The organizers continued: “Siena, a jewel of Italy, is the ideal place to realize this dream, as it has always been a city of art, with unique beauty and the ability to open its heart, its doors, and its creativity. A major international festival, Siena Awards includes three photographic awards of excellence and a series of events and exhibitions throughout the year for photographers all over the world: from great names to emerging talents to enthusiasts, to visitors from around the world who love culture. Siena Awards is an exclusivity that becomes inclusive.”

The competition has been around for a while now. The organizers shared how it has changed and evolved over the years. “The competition, year by year, is increasing both in terms of participants and in terms of quality as it has become a contest to win in order to be highlighted throughout the world.”

This year's submitted images were very emotional. ”The winners have been chosen by the Judging Panel after 3 rounds of judgment during which the Jurors found huge images in terms of emotions, sense of place, light, and composition.“

The organizers shared some names that became famous because of the contest. “The competition has changed the life of many photographers who became very famous all over the world after being the winners (Mehmet Aslan, Florian Ledoux, Greg Lecoeur, just to name some) and one of the people like the little Mustafa who, last year, was helped to get a prosthesis treatment thanks to the fundraising launched when the image which showed him and his father became the Overall Winner of SIPA 2021 and celebrated worldwide.”

When asked if there was one single photo throughout the years that could be considered the best, we got a response: “It’s so hard to do it as we have many, many high-level images, and it is impossible to choose one among them.”

And lastly, the advice to all future professional photographers: “follow your heart, think differently, trust in yourself, and do not be afraid when something seems to be wrong.”