A dog Prince Dudeman stands on the head of Ryan Thor in the annual Surf City Surf Dog event, at Dog Beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Saturday, September 25, 2021. (Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Photo)

A lake in a shape of a heart is seen surrounded by autumn-coloured trees outside Balashikha, Moscow region, Russia on October 4, 2021. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

A Palestinian horseman rides on the beach at sunset a few hours prior to the new year's celebrations, west of in Gaza city on December 31, 2018. (Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP Photo)

Hindu devotees run through red hot embers as part of annual fire walking ritual during “Draupadi Amman” festival in Bangalore on June 9, 2019. (Photo by Manjunath Kiran/AFP Photo)

An elephant enjoys its back being scrubbed by the keeper on March 1, 1950. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

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)

Students salute after a man cast his vote at a polling station during the new Family Code referendum in Havana on September 25, 2022. Cubans on Sunday are voting in a landmark referendum on whether to legalize same-s*x marriage and adoption, allow surrogate pregnancies, and give greater rights to non-biological parents. (Photo by Adalberto Roque/AFP Photo)

Pictured is the sunset at Stonehenge in Wiltshire on Saturday night, September 24, 2022. (Photo by Nick Bull/pictureexclusive.com)