Spain's Lucia Corrales, left and Canada's Florianne Jourde fight for the ball during a U-20 Women's World Cup round of sixteen soccer match in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, September 11, 2024. (Photo by Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo)

A general view as runners clear a fence during The Gamble Responsibly At BetMGM Handicap Chase at Fontwell Park Racecourse on October 23, 2024 in Fontwell, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Jean-Pierre Giagnoli walks through a crowded area of vendors hawking cat related goods at CatCon LA in Los Angeles, on Sunday, June 26, 2016. (Photo by Richard Vogel/AP 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)

“7584 Fish”. On a windy day right after a Cyclone passed the far northern Great Barrier Reef i took some friends out to the reef. Never before i saw that many glass fish on this particular coral “bommie”. Just when i setup my camera, this Napoleon Wrasse swam right through the school of fish building a living frame. Photo location: Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Flynn Reef, Australia. (Photo and caption by Christian Miller/National Geographic Photo Contest)

American rapper Saweetie uses some sheels to keep herself covered in the second decade of November 2024. (Photo by saweetie/Instagram)

Kyaiktiyo, Burma, 1978. The Golden Rock at Shwe Pyi Daw (the Golden Country), the Buddhist holy place. Hiroji Kubota writes: “I was desperate to keep a distance from America for a while; luckily, I found Burma and its gentle and compassionate people. In the spring of 1978, on the top of the hill where I took this photo, I had two Leica bodies: the one with Tri-X and the other with Kodachrome 64. Soon after, I realised that the colour one looked very colourful and was more powerful. That was my decisive moment, to become a colour photographer”. (Photo by Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos)

“Joker” movie production tries to hide Joaquin Phoenix's clown make-up and green hair with umbrella and a long black cloth over his head as he was walking with the help of assistant and bodyguard to the set of “Joker” filming at a Bronx train station on September 22, 2018. (Photo by The Mega Agency)