An Afghan burqa-clad woman carries a child as she walks along a road in Herat on October 1, 2023. (Photo by Mohsen Karimi/AFP Photo)

A woman attends an opposition demonstration against presidential election results at the Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus on August 22, 2020. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

A woman crosses the street on a foggy morning in Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, October 29, 2021. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

A woman wearing a mask walks past an antique store in Hong Kong, Friday, March 25, 2022. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Sеxy woman in lace eye cover and red lips with young lover, foreplay in hotel room. (Photo by sakkmesterke/Getty Images)

A woman takes a selfie with the a cafe-staff dressed in a halloween costume at a cafe in Bangkok on October 23, 2024. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)

A woman reacts with Samoyed puppies as she performs yoga on International Yoga Day, in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 21, 2025. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

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)