A man pedals his cycle rickshaw during monsoon rains in New Delhi, India August 31, 2016. Normal life was thrown out of gear as heavy rainfall lashed the city Wednesday morning, resulting in waterlogging and traffic jams. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

Hindu devotees (not pictured) touch a child with their feet as part of a ritual to bless him during a religious procession held to mark the Gajan festival in Kolkata, India, April 13, 2018. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A plane battling the Ferguson Fire passes the setting sun in unincorporated Mariposa County Calif., near Yosemite National Park on Sunday, July 15, 2018. (Photo by Noah Berger/AP Photo)

A man carries his daughter, dressed as Kumari, on a scooter, as they arrive to attend rituals to celebrate the Navratri Festival, on a road outside the Adyapeath Temple, on the outskirts of Kolkata, India on March 25, 2018. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A woman takes a selfie in front of a sculpture of a rooster that local media say bears resemblance to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, outside a shopping mall in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China December 30, 2016. (Photo by Jon Woo/Reuters)

Passengers with their pet dogs take a pet-friendly train on the Jinyidong Line of the Jinhua Rail Transit on June 22, 2025 in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by Shi Bufa/VCG via Getty Images)

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 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)