Over the years, the Siena International Photo Awards has built a remarkable archive through its “Photo of the Day” series, spotlighting images that are powerful, moving, and visually unforgettable. Drawn from across the broader Siena Awards orbit, these daily features have showcased a wide range of photographs that reflect the creativity, storytelling, and technical skill of photographers from around the world. This collection is Bored Panda’s selection of some of the best “Photo of the Day” shots the Siena Awards has shared over the years.
Together, these images offer a striking look at the many ways photography can capture emotion, beauty, tension, and wonder in a single frame. And while this post looks back at standout picks from past years, the Siena International Photo Awards is also moving forward with its 2026 edition: nominees have already been announced, and the winners will be honored on October 10, 2026, in Siena.
Scroll down through these mesmerizing images and vote for your favorites.
#1 “Naughty Boy” By Talal Al Rabah
Description: “Picture in Masai Mara, Kenya of a cub yawning at his father face. I tried take the scene to be like the cub shout in the father face.”
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40points
#2 “Floral Bath Tub” By Mousam Ray
Description: “Awarded at the India Photography Awards, the image captures a female sunbird using a flower as a natural “bathtub,” taking advantage of water collected in the petals at dawn. The scene gained attention for its rare behavior and clean composition, with a soft blurred background highlighting this unique moment in nature.”
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39points
#3 “The World Is Mine” By Sascha Fonseca
Description: “A snow leopard triggers my camera trap as the sun sets high up in the Indian Himalayas. I captured this image during a 3-year camera trap project. The mystery surrounding the snow leopard always fascinated me. They are some of the most difficult large cats to photograph in the wild. Not only because of their incredible stealth, but also because of the remote environment they live in.”
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39points
#4 “Spirit Of The Universe” By Peter Lik
Description: “Capturing this image took patience and perseverance. It started with the search for a single tree amidst a lavender field at sunset. Then the wait for the night sky to unveil its beauty. Combined with a second, long exposure, the light invisible to the naked eye, revealing a truly enchanted world.”
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39points
#5 “The Happy Turtle” By Tzahi Finkelstein
Description: “A rare moment of harmony unfolds as a dragonfly gracefully lands on the nose of a turtle. Instead of seizing its prey, the turtle seems to enjoy the unexpected encounter, sharing a peaceful moment amidst the dim waters of the swamp.”
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38points
#6 “Stars At Waterhole” By Rajarshi Banerji
Description: “After waiting for 5 nights in an underground hide, I was finally lucky to get all nine members of the resident lion pride at this waterhole. I was focused on getting a shot where all the individuals had their heads down, eyes open and engaged in drinking. 5 adorable cubs of the pride were a bonus.”
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36points
#7 “Eye To Eye” By Bence Mate
Description: “A green-crowned brilliant hummingbird goes eye to eye with a green pit viper. Although the viper does not present direct danger to the bird, it is a threat to its nestlings, so the hummingbird draws attention to the danger by fierce squeaking sounds and dancing around the predator.”
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34points
#8 “Pretty Thief” By Patrizia Ricci
Description: “While in Wapusk N.P. (Canada), searching for polar bears, one morning I was amazed meeting this Arctic fox coming towards us across a frozen lake, while carrying a huge piece of meat. My guide explained that these animals are also scavengers and take any chance to steal parts of other animals preys, in this case, a caribou killed by wolves.”
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33points
#9 “Oops! Did I Sacre You?” By Pedro Jarque
Description: “Tigers are the largest cats and totemic animals par excellence. Spirit and guardian of the forest, when Dersu Uzala (Akira Kurosawa's film) hurts it, it sinks into deep fear and depression for having offended that spirit of the forest. An expression of the man-animal relationship today unthinkable, which has already been completely lost in an extreme materialized world.”
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33points
#10 “This Is My Jungle!” By Sergey Savvi
Description: “Wild elephant attacks the jeep full of people... We have to respect the nature and care about it. Or we'll be smashed by it due to our own wrong actions.”
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32points
#11 “Stoat's Game” By Jose Grandío
Description: “For several days I photographed this stoat near its burrow. On the last day, he showed unusual behavior, making sudden jumps and making strange faces. Scientists have witnessed stoats engaging in similar displays on many occasions and they have related it as distraction maneuvers in front of a potential prey.”
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32points
#12 “Two Worlds” By Karim Iliya
Description: “Freediver Brianna Zurlo playing with a giant baby humpback whale, one of the biggest animals to ever live on Earth. At less than 2 months old, she is bigger than a car. For more than an hour before, she was playfully breaching and swimming around, while her mother rested below. In this moment she stopped for a second, hovered to look at her human friend before going up to the surface to breath.”
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31points
#13 “Feather Cub At Play” By Charles Janson
Description: “While playing with a molted eagle feather, this young brown bear cub displayed the most amazing variety of poses. In this pose, she almost tipped over backward! The feather entertained her for nearly 10 minutes while we watched, delighted with her inventive play.”
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30points
#14 “Deep Bonds” By Pedro Jarque Krebs
Description: “An orangutan and her infant share a tender kiss, showcasing the deep emotional bond and maternal care characteristic of this species. Their affectionate interaction highlights a unique and touching connection within the animal kingdom.”
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30points
#15 “Heron Taking Off” By Zdeněk Vošický
Description: “Heron flies out of the nest in a protected landscape area on the shore of the Novomlýnský waterworks at sunset from the perspective of the surrounding mature trees.”
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30points
#16 “Mother Cares” By Nachum Weiss
Description: “Mother Nubian Iex and her kid on a wall in Mitzpe Ramon Negev Israel. The photo was taken in the Israeli Negev Desert. The picture was taken about a month and a half after the baby was born. Accompanying his mother in search of food and on the way they had to get off the wall while the mother escorted and looked after him.”
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30points
#17 “Murmuration Sunset” By Aya Okawa
Description: “A fascinating starling murmuration, I had never witnessed this before personally and it completely blew my mind to watch it happen closely. The starlings murmurate densely to deter predators and create warmth before roosting. Was spectacular to hear the quiet rustle of wings flapping when they flew close. I learned quickly that when shooting this many birds it is wise to wear a hood.”
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29points
#18 “The Last Monarch” By Jaime Rojo
Description: “In the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacan (Mexico), a single latecomer joins the others for the night, stretching its wings as it maneuvers in an attempt to squeeze into the popular roosting place. The butterflies’ extreme closeness offers protection and warmth.”
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28points
#19 “Arctic Fox” By Sergey Gorshkov
Description: “Wrangel Island is the best place in the Arctic for observing and shooting wild animals. Young arctic fox playing with lemmings Wrangel Island is the best place in the Arctic for observing and shooting wild animals. Young arctic fox playing with lemmings.”
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28points
#20 “The Sun King” By Pedro Jarque Krebs
Description: “Every year some 18,000 hunters travel to Africa, paying between 20,000 and 40,000 dollars or even more to hunt a lion raised on special farms for this purpose. This sport is known as “canned hunting.” About 8,000 lions are raised in captivity and are destined for these practices which are still legal in some African countries.”
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28points