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)

Sports Finalist – Ian MacNicol. Michalina Kwasniewska of Poland competes in the Women's high jump during day one of The European Athletics U23 Championships 2013 on July 11, 2013 in Tampere, Finland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Agence France-Presse)

World War II enthusiasts take part in a re-enactament to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings on Anzio beach, 52 km south of Rome, on January 25, 2014. (Photo by Andreas Solaro/AFP Photo)

It wasn’t exactly the Westminster Dog Show, but it was serious stuff. Photo: five-month-old Carly LeRolls Gottesman, at Pooch Prom at Downtown at the Gardens on Saturday, April 26, 2014. Carly was crowned the 2014 Pooch Prom queen. (Photo by Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post)

Russian servicemen drive a partially covered T-14 Armata tank along a street before a rehearsal for the Victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia, April 29, 2015. Russia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two on May 9. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)

A person wearing a face mask is reflected in an art work entitled “A=V” by Ben Cullen Williams, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Covent Garden, London, Britain on October 16, 2020. (Photo by John Sibley/Reuters)

Sarayna Biswas, 6, wearing a face mask and dressed as Kumari wearing gold, takes part in a ritual during the Durga Puja festival celebrations at a pandal, or a temporary platform, amidst the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kolkata, India, October 24, 2020. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Woman carrying luggage walks along a railway track on the outskirts of Mumbai, India on November 12, 2020. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)