A hummingbird drinks from a flower in a garden on the outfield lawn before a spring training baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Athletics, Monday, February 24, 2025, in Surprise, Ariz. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo)

A child holds an Irish flag during the St Patrick's Day Parade in Manchester, on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Temilade Adelaja/Reuters)

Silvia Zecchin (4L) wearing a crown poses with a group of Maries, at the end of the ceremony that crowned her Maria of Carnival 2024, in Venice, Italy, 13 February 2024. The young student of Political Science at the University of Padua, in addition to teaching rhythmic gymnastics to children, was elected at the end of the Gala Dinner hosted in the Apollinee rooms of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and hosted by Maurice Agosti and Alice Bars. (Photo by Andrea Merola/EPA)

Participants wearing colorful costumes take part in the Flowers Parade of the 151th annual Carnival of Nice, in Nice, France, 20 March 2024. The annual Carnival of Nice run from 17 February to 03 March 2024, and the main theme will be “King of Pop Culture”. (Photo by Sebastien Nogier/EPA)

A bee searches for nectar on a flower in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on Friday, September 19, 2025. (Photo by Boris Roessler/dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images)

An Indian soldier from the international peace keeping force (IPKF) instructs young Sri Lankan recruits in shooting, part of the training given to the citizen's volunteer force in the North-Eastern Sri Lankan city of Batticaloa, September 28, 1989. (Photo by Barbara Walton/AP Photo)

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)

An owner poses with her Maine Coon cat in front of a mirror during a cat exhibition in Bishkek on April 19, 2015. Cat lovers from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan took part in the exhibition. (Photo by Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP Photo)