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)

American model and socialite Hailey Bieber shows off her figure while rolling around in the sand on November 20, 2025. (Photo by haileybieber/Instagram)

A local resident helps free a car that became stranded in a stretch of flooding road as Tropical Storm Helene strikes, on the outskirts of Boone, North Carolina, U.S. September 27, 2024. (Photo by Jonathan Drake/Reuters)

Sunday night, Lauren Watts searches for her dog in Mayflower, Arkansas., after a tornado struck the town. (Photo by Benjamin Krain/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

“For a bouquet of flowers”. Photographs made ​​in the last hours of the day. A goat is directed by a dangerous way to eat a small bouquet of flowers. Location: España, Barcelona, Montserrat. (Photo and caption by Renato Lopez Baldo/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

Most people know Nikon as a purveyor of pro and consumer-grade digital cameras. But the company's expertise with optics bleeds over into related markets – it's one of the science community's major suppliers of microscopes. And each year the company asks the community to send it some of their favorite images of tiny objects. A panel of scientists and journalists have chosen the best of this past year's submissions, which Nikon has placed on its Small World site.

Photo: Honorable Mention. “Snow crystal, illuminated with colored lights (5x)”. (Photo by Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Department of Physics, Pasadena, California, USA)

Cannabis had already dominated the world of medicine. More and more people become convinced of its effectiveness, especially in terms of treating known diseases (e.g., Epilepsy, Depression, and Anxiety). Such commotion resulted in several experts to create and establish pieces of research about cannabis. Factors affecting the pros and cons are identified and verified to know further whether or not it is a capable substance.

Czech fishermen sort fish during the traditional Carp haul at Lake of Dvoriste near Smrzov village, Czech Republic, 02 November 2015. Carp, the traditional Czech Christmas Eve dinner, is harvested primarly from the region of southern Bohemian lakes. (Photo by Filip Singer/EPA)