A couple kiss as strong waves hit the coast in Saint-Benoit, on the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on February 2, 2022, ahead of the passage of tropical cyclone Batsirai. La Reunion goes on red alert at 7 pm on February 2, to prepare for the likely passage of cyclone Batsirai overnight. The cyclone already left at least 7,500 homes in nearby Mauritius without power, after it brought heavy downpours and winds of around 120 kilometres per hour, knocking down trees onto electricity lines, according to the local electricity board. (Photo by Richard Bouhet/AFP Photo)

Environmental activist Rob Greenfield walks around Beverly Hills, California on May 16, 2022 wearing a suit filled with every piece of trash he has generated living and consuming like a typical American for one month to raise awareness about how much garbage just one person generates. (Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP Photo)

A woman wearing a protective mask is seen behind a girl dressed in a Plague Doctor Mask in Western-Ukrainian city of Lviv, Ukraine, 22 March 2020. Ukrainian Designer Anastasia Markovska sewed protective masks looking like Plague Doctor Masks, the traditional costume of Venice Carnival, for herself and her friends due to the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In Ukraine had been 47 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including three deaths and one recovery as Ukraine's Health Ministry announced. (Photo by Pavlo Palamarchuk/EPA/EFE)

In this November 16, 2018, file photo, Duane Townsend, left, shoots a pheasant at Special Friday Pheasant Hunts, sponsored by Southern Tulare County Sportsman's Association, at Lake Success Recreation Area in Porterville, Calif. A Utah man who has been in a wheelchair for more than three decades has created a pheasant hunt for people like him who need help getting into the outdoors. The Daily Herald in Provo reports that Clint Robinson broke his neck after being thrown off a horse at a rodeo 32 years ago. The event called “Wheelchairs in the Wild” pairs people that have physical disabilities with hunters who help them with whatever they need. Many go in off-road vehicles. (Photo by Chieko Hara/The Porterville Recorder via AP Photo/File)

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)

These goats threw caution to the wind and scaled this Argan tree right to the very top, even balancing on the most unsturdy of branches. It looks like a bit of a baa-lancing act, but the goats hooves are perfectly adapted to climbing the trees, where they graze on the Argan fruit. Amateur photographer Burak Senbak, 51, took these photos whilst travelling through Morocco in July 2016. Burak is originally from Turkey and works as a mechanical engineer, but has pursued his passion for photography for 10 years. Intrigued by the sight of goats in a tree, Burak couldnt resist the opportunity to take some photos, and said the goats proved a perfect subject. (Photo by Burak Senbak/Caters News)

“Sangoma” initiate Dipuo Banda (C) is led out of her teachers shack while she remains in a trance like state prior to dancing during her 3 day initiation ceremony with her teacher, family, friends and students in the Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, South Africa, 14 May 2021. Sangomas, the Zulu term for Medicine Women or traditional healers, fulfill different social and political roles in the community, including divination, physical healing, emotional and spiritual illnesses, directing birth or death rituals and finding lost cattle. (Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA/EFE)

A handout photo made available by the Indian Air Force (IAF) showing an IAF helicopters during the rescue operation in flood affected areas of Dhanyaghari of Khanakul in West Bengal, India, 02 August 2021. According to the IAF, helicopters of Indian Air Force rescued 31 people from rooftops and brought them to safety to Arambaug. The helicopters also dropped emergency food supplies in the affected areas after the torrential rain in the state has thrown life out of gear and created flood like situation in many districts. (Photo by Indian Air Force/Handout via EPA/EFE)