50,000 Shades of Wow: Winning Images from the 2016 Siena International Photo Award Contest

©Greg Lecouer

In only its second year, the Siena International Photo Award (SIPA) competition received over 50,000 images, submitted by amateurs and pros from over 130 countries worldwide. And the winning photographs are simply breathtaking.

French photographer Greg Lecouer won the Overall Award for the photograph you see above, described by SIPA as, “A highly evocative photograph immortalizing marine predators hunting during the migratory period of sardines along the coast of South Africa.” Lecouer is an acclaimed underwater photographer with a passion for capturing the drama of ocean life.

©Giuseppe Mario Famiani

The powerful image above of an erupting Mt. Etna won the Nature Category. Italian photographer Giueseppe Mario Famiani created the dramatic shot of the famous active volcano spewing ash, gas and magma last December.

©Leyla Emekter

And here (above) is a vibrant image by Leyla Emekter of Turkey that won the Travel Category for it’s colorful depiction of a female worker surrounded by a sea of vivid greenhouses in her native country.

©Gianluca De Bartolo

Only in Italy would there be a Wine Category in an international photo competition, and Italian photographer Gianluca De Bartolo took top honors for the above intoxicating portrait of a Romanian farmer kissing the fruits of his labor after harvest.

©Fuyang Zhou

Some of the honorable mentions in the contest were absolutely stunning, like this image above of a solitary net fisherman by Fuyang Zhou who took home the Remarkable Award in the Open Color Category.

©Krishna Vr

We’re always pleased to see young photographers gain recognition in high-profile photography competitions, like Krishna Vr of Mexico who won the Under 20 Category for the beautiful, painterly image above.

©Jiming Lv

Jiming Lv was rewarded for this sublime photograph of a mother and her son at rest, with top honors in the People & Portrait Category.

We encourage you to visit the SIPA website to read about the contest and view more of the beautiful submissions. And be sure to take a look at yesterday's story with the top images in this year’s National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition that will be judged next month.

Via My Modern Met

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