Siena Awards Photo Festival 2026 | 12th edition

On 10 October 2026 the winners of the three international competitions at the heart of the Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA), the Creative Photo Awards and the Drone Photo Awards, were celebrated at the Teatro dei Rinnovati in Siena during the awards ceremony. The Drone Photo Awards 2026 celebrates aerial photography as a visual language capable of transforming the world seen from above into striking and evocative images. The international jury selected American photographer George Steinmetz as the 2026 overall winner with Shipbreaking on the Mudflats, photographed in the Bay of Bengal. The image shows an old liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier in the final stages of dismantling, with its metal being recovered.

Among the category winners are Abdullah Benayan (Urban) with Mother Nature, capturing a massive sandstorm that swept across Mubarak Al-Kabeer, Kuwait, in early May; Yhabril Moro (Sport) with Gates of Steel, an evocative photograph in which the mountain becomes a shared field of study; F. Dilek Yurdakul (People) with Carpet Fields, depicting fields of handwoven carpets that transform into a visual tapestry, blurring the boundary between landscape and craftsmanship; Ali Azar (Nature) with Flamingos Moving in Maharlu Lake, portraying the pink salt lake of Maharloo, near Shiraz, known for its vivid colours and abstract patterns; Mohammed Al Balushi (Abstract) with Creatures of the Tide, in which fishing nets spread out on the sand to dry become dark, organic shapes resembling sea creatures washed ashore by the waves; Tim Demski (Wedding) with Treble Clef, capturing from above a guitarist and his bride posing inside a treble clef formed by a long veil and a collection of guitars; and Awais Ali Sheikh (Animals) with Hidden in Plain Sight, showing two snow leopard cubs resting peacefully on a rocky mountainside, perfectly camouflaged among the rocks.