The “Strandbeest” sculpture created by Dutch artist Theo Jansen walks at Federation Square on February 1, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The 12 metre long, 4 metre high and 2 metre wide structure built of plastic tubes and bottles designed to walk using wind energy will be on display at Federation Square until February 26. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

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)

Eryn, owned by Tom Chudleigh in Canada. New global research has revealed that ‘shed-scapism’ is sweeping the world with more people than ever ditching their tools and transforming their sheds into zen dens. The research comes as the Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition joins forces with aspirational shed fan site, Cabin p*rn, to launch the first ever global category. We have a stunning suite of imagery of 9 sheds from across the world - from Norway to Slovenia, British Colombia to Colorado who have all submitted their sheds in the hopes of being crowned the first ever Global Shed of the Year. (Photo by Cuprinol/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Heavy equipment works along the still under construction Bamiyan-Yakawlang road June 10, 2011 in Yakawlang, Afghanistan. The 69 Million US$ project is supported by the Government of Japan and World Bank. The 90K road project was started three years ago and is slated to be finished within another year. This new road means faster travel from Bamiyan to Afghanistan's only national park, Band-e-Amir. This is in of the safest parts of the country and the hope is to expand tourism in the region. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

In this undated handout photograph from the “Inside Out Project”, a poster bearing the image of a Pakistani girl whose parents, lawyers say, were killed in a drone strike, lies in a field at an undisclosed location in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. A group of artists in Pakistan are hoping to generate “empathy” among US drone operators by placing giant posters of children in the country's troubled tribal regions. (Photo by AFP Photo)

Last Friday, in Afghanistan's mountainous northeastern province of Badakhshan, an enormous landslide took place, burying much of a small village, and killing hundreds. Officials say that at least 300 residents of Abi Barik village were killed, but are uncertain about exact numbers, cautioning that the final number could be 500 or more. Rescue teams gave up hope on Saturday of finding any survivors, focusing energy on helping the hundreds suddenly made homeless. Many of the surviving families have struggled to get aid. Some have gone to nearby villages to stay with relatives or friends, while others have slept in tents provided by aid groups.

“Hi! I'm Joel, I live in a valley in British Columbia's Rocky Mountains, as close to the forest as I could possibly be! I love to run, bike, jump, eat and create and I hope that you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy creating it!” – Joel Robison. (Photo by: Joel Robison; Source: Flickr)