Russian fashion model Irina Shayk bares it all while getting ready for the Rio Carnival parade in Brazil early March 2025. (Photo by irinashayk/Instagram)

American TV personality and model Brooke Burke is seen on the beach on July 29, 2025 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Michael Simon/GC Images)

Belgian Fran Vanhoutte celebrates as she crosses the finish line at the finals of the women's 500m +D speed skating event, at the World Games 2025, in Chenghdu, China, on Thursday 14 August 2025. This year, the World Games take place from 7 to 17 August. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A one-and-a-half-month-old orphaned two-toed sloth clings a sloth plush toy at the Panamerican Conservation Association (APPC) during a conservation activity for International Sloth Day, in Panama City, Panama, on October 19, 2025. (Photo by Enea Lebrun/Reuters)

Bronze medallist Norway's Line Flem Hoest jumps into the water as she celebrates at the end of the women's ILCA 6 single-handed dinghy medal race during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games sailing competition at the Roucas-Blanc Marina in Marseille on August 7, 2024. (Photo by Lisi Niesner/Reuters)

The coendou porcupine couple 'Joppi' (L) and 'Fletcher' nibble at a vegetables in their enclosure at the zoo in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 03 December 2015. Coendou porcupines are nocturnal rodents related to porcupines and guinea pigs and native to the rain forests of Central and South America as well as Trinidad. (Photo by Arne Dedert/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)