Allyson Anne Lamb is a Brooklyn based fine artist primarily working in photography. Her work uses the body to explore the complexity of human emotions and the continuous invisible transformations we experience, revealing them as monstrosities or fantastical beings. Through the assembling of body parts, bright colors and fictional spaces that exist in Lamb's magical realm where sexual anxiety, female identity and altered sensorial perceptions are explored, Lamb invites us to participate in an altered state of consciousness. We step in to quaint fragmented realities where we are welcomed to engage in lucid dreaming populated by colorful mutations.

A man dressed in a traditional Perchten costume and mask performs during a Perchten festival in the western Austrian village of Huben November 22, 2014. Each year in November and January people in the western Austria regions dress up in Perchten (also known in some regions as Krampus or Tuifl) costumes and parade through the streets to perform a 1,500 year-old pagan ritual to disperse the ghosts of winter. (Photo by Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters)

A member of “Laughter Doctors of Ciudad Juarez” performs at a children's hospital in Ciudad Juarez March 11, 2015. Through clown performances, music and interactive activities, the group of doctors visit different hospitals throughout the border city, using laughter to help aid the recovery of young and elderly patients suffering from serious illness or injury, as well as provide hope for the hospitalized patients and their families, local media reported. (Photo by Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters)

A spring breaker takes a shot of tequila during a pool party at a hotel in Cancun March 8, 2015. Like previous Florida spring break hot spots Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach, Panama City Beach is facing a crisis of conscience over the trade-offs involved in hosting a binge for some 300,000 students who arrive through mid-April with coolers, beer funnels and credit cards. (Photo by Michael Spooneybarger/Reuters)

A boy dances as he and others participate during the 4th Delhi Queer Pride 2011 March on November 27, 2011 in New Delhi, India. India's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community celebrated the 4th Delhi Queer Pride March with a parade through the streets of Delhi. People gathered to protest violence, harassment and discrimination faced by the LGBT community in India. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

An exhibitor takes a photo with a Huawei Mate 10 Pro during the 2018 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 9, 2018. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 12 and features about 3,900 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 170,000 attendees. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters)

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)