his workshop in Baghdad, Iraq. “The oud is different than other musical instruments”, said Abdulnabi, who has crafted ouds played by some of Iraq's best known musicians, many of whom look down from headshots on the walls. “If you feel joyful, it can play your joy. If the circumstances are sad it can play your sorrow and... help to empty whatever is in your chest”. (Photo by Hadi Mizban/AP Photo)