Performers kiss the Olympic Torch as Julien Segui carries the Olympic Torch at Moulin Rouge during the second day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay on July 15, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Vanessa Low of Team Australia makes a jump in the women's long-jump T63 final at Stade de France, during the 2024 Paralympics, on September 5, 2024. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

Flames and smoke rise from a wildfire in Epuyen, in the Patagonian region of Chubut, Argentina on January 16, 2025. (Photo by Matias Garay/Reuters)

“The Sunsetter”. An EF-4 tornado rips through the open space of farmland near Rozel, Kansas. This tornado moves slowly but powerful towards the setting sun an gets its beautiful color right before sunset. Storm Chasers are spotting on the left side. Photo location: Rozel, Kansas. (Photo and caption by Dennis Oswald/National Geographic Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

A Malaysian woman walks past an advertisement outside a jewellery store at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur on August 25, 2015. Prices of crude oil and most other commodities rebounded in Asia on August 25 but stayed under pressure following a global sell-off sparked by the faltering economy in China, the world's top user of industrial metals and energy. Gold prices remained steady, boosted by prospects of increased demand due to its status as a safe haven in times of turmoil. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)

US model Binx Walton strutted out with a boob exposed and only a glittery love heart ­protecting her modesty in Anthony Vaccarello’s debut show for Saint ­Laurent on September 27, 2016. The Sun found out how the trend measured up on trip to the shops. Here: Isabella Besque 21 from London tries out the nipple cover look as seen Paris Fashion week on the streets of London, England on October 7, 2016. (Photo by Stewart Williams/The Sun)

Visitors review their cell phone photos of an installation called “Plexus A1” by artist Gabriel Dawe, one of nine large-scale art installations displayed at the “Wonders” exhibit at the Renwick Art Gallery in Washington, DC, Wednesday, January 13, 2016. Built in the 1860s, the Renwick was the first American building to be designed specifically as an art museum; it recently reopened after a two year renovation. (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA)

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)