The essence of the “masterpieces” created by Giuseppe Lo Schiavo is in taking a famous architectural landmark placing it on a rock, and making it float over some body of water. Well… that’s pretty much it. Of course there will be some people who will look deep within these works of art, and catch the true meaning and intentions of the mastermind who created them, and maybe even purchase them for unreasonable amounts of money. But the rest of us, the common folk, will stare at it for a while, cringe, and move on without a second thought. (Photo by Giuseppe Lo Schiavo)

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)

Circus performer and trampolinist Max Calaf Seve performs at a preview for NoFit State Circus new summer show at the Eden Project on March 29, 2012 in St Austell, England. This will be the second time that the NoFit Circus has performed in the world famous biomes of the Eden Project. The production will start on July 28 and run until September 2 before leaving Cornwall for a global tour. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

“The Blitz (from German, “Lightning”) was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged, and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, half of them in London”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A fireman attempts to check the flames from a gas explosion, after an air raid in Central London the previous night. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images). 1940

A Western Lowland Gorilla baby named “Mjukuu”, that was born in October last year, rides on the back of its Mother “Mbeli” in their enclosure at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, May 19, 2015. The baby gorilla was born six days ago, and is the second sired by the zoo's new Silverback, Kibali, who arrived from France in 2012. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

Kanphitcha Sungsuk, 21, (C), lines up with young men to speak to officers during an army draft held at a school in Klong Toey, the dockside slum area in Bangkok, Thailand, April 6, 2017. Thailand is widely seen as a paradise for gay and transgender people, but many complain of being treated as second-class citizens and the obligation to respond to the draft can be a nightmare when they turn 21. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Vardzia is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Mtkvari River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the second half of the twelfth century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred metres and in up to nineteen tiers. The Church of the Dormition, dating to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, has an important series of wall paintings. The site was largely abandoned after the Ottoman takeover in the sixteenth century. Now part of a state heritage reserve, the extended area of Vardzia-Khertvisi has been submitted for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List

“Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London with 1,074,300 residents (2011 census), an increase of 96,000 over the previous decade. The city lies within the West Midlands conurbation, the third most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a population of 2,440,986 (2011 census) of which the Birmingham built-up area was 1,085,810. Its metropolitan area is the United Kingdom's second most populous with 3,683,000 residents”. – Wikipedia. (Photo by Adrian Saker)