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)

Eryn, owned by Tom Chudleigh in Canada. New global research has revealed that ‘shed-scapism’ is sweeping the world with more people than ever ditching their tools and transforming their sheds into zen dens. The research comes as the Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition joins forces with aspirational shed fan site, Cabin p*rn, to launch the first ever global category. We have a stunning suite of imagery of 9 sheds from across the world - from Norway to Slovenia, British Colombia to Colorado who have all submitted their sheds in the hopes of being crowned the first ever Global Shed of the Year. (Photo by Cuprinol/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

“Throughout those last months photography has grown in me. It has become a part of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Flickr is my small theater, hope you'll enjoy the show”. – ShmilebliK

Photo: Short circuit, 2012 (Photo by ShmilebliK)

A production department of a textile factory is seen abandoned in Kaduna, Nigeria November 3, 2016. President Muhammadu Buhari hopes to revive the once flourishing textile and leather industries in northern Nigeria to end the country's dependence on oil exports and diversify Africa's biggest economy. (Photo by Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) watch a class from outside the classroom in Havana, Cuba, October 12, 2016. Catherine Conley, the first American full-time student at Cuba's prestigious National Ballet School, hopes to gain an edge back home by learning the powerful Cuban style with its dazzling turns and jumps. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

“Hi! I'm Joel, I live in a valley in British Columbia's Rocky Mountains, as close to the forest as I could possibly be! I love to run, bike, jump, eat and create and I hope that you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy creating it!” – Joel Robison. (Photo by: Joel Robison; Source: Flickr)

'Military woman' is a constantly updated gallery of images of women wearing uniform: military, police and so on. We truly hope that our beloved visitors won't remain passive and will take part in this project making it even more interesting! Note that all the images featured in the gallery are taken from publically available sources: their copyright belongs to their respective creators and the trade mark to the owners. ...

In this undated handout photograph from the “Inside Out Project”, a poster bearing the image of a Pakistani girl whose parents, lawyers say, were killed in a drone strike, lies in a field at an undisclosed location in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. A group of artists in Pakistan are hoping to generate “empathy” among US drone operators by placing giant posters of children in the country's troubled tribal regions. (Photo by AFP Photo)