Friends and family fuss over a quinceañera in preparation for her photo session at Colon square in the Zona Colonial neighborhood of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Dominicans head to the polls on Sunday, May 19th to elect a new president and members of their Congress. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)

A king eider sea duck tackles a prickly dinner of sea urchin on a lake in Batsfjord, Norway in the last decade of August 2024. The drake’s breeding plumage consists of a distinctive powder-blue head and neck, orange frontal lobe and a red bill. (Photo by Mia Surakka/Solent News)

Cameroonian model Venance Chiepodeu also known as Miss Cameroon arrives at Spring Studios for the LaQuan Smith's Dinner during fashion week in New York City on September 16, 2020. (Photo by Gabriele Holtermann/Sipa USA)

Two citizens splash hot water which is quickly frozen in the cold air on January 7, 2021 in Beijing, China. A strong cold wave sweeps across China as the Chinese capital Beijing recorded 19.5 Celsius below zero on 06 January morning, the lowest temperature since 1966, according to meteorological authorities. (Photo by Peng Yucai/VCG via Getty Images)

Members of the police forces of the Republic of Srpska march during a parade marking the 32nd anniversary of the Republic of Srpska, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Tuesday, January 9, 2024. The United States on Tuesday warned that ongoing celebrations of a Bosnian Serb self-proclaimed national holiday were in violation of Bosnia's constitution and a 1995 peace agreement, and as such amounted to a criminal offense. The Jan. 9 holiday commemorates the date in 1992 when Bosnian Serbs declared the creation of their own state in Bosnia, igniting the country's devastating four-year war that killed more than 100,000 people. (Photo by Radivoje Pavicic/AP Photo)

Believers of the Legio Maria of African Church Mission covered in mud, attend a procession as part of their Christmas Mass near Ugunja, in Siaya County, Kenya on December 25, 2022. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

People walk down the street while Hurricane Matthew approaches in Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 3, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/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)