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)

Australian ballet dancer Marilyn Rowe prepares to perform Swan Lake with the Australian Ballet at the Canberra Theatre in 1978. Rowe was appointed director of the Australian Ballet School in 1999. (Photo by John Crowther/The Guardian)

An activist is juggling next to police officers at the Dannenrod forest, during a protest of environmentalists against the extension of the A49 motorway, near Dannenrod, Germany, November 27, 2020. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

Gabriel of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's third goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5 match between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Arsenal FC at Estadio Jose Alvalade on November 26, 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Entomologist Anna Platoni wears a hat made of tropical flowers made by florist Emma Reynolds with a Blue Morpho butterfly on her cheek to mark the opening of Butterflies in the Glasshouse at RHS Garden Wisley, south of London, on Janurary 15, 2016. (Photo by Luke MacGregor/PA Wire/RHS)

Britain's Red Arrows airplane display team perform during D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth in southern England on June 5, 2014. Several hundred surviving veterans of the 1944 D-Day landings are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the mission on both sides of the English channel. (Photo by Carl Court/AFP Photo)

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)

Charli XCX arrives for the 30th Annual ARIA Awards 2016 at The Star on November 23, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)