Portuguese photographer André Boto has won the title of overall winner of the 2022 edition of the Creative Photo Awards, the competition dedicated to artistic and creative photography at the Siena Awards. The image shines the spotlight on pollution in a clever and thought-provoking way.
“Pollution is a real problem that affects us all,” says Boto about his image titled ‘The False illusion’. “There are often attempts to camouflage or minimize this problem,” he continues, “the big manufacturing companies and the powers that be try to hide an issue that is real and brings sequels, creating the illusion that it is a distant problem, but in fact, we are already facing it today and leave with a great disadvantage to solve it at this moment.”
The awards attracted thousands of entries from 128 different countries across 17 different categories. The images range from very abstract and conceptual to fine art and digital manipulation. I was intrigued by many of the entries, not just the winning images. Below are a few of my own favourites from the finalists.
“Selfie”
Alexander Sviridov, Toronto (Canada)
“Smoking hot”
Marc Sabat, Finland

I made this just for fun. I have an old fire extinctor in my studio so before throwing it away I did this picture using also a big bottle of Tabasco and putting them together in photoshop.
“Ballerina Dance”
Nenad Martic, Zagreb, Croatia

It is amazing how many objects that surround me have various associations with me. This is an obvious example of this realization. From corkscrews and shower nets in an ideal combination, I managed to make a dancing ballerina.
“Entendre”
Amber Griffin, Wellington, New Zealand

Two classical dancers epitomise the effortless grace, musicality and artistry of ballet. The ethereal tension of their shared moment is enhanced through their fluid connectivity and divine balance.
“Silence”
Maryam Sadat Ahmadi, Iran

“Silence Note”: silence is everything and nothing. In silence, there is everything that should be and what should not be. The sound of silence is louder than all voices because it has a lot to say. In silence we see, hear, smell, taste, touch everything that is beautiful, wonderful… This is a selfie I took of myself with the help of a camera tripod and remote shutter control. I also made the carrier lines with ice cream sticks and glue.
“Golden Retriever Chasing Beach Ball”
Clemens Van Der Werf, Florida, USA

During the COVID lockdown, I decided to photograph my golden retrievers in the swimming pool with a variety of colourful dog toys against a black background. The project produced a series of funny and hilarious underwater photos of the dogs with all different facial expressions that made people laugh.
“Kintsugi”
Alireza Sahebi, Iran

I was inspired by Kintsugi, the Japanese art of healing which is a true inspiration on how we should view our past and present, and teaches how highlighting our flaws makes us better and more unique.
“Colonnade”
Marcel Van Balken, Netherlands

Architectural spaces in a play of light and shadow form an almost surrealistic decor. Pure black-and-white image in which the photography of architecture begins to take on abstract forms, reinforced by the apparently disproportionate addition of man.
“Spaghetti Stylist 3”
Yuliy Vasilev, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Spaghetti Stylist 3 is part of a project, with the same name, which consists of 6 images, where I pretend that spaghetti is hair.
“White Door”
Ahmad Kaddourah, Abudhabi City (UAE)

‘DOORS’ are a universal symbol of entry and exit in all the cultures around the world. Geometry and patterns are closely related. They appear everywhere. They interact because the eye is able to pick out patterns. Spotting them is about having an eye for lines and curves.
“Floor 5”
Jada + David Parrish, Richmond VA, USA

Elevators are strange places. We designed and built an elevator set in our studio out of plywood and paint. Elevator interactions are awkward and uncomfortable. You never know who you will be sharing the space with.
“Ocean of Corks”
Daniel West, South Africa

Ocean of corks for the one and only Optima wine. The illustration of the one wine which will stand the test of time, against all other wines.
“As above so below”
Henry Do, Barcelona, Spain

A new day is on the horizon. Darkness will soon fade and everything will be alright. This creative work combined my aerial shots from Barcelona, taken during the daytime and nighttime. The right arrow was never intended and I was very surprised to see it when creating this work. I think it symbolizes the path that we should all try to achieve, always forward.
The winning photos can be seen on the website and will be exhibited at the Siena Awards Festival in the Tuscan city of Siena from October 1st to November 20th, 2022.
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