A man wearing a mouth-nose protection to protect against the coronavirus walks past a department store window with the words “BACK TO LIFE” in Schwerin, Germany, Thursday, April 15, 2021. (Photo by Jens Buettner/dpa via AP Photo)

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)

This photo taken on November 7, 2023 shows winter swimming enthusiasts taking photos at Beiling Park after snowfall in Shenyang, in China's northeastern Liaoning province. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

A woman looks out from her stall selling traditional garments and textiles at a market in Ashgabat February 8, 2012. (Photo by Aman Mehinli/Reuters)

A British RAF Typhoon aircraft escorts a C130 transport plane on its way to Jordan for an airdrop of paratroopers from the U.K.'s 16th Air Assault Brigade as part of an exercise conducted jointly with Jordanian soldiers on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. (Photo by Petros Karadjias/AP Photo)

A pedestrian reacts as she caught a gust of wind while walking down the famed “Kokusai-dori” street, a tourist spot, in Naha in the main Okinawa island, southern Japan, Thursday, June 1, 2023, as a tropical storm was approaching. (Photo by Hiro Komae/AP Photo)

A nesting bird peeks out of the budding Japanese Yoshino cherry tree along the Tidal Basin in Washington, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Despite repeated predictions peak blossom time for the historic cherry trees is not yet here, but almost, almost. (Photo by Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

A U.S. Army soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his military working dog jump off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during water training over the Gulf of Mexico as part of exercise Emerald Warrior 2011 on March 1, 2011. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez/U.S. Air Force)