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)

A drag queen goes through security a RuPaul’s DragCon in Los Angeles, USA on May 26, 2019. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Filipino boys play basketball at an improvised court hooked on multi-layered tombs at a public cemetery in Navotas, north of Manila, Philippines on Thursday Oct. 31, 2013. Filipinos are expected to flock to cemeteries on November 1 to remember their dead as they observe All Saints Day in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

An army dog stands up as retiring soldiers salute their guard post before retirement in Suqian, Jiangsu province, China on November 29, 2017. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)

Birds behaviour winner: Land of the Eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway. High on a ledge, on the coast near his home in northern Norway, Rikardsen carefully positioned an old tree branch that he hoped would make a perfect golden eagle lookout. To this, he bolted a tripod head with a camera, flashes and motion sensor attached, and built himself a hide a short distance away. From time to time, he left road‑kill carrion nearby. Very gradually – over the next three years – a golden eagle got used to the camera and started to use the branch regularly to survey the coast below. (Photo by Audun Rikardsen/2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Ramoncito Campo kisses his wife Hernelie Ruazol Campo on a flooded street during a southwest monsoon that battered Manila August 8, 2012. The newly-wed couple pushed through with their scheduled wedding despite severe flooding that inundated wide areas of the capital and nearby nine provinces. (Photo by Reuters/Courtesy of Ramoncito Campo)

US actress, model and transgender activist Leyna Bloom poses during a photocall for the film “Port Authority” at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 19, 2019. (Photo by Stephane Mahe/Reuters)

Performers from “New Baby Junior Dance Crew” take part in a parade on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Snake, in Hong Kong on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Lam Yik/Reuters)