70 Best Photos Of 2026 According To Siena International Photo Awards

Early in the morning, after a devastating fire swept through the Korail slum near Dhaka’s Mohakhali-Gulshan area, a family rests beneath the open sky, surrounded by the charred remains of their own home, reduced to rubble by the blaze of the previous night.

In a rare and poignant moment of tender humanity, a security guard breaks down in tears while witnessing the devastating heartbreak of a distraught migrant family, moments after the woman's husband was unexpectedly detained by ICE during his immigration court hearing, in New York on August 20, 2025. Such scenes have become increasingly common as many find themselves caught up in the intensified mass deportation campaign.

Amina, an Afghan girl, perfectly embodies the condition of Afghan women: a life spent in the shadows, confined within the walls of her home, her eyes struggling to glimpse a future that, for now, remains steeped in darkness. In any other corner of the globe, the right to fight for a better life exists, but this is not the case for Afghan women, who are deprived of the right to work and their independence—the only weapons to change their destiny. In Afghanistan, moreover, there is not a single day of respite; it is a vortex of emotions that overwhelms you at every turn. Entering the homes of those who have lost everything reveals a chorus of identical stories: families where the death or disappearance of men has left an unfillable void, silencing all hope. They are all defined by the sad awareness that a happy ending will probably never be written by anyone.

A gelada (Theropithecus gelada) perches on a rock in the Ethiopian highlands at sunset. Endemic to Ethiopia, this primate—also known as the 'bleeding-heart baboon' for the distinctive reddish patch on the chest of males, a sign of health and dominance—is the only primate in the world that feeds almost exclusively on grass, which it selects with agile, precise fingers. It spends the nights clinging to rocky ledges along steep escarpments, where the altitude and steep walls protect it from predators. In the background, amid threatening clouds, the jagged peaks of the Simien Mountains rise, a volcanic massif in northern Ethiopia with deep gorges and spectacular basalt cliffs. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they host the world’s largest concentration of geladas and other endemic species in a high-altitude ecosystem often above 3,000 meters.

In rural Bali, children grow up among rice paddies and jungle. Kites occupy a central place in village life, as they are symbols of prosperity and spiritual connections to the gods. They serve as ritual tools to communicate with the divine, acting as a bridge between the earthly and the spiritual realm. Their tradition is passed down from father to son, with boys learning from a very young age the craft of shaping bamboo, sewing silk, and assembling lightweight frames. Built collectively and flown during the dry season, they reflect agricultural rhythms and family traditions. On a quiet path, a boy leaps into the morning light to catch his homemade kite. Far from screens and traffic, his play reflects a slower rhythm of life—immersed in nature, creativity, and joy. In these still corners of the world, time stretches differently.

During the annual Sardine Run off the Transkei Coast of South Africa, Linda spent three days freediving amidst massive shoals of sardines trapped against a headland. She descended into an almost surreal underwater world—a parallel universe where sharks swirled, appearing and disappearing into the blue. Among them, a massive dusky shark, an apex predator, moved effortlessly within the bait ball during this extraordinary migratory spectacle. In that presence, an unexpected sense of calm could be felt. While the impact on the oceans caused by human activity is now widely documented, Linda has chosen instead to reveal its pristine beauty, creating images that invite a profound sense of wonder.

Eruptions of the Svartsengi volcanic system initially unfold in a rapid and powerful way: within minutes, the ground tears open, forming fissures up to one kilometer long, from which lava emerges violently, creating high lava fountains and incandescent flows. At Sundhnúkagígar, during the November 20, 2024 event, the winter night was lit by an orange glow as activity progressively concentrated into a few eruptive vents.

For two years, life in Gaza has been defined by bombardment, displacement, and hunger. Tens of thousands have died, and nearly the entire population has been driven from their homes. With aid blocked and infrastructure destroyed, starvation has become part of the war itself.

From a ship deep within the Arctic pack ice north of Svalbard, in the summer of 2025, a tuft of fur emerging from a distant ice wall catches Felix’s attention. In this remote polar environment, where sea ice thins each summer due to rising temperatures, encounters with wildlife are increasingly rare and unpredictable. Driven by curiosity, he launches his drone and approached slowly. As the distance narrowed, the scene gradually revealed itself: a polar bear (Ursus maritimus, an apex predator dependent on sea ice for hunting seals) in a deep sleep, its body curled within a crack beside an extraordinary formation of glacial ice of an intense and almost unreal shade of blue. Felix keeps the drone high, careful not to break the spell of the moment or disturb the bear’s peaceful rest. Then, with the same gentleness with which he had arrived, he withdrew, leaving the bear to its dreams, alone in the frozen realm it calls home.

A moment of intense tension as a female puma attempts to capture a guanaco. For days, Kevin had been following the predator, a mother of two cubs who depended on her for food. At dawn, after observing the guanaco for a long time, the puma cautiously approaches and launches her attack, repeatedly trying to pull it down and bite into its neck to suffocate it. Despite the intensity of the struggle, the guanaco ultimately manages to escape.

Two tightly packed clusters of Western monarch butterflies rested on branches that hung close together in the forest. Small bursts of orange showed through their wings as a single butterfly approached one cluster, easing in as though preparing to join the crowd.

A humpback whale (Megaptera, from Ancient Greek for "giant wing") surfaces to breathe after diving deep for krill, breaking the water at the heart of a flower-shaped opening in the sea ice. From above, the dark water and scattered floes frame its glowing pectoral fins, in a fleeting moment where art and nature become one.

Amidst the alleys of Varanasi, where the rhythm of life flows fast, a local worker rests among rows of trousers drying in the sun. This moment of profound peace transforms reality into a living pattern: the man's body merges with the expanse of fabrics, becoming an integral part of their texture.

Taken in Teahupo'o, from underwater, in the morning light. With the right timing and conditions, you can see the surfer passing through the barrel, and the whole scene is mesmerizing thanks to the water's clarity.

During the monsoon season in the Western Ghats, Vinodh found a clutch of bush frog eggs on the moss of a large tree. This species is characterized by direct development: these frogs skip the tadpole stage, and young froglets emerge directly from the eggs.

On the dry lakebed of Amboseli, this playful frame makes it look as if the elephant is about to give the jeep a mighty kick—while the little calf trails behind, watching curiously. A fun illusion, yes, but also a gentle reminder that this shared terrain exists in a delicate balance.

A group of Gentoo penguins speeds through the icy waters of the Antarctic summer at Port Charcot. At this time of year, penguins rapidly build colonies on the Antarctic Peninsula, finding in this sheltered bay—surrounded by mountains and icebergs—an ideal refuge. Romain and his companions anchored their sailboat for three days near the colony. Every day they immersed themselves in the freezing waters to observe these incredibly curious birds, which repeatedly approached to investigate their presence. During a freediving session, a vast group of penguins suddenly passed above him, diving in unison to feed on krill. Clumsy on land, in water they transform into fast and perfectly agile swimmers. In just moments, Romain found himself surrounded by over 200 individuals, immersed in the midst of their frenzied activity.

In December 2025, Luc spent two weeks in the Lembeh Strait, exploring its volcanic seabed to document the underwater microcosm. During a dusk dive, he focused on the elusive mandarinfish, a species renowned for its extraordinary and fleeting twilight mating ritual. These small, vividly coloured fish emerge from the coral in pairs, briefly rising into the water column to complete reproduction, before vanishing in a fraction of a second. After countless attempts and patient waiting, Luc managed to capture the exact moment of the nuptial ascent, immortalizing the chromatic harmony and fragility of this brief instant.

On the ash plains of Mount Yasur, on the remote Pacific island of Tanna, Vanuatu, Phillip stands barefoot atop a volcanic rock bomb. Wearing a lava-protection suit donated by visiting scientists, the volcano smoulders behind him, sending plumes of gas and sulfur into the sky. Born and raised at the base of Mount Yasur, Phillip has spent years studying and monitoring the volcano. He trained with French volcanologist Thomas Boyer, but due to limited access to education and the high cost of tuition, he has no formal qualifications. Despite this, Phillip is now internationally recognized as a self-taught volcanologist and has progressively played an important role locally, serving as a knowledgeable observer of Yasur and as a bridge between the volcano, visiting scientists, and the communities of Tanna. He often guides researchers and tourists up the volcano—always barefoot, as he has been since childhood. This portrait captures Phillip in his element, embodying both courage and a deep familiarity with one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

At MACBA in Barcelona, one skater rests while the other shows off his tricks. The tent adds to the narrative of a legendary spot where skaters from all over the world come to experience the culture firsthand.