A woman poses for a photo at Hitchin Lavender farm in Ickleford, Britain, August 4, 2020. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

A woman and her son hold firecrackers during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Mumbai, India, November 4, 2021. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

A woman in yukata, casual summer kimono, poses for a photo at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, Japan on October 2, 2019. (Photo by Matthew Childs/Reuters)

An Afghan burqa-clad woman carries a child as she walks along a road in Herat on October 1, 2023. (Photo by Mohsen Karimi/AFP Photo)

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 woman worker prepares her stall at Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta, Indonesia January 11, 2017. (Photo by Fatima El-Kareem/Reuters)

Men throw water on a woman as part of traditional Easter celebrations in Szenna, Hungary, March 28, 2016. (Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Reuters)

A woman poses for a photographer (not pictured) as a man sits next to her in downtown Catania, Italy April 20, 2016. (Photo by Tony Gentile/Reuters)