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)

“I’d come to the Altai Mountains on an Adventure Sherpas tour. Our group of 12 was made up mostly of Minnesotans who’d left warm weather and falling leaves for frosty Mongolia. We’d come to sleep in cozy ger tents, the traditional yurt abode of the Mongolian steppe; sip mare’s milk tea; climb mountain glaciers; ride horses to an ancient battle site, and attend the annual Eagle Hunting Festival in Ölgiy...”. – Kathryn Kysar via The Star Tribune. Here: hunter Berek and his eagle outside his home. (Photo by Brad Ruoho/The Star Tribune)

A girl struggles with winds from approaching Typhoon Matmo along the eastern coast of Keelung, northeastern Taiwan, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (Photo by Wally Santana/AP Photo)

For France, the trauma of the Algerian War (1954-1962) was not unlike the experience of the Vietnam War for the United States. But, unlike the conflict in Vietnam, few photographic documents exist from that period in Algeria: it is as if the French responded with collective amnesia. Marc Garanger’s Algerian Women is one of the few photographic essays dedicated to that painful period... Photo: A 1960 photograph of an Algerian woman in a French regroupment village. (Photo by Marc Garanger)

Boy says hello to a swimming bear in Seattle, Washington on October 4, 2022. Fall weather brings out the Animals' playful side as Attendees celebrate World Animal Day with a visit to Woodlawn Park Zoo. (Photo by Shane Srogi/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Russia's figure skater Alexandra Trusova performs in a show at the CSKA arena in Moscow on February 14, 2023. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

A festival goer spins a light strip as she dances to electronic music in front of the Belleville stage during the 45th edition of the Paleo Festival, in Nyon, Switzerland, 24 July 2022. The Paleo is the largest open-air music festival in the western part of Switzerland. (Photo by Valentin Flauraud/EPA/EFE)

A model showcases a creation during a runway show for the collection by the Crimean designers at the 2020 Crimean Fashion Week on Lake Sasyk in Crimea, Russia on August 22, 2020. (Photo by Sergei Malgavko/TASS)