Hidden Snow Leopard Cubs Among Winners of International Photography Awards

Spotlight
Matt Growcoot
Two snow leopards are curled up together in a rocky crevice on a snowy mountainside overlooking a valley.
Photo by Awais Ali Sheikh

The Siena Awards Photo Festival is a sweeping image competition that touches on many different styles, disciplines, and genres of photography.

The winners of the 2026 competition were announced this past weekend. There are three international competitions: the Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA), the Creative Photo Awards, and the Drone Photo Awards.

Siena International Photo Awards

A mountain lion leaps onto the back of a guanaco, biting its neck in a grassy, mountainous landscape.
A puma tries to take down a guanaco. It failed. Winner of the Animals in Their Environment category. | Photo by Kevin Shi
A security guard and a woman with a young child stand against a large pillar, all three appearing to be crying.
A security guard reacts while witnessing the heartbreak of a distraught woman from Ecuador and her children after her husband was detained by ICE as they left his immigration court hearing at the Jacob Javits Federal Building in New York on August 20, 2025. Winner of the Documentary and Photojournalism categoey. | Photo by Carol Guzy
A woman wearing a dark purple hijab holds a severely malnourished child against her chest in front of a plain, textured wall.
Yazan Abu Foul, a 2-year-old Palestinian child cradled in his mother’s arms, suffers from severe malnutrition amid worsening living conditions in the Gaza Strip. Winner of the Fascinating Faces and Characters category. | Photo by Saher Alghorra
A large crowd of women wearing various styles of headscarves and full-body coverings stands together, with a small child visible in the center.
The end of the holy month of Ramadan marked by the communal Eid al-Fitr prayer—a unified call to a fresh beginning. Winner of the Journeys and Adventures category. | Photo by Amir Hossein Kamali
A Cuban javelin thrower with a limb difference is captured mid-air during a competition in a brightly lit stadium at night.
Para‑athlete Guillermo Varona González of Team Cuba prepares to compete in the Men’s Javelin Throw F46 Final on day three of the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Winner of the Sports in action category. | Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos
People wait at a glass-walled bus stop, their reflections overlapping with a large advertisement featuring a woman's face.
Shot in Rome. Winner of the Street Photography category. | Photo by Luca Paccusse
A wide, glowing river of molten lava flows across a dark, volcanic landscape toward a distant line of fire and smoke.
A volcanic eruption in Iceland. Winner of The Beauty of Nature category. | Photo by Marco Di Marco|
Several northern gannets dive underwater through a cloud of air bubbles, some with fish in their beaks.
Northern gannets compete fiercely for discarded fish. Winner of the Underwater Life category. | Photo by Nur Tucker

Drone Photo Awards

An aerial view shows several large, dark fishing nets spread out across a light-colored sandy beach, with small figures of people working among them.
Winner of the Abstract category. | Photo by Mohammed Al Balushi
Two snow leopards are curled up together in a rocky crevice on a snowy mountainside overlooking a valley.
Two snow leopard cubs hiding on the mountain. Winner of the Animals category. | Photo by Awais Ali Sheikh
An aerial view shows a flock of white birds flying over dark, textured water next to a vibrant pink lake and a marshy, branching shoreline.
Winner of the Nature category. | Photo by Ali Azar
An aerial view shows many rectangular red patterned rugs laid out on the ground, with two people walking among them.
Winner of the People category. | Photo by F. Dilek Yurdakul
An aerial view shows a lone skier carving a single track down a steep, snow-covered mountain slope next to a deep, dark shadow.
Winner of the Sport category. | Photo by Yjabril Moro
An aerial view shows a massive, dense orange dust storm looming over a suburban landscape and a highway intersection.
A massive dust storm approaches Mubarak Al-Kabeer in Kuwait. Winner of the Urban category. | Photo by Andullah Benayan
A bride and groom lie on the ground holding hands inside a large treble clef shape formed by white fabric and surrounded by various acoustic and electric guitars.
Winner of the Wedding category. | Photo by Tim Demski

Creative Photo Awards

A silver vintage sports car with the number 7 on its side sits in a dusty landscape next to a galloping black horse.
Winner of the Advertising category. | Photo by Cheraine Collette
A stingray swims through a cloud of bubbles in blue water.
Winner of the Animals and Pets category. | Photo by Ysabela Coll
A modern building with a gray concrete facade features a central, multi-colored section of stacked, curved volumes in yellow, pink, blue, and green, set against a grassy landscape.
The Wall House #2 in Groningen. Winner ofd the Architecture category. | Photo by Frank Loddenkemper
A black-and-white photograph shows the shadow of a person cast against a wall, with a circular opening in the wall revealing a beach scene featuring a flying seagull.
Winner of the Fine Art category. | Photo by Mohamed Nahi
A large flock of flamingos in flight, captured with motion blur against a dark, textured background.
Thousands of flamingos rose over a saltwater landscape. Winner of the Nature and Landscape category. | Photo by Yoshiki Nakamura
A series of nested picture frames sit on a wooden surface, each containing a reflection of the scene behind it, with several pears arranged in the foreground and within the frames.
Winner of the Open Theme category. | Photo by Marko Klavs
An elderly man with a white beard and a patterned head covering is framed by a dense, surrounding mass of long, fibrous stalks.
Winner of the People category. | Photo by Pinu Rahman
A bride and groom walk hand-in-hand with a dog along a winding road through a lush, green valley under a cloudy sky.
Winner of the Wedding category. | Photo by Tim Demski

The winning works will remain on display in Siena, Italy, until November 29 in exhibitions across the city and the surrounding Siena area. For more info, head to the competition website.

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