A woman plays with a kitten inside of a line house in downtown Shanghai April 12, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

A woman injured during the 7.2 magnitude earthquake lies on a stretcher in Les Cayes, Haiti on August 14, 2021. (Photo by Ralph Tedy/Reuters)

A woman rides a Vespa during the Annual Columbus day parade in New York on October 11, 2021. (Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP Photo)

A woman sits on the rubble of her house in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey on February 14, 2023. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

Close up of a couple, with the woman holding the man's knee, underneath a table. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

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 has her hair blown by the wind during a snowstorm in Quebec City, on December 22, 2013. (Photo by Mathieu Belanger/Reuters)

A woman poses for a photograph in front of a 3D painting at HK 3D Museum in Hong Kong June 26, 2014. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)