Motorcycle fans dressed as Santa Claus ride near Charlottenburg Palace (Schloss Charlottenburg)during the 25th annual “Santa Claus On Road” Berlin Bike Tour, to deliver gifts to the needy on December 10, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. Some 200 riders with vehicles decorated with lights and mini-Christmas trees took part in the annual event on its 25 year. Anyone may ride along, whether on motorcycle, trike or quad, as long as the vehicle is decorated accordingly. (Photo by Omer Messinger/Getty Images)

A juvenile blackcap is recorded in the soft light of morning at Minorca, UK, a former open-cast mine near Moira in the National Forest on June 18, 2025. Dr Heather Gilbert, research and evidence manager, checks mist nets among wildflowers and young trees as part of long-term monitoring that shows bird numbers have increased by 48 per cent over 30 years. (Photo by Rod Kirkpatrick/RKP Photography)

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)

The Luminous Lantern Parade on June 10, 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. The Luminous Lantern Parade was held at Brisbane’s South Bank on Friday, featuring a parade of glowing animals and characters of all shapes and sizes lighting up the night sky. (Photo by Glenn Hunt/Getty Images)

These stunning pictures of beautiful Icelandic waterfalls will take your breath away. The mesmerizing shots show the striking waterfalls set against the night sky and the hypnotic green glow of the northern lights, as well as the picturesque Icelandic scenery and stunning sunrises. Here: A mesmerising waterfall in the Icelandic country-side. (Photo by Arnar Kristjansson/Caters News)

“Rivers Forgotten” is a journey through the passages and portals of the underground waterways that lie unseen below cities. Self-taught photographer Jeremy Kai brings these forgotten landscapes to light. Photo: Beneath the Toronto area, 2011. (Photo by Jeremy Kai)

You might think Ysabel LeMay’s works are hyper-realistic paintings but they’re created through an innovative technique called photo fusion. The Quebec-born, U.S.-based artist takes hundreds of photographs for each piece, attunes the light and visual properties, then assembles one detail at a time in a painterly fashion to form a single composition. Each work takes 4 to 8 weeks on average.

Ultra Orthodox Jewish men watch a bonfire during the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba-Omer in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood April 27, 2013. Israelis celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba-Omer, which marks the end of a plague in the Middle Ages that killed thousands of disciples of a revered rabbi in the holy land, by lighting bonfires across the country. (Photo by Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)