Aspiring models wait for their turn to be judged during auditions for the upcoming Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, India, June 30, 2016. (Photo by Shailesh Andrade/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)

An African migrant stranded in Costa Rica bathes at a makeshift camp at the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, in Penas Blancas, Costa Rica, July 14, 2016. Thousands of African migrants are currently stranded in Costa Rica after they were denied entry into neighbouring Nicaragua, which they have been using as a crossing point in order to reach the United States. According to the Costa Rican Red Cross, most of these people from Africa, Asia and Haiti. It has been reported that many of them paid smugglers to reach Central America. However, when they arrived at the border gates, they were denied entry and were left with nowhere to go. (Photo by Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters)

Students attend the first day of in-person classes, at a flooded school due to high tide, in Macabebe, Pampanga province, Philippines on August 22, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

The Grevy’s Illusion by Yaron Schmid, USA: a Grevy’s zebra staring at the camera in Lewa, Kenya. Third place – wildlife. (Photo by Yaron Schmid/The Nature Conservancy Global Photo Contest 2019)

Forgotten Guerrero. A female member of the community defence force holds her weapon. Since early 2019, the village has been attacked repeatedly by Los Ardillos cartel, prompting residents to take action. Rincón de Chautla, Guerrero, 10 June 2019. (Photo by Alfredo Bosco/Luz with the support of Le Figaro Magazine, Winner of the 2020 Humanitarian Visa d’or award, International Committee of the Red Cross/International Festival of Photojournalism 2020)

A plume of ash erupts from the Taal volcano in the Philippines on January 13, 2020. Situated on an island in the middle of a lake, it is one of the world's smallest volcanoes and has recorded at least 34 eruptions in the past 450 years. (Photo by Kenji Cheow/Magnus News)

A great crested grebe feeds a chick sitting on its mother’s back on a lake in Cáceres, Spain. (Photo by Jose Luis Ruiz/Solent News & Photo Agency)