SIENA, Italy – "The Lake" by Iranian photographer Masoud Mirzaei is the overall winner of the 2021 Creative Photo Awards, the international contest of creative and artistic photography of Siena Awards, an international visual arts festival. The photo was shot at Lake Urmia, the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake on Earth, located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan. It was selected among tens of thousands of images submitted by photographers from 137 countries. The Creative Photo Awards competition includes 17 categories for contemporary photographers, whose innovative approaches to photography challenge the viewer's expectations and offer surprise and delight at every turn. The winning images for each category will be showcased at the exhibition "I Wonder If You Can" during the Siena Awards Festival, from October 23rd to December 5th.

The photographic Festival Siena Awards 2021 will showcase solo and group exhibitions that will collect extraordinary shots arriving from all over the world, and offer workshops, photo tours, seminars, conferences, screenings, and guided tours to discover the Sienese territory.

The main guest of the Festival will be Steve Winter, for the first time in Italy, with "Big Cats," the largest retrospective ever on his career as a National Geographic contributor.

The solo exhibition of Brent Stirton and the exhibitions of the photographic awards “Siena International Photo Awards” and “Drone Photo Awards” will also be part of the Festival.

Here are previous posts from 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020.

More info: creative.sienawards.com | festival.sienawards.com

#1 Deep Forest Fairies (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

"'Himebotaru' living in the summer night forest, females cannot fly, only males, firefly which is an indigenous species of Japan, fly around the summer forest while repeating a blink of a short time, reminiscent of Christmas illumination. Sight is fantastic enough to forget the awe of the night forest. It is the shining brightness of life of only 10 days in the summer. And forests are living things, and they are precious things that people cannot threaten."

Image credits: Kazuaki Koseki

#2 Rembrandt Still Life (1st Place In Still Life)

"I like the light Rembrandt draws on his paintings very much. And it seems this light is perfect not only for the portraits Rembrandt draws so magnificent. It is ideal for the still life picture too."

Image credits: Olga Rudenok

#3 The Lake (Photo Of The Year)

"Lake Urmia, the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake on Earth, is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan."

Image credits: Masoud Mirzaei

#4 Robbie (1st Place In Portraiture)

With his image "Robbie," Steve Wise from Perth (Australia) is 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.

"Robbie was burned in an accident in his bedroom when he was 4 years old. It resulted in burns to 95% of his body and the loss of his fingers. He has had a tough life but continues to work hard and live as normal an adult life as possible."

Image credits: Steve Wise

#5 Poems For Sisters (Commended In Portraiture)

"I really love Surreal world! I use photography as a medium to express my imagination in pictures. Inspired by a Historical movie about Royal Princess in the Joseon era 1392 - 1897 ( Korea now ) at that time Princesses in the Palace wear Traditional outfits named Hanbok. I try to mix Traditional elements with Surreal touch into the Photograph."

Image credits: Hardijanto Budiman

#6 Gypsophila (Commended In Beauty)

"The English calls the gypsophila 'baby's breath." And in Germany, this plant is known as the 'bride's veil.' According to the legends, a girl who was forced to marry an unloved man turned into a sprig of gypsophila right in front of the altar."

Image credits: Natalia Polomina

#7 African Flower (Runner Up In Portraiture)

"Little African girl processed in the painting of the artist Eelke Jelles Eelkema who lived from 1815-1839 in The Netherlands. The dress is made of recycled plastic."

Image credits: Reiny Bourgonje

#8 The Fork 28 (1st Place In Abstract)

Filippo Drudi from Italy won the Abstract category with "The Fork" shot in Savignano sul Rubicone (Italy). The work offers a symbolic homage to the fork, an everyday object that he defines as "sinuous, elegant, feminine and symmetrical, but also threatening and seductive and with almost abstract geometric characteristics".

"I like forks, I'm fascinated by them. Sinuous, elegant, feminine, and symmetric, yet menacing and seductive. I wanted to look deep into it and find out its many personalities. In this photograph - part of my project 'The Fork'- I wanted to bring out the geometric, almost abstract qualities of this daily object."

Image credits: Filippo Drudi

#9 Priceless (1st Place In Animals/Pets)

In Pets, “Priceless”, a portrait of a rhino shot in Germany by photographer Pedro Jarque Krebs from Peru earned the top prize. The photographer intends to turn the spotlight on the often improper use of rhino horns and launch an appeal in favor of a species increasingly endangered by poaching.

"$60,000 USD a kilo, that's what a rhino horn costs on the black market. More expensive than gold. But life is priceless. Unlike elephant tusks, which are made of ivory, rhino horns are made of keratin, the same material as nails. But the ignorance and superstition of some humans give it non-existent medicinal properties. As in everything, as long as there are buyers, there will be sellers. This will only end in education."

Image credits: Pedro Jarque Krebs

#10 Composed (1st Place In Beauty)

Australian photographer Robert Piccoli is the winner of Beauty with “Composed,” an intimate exploration of the concept of beauty, envisioned as a condition of peace and serenity of the body, mind, and soul.

"In this image, I wanted to explore the concept of beauty from within. Beauty is a state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. It is essentially, part of your body, mind, and soul. She emanates a sense of equilibrium."

Image credits: Robert Piccoli

#11 The Sound Of Solitude (1st Place In Music)

Eric Politzer, from the U.S., won Music with “The Sound of Solitude” which represents a concert hall in a defunct Havana movie house. The shot is a tribute to Cuba and to the music that has always animated the Caribbean Island nation.

Image credits: Eric Politzer

#12 Palm Grove (1st Place In Nature And Landscape)

German photographer Hans Wichmann earned the top spot in Nature with the image "Palm Grove,” shot from a deck of a cruise ship on the Nile River in Egypt.

Image credits: Hans Wichmann

#13 Mahi (Commended In Fashion)

Image credits: Mohammad Zia Uddin

#14 Lucciole Sotto Le Stelle (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Stefano Pellegrini

#15 A Mother's Love (Highly Commended In Animals/Pets)

Image credits: Lynn Emery

#16 The Colorful Fragile Bubbles (1st Place In Fashion)

In Fashion, Chinese photographer Zejian Li won with the image “The Colorful Fragile Bubbles,” which communicates a sense of loneliness and the fragility of our deepest feelings, represented by a large bubble.

Image credits: Zejian Li

#17 Medusa (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Chris Upton

#18 Plenty Of Starlings (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Franke De Jong

#19 Eternit (1st Place In Architecture)

Norwegian photographer Ingun Alette Maehlum won in Architecture with "Eternit”. The photo testifies to the existence of buildings still built with cement mixed with asbestos, despite the material being banned in Norway since 1978.

Image credits: Ingun Alette Maehlum

#20 Innocence (1st Place In Conceptual)

In the Conceptual category, photographer Jairo Alvarez from Argentina won with "Innocence," shot in Puan (Argentina). The image intends 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.

Image credits: Jairo Alvarez

#21 Elks On The Mountain Top (Commended In Open Theme)

Image credits: Haihong Xing

#22 Girl With Feather (Commended In Portraiture)

Image credits: Levente Kovacs

#23 Two Seasons (Highly Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Lorenzo Nadalini

#24 Chameleon In The Bedroom (Runner Up In Animals/Pets)

Image credits: Jo Sax

#25 Lace Dance (Highly Commended In Beauty)

Image credits: Manfred Karner

#26 Torii (Highly Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Jun Epifanio Pagalilauan

#27 Medusa (Commended In Beauty)

Image credits: Daniela Pucci

#28 Instaready (Commended Portraiture)

Image credits: Nancy Flammea

#29 The Cubist I (Commended In Portraiture)

Image credits: Elena Paraskeva

#30 Yosemite Valley (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Cheyne Walls

#31 The Dawn Of The Nightglory (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Dr. Christian Klepp

#32 Unbreakable Bond (Highly Commended In Animals/Pets)

Image credits: Pedro Jarque Krebs

#33 Hotel Paradise (1st Place In Experimental)

The Experimental category was won by Italian photographer Giulio Fabbri with "Hotel Paradise", an image created through numerous shots gathered in a single scenario representing the positive aspect of humankind’s spirit of adaptability. Many people live an apparently peaceful life despite the urban environment seeming hectic and disturbing.

Image credits: Giulio Fabbri

#34 The Flying Bride (1st Place In Wedding)

"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.

Image credits: Soven Amatya

#35 Dark And Decadent (Highly Commended In Food And Beverage)

Image credits: Valeria Bismar

#36 In Waves (Highly Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Tomas Tison

#37 Paintings With Light (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Dr. Christian Klepp

#38 Val D'orcia Hill Top (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Steven Castro

#39 Black Pearl (Highly Commended In Portraiture)

Image credits: Reiny Bourgonje

#40 Insomnia (Runner Up In Architecture)

Image credits: Claudio Sericano

#41 Taste Of Freedom (Runner Up In Conceptual)

Image credits: Debratna Ghosh

#42 Fish (1st In Food And Beverage)

Italian photographer Claudio Dell'Osa won the Food category with “Fish,” a shot taken in Ortona (Chieti, Italy), where everyday objects and typical products of that land emerge from Caravaggio-style backgrounds, monochrome and very dark, illuminated by flashes of light which become the undisputed star of the photo.

Image credits: Claudio Dell'osa

#43 Flying Apple Pie Ingredients (Highly Commended In Food And Beverage)

Image credits: Alessandro Zugno

#44 Free Fall (Runner Up In Fashion)

Image credits: Arun Mohanraj

#45 When Claudine Drinks Coffee (Runner Up In Experimental)

Image credits: Matthias Jung

#46 Vincent Van Gogh (Highly Commended In Portraiture)

Image credits: Filip Naudts

#47 The Furrier - The Viking Project (Commended Portraiture)

Image credits: Laerke Johanne Gronborg

#48 Inspired By Alma Tadema (Commended In Portraiture)

Image credits: Saskia Wagenvoort

#49 Moonlight Sonata (Highly Commended In Open Theme)

Image credits: Hardijanto Budiman

#50 Plastic "Wave" #3 ( Commended In Open Theme)

Image credits: Hugh Kretschmer

#51 Alien Worlds (Commended In Open Theme)

Image credits: Kittiya Pawlowski

#52 Magic 2 (Commended In Experimental)

Image credits: Anita Storino

#53 The Absurdity Of Plastic - Salad (Commended In Still Life)

Image credits: Pia Hertel

#54 Storm Is Coming (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: David Nomdedeu

#55 Magnificence Of Desert III (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Babak Mehrafshar

#56 Fishing Hut Study 5 (Commended In Nature And Landscape)

Image credits: Steven Castro

#57 Let Go (Highly Commended In Conceptual)

Image credits: Gabriel Isak

#58 Losing Our Minds (1st Place In Open Theme)

“Losing Our Minds” by Eddy Verloes from Belgium earned the top spot in the Open category.

The image is from the "Losing our Minds" series made at the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency, when fear overwhelmed humanity, obliging us to reflect on the questionable and inappropriate exploitation of Mother Nature.

Image credits: Eddy Verloes

#59 Sunflowers (Commended In Fashion)

Image credits: Jeff Ludovicus

#60 Soldato Rosso (Highly Commended In Fashion)

Image credits: Peyman Naderi

#61 Together In The Face Of Uncertainty (Runner Up In Open Theme)

Image credits: Miguel Muñiz

#62 Legacy (Commended In Experimental)

Image credits: Cheraine Collette

#63 Memento Mori Xi (Commended In Still Life)

Image credits: Giovanni Maria Sacco

#64 Car (1st In Product)

“Car” by Portuguese photographer Andre Boto earned the top spot in Product. The image, shot in Montijo, is the result of the search to create a background that emphasizes and gives all the importance to the model car with the light shining on it.