A medical staff member rests next to a patient infected with Covid-19 in the intensive care unit of Lozenets Hospitalin Sofia on November 9, 2021. Bulgaria is among the countries with the highest number of deaths compared to its population. (Photo by Nikolay Doychinov/AFP Photo)

Aoife Ni Heochaidh enjoys the sunrise as she welcomes winter solstice at the 5000-year-old stone age passage tomb of Newgrange in the Boyne Valley, as entry inside the chamber is closed for the second year due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Newgrange, Ireland, December 21, 2021. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

The hair of CSKA Moscow cheerleaders flies high as they perform during the Euroleague Basketball game between Alba Berlin and CSKA Moscow in Moscow, Russia, 04 February 2022. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE)

A lion cub wakes in the morning sun at the Zimanga private game reserve in South Africa on April 9, 2022. (Photo by Calvin Kotze/Animal News Agency)

Molly Swindall, 30, who travelled from the United States to meet Moo Deng for the third time, reacts as she takes a selfie with the one-year-old female pygmy hippo, who became a viral internet sensation last year, and her mother Jona, at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

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)

Mural of wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill wearing stockings and suspenders and giving the “V” sign by illusive local artist who goes by the name Horace, on the side of the Sandpiper guest house in Brighton on November 22, 2020. (Photo by Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)

A woman sells props outside a church on as members of India's Christian community celebrate Christmas eve in Mumbai, India, December 24, 2020. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)