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

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)

Tamberly Conway, bottom left, takes part in a large snowball fight in Dupont Circle on Sunday January 24, 2016 in Washington, DC. The Washington, DC area was blanketed by a large snow event. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Members of a local winter swimming club photograph as they take part in festive bathing in the icy waters of Boyarskoye lake outside Tomsk, Russia, December 26, 2021. (Photo by Taisiya Vorontsova/Reuters)

Bella Hadid and sisssster Gigi look boa-tiful as they strike up an Adam and Eve pose complete with a snake in February 2022. The model siblings went nude for a Versace shoot — just like Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone, 75, and supermodel Claudia Schiffer, 51, did back in 1995. (Photo by Mert and Marcus/Versace)

Inquisitive elephant seal pups venture towards a photographer on South Georgia, an uninhabited island near Antarctica early July 2022. The seals are not used to seeing humans and shuffled closer to Charlotte Rhodes rather than shying away. (Photo by Charlotte Rhodes/Media Drum Images)

A U.S. President Donald Trump mask is seen for sale in a market in Hong Kong, China on December 23, 2019. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

The thousands of students gathered at Newcastle Racecourse near Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom on March 3, 2019 for a booze-filled night of mayhem. The last race ended at approximately 8pm then the grandstand became like a night-club. (Photo by Craig Connor/North News and Pictures)