A German rifleman beside the corpse of a French soldier in a trench at Fort Vaux, France, 1916. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A man poses for a photo with a life size cutout of Pope Francis at Bicentennial Park where the pontiff celebrated Mass for an estimated half-million people, in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, July 7, 2015. Francis told an estimated half-million people gathered for the Mass that in a world divide by wars, violence and individualism, Catholics should be “builders of unity”, bringing together hopes and ideals of their people. (Photo by Ana Buitron/AP Photo)

Flowers are placed on a “comfort woman” statue during the weekly Wednesday protest in front of Japanese embassy demanding for an apology and compensation from Japanese government in Seoul, South Korea, July 22, 2015. “Comfort women” is the Japanese euphemism for women who were forced into prostitution and sexually abused at Japanese military brothels before and during World War Two. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A Syrian migrant family enters Hungary at the border with Serbia near Roszke, Hungary August 28, 2015. As Europe struggles with its worst migrant crisis since World War II, Hungary has become, like Italy and Greece, a “frontline” state. So far this year, police say around 141,500 migrants have been intercepted crossing into Hungary, mostly from neighbouring Serbia. (Photo by Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)

Wildlife photographer Kevin Fleming has covered the world as a photographer for National Geographic and has been recognized America’s Best Observer by Readers Digest. His assignments have taken him into war and famine in Somalia, to the Mediterranean for a re-creation of the voyage of Ulysses and put him on a dogsled crossing the Canadian arctic. Now Kevin is working on his 27th book. Here: Red fox kits look out from a hollow log. (Photo by Kevin Fleming)

US President George W. Bush (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin wave as the two presidents go for a ride in Putin's 1956 Volga before dinner 08 May 2005 at the his residence outside of Moscow. Bush hailed Russia's “bravery and sacrifice” in defeating Nazism, as he met Putin ahead of ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Bush, who the previous day criticized the decades-long Soviet occupation of central Europe, said he was looking forward to the 09 May ceremony on Moscow's Red Square, to be attended by over 50 national leaders. (Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP 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)