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)

South African surfer Andy Marr rides a wave at Dungeons offshore reef in the Atlantic Ocean outside Cape Town, South Africa, 01 September 2016. The big wave surfing season is at its peak with winter swells driven by storms in the South Atlantic breaking on the Cape's outer reefs providing good conditions. Big wave surfers are competing in the 2016 Striped Horse Challenge and Rebel Sessions big wave competitons symultaneously throughout the season. (Photo by Nic Bothma/EPA)

Hermes Cifuentes, who is also known as “Brother Hermes”, performs an exorcism on Marleny Munoz, 55, who claims to be possessed by spirits in La Cumbre, Valle July 7, 2012. Cifuentes says he has performed more than 35,000 exorcism rituals in the past 25 years. (Photo by Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters)

This image released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Kristen Stewart in a scene from “Underwater”. (Photo by Alan Markfield/Twentieth Century Fox via AP Photo)

A model rehearses with a fabric face mask on, designed by Zhou Li for her Autumn/Winter 2020 collection show, during China Fashion Week in Beijing, following the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, China on May 3, 2020. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

A dog named Izzy licks its chops as Craig Morland of Crofton, Maryland, buys a bucket of Thrashers famous fries on the first day of eased coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions for the beach and boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, U.S., May 9, 2020. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Regina Sarrubbo (25, Long Island resident, personal fitness trainer) takes advantage of the Brooklyn Bridge Park in NYC waterfront by working on her flexibility moves on June 18, 2020. (Photo by Paul Martinka/The New York Post)

An employee stands on the step of The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express at Istanbul Station in Istanbul, on August 31, 2022. The Venice Simplon Orient-Express luxury train arrives in Istanbul, completing its annual voyage along a mythical route that takes it across Europe from Paris. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/AFP Photo)