The Siena International Photo Awards, held annually in Siena, Italy, named my Street Shot “Smokey Coat” as the first place winner in the single shots category “Street Photography”!
This year, the festival received over 48,000 entries from photographers representing 156 countries across eleven competition categories. These categories include “Journeys & Adventures, Fascinating faces and characters, The beauty of nature, Animals in their Environment, Sports in actions, Story-telling, Documentary & Photojournalism, Street Photography, Underwater life & Short documentary film”. Additionally, the photographer behind “Smokey Coat” received an invitation to attend the awards ceremony and was offered the “Diamond Package”, which includes a several-day event program and hotel accommodation in Siena.
Event program
The awards program was spread over a total of five days. From September 28 to October 2, all nominees and award winners were able to take part in two excursions, five exhibition openings, a photography talk plenary session, a museum and city tour, as well as the gala award ceremony. Framed by joint aperitif breaks and restaurant visits, there was plenty of time to get to know each other. One of the most frequently asked classification questions at the beginning was definitely which category you were in at the awards. ^_^
Awards Ceremony & Live on Stage
The Gala Night and Awards Ceremony took place early Saturday evening at the elegant Rinnovati Theater, attached to Siena City Hall. A “black dress” wardrobe was recommended. Over the course of 2.5 hours, the presenters invited all the nominees and winners present on stage to receive their personal awards. Fortunately, the Street category was presented right at the beginning, so I didn’t have to wait long for my “Pangea Trophy” (a beautiful round gold-colored glass trophy).
Surprisingly, I was interviewed briefly on stage. The whole event was streamed live on the internet and made available for posterity on YouTube, starting at 19:36 min.
Awards Exhibition Opening
The day after the awards ceremony, the exhibition opening for the award winners took place. There was finally a chance to talk to the photographers about their work and to take photos with them. In addition to being exhibited, the winning images were also printed in a hardcover book, “Beyond the Lens” which can be ordered online.
Street photography in Siena
Between the program points and during the city tour, I had a few opportunities for street photography in the city center. Especially when the sun was shining, the narrow streets offered interesting opportunities for shots with people, light and shadow.
