The 2018 Siena International Photo Awards has received 48,000 submissions from the best photographers in 156 countries, and the judges have had an incredibly hard time deciding the winners. Nonetheless, the best pictures of 2018 have been decided, and just like in 2017 and 2016, their cool images show just how diverse our beautiful world really is.
Every year, the competition includes a special category. This time, it was entitled Splash of Colors, seeking out excellent color compositions. In total, the famous photographers competed in 11 categories, ranging from stunning landscapes to subtle portraits and cool photos of dramatic sports moments. The grand prize, the Photo of the Year award, went to Bangladeshi photographer K. M. Asad for his shot Battle Victim. Asad has been documenting the plight of the persecuted Rohingya in Myanmar for six years now, and the best photography of a young Rohingya refugee perfectly portrays the terrible human tragedy unfolding there.
Continue scrolling to check out the rest of the best picture nominees of 2018.
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El Calbuco, Chile (1st Place In The Beauty Of The Nature Category)
This photograph was taken during a violent night eruption of the Calbuco volcano in the Lagos region, Chile. An incredible dirt storm wraps the fumarole of the erupting volcano
I don't think there could be anything else which is so scary and so beautiful at same time! Mother nature at its best again!
Sharing Emotion (Remarkable Award In Fascinating Faces And Characters Category)
Arctic Fox, Usa (3rd Place In Animals In Their Environment Category)
I encountered this fox scavenging a Caribou's carcass on the coastal plains of Alaska's Arctic. I spent two hours slowly approaching it until I took this picture from six feet away, as she finished her meal. It was a surreal and unforgettable experience and a rare opportunity to be accepted into a wild animal's existence for a few special hours
What a majestic creature, the fire and passion in eyes, amazingly beautiful pink tongue and of course the cute snoot to boop!
Cosmic Wildflowers, Brazil (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
The 180º panorama, with the milky way in the background, magnifies a field of Paepalanthus wildflowers in the National Park of Veadeiros Tablelands
Rhino Silhouette, Kenya (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
I was taking an early ride out from the camp in Masai Mara National Park, searching for the Great Migration, when I saw a rhino from far away standing beside a tree. The backlight from the early sun was too strong, so I took a silhouette instead
Underwater View Of The Winter Lofoten (Remarkable Award In The Beauty Of The Nature Categoty)
That water must be at freezing temperatures! Still, what a shot! I
Nemo In The House (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Beyond Pink, USA (Honorouble Mention In General Color Category)
Breast cancer goes beyond the month of October and the pink ribbons. This portrait is part of a series showing honest and empowering images of breast cancer
Toy Houses, Russia (1st Place In Architecture & Urban Spaces Category)
This picture of some Russian dachas near the city of Arkhangelsk is interesting thanks to the intense contrast between the colors of the houses and the white snow covering the Russian town
Imagine painting them all white and coming home one night drunk!
The Wave, Antarctica Waters (3rd Place In Journeys And Adventures Category)
In the Drake Passage, between Cape Horn and Antarctica, a 12-meter wave pounds the boat's forecastle with its enormous splashes
Camels In The Desert, Mongolia (2nd Place In General Color Category)
On the evening of October 24, 2017, in Inner Mongolia, camels and their loyal dog were creating waves of dust under the sunset's glow. This spectacular picturesque scene in the Mongolian desert was created thanks to the shadows and magnificent light cast upon the desert
Run! (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Love On The Rocks (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Joana, Dancer At The Tropicana, Sat With Her Grandmother, Cuba (Honorable Mention In Fascinating faces and characters Category)
Joana Menendez Gonzalez, a performer at the Tropicana Cabaret in Havana, sat with her maternal grandmother, proudly looking at her
Jump, Canada (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
A snowy owl takes flight alarmed by the call of another female. This species gives particular care to protecting its own hunting territory
Break, Indonesia (Honorable Mention In Fascinating faces and characters Category)
During heavy work at a noodle factory in Indonesia, this man had the chance to rest for a little while. His exhausted expression is a clear sign of the extremely hard working conditions these people face every day
Mind The Gap, Antarctica (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
A small group of Emperor Penguins huddles near a crack in an ice floe, in a pristine area of the Southern Ocean adjacent to Antarctica, known as the Ross Sea
They are having a party downstairs, look at those blue lights!
The Road Of Fortune, Vietnam (Honorable Mention in Splash of Colors category)
In Vietnam, red is the color of good luck and is traditionally considered the symbolic color of happiness. Joss sticks are offered at altars to obtain good business and good fortune
Battle Victim, Bangladesh (Photo Of The Year)
In Cox’s Bazar, Asmat Ara looks clearly traumatized after the recent violence which took place in Myanmar, on September 6th, 2017. The previous night she had entered Tenkhali Rohingya refugee camp with her family from Kumar Khali, Myanmar Rohingya state. According to the UNHCR, more than 646,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar since August 25th, 2017, most of them trying to cross the border to reach Bangladesh
I will have that face and those eyes burned in my memory forever. That poor child.
Killer Whale In Polar Night, Norway (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
A killer whale emerges on the surface while hunting in an Arctic Norwegian fjord during the polar night
Little Nenets Nedko, Russia (Honorable Mention In Journeys and Adventures Category)
The North is a fantastic region populated by extraordinary people with a distinct culture fully adjusted to the environment of the extreme North. Despite being in the 21st century, people of the North still maintain their traditional culture, reflecting the time-honoured, close interaction between people and nature, demonstrating a genuinely caring attitude towards everything that surrounds them
Awe , I just want to give them both a big cuddle,mand ofcorse take the dog home 🙈
The Beakful Of The Hoopoe, Italy (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Looking, as usual, for the nests of the most beautiful bird species in Trentino, I unexpectedly saw this hoopoe and I immediately grasped the opportunity to photograph it
Flying On The Beach, The Netherlands (Honorouble Mention In General Color Category)
I was lying down in the cold water looking for the right position and took this picture at the exact moment when the dog was jumping high to catch the disc, almost flying in the sky
Is that a flying border collie? EDIT: Sometimes its beyond my understanding that why even such harmless comments gets downvoted? if you don't agree say so.. or if i am wrong then correct me...
Share (Remarkable Award In Fascinating Faces And Characters Category)
Drink, China (Honorable Mention In Fascinating faces and characters Category)
In a small hilltop village with water shortage problems, a little boy drinks water from a water pipe
I know that this is not what the photo is trying to say but when you're that age water always tastes better out of a pipe or hose.
Duel In The Snow (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Kid With Hand Crafts, Ethiopia (1st Place In Fascinating Faces And Characters Category)
In Ethiopia, the kids of the Suri tribe are being over-protected by their families. Imagine these metal handcrafts as a jail with a Suri kid locked inside. Young kids are the hope and inheritors of the Suri culture, but the overprotection will marginalize the new generation from the world
Kitten (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
cute, but i first thought it was a baby cheetah with a REALLY long neck
Floating Market, Indonesia (1st Place In Splash Of Colors Category)
Early in the morning before sunrise up to a hundred boats meet at the colorful Lok Baintan Floating Market in Indonesia. It is one of the oldest markets in Asia where the inhabitants still trade from traditional wooden boats
Travelers, Antarctica (3rd Place In The Beauty Of The Nature Category)
A group of Chinstrap Penguins (Pygoscelis Antarctica) is resting on an iceberg. When sailing Antarctic waters you will often see different types of icebergs. Some of these floating islands are great resting places for hunting penguins who can travel many kilometers, before jumping back into the icy water
Polar Trout, Norway (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
A brown trout spawning in a special night atmosphere as the stars and the full moon light the scene
Giochi In Verde (Remarkable Award In The Beauty Of The Nature Category)
Migration, Saudi Arabia (2nd Place In The Beauty Of The Nature Category)
In the desert of Dahana, in the center of Saudi Arabia, Bedouins migrate with camels from place to place, searching for food and water. I took this picture while a group of nomads was passing us with their camels, creating beautiful shadows in a peaceful atmosphere
This makes me want to start singing the Arabian Nights song from Aladdin.
Cold At Surface, Norway (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
In the waters of Tromsø, during a freezing polar night (-18°C), a killer whale is taking a breath at the cold surface gifting us this amazing photo
Facing Reality, Pleneau Island, Antarctic Peninsula (1st Place In Animals In Their Environment Category)
A leopard seal got into a lagoon just before low tide. The seal was hiding, waiting to ambush young penguins as they got closer. When a penguin got close enough, the seal moved extremely fast and caught the penguin by its feet dragging it to the open water. I was following parallel to the action. The seal released the penguin twice and the terrified penguin succeeded in escaping, but the seal continued chasing after it, and on the third attempt, drowned the penguin and devoured it
Those seals look positively prehistoric. And have these amazing serrated teeth even a shark would envy.
Flying Fishing Nest, China (3rd Place In General Color Category)
This image is able to evoke a sense of peace, portraying a fisherman at work on the Ningde Jiuli River in Xiapu County, China, while the wind lifts his fishing nets. The special light, the sun's rays, and the wind all add up creating a magical and striking atmosphere
Redyk, Poland (Honorable Mention In Journeys and Adventures Category)
In this photo of Mizerna, in southern Poland, the traditional sheep grazing, called "Redyk", has more than 1,500 animals. From the Low Beskid Mountains, shepherds bring back the animals to the city of Nowy Targ, where the owners will take care of them during the winter. The animals will go back to the mountains in spring
Vulture And Jackal (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
The Window, Costa Rica (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
During my stay in a hotel in Costa Rica, red-eyed frogs (Agalichnis callydrias) flooded the gardens. As I approached this one, it climbed into one of the holes and I photographed the frog as if it were sticking out of a window
Unity, Bangladesh (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Unity is the strength, as with teamwork and collaboration with which wonderful things can be achieved. Here this frog wanted to eat the ants, but its own life is at risk in the face of their unity
Ants are truely exceptionally talented masters of Teamwork. And as we know from last post on BP, except Antarctica and Arctic, they have virtually colonized entire world. Hats off to tiny masters!
Smoking An Old Woman (Remarkable Award In Fascinating Faces And Characters Category)
Snowy Ballerina (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
School Of Barracuda (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
The Great Eclipse, USA (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
This photo was taken during the total solar eclipse that happened in the USA in August 2017. It is the result of HDR stacking from 14 images
Ouch, It Is Cold (Remarkable Award In Journeys And Adventures Category)
A Giant In The Dark, Botswana (Honorable Mention In General Monochrome Category)
A close-up portrait of a bull Elephant (Loxodonta africana) captured in Chobe National Park in Botswana. A Low-Key monochrome conversion, with a blurred background, was used to add mood and achieve a more intimate portrait of this gentle giant
Game Of Colors, India (2nd Place In Splash Of Colors Category)
The Holi Festival is a yearly Indian celebration announcing the arrival of spring, with a colorful atmosphere that radiates love and happiness
I used to live in India and I miss it so much! We have neighborhood Holi parties here but it's just not the same.
Exhalation (Remarkable Award In Splash Of Colors Category)
Leap Of Leopards (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Sperm Whale Herd, Sri Lanka (3rd Place In Animals In Their Environment Category)
The sperm whales pictured here had just emerged from milling around in a gigantic cluster, with many of the whales defecating to such an extent that the water was opaque with secretions. This scene was part of a large, multi-day aggregation comprising hundreds, perhaps thousands of whales
Krishna The God Of Colours (Remarkable Award In Splash Of Colors Category)
Hyaena, Tanzania (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
A hyaena is roaming in the water looking for food on a misty morning. The black and white image conveys a sense of quiet
The Twins' Gymnastics Dream, China (3rd Place In Story-Telling Category)
When I discovered these twins at a gymnastics school, I decided to capture their telepathic coordination, mutual assistance and dependence on each other in daily training. I also focused on capturing their individual differences performed in training, particularly in simple mandatory movements. I worked hard to find and capture their differences in the hope of unveiling the characteristics and forms of twins in competitive sports. The photos were mainly taken at a gymnastics school in Jining City, China. The two children were born in 2007. Their names are Liu Bingqing and Liu Yujie. 1、Before training, Liu Bingqing and Liu Yujie were running along the corridor. 2、Liu Bingqing was doing gymnastics with the help of the coach and was clearly suffering. 3、The twins were training in simple movements on the horizontal bar
Eagles Arguing, Finland (Honorouble Mention In Under 20 Category)
Two white-tailed eagles are fighting in their arctic environment in Sodankylä, Finland
The Contact (Remarkable Award In Journeys And Adventures Category)
is sad to see animals not being in the wild but some would not survive in the wild any more
The Hunt, India (2nd Place In Animals In Their Environment Category)
A young and inexperienced tiger cub attempts to hunt a chital (spotted deer) in Ranthambore National Park, India; but the chital turned out to be too big for this young cub. I captured the moment when the tiger cub was struggling to get the prey down, as his siblings and mother were watching from a distance
...meanwhile, son, there’s a very slow human squatting down on the ground who is much easier prey.
Ocean Fury, Iceland (Honorable Mention In General Monochrome Category)
After 2 days with winds blowing up to 100 Km/h, huge waves can be seen on the Icelandic West coast. Winter was ending and the snowfall alternating with the sun's rays. The challenge in obtaining this image was standing close to the cliffs in the gusts of wind
Man Carries Injured Son, Iraq (1st Place In Journeys And Adventures Category)
A heartbroken father, carrying his injured son, flees a checkpoint in West Mosul, Iraq
Thank-you George W Bush, D**k Cheney and the rest of the fossil fuel industry.
Good-Bye, Israel (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
A chameleon whipped out its tongue to capture a dragonfly, while I was hiding behind a bush in order not to disturb the scene. Its tongue is longer than its body, and its tip is sticky and thick
In The Melaleuca Forest, Vietnam (Honorable Mention In Journeys and Adventures Category)
A woman is collecting water chestnuts during the high tide season in the Melaleuca forest in Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Giant Serenity, Kenya (Honorable Mention In General Monochrome Category)
A female Elephant (Loxodonta africana) approaches a stream at sunset in the Northeastern part of Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya
Egrets Fight (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
The Man Staring, Bangladesh (Honorable Mention In Journeys and Adventures Category)
This photo was taken at Tongi Railway Station, Bangladesh. A train from the country was entering the platform and as it arrived I suddenly found a pair of curious eyes staring at me through the window. The mist on the glass and the curious eyes create a dreamy atmosphere where the black umbrella represents reality - a journey towards the city full of hopes and dreams
For some strange reason, i stared at this pic for too long!
Swing, Bolivia (Honorable Mention In Journeys and Adventures Category)
Tanya is playing on a swing in the Bolivian trains cemetery, 3 km outside Uyuni. This place, where many trains were abandoned at the beginning of the 19th century, is connected to Uyuni by the old train tracks
Cannonball, Tonga (Honorable Mention In General Monochrome Category)
This is a humpback whale launching itself out of the water during an overcast, stormy day. The young whale was a little boy, showing off his skills. I took this photo with a camera modified for monochrome images
Fantastic photo, hopefully the camera man's boat was a good distance away
Fisherman At Inle Lake, Myanmar (1st Place In Under 20 Category)
This picture was captured at Inle Lake on the Shan Plateau in Myanmar. As the lake is covered with reeds and floating plants, it is difficult to row while sitting. As a result, the Intha fishermen have developed an unusual rowing style. It is amazing how people in each corner of the world find ways to adapt to nature, inspired by nature itself
Every Breath You Take, Germany (1st Place In General Color Category)
The picture was taken from 35 individual images of swimmers at the triathlon in the Duesseldorf Media Harbour in the summer of 2017. I was able to take them from above, while the athletes crossed a pedestrian bridge capturing their very individual "breathing techniques“. I was inspired by the work of Andreas Gursky; therefore, I took the individual images with the highest possible sharpness
Truit (Remarkable Award In General Color Category)
Henningsvær Football Field, Norway (2nd Place In Architecture And Urban Spaces Category)
The football field of Henningsvær, in the beautiful Lofoten Islands in Norway, is considered to be one of the most amazing football fields in Europe, and maybe even in the world
Runner, The Netherlands (1st Place In General Monochrome Category)
This photograph highlights the modern architecture of Arnhem Central Station in the Netherlands by using black and white technique and the movement of the runner in the static scene
Giants Of The Ocean, Norway (Honorable Mention In General Monochrome Category)
Two humpback whales enjoy playing during the polar night in Northern Norway
Mt. Bromo, Indonesia (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
This phenomenal picture was taken in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park at sunrise. Mount Bromo's eruption, in January 2016, was highly unusual as it lasted for almost a year
Save The Last Dance, Germany (Honorouble Mention In Architecture and Urban Spaces Category)
A piano telling a story of other times, when in the 1920's couples danced to its notes. Even today, despite the dust covering it, its music echoes in the room, bringing us into an atmosphere full of charm and emotion
Free-Riders (Remarkable Award In Journeys And Adventures Category)
4 Hours Of Air Traffic, USA (Honorouble Mention In Architecture and Urban Spaces Category)
A stacked exposure showing 4 hours of air traffic departing from the N/S runways at SFO. This is one of a series, showing the frenetic pace with which these complex microcosms operate. To achieve this image, I was perched on a mountaintop 2 miles from the runway, with a super-telephoto lens, clicking exposures every time a plane departed
Winter Idyll In Everyday Life, Germany (Honorouble Mention In General Color Category)
From above, in winter, even an everyday life scene can become interesting and suggest a story
Kudos and three cheers to all hard workers out there who cleanup these roads and makes it possible to reach our destination in the comfort of warmth inside our cars!
Honey Hunters (Remarkable Award In Journeys And Adventures Category)
