This photo taken on November 1, 2020 shows tourists taking photographs of the figure of an elephant made of rice straw in an amusement park on the shores of Huay Tueng Thao lake outside Chiang Mai. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Kyrgyz dancers perform in an event gathering bedouins and nomads from around the world as part of the annual King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in Rumah desert, northeast of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on March 19, 2019. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine/AFP Photo)

A ten-week-old North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) is handled during a routine health check in the Zoo of Debrecen, northeastern Hungary, 30 January 2024. The female cub, which was born on 21 November 2023, belongs to a leopard subspecies that is endemic to the forest habitats of Northern China. (Photo by Zsolt Czegledi/EPA/EFE)

A woman is soaked as she runs down the street as revellers take part in a water fight on Khao San road on the eve of Thai New Year, locally known as Songkran, in Bangkok on April 12, 2023. (Photo by Jack Taylor/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)

Aliia Nasyrova laying her hair on the couch to show her hair's length on March 5, 2017 in Riga, Latvia. Real-life Rapunzel Aliia Nasyrova has hair so long that her husband admits he thinks of it as another member of the family. Aliia, 27, who lives in Riga, Latvia, took 20 years to grow out her hair, which measures 90 inches to the floor – and even has its own space in the marital bed. And while her massive mane attracts stares when out in public, her husband Ivan Balaban says he loves it and is proud of her for not cutting it. Weighing in at 4.5lbs (2kg), Aliia says her lengthy locks weigh as much as the family cat. (Photo by Eduard Kolik/Barcroft Media)

Devotees offer prayers before taking a holy bath during the Swasthani Bratakatha festival in the Triveni River in Panauti near Kathmandu January 24, 2015. During the month long festival, devotees recite one chapter of a Hindu tale daily from the 31-chapter sacred Swasthani Brata Katha book that is dedicated to the God Madhavnarayan and the Goddess Swasthani, alongside various other gods and goddess and the miraculous feats performed by them. The devotees also go on pilgrimages to various temples, perform religious rituals, take a holy bath in the rivers and fast for a month, especially among women who believe fasting helps in their family's well-being or in getting them a good husband. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Frander Arroyo, select wings of butterflies at Blue Morpho Butterfly House in Alajuela, Costa Rica, March 10, 2016. According to Arroyo, owner of Blue Morpho Butterfly House, he collects dead butterflies from his garden to mount as handicraft like earrings, necklaces, paintings and rings for export with prices ranging from $12 to $16 a piece. (Photo by Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters)