Tobias Mueller of Germany falls as Johannes Aujesky of Austria competes in the Men's Ski Cross of Audi FIS Cross World Cup 2022 at Genting snow park on November 27, 2021 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Tali Spira of Baltimore, Maryland lets the wind aid in her Flow Art style dance moves (using silk material and fans) at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. on March 25, 2022. She danced amid the backdrop of the cherry blossom trees that were still at their peak. (Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Kate O'Connor of Team Northern Ireland celebrates during the Women's Heptathlon High Jump on day five of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium on August 02, 2022 in the Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. celebrates after winning the women's slalom competition with Santa Claus during the FIS Ski World Cup in Levi, Finland on November 20, 2022. (Photo by Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via Reuters)

Lebanese women smoke nargileh (water pipe) and watch a streaming broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2022 group G soccer match between Brazil and Switzerland, at a café-restaurant in the area of Sabtiyeh, north of Beirut, on November 28, 2022. Lebanon being hit hard by the economic crisis, the country did not obtain the rights to broadcast the 2022 World Cup this year, depriving Lebanese fans of the World Cup. (Photo by Joseph Eid/AFP Photo)

Silver Medalists Thomas Daley and Noah Williams of Team Great Britain celebrate as they pose following the Diving medal ceremony after the Men’s Synchronised 10m Platform Final on day three of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Aquatics Centre on July 29, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Marc Aspland/The Times)

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 USGS geologist making observations of the fissure 8 lava channel at sunset is pictured in this July 3, 2018 fisheye lens handout photograph near the Kilauea volcano eruption in Hawaii, U.S. (Photo by USGS/Handout via Reuters)