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)

Miners pulling up lazy tourists to the rim of Kawah Ijen (Ijen Volcano), East Java, Indonesia on September 21, 2017. They will earn as much as they would bring down a load of sulfur. Nomadic Explorer, Cultural Lifestyle Photographer Claudio Sieber captured striking images of miners working at Ijen volcanic range in East Java, Indonesia. The sulphur miners risk their lives daily as they climb the active volcano carrying heavy loads, which they sell to sugar refineries. (Photo by Claudio Sieber/Barcroft Images)

A man sits in the back of a taxi with a goat after purchasing it from a livestock market ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in Kolkata, India, September 8, 2016. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Cyclists compete during the UCI BMX World Championships Elite Women's Moto Race on May 29, 2016 in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia. (Photo by Raul Arboleda/AFP Photo)

Artist Princess Tarinan von Anhalt throws paint into the flow of air coming from the engine of Flexjet’s Learjet 40 XR engine to create a painting on a canvas at Signature Flight Support in West Palm Beach, Florida. The artist associated with the Jet Art Group used the help of Flexjet and their plane to spray paint on a canvas to create distinctive paintings to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Learjet. (Photo by Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post)

Fraser Davidson gobbles a plane at The Hangar at Manchester Airport on June 26, 2024. An airport pub serves drinks just 15 metres from the runway–- and drinkers can watch planes coming into land over a pint. The Hangar, Manchester, is 50 feet away from the airport, and people don't need to be checked in to drink there. It boasts a “unique perspective” for customers, who can enjoy a pint right next to planes taking off and landing. (Photo by South West News Service)

An Afghan boy carrying empty plastic cans, walks along a street in Kabul on December 21, 2023. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

The finishing touches are made to a new wax figure of Theresa May at Madame Tussauds in London, England on November 7, 2017. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Wire)