20 Winning Images Of Siena International Photo Awards 2021
The Siena International Photo Awards has announced its winners, and as always, the photos are stunning. In its 7th year, this competition received thousands of submissions by talented photographers from all across the world. This year’s submissions are sensitive, powerful, hopeful, and magnificent.
The “Photo Of The Year” prize went to Mehmet Aslan for his captivating portrait of a Syrian refugee (who lost his legs in bombings) and his son (who was born without limbs). There were various other categories such as “Journey and adventures”, “Documentary and photojournalism”, “Street Photography”, “The beauty of nature”, “Fascinating faces and characters”, “Architecture and urban spaces”, “Animals in their environment”, and “COVID-19”. All the categories received wonderful submissions and here we have collected some of the winning images of 2021 in the gallery below.
If you wish to see the images from previous years, check them out here, here, and here.
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#1 Photo Of The Year: Hardship Of Life
Image source: Mehmet Aslan
“This little boy’s father Munzir lost his right leg when a bomb was dropped as he walked through a bazaar in Idlib, Syria. His son Mustafa was born without lower or upper limbs due to tetra-amelia, a congenital disorder caused by the medications his mother Zeynep had to take after being sickened by nerve gas released during the war in Syria. Mustafa will need special electronic prostheses in the future which, unfortunately, are not yet available in Turkey.”
#2 This Is My Jungle! Journeys & Adventures: 1st Classified
Image source: Sergey Savvi
“A wild elephant attacks a jeep full of people. We should respect nature and care more about it, but we should also avoid taking unnecessary and reckless risks.”
#3 Birthday, Covid-19: 1st Classified
Image source: Brais Lorenzo Couto
“The workers of the San Carlos de Celanova nursing home celebrate the birthday of Elena Pérez, 98, two weeks after she survived the coronavirus. Nine residents died at this nursing home and more than 40 tested positive for COVID-19.”
#4 Captive, Documentary & Photojournalism: 1st Classified
Image source: Marcus Westberg
“A giant panda used for breeding sits alone in a facility in Shaanxi, China. Captive breeding of endangered species can play an important role in repopulating wild habitats, but it can also be a convenient label to hide behind, much like “green,” “renewable,” or “sustainable.” In this case, though there was no doubt that the staff cared deeply for their wards, the feeling nevertheless was that the pandas were economic assets. There were no plans to prepare any of the captive-born pandas for release – all animals were being habituated to humans and used as attractions for paying visitors. To me, this image represents the juxtaposition between the intentions we express and the reality on the ground: a wild animal kept in a cage in the name of conservation.”
#5 Childhood, Street Photography: 1st Classified
Image source: Lopamudra Talukdar
“Even though all over the world teenagers’ lives are completely absorbed by social media and the Internet, in Havana children still enjoy themselves by playing in the open air in their homes’ courtyards.”
#6 Green Light Forest, The Beauty Of Nature: 1st Classified
Image source: Shirley Wung
“A mountain path in the middle of a forest is illuminated by a multitude of ‘sparkling’ fireflies that give the landscape a fairy-tale atmosphere. Their bioluminescence is part of the mating ritual, at the end of which the eggs are laid. Unfortunately, pollution hinders the reproduction of fireflies, and it is increasingly difficult to see shows like this one.”
#7 Lona / Biala, Architecture & Urban Spaces: 1st Classified
Image source: Gustav Willeit
“The series BIALA has a geometrical guideline and its features were taken from urban architecture. The pictures don’t portray entire buildings, but just a chosen part of the facades, to accentuate the symmetry and modular geometry of the structures. By placing a selection of shapes and colors in the foreground, the artist is able to deprive the buildings of their utilitarian residential function.”
#8 Zor, Fascinating Faces & Characters: 1st Classified
Image source: Selene Magnolia
“A young bride is preparing for her wedding on a street in the Roma ghetto of Stolipinovo. In Europe, Roma communities number more than 11 million people and Stolipinovo, with around 40,000 people, is the most populous ghetto.”
#9 Food For Weeks, Animals In Their Environment: 1st Classified
Image source: Ronan Donovan
“A camera trap placed inside of a large muskox carcass was used to take this shot of a pack of 10 wolves, the members of which returned to feed for over a month. This location became the de facto rendezvous site for the pack in the months to come.”
#10 Black Drag, Magic Fascinating Faces & Characters: 2nd Classified
Image source: Lee-ann Olwage
“Belinda Qaqamba Ka-Fassie, a drag artist and activist, poses at a shisanyama – a community space where women cook and sell meat – in Khayelitsha, a township near Cape Town. Belinda, the photographer, and other black, queer, gender non-conforming and transgender people collaborated in a project to reclaim public spaces in a community where they are subject to discrimination, harassment, and violence.”
#11 Sandstorm, The Beauty Of Nature: 2nd Classified
Image source: Johannes Lochner
“Three hyena, a jackal, and two elephants endure a sandstorm on a hot humid late afternoon, while the wind picks up before the heavens open. The hyenas cool off in the cool water and get rid of parasites. The dry season is over and the rainy season is on the way, promising relief for every animal in dry Chobe National Park.”
#12 Flying In The Rain, Animals In The Environment: 3rd Classified
Image source: Nicolas Reusens Bodén
“With a very complicated setup, I was able to trigger 2 sets of flashes during a single exposure of only 1/25 second. This photo is the result of three days shooting, trying to get a single picture with an intense atmosphere, of a Brown inca hummingbird (Coeligena wilsoni).”
#13 Life In A Tear, Covid-19: 3rd Classified
Image source: Rodrigo Cabrita
“A dangerous, rare disease associated with COVID-19 led Francisco, 13, to be admitted to the ICU of D. Estefânia Hospital in Lisbon with a pathology that had already caused deaths. The symptoms began to manifest intensely, and from the initial red spots on the hands to kidney and respiratory failure, illness progressed rapidly. Days after being intubated, he responded positively to the therapy.”
#14 Welcome To The Paradise – Pardis Xiii, Architecture & Urban Spaces: 3rd Classified
Image source: Manolo Espaliú
“In recent years, 1.5 million housing units have been built in Iran with the main goal of reversing migration to larger cities, where living standards are deteriorating due to traffic, pollution, and the high price of housing. These communities were erected in arid, almost desertic environments (as in Pardis, located 30 minutes northeast of Tehran), often with little regard for ecological conditions on the ground.”
#15 Desire For Knowledge, Journeys & Adventures: 3rd Classified
Image source: Antonio Aragon Renuncio
#16 Loneliness, Covid-19
Image source: Levent Ateş
#17 Boogli, Fascinating Faces And Characters
Image source: Jen Guyton
#18 The Watching Eye, Animals In Their Environment
Image source: Bernt Østhus
#19 Buffalo Herds, Journeys & Adventures
Image source: Nese Ari
#20 Portrait Of Humanity, Covid-19
Image source: F. Dilek Uyar
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