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 Doppler on Wheels (DOW) vehicle scans a supercell thunderstorm during a tornado research mission, May 8, 2017 in Elbert County near Agate, Colorado. Doppler on Wheels (DOW) is a mobile doppler radar mounted on a truck that brings instruments directly into storms, allowing scientists to scan storms and tornadoes and make 3-D maps of wind and debris. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Two horses appear to burst into laughter before a sweet embrace. The horses both turn their head to look at the camera and flash their teeth, treating the lucky photographer to a rare shot. Moments later the pair show their affectionate side by coming together and “hugging”. Photographer Nir Amos, 34, said he was “amazed” to capture the horses “laughing” in a field near Skógar, in the south east of Iceland on July 31, 2018. (Photo by Nir Amos/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Canadian painter Rob Gonsalves surrealistic paintings portrays two seemingly different realistic scenes magically merging into one. As a result, the term "Magic Realism" describes his work accurately.

Cuban soldiers receive combat training at the Cadets School “Antonio Maceo” November 28, 2001, 30 kilometers East of Havana. (Photo by Jorge Rey/Getty Images)

An American soldier walks ahead of an MKIV (Mark IV) British-made tank, circa 1918. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Bouwe Brouwer: Postcards from Fryslân (series finalist). “People from Fryslân are looked upon by the rest of the Netherlands as stubborn people. Going back as far as the Spanish occupation, they have a history of resisting authority. Postcards from Fryslân is still an ongoing project – hopefully a lifelong one. When it started, it represented only a collection of places that seemed interesting. Currently, the hope is to cover most of the province, as you never know in advance where the best narratives are. But still, it is all candid, unposed and in the public realm”. (Photo by Bouwe Brouwer/Street Photographers Awards 2021)