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)

High angle view of a young woman reading in a bathtub, turning page, enjoying time with herself. Candles and red wine. Valentines day concept, International womans day. (Photo by Vuk Saric/Getty Images)

Actress Elke Sommer sunbathing on the beach of Cannes during the Cannes film festival, 1961. (Photo by Daniel Fallot/INA via Getty Images)

Kids jump off the breakwater into the ocean ahead the Fourth of July holiday in Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S., July 3, 2023. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Supermodel Emily Ratajkowski in the last decade of September 2025 raised the temperature as she posed for steamy lingerie snaps to promote her campaign with Lounge underwear. The American businesswomen and producer has faced criticism over the years for her self-defined sexiness and womanhood but leaves little to the imagination as she showcases her seasonal picks from top lingerie firm. (Photo by Lounge/Morgan Maher)

Aerial view of tourists cooling off at a water park in summer on June 27, 2023 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China. Zhengzhou Meteorological Observatory on June 27 issued an orange alert for high temperatures. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

A Hercules beetle, one of the largest species of its kind, in seen at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on May 23, 2023. In the Monteverde cloud forest, dense fog among the lush vegetation is increasingly rare and temperatures are increasing each year due to climate change. (Photo by Ezequiel Becerra/AFP Photo)

A thirty-year-old Dutch demonstrator displays a sign that reads: “Glad to be Gay” during a gay people march in Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday, July 28, 1979 which ended a week long homosexual meeting. Hundreds of homosexual converged for a week of movies, theater, rock concerts and workshops on gay rights. (Photo by Rolf Boehm/AP Photo)