Sneha Mindani, 14, one of the survivors of the April 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attack, wipes her tears as her father delivers a speech during a protest to demand justice for this attack, on the third anniversary of the event, near the Presidential Secretariat, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 17, 2022. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

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)

Multiple lightning strikes are seen in this 66 image composite taken over 1.5 hours during a monsoon in Bangkok, Thailand which took place overnight from October 29th to October 30th, 2024. The monsoon season in Bangkok normally lasts from July to October, making this one of the year's last major storms to hit the Thai capital. (Photo by Adryel Talamantes/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Sisters Martha Syrett, 6, left, and Etta Syrett, 4, right, measure one of Ian Paton's huge pumpkins at Pinetops Nurseries, Lymington, Hants, UK on October 5, 2025. An enormous pumpkin grown by a pair of green-fingered twins has smashed two world records – it is the heaviest and the longest pumpkin on the planet. Ian and Stuart Paton grew the pumpkin which weighed in at 2,819.8 pounds (1,278.8 kg) – the equivalent of about two bulls. (Photo by Ollie Thompson/Solent News & Photo Agency)

A military aircraft flies low through the Mach Loop in west-central Wales on September 25, 2025 during Cobra Warrior 25-2, one of Nato’s largest multinational air exercises. The operation, running across the UK until October 3, brings together air forces from the UK, US, Canada, Italy and Germany for three weeks of high-intensity training in challenging low-level environments. (Photo by Tony Marsh)

Performers dressed with flower pots on their heads perform during a media preview of the Pacific National Exhibition Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, August 15, 2024. Marking its 114th year, the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) Fair, one of the longest running events in Canada, runs from Aug. 17 to Sept. 2 here this year. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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)

The CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year competition – now in its ninth year – encourages professional and amateur photographers to capture cities at work. Here: Dog Walker – 15:00. The competition allows photographers to enter up to 24 images, one representing each hour of the day. (Photo by Johanna Siegmann)