Photographer Lori Nix hand-crafted dioramas are fictional scenes of a post-apocalyptic world in which plants and decay reclaim both grand and mundane structures. Each structure is built in Nix's living room and can take over half a year to build. Photo: Library, 2007. Photographer Lori Nix says this is the most popular image she has made for this project that she calls “The City”. (Photo by Lori Nix)

Photographer Vincent Jansen travels throughout Europe, visiting beautiful abandoned places. He explores churches, factories, sanatoriums, mortuaries, villas and theaters, all quietly waiting for renovation or demolition. His photos show a unique perspective on what is happening behind the “no trespassing” signs: where nature is slowly gaining ground and the desolation, loneliness and decay leave their stunning traces. Photo: This piano was located in one of many rooms of a huge chateau in Poland. (Photo by Vincent Jansen)

A C-17 Globemaster III crew prepares an air refueling mission September 27, 2012, at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew J. Bruch/U.S. Air Force 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)

Youths parade wearing World War Two uniforms during the Independence Day celebrations in Gdansk November 11, 2014. (Photo by Lukasz Glowala/Reuters/Agencja Gazeta)

An inmate covers his head as he passes the time inside Quezon City Jail in Manila, Philippines October 19, 2016. Nearly 2,300 drug users and dealers have been killed in police operations or by suspected vigilantes since Duterte took office on June 30, according to the Philippines police. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Syrians gather during an evacuation operation of rebel fighters and their families from rebel-held neighbourhoods on December 15, 2016 in the embattled city of Aleppo. A convoy of ambulances and buses left rebel territory in Aleppo in the first evacuations under a deal for opposition fighters to leave the city after years of fighting. The rebel withdrawal will pave the way for President Bashar al-Assad's forces to reclaim complete control of Syria's second city, handing the regime its biggest victory in more than five years of civil war. (Photo by Karam Al-Masri/AFP Photo)

A village girl, donning capes mostly of dried banana leaves and covered in mud, attends a mass in a bizarre annual ritual to venerate their patron saint, John the Baptist, Friday, June 24, 2016 at Bibiclat, Aliaga township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)