A sun bear reacts to triple-digit temperatures at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, where the temperature reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit on July 6, 2012. (Photo by Nati Harnik/Associated Press)

UK-based digital artist Dan Lester combines photography and illustration into clever and intriguing images that really make you question what you're looking at. Is it a photograph or a drawing? In actuality, it's both. The digital illustrator manages to bewilder his audience by merging the roles of model and artist into one entity in an innovative fashion. (Photo by Dan Lester)

Visitors to a mall grasp at air as they try out an augmented reality experience of a digital art gala in Beijing, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Cosplayers at China Joy 2023, the city’s Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference in Shanghai, China on July 30, 2023. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto/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)

Tourists play in front of a 3D painting on the wall of a house in Luoyuan village, Jinhua, Zhejiang province, August 26, 2015. The village hired a team to put on 3D paintings all over the valley as a method to attract tourists and improve the income of local villagers, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

“John Thomson (14 June 1837 – 29 September 1921) was a pioneering Scottish photographer, geographer and traveller. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes and artifacts of eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation, and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism. He went on to become a portrait photographer of High Society in Mayfair, gaining the Royal Warrant in 1881”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Ex Omnibus Driver. (Photo by John Thomson/LSE Digital Library)

This series of pictures shot by satellite, show the man-made world as astronauts see it. Artist Benjamin Grant uses Google Earth to find the most compelling satellite images of human civilization. The stunning pictures of sprawling metropolises and vast reservoirs are sometimes unidentifiable until zoomed in. In order to find an extraordinary picture in the practically endless supply of satellite data, Benjamin focuses on the themes of current events or environmental issues. Here: Industrial Sector, Tokai, Japan. (Photo by Benjamin Grant/Digital Globe/Caters News)