A group of Chinese hostesses walk during the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Tiananmen square in Beijing on March 5, 2025. (Photo by WANG Zhao/AFP Photo)

Hundreds of Marilyn Monroe impersonators wearing blonde wigs take part in the Marilyn Jetty Swim in coastal suburb of Brighton Adelaide to raise money for cancer charity in Adelaide, SA Australia on February 4, 2024. (Photo by Amer Ghazzal/Alamy Live News)

Waiters pose at their terrace of their restaurant rue de Buci in Paris on June 2, 2020, as cafes and restaurants reopen in France, while the country eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus). (Photo by Martin Bureau/AFP Photo)

The Frecce Tricolori perform over a deserted Via del Corso on Liberation Day following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Rome, Italy, April 25, 2020. (Photo by Remo Casilli/Reuters)

Kids in fancy dress eat for free at Asda Cafés in Leeds, UK on Halloween on 31st October, 2025 – a real treat for families this spooky season. (Photo by Doug Jackson/PinPep)

In this Monday, March 16, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Samira Helal, 17, who is two months pregnant, poses for a portrait at inside her tent at an informal tented settlement near the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. Nearly 3.8 million Syrians have fled their country and are now registered as refugees, according to the U.N. Most face increasingly desperate circumstances. (Photo by Muhammed Muheisen/AP Photo)

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)

According to the U.S. government, Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, depends on about $1.6 billion annually sent back from the roughly one million Moldovans who left for work in in Europe, Russia, and other former Soviet Bloc countries. Photographer Myriam Meloni went to Moldova to document what she refers to as “social orphans” – children whose parents have emigrated to another country in search of a job and a better future for their families. Here: Lulia is seen washing dishes in her grandmother's house, where she lives. (Photo by Myriam Meloni)