Tara Davis-Woodhall of the United States in action during the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Tokyo on September 14, 2025. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

Lindsay Heimbach goes airborne while sledding down a hill on Mt. Lemmon December 27, 2008. (Photo by James Gregg/Arizona Daily Star)

This is the amazing moment a heroic hippo saved a gnu from certain death. After being bitten by a crocodile, the large antelope is seen being dragged slowly under the water. But in a miraculous turn of events, a nearby hippo is seen making its way across the water to help the animal in its hour of need. Photo: One of the biggest hippos protects the gnu as it makes its way back to the shoreline, guarding it from any further attacks. (Photo by Vadim Onishchenko/Caters News)

Valeria Gonzalez Maidana of Paraguay performs in the final round of the first Budapest Ballet Grand Prix in the National Dance Theatre in Budapest, Hungary on November 23, 2023. The international ballet competition was launched by the Hungarian Dance University, a leading training facility of Hungarian professional dancers, to promote ballet and dance art in Hungary. The competition offers young dancers an opportunity to compete and gain exposure in the international dance scene, and provides scholarships and career opportunities for the most outstanding dancers. The event runs from 21 to 24 November. (Photo by Tamas Vasvari/EPA)

The Mad Hatter's tea party, a scene from a theatre production of “Alice In Wonderland”. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1910

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)

Tourists take photographs as a wild sika deer eats a bag on June 6, 2019 in Nara, Japan. Nara's free-roaming deer have become a huge attraction for tourists. However, an autopsy on a deer that was recently found dead near one of the city's famous temples discovered 3.2kg of plastic in its stomach and caused concern at the effect of tourism as Japan struggles to cope with a huge increase in domestic and international tourists. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

“We take rusty old junk and we put love into it”. The old Motor City has a unique style in bicycles these days: from fat wheels and fake fuel tanks to stretched cycles with powerful sound systems – and even a family-sized BBQ. “Detroit’s custom bike scene developed alongside Slow Roll, a weekly cycle ride started in 2010 by Jason Hall and Mike MacKool. Now upwards of 2,000 people turn up each Monday to cruise a different part of the city. The week I go the crowd seems evenly split between black and white, male and female, city and suburbs. It’s the most inclusive cycle event I’ve ever witnessed”. (Photo by Jason Walker/Slow Roll Monday Nights)