Two Bulgarian tourists pose in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on their last day in the capital on March 24, 2014. (Photo by Franck Fife/AFP Photo)

An exile Tibetan monk gestures as he makes a point in a dialectics debate with another monk, sitting right, at the Kirti monastery in Dharmsala, India, Monday, January 18, 2016. The debate is an essential part of their training as Buddhist monks. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)

Former NBA player Yao Ming (R), a member of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, is seen during an interview in Beijing, China, in this picture taken March 9, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

In this June 29, 2015 photo, hairdresser Loavia Bienaime, 30, sits on her bed as she prepares to begin her day in the room her family occupies in an government office building that was damaged in the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Bienaime's husband, Jimmy Bellefleur, used his skill as an electrician to connect the abandoned building to the power grid, and has repaired broken televisions, fans, and a blender for the family to use. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

An officer reviews members of the honor guard as they line up before a welcoming ceremony for visiting Mozambique's President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

A commuter exits a closed off station after a subway train derailment, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. A subway train derailed near a station in Harlem on Tuesday, frightening passengers and resulting in a power outage as people were evacuated from trains along the subway line. The Fire Department of New York said a handful of people were treated for minor injuries at around 10 a.m. It said there was smoke but no fire. Delays were reported throughout the subway system. (Photo by Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

A student of the Orchestra of Recycled Instruments of Cateura holds an instrument made from recycled material by craftsman Nicolas Gomez, in Cateura, near Asuncion, May 9, 2013. The orchestra is the brainchild of its conductor Favio Chavez, who wanted to help the children of garbage pickers at the local landfill, and the instruments are made from salvaged materials by craftsman Gomez. The orchestra now involves 30 schoolchildren who have toured countries in Latin America, North America and Europe to play music ranging from Beethoven and Mozart to the Beatles and Paraguayan folk songs. (Photo by Jorge Adorno/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)