The Siena Creative Photo Awards are the creative and artistic component of the overall Siena Awards, and include images from contemporary photographers using innovative and challenging approaches to delight and surprise the viewer. The overall Siena Awards exhibition, also draws from two other competitions from the same stable, the Siena International Photo Awards and Siena Drone Photo Awards, which you’ll have seen winning entries from on these pages. You can find out about them all at sienawards.com.
‘The Lake’ by Iranian photographer, Masoud Mirzaei, was voted the overall winner of the 2021 Creative Photo Awards. Shot at Lake Urmia, between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake on Earth.
This year’s winning image was selected from tens of thousands of shots submitted by photographers from 137 countries, and the contest spans 17 categories for. Also among the winners were the following images…
Maybe most pertinent to this year, the Losing Our Minds category, explores the fear that overwhelmed humanity at the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency. Photographer Eddy Verloes of Belgium saw his image win out, reflecting on the exploitation of Mother Nature that brought it about.
Italian photographer Claudio Dell’Osa won the Food category with a shot taken in Chieti, Italy. The image was made in a traditional Caravaggio style with everyday objects perfectly balanced against a very dark monochrome background.
Portoguese photographer Andre Boto earned the top spot in the Product section. The image, shot in Montijo, is the result of the search to create a background that emphasises and gives all the importance to the model car with the light shining on it.
The Experimental category was won by Italian photographer Giulio Fabbri with ‘Hotel Paradise,’ a composite image created through numerous shots gathered in a single scenario. This, he says, “represents the positive aspect of humankind’s spirit of adaptability with many people living an apparently peaceful life despite the urban environment seeming hectic and disturbing.”
Eric Politzer, from the US, won the Music category with his shot showing a concert hall in a defunct Havana movie house. He intended the image as a tribute to Cuba and to the music that has always animated the Caribbean Island nation.
Australian photographer, Robert Piccoli, was the winner of the Beauty section with his image called ‘Composed,’ providing “an intimate exploration of beauty, envisioned as a condition of peace and serenity of the body, mind and soul.”
With his image ‘Robbie,’ Steve Wise from Australia was the winner of the People category. The shot pays homage to the tenacity of Robbie, a young man who was burned all over his body following an accident when he was 4 years old, during which he also lost his fingers.
In the Wildlife section, ‘Priceless,’ is a portrait of a rhino shot in Germany by photographer Pedro Jarque Krebs from Peru. The image seeks to turn the spotlight on the improper use of rhino horns and bring attention to the plight of a species increasingly endangered by poaching.
Norwegian photographer Ingun Alette Maehlum won the Architecture section with ‘Eternit’. The photo is part of a series showcasing the existence of buildings still built with cement mixed with asbestos, despite the material being banned in Norway since 1978.
‘The Flying Bride,’ shot in London by British photographer Soven Amatya, won the Wedding category. The photo was taken on the occasion of a Jewish wedding during the Horah, a dance that usually ends with the spouses being thrown into the air.
German photographer Hans Wichmann earned the top spot in the Nature category with his image ‘Palm Grove,’ shot from the deck of a cruise ship on the Nile River in Egypt, and given an impactful black & white treatment.
Finally, in the Conceptual category, photographer Jairo Alvarez from Argentina won with an image called ‘Innocence.’ Shot in Puan, Argentina, its intent “was to make us reflect on the path to take when no road seems marked or when, trapped in our own thoughts, we are unable to see the surrounding world.”
So there you go. You can see all the other winners, and find out more about the Siena Awards at sienawards.com. Make sure you check out the other contests, too. You can also follow the Siena Awards on Instagram via @sienawards
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