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)

Farmer Zhang Xianping rides his pig "Big Precious" during an interview with the media, in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China, November 2, 2015. Zhang, a pig breeder, instead of killing it, decided to keep the two-year-old "Big Precious" as pet when its weight reached 600 kg, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

Keep your eyes peeled: A Chinese teenager slipped and stabbed himself in the face with a 7cm knife while peeling an apple. Ren Hanzhi's father recalled: “He was walking to the sofa while peeling the apple. Suddenly he slipped down and his face hit onto the sharp knife. I dared not pull out the knife as my son was screaming”. The nearest hospital referred the 13-year-old to a larger unit. Chief surgeon Peng Liwei, who operated to remove the knife, commented: “It's shocking. The knife, which is more than 20cm long, penetrated 7cm into his face. The surgery was successful and the patient could recover fully in around a month”. (Photo by Rex Features)

“By 1969, the fashion choices of tens of millions of young American men and women were as variegated and ever-evolving as the world around them. Cultural transformation was an irresistible force during the Sixties, and across America and around the globe civil rights, women’s and gay liberation, the sexual revolution and, of course, the explosive soundtrack of R&B, soul and rock and roll informed everything from politics to fashion”. – LIFE. Photo: Corona del Mar High School students Kim Robertson, Pat Auvenshine and Pam Pepin wear “hippie” fashions, 1969. (Photo by Arthur Schatz/Time & Life Pictures)

A man carrying an axe walks past a house marked with bullet holes in Gyallesu district after recent clashes between Shi'ites and the army in Zaria, Kaduna state, Nigeria, February 3, 2016. Sectarian tensions are rising in Nigeria's Muslim north, where hundreds of Shi'ites were killed in clashes with the army in the town of Zaria in December, according to Shi'ites and rights groups. Following the clashes, bulldozers sent by the state levelled Shi'ite shrines, a cemetery and offices in the deeply divided town. The region is already grappling with an insurgency waged by the jihadist Boko Haram group. (Photo by Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

A woman photographs “Super Space Titan Kitty” by Colin Christian at the “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” museum exhibit in honor of Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary, at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California October 10, 2014. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

A participant in costume uses a mobile phone at a Halloween event in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2017. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

People wearing costumes walk during Halloween in Sierra Madre, California, U.S., October 31, 2017. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)