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 priest is seen looking out of Abuna Yemata church’s only window. Priests cheerfully tell visitors that pregnant women, babies and old people attend Sunday services and no one has fallen off. (Photo by Ethiopia – The Living Churches of an Ancient Kingdom/The American University in Cairo Press/The Guardian)

Charli XCX performs at Hype Hotel on March 17, 2016 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Lorne Thomson/Redferns)

Father Angel (L), parish priest of San Anton Church blesses a dog during the celebrations of San Anton in Madrid, Spain on January 17, 2018. (Photo by Fernando Alvarado/EFE via ZUMA Press)

British underwater photographer of the year – winner. “Love Birds” by Grant Thomas (UK). Location: Luss Pier, Loch Lomond, Scotland. Thomas’s initial idea was to frame a split shot of one swan feeding below the surface of the water but when he noticed how comfortable they were around him he was confident, with some patience, he could get that magical shot of the two. (Photo by Grant Thomas/UPY 2018)

A doll in a children's gas mask is seen amongst beds at a kindergarten in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine on March 28, 2016. Deadly radiation still spews from Chernobyl 30 years after the worst nuclear meltdown in history, as a newly built giant arch is pulled into place to cover the stricken reactor for the next century. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Tyra Banks prepares to pose as she arrives at the iHeartRadio MuchMusic Video Awards (MMVA) in Toronto, Canada, August 26, 2018. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Reuters)

Mature woman lying on bed, rear view. (Photo by Andersen Ross/Getty Images)