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 person smokes marijuana as marijuana enthusiasts mark the informal annual cannabis holiday, 4/20 (four-twenty), corresponding to the numerical figure widely recognized within the cannabis subculture as a symbol for all things related to marijuana, in Hyde Park in London, Britain on April 20, 2023. (Photo by Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters)

Kamal Khatib, a volunteer with the Animals Lebanon rescue group, kisses kittens after rescuing them from debris of destroyed buildings at the site of Thursday's Israeli airstrike, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, October 11, 2024. (Photo by Bilal Hussein/AP Photo)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, of the United States, compete in the ice dance's rhythm dance segment at the ISU Grand Prix Finals of Figure Skating, Friday, December 6, 2024, in Grenoble, France. (Photo by Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo)

Three children receive “best Christmas present ever” bionic arms in Bristol, England in the second decade of December 2024. Colette Baker, Finley Jarvis and Zoey Pidgeon-Hampton with their new Open Bionics arms. (Photo by Tom Wren/SWNS)

Afghan balloon vendors walk with their bicycles to look for customers, near a market in Kabul on January 8, 2025. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

A Hindu devotee offers prayers during Shivaratri festival at Sri Parvathi Jadala Ramalingeshwara Swamy Devastanamu, in Narketpally, India, Wednesday, February 26, 2025. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo)

Two men carrie a basket of flowers purchased from the flower market as a woman makes a selfie on the eve of an International Women's Day, in Moscow, Russia, on Friday, March 7, 2025. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)