The setting sun illuminates the sky behind wind turbines of a wind park near Neusiedl am See, December 22, 2014. (Photo by Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters)

A Model styled by a participant waits to be judged by the jury during the contest “Day style” of the OMC Hairworld World Cup on May 4, 2014 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)

Autumn colors border a road leading through a small valley near Blankenburg am Harz, Germany, Wednesday, November 1, 2023. (Photo by Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)

Decorated eggs are seen at the egg museum in Winden am See, Austria, March 25, 2016. The collection of Austrian artist Wander Bertoni contains about 4000 eggs. (Photo by Christian Bruna/EPA)

A model poses with her bodypainting designed by bodypainting artist Arianna Barlini from Italy, in the 2016 World Bodypainting Festival, 2016 in Poertschach am Woerthersee, Austria. (Photo by Didier Messens/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 model prepares backstage before the Am/Jasmine collection by Chen Liang during the China Fashion week in Beijing on September 5, 2024. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

A bee searches for nectar on a flower in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on Friday, September 19, 2025. (Photo by Boris Roessler/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images)