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

Some artists want to convey some deep message through their art, while some are simply satisfied with shocking the audience. Roderique Arisiaman is the latter kind. Though his works do not play on the strings of our emotion, they can pique the interest with their flashy and sometimes humorous appearance. Many of his works have a zombie theme, and are surprisingly well done, especially the one where a man pushes his fingers through his cheek and into his eye. If given the chance, Roderique Arisiaman would probably do a great job of designing a poster for some zombie apocalypse movie. (Photo and caption by Roderique Arisiaman)

Police detain a protester during a demonstration against the recent gang-rape of a woman in a moving car, according to local media, in Kolkata, India May 31, 2016. A woman was kidnapped and gang-raped by at least four men on May 29 in the Salt Lake area of the city and is currently being treated in hopsital, local media reported. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/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)

In this image made from video, woman protesters march with a sign outside the building housing the Saudi consulate in Sydney, Thursday, January 10, 2019. Four women held a topless protest in Sydney on Thursday to support runaway Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun, as Australia began considering her bid to settle in the country as a refugee. (Photo by Australia Broadcast Corporation via AP Photo)

A woman wearing a face mask rides a bicycle with a child, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on February 8, 2021. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

A woman looks on as she takes part in a protest on the Day of the Dead against gender violence and femicide, in Mexico City, Mexico, November 2, 2020. (Photo by Raquel Cunha/Reuters)