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)

Lava erupts from the Piton de la Fournaise “Peak of the Furnace” volcano, on the southeastern corner of the Indian Ocean island of Reunion Saturday, August 1, 2015. Spewing red-hot lava, one of the most active volcanoes in the world is currently erupting on this Indian Ocean island, where the world's attention has been focused since a wing fragment believed to be from the missing Malaysian jet was discovered washed up on a beach. The lava fountains are shooting as high as 40 meters (44 yards) and are creating cones that are about 20 meters high after only one day of eruption, said Peltier. The volcano is in the Reunion National Park – a world heritage site. The volcano is not seen as dangerous because the lava flows down the east side of the mountain through an uninhabited area called the Grand Brule, or the Big Burned, toward the sea. The last times the volcano threatened the population was in 1977 and 1986. (Photo by Ben Curtis/AP Photo)

Gina Di Meo, journalist from ANSA sits during a media preview of Summit at One Vanderbilt in New York, October 1, 2021. The Summit viewing deck is spread across the top four floors on One Vanderbilt in Manhattan, the fourth tallest building in the city. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

China's President Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte Macron pose in front of the clock as they visit the Orsay Museum, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/AP Photo)

Fans react as they watch HBO's “Game of Thrones” series finale at a viewing party at Brennan's bar in Marina del Rey, California, May 19, 2019. (Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP Photo)

MMVA host model Gigi Hadid takes pictures with fans as she arrives for the iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards (MMVAs) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 19, 2016. (Photo by Peter Power/Reuters)

Alexandra Mazo, 12, with her cellphone on her way down the mountain after finishing school. The remote mountain village of Pueblo Nuevo has been highly affected by the armed conflict and direct combat between the national army and Farc guerrillas due to its strategic location and the intensive production on coca crops on the surrounding hillsides. (Photo by Mads Nissen/Politiken/The Guardian/Panos Pictures/The Nobel Peace Center)

A woman checks on two of her puppies after her neighborhood was evacuated because of severe flooding in Channelview, Texas, on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Days of rain caused rivers to swell, leaving homes and businesses flooded and thousands of people displaced. (Photo by Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle/AP Photo)