A witch doctor prepares an offering for the inauguration of the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Defense of Life, prior to the World Climate Change Conference, in Tiquipaya, Bolivia, October 10, 2015. Almost 150 nations, including major emitters led by China and the United States, have submitted plans to the United Nations for curbing greenhouse gas emissions blamed by the U.N. for causing more floods, droughts and heat waves. France will host the conference in Le Bourget, near Paris, from November 30 to December 11, 2015. (Photo by David Mercado/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)

Baylor's DiJonai Carrington shoots past UConn's Paige Bueckers during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Elite Eight round of the Women's NCAA tournament Monday, March 29, 2021, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. (Photo by Morry Gash/AP Photo)

Citizens are making memories under plum trees in full bloom at Gijang Plum Orchard in Gijang-gun, Busan on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Kim Dong-hwan)

Tsunami, an eleven year old female Sumatran Orangutan eats a fruit platter during her birthday celebration at the National Zoo Ape Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, December 31, 2015. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)

A cosplayer dressed as a “remote worker” with “corporate slave” written on his glasses poses for a photo on New Year's Eve at Comiket, the largest comic market that had been postponed for two years because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan December 31, 2021. (Photo by Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)

Participants from a North Korea military band perform during the Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Friday, August 23, 2019. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

A woman reacts after performing Otonamaki, which translates as “adult wrapping”, a new form of therapy where people are wrapped in large swaddling cloth to alleviate posture problems and stiffness, at a session in Asaka, Saitama prefecture, Japan, February 4, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)