The 2018 Siena International Photo Awards has received 48,000 submissions from the best photographers in 156 countries, and the judges have had an incredibly hard time deciding the winners. Nonetheless, the best pictures of 2018 have been decided, and just like in 2017 and 2016, their cool images show just how diverse our beautiful world really is.
Every year, the competition includes a special category. This time, it was entitled Splash of Colors, seeking out excellent color compositions. In total, the famous photographers competed in 11 categories, ranging from stunning landscapes to subtle portraits and cool photos of dramatic sports moments. The grand prize, the Photo of the Year award, went to Bangladeshi photographer K. M. Asad for his shot Battle Victim. Asad has been documenting the plight of the persecuted Rohingya in Myanmar for six years now, and the best photography of a young Rohingya refugee perfectly portrays the terrible human tragedy unfolding there.
Continue scrolling to check out the rest of the best picture nominees of 2018.
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#21 Little Nenets Nedko, Russia (Honorable Mention In Journeys and Adventures Category)
The North is a fantastic region populated by extraordinary people with a distinct culture fully adjusted to the environment of the extreme North. Despite being in the 21st century, people of the North still maintain their traditional culture, reflecting the time-honoured, close interaction between people and nature, demonstrating a genuinely caring attitude towards everything that surrounds them
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243points
#22 The Beakful Of The Hoopoe, Italy (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Looking, as usual, for the nests of the most beautiful bird species in Trentino, I unexpectedly saw this hoopoe and I immediately grasped the opportunity to photograph it
Jacopo Rigotti
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#23 Flying On The Beach, The Netherlands (Honorouble Mention In General Color Category)
I was lying down in the cold water looking for the right position and took this picture at the exact moment when the dog was jumping high to catch the disc, almost flying in the sky
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229points
#24 Share (Remarkable Award In Fascinating Faces And Characters Category)
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227points
#25 Drink, China (Honorable Mention In Fascinating faces and characters Category)
In a small hilltop village with water shortage problems, a little boy drinks water from a water pipe
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226points
#26 Duel In The Snow (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
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221points
#27 Kid With Hand Crafts, Ethiopia (1st Place In Fascinating Faces And Characters Category)
In Ethiopia, the kids of the Suri tribe are being over-protected by their families. Imagine these metal handcrafts as a jail with a Suri kid locked inside. Young kids are the hope and inheritors of the Suri culture, but the overprotection will marginalize the new generation from the world
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220points
#28 Kitten (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
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219points
#29 Floating Market, Indonesia (1st Place In Splash Of Colors Category)
Early in the morning before sunrise up to a hundred boats meet at the colorful Lok Baintan Floating Market in Indonesia. It is one of the oldest markets in Asia where the inhabitants still trade from traditional wooden boats
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214points
#30 Travelers, Antarctica (3rd Place In The Beauty Of The Nature Category)
A group of Chinstrap Penguins (Pygoscelis Antarctica) is resting on an iceberg. When sailing Antarctic waters you will often see different types of icebergs. Some of these floating islands are great resting places for hunting penguins who can travel many kilometers, before jumping back into the icy water
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204points
#31 Polar Trout, Norway (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
A brown trout spawning in a special night atmosphere as the stars and the full moon light the scene
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195points
#32 Giochi In Verde (Remarkable Award In The Beauty Of The Nature Category)
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194points
#33 Migration, Saudi Arabia (2nd Place In The Beauty Of The Nature Category)
In the desert of Dahana, in the center of Saudi Arabia, Bedouins migrate with camels from place to place, searching for food and water. I took this picture while a group of nomads was passing us with their camels, creating beautiful shadows in a peaceful atmosphere
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192points
#34 Cold At Surface, Norway (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
In the waters of Tromsø, during a freezing polar night (-18°C), a killer whale is taking a breath at the cold surface gifting us this amazing photo
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187points
#35 Facing Reality, Pleneau Island, Antarctic Peninsula (1st Place In Animals In Their Environment Category)
A leopard seal got into a lagoon just before low tide. The seal was hiding, waiting to ambush young penguins as they got closer. When a penguin got close enough, the seal moved extremely fast and caught the penguin by its feet dragging it to the open water. I was following parallel to the action. The seal released the penguin twice and the terrified penguin succeeded in escaping, but the seal continued chasing after it, and on the third attempt, drowned the penguin and devoured it
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185points
#36 Flying Fishing Nest, China (3rd Place In General Color Category)
This image is able to evoke a sense of peace, portraying a fisherman at work on the Ningde Jiuli River in Xiapu County, China, while the wind lifts his fishing nets. The special light, the sun's rays, and the wind all add up creating a magical and striking atmosphere
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178points
#37 Redyk, Poland (Honorable Mention In Journeys and Adventures Category)
In this photo of Mizerna, in southern Poland, the traditional sheep grazing, called "Redyk", has more than 1,500 animals. From the Low Beskid Mountains, shepherds bring back the animals to the city of Nowy Targ, where the owners will take care of them during the winter. The animals will go back to the mountains in spring
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165points
#38 Vulture And Jackal (Remarkable Award In Animals In Their Environment Category)
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165points
#39 The Window, Costa Rica (Honorable Mention In The beauty of the nature Category)
During my stay in a hotel in Costa Rica, red-eyed frogs (Agalichnis callydrias) flooded the gardens. As I approached this one, it climbed into one of the holes and I photographed the frog as if it were sticking out of a window
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163points
#40 Unity, Bangladesh (Honorable Mention In Animals In Their Environment Category)
Unity is the strength, as with teamwork and collaboration with which wonderful things can be achieved. Here this frog wanted to eat the ants, but its own life is at risk in the face of their unity
Md Zakirul Mazed Konok
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