Merit Prize Winner: “A Well Earned Rest in the Sahara”. This photo of Moussa Macher, our Tuareg guide, was taken at the summit of Tin-Merzouga, the largest dune (or erg) in the Tadrat region of the Sahara desert in southern Algeria. Moussa rested while waiting for us to finish our 45-minute struggle to the top. It only took ten minutes of rolling, running, and jumping to get back down. The Tadrat is part of the Tassili N'Ajjer National Park World Heritage area, famous for its red sand and engravings and rock paintings of cattle, elephants, giraffes, and rhinos that lived there when the climate was milder. Photo location: Summit of Tin-Merzouga, Tadrat, Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, Algeria. (Photo and caption by Evan Cole/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Tank crew standing in front of M-4 tank, Ft. Knox, Kentucky, June, 1942. (Alfred Palmer/OWI/LOC)

Revellers celebrate the death of Britain's former prime minister Margaret Thatcher in Brixton, south London April 8, 2013. Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87. (Photo by Olivia Harris/Reuters)

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)

A Wiesel combat vehicle of the German Bundeswehr armed forces takes part in a demonstration for visitors prior to military exercises on September 28, 2011 near Munster, Germany. The Bundeswehr has instituted far-reaching changes in recent years, including an end to compulsory military service. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

After finding the bricklaying business too full of ups and downs, this amazing young girl decided to take a shot at iron girdering for a change. She is Miss “Collie” Collier, a reporter for the Chicago Herald-Examiner. August 17, 1920. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

A motorist drives a car through a flooded expressway in Brooklyn, New York early on September 2, 2021, as flash flooding and record-breaking rainfall brought by the remnants of Storm Ida swept through the area. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

An idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh is transported in a taxi in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, September 8, 2021. The idol is being taken home for worship ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival that celebrates the birth of Ganesha. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)