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)

A child dressed in an imitation dress of army soldier enjoys a cold drink during a religious procession in Amritsar, India, 15 December 2015. The religious procession was taken out on the eve of the martyrdom day of the 9th Guru or Master of the Sikhs Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed for not converting to Islam on the orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi in 1675 AD. The place of this occurrence is called Gurudwara Sis Ganj at Delhi. Guru Tegh Bahadur the youngest of the five sons of Guru Hargobind was born in Amritsar in 1621. (Photo by Raminder Pal Singh/EPA)

Lucha Libre wrestlers perform during the Lucha VaVoom spectacle “Cinco de Mayan” at The Mayan theater in Los Angeles, California, USA, late 04 May 2023 (issued 05 May 2023). The Lucha VaVoom presents Lucha Libre wrestling spectacles and mixes them with burlesque show elements. (Photo by Caroline Brehman/EPA/EFE)

An Iraqi camel herder poses in the desert of Samawa in Iraq's southern province of al-Muthanna on January 27, 2024. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

An activist lays on the floor of a skate park during a protest against environmental destructions in Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 March 2021. Dozens of youths participated in a rally as part of the global climate strike movement demanding government to declare the climate emergency. (Photo by Mast Irham/EPA/EFE)

A woman poses for photos in snowfall on a podium installed on International Women's Day in central St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, with a police officer in the background. International Women's Day on March 8 is an official holiday in Russia, where men give flowers and gifts to female relatives, friends and colleagues. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Oscar-winning directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known collectively as the Daniels, march with Writers Guild of America members outside Sunset Bronson Studios and Netflix Studios, after union negotiators called a strike for film and television writers, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 3, 2023. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A female motorcycle cop directs traffic wearing crash helmet, Haywarket Square, Boston, Massachusetts, 1979. (Photo by Spencer Grant/Getty Images)