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.
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#1 “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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#2 “Warrior” By Hugo Hebbe
Description: “The biggest marine turtle of the world, the leatherback turtle, is returning to the sea after having spent several hours laying eggs with difficulty on the beach. Photo taken with a drone in French Guiana.”
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#3 “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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#4 “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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#5 “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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#6 “Judique” By Robert Macinnis
Description: “A group portrait of an impossible gathering of animals at the Farm Sanctuary in Northern California. Using all the techniques commonly used for fashion shoots of famous models, I make an image the represents how these animals live together.”
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#7 “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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#8 “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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#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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#10 “Tapping Sun Into The Pots” By Zay Yar Lin
Description: “The climbers climb the palm trees to tap the tip of the palm’s inflorescence into their pots one last time at a beautiful evening in Bagan, Myanmar. They need to slice off the tip at least twice a day to prevent the sap from drying.”
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#11 “The Breakup” By Janessa Anderson
Description: “A vast expanse of ice separates, revealing a fleeting path forward as the power and grandeur of nature create an otherworldly canvas. Textures, colors, and reflections aligned in a unique window of exploration on a day this kayaker will never forget.”
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#12 “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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#13 “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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#14 “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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#15 “High Speed Sync” By Conor Ryan
Description: “This photo was taken at the 2022 Axalp Airshow. The viewing area is high in the alps so the aircraft perform their amazing maneuvers at eye level. Two members of the Patroille Suisse perform a high speed pass in an incredibly close mirror formation.”
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#16 “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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#17 “The Collaborators” By Jenguyton
Description: “A researcher weighs wild, habituated meerkats (Suricata suricatta) at their burrow. Meerkats’ highly social behavior have made them a model for studying the evolution of sociality in mammals. Capturing the weight of each individual through time is crucial for tracking growth or pregnancy. A few drops of water, a scarce resource here in the desert, are used to lure the meerkats onto the scale.”
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#18 “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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#19 “Bathing With Giants” By Hannes Lochner
Description: “In the dry season in the Chobe National Park in Botswana, the elephant congregate in large numbers at waterholes. The hyena joined in for a drink of water, and a bath, but the elephants only tolerated him for a while, and then chased him off. This was the last water in a fifty mile radius. So the elephants was very protective over the water.”
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#20 “Digging In” By Rick Beldegreen
Description: “This bull elephant in musth was photographed on the dry lake bed of Amboseli, Kenya. He performed a repertoire of behaviors all the while staring straight at me in close proximity. In this image, he kneeled down on his front legs, flared his ears and dug his tusks into the ground.”
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#21 “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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#22 “Breeding Machine” By Amy Jones
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#23 “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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#24 “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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#25 “Polar Bear” By Mathieu Belanger
Description: “A polar bear swims underwater at the Saint-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in Saint-Felicien on March 31, 2010. The zoo has one of the biggest artificial habitat for polar bear in North America.”
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#26 “Traditional Polish Redyk” By Bartlomiej Jurecki
Description: “Redyk is a traditional annual march of shepherds with a flock of sheep. Every summer sheep are taken for few months high up to the mountains for grazing. In October sheep are taken down back to the villages to survive the winter in the farms. The big coming back is much celebrated. Shepards lead the herd through the villages and locals welcomes them with music and cheers.”
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#27 “Bambi” By Geza Attila Szabo
Description: “I took the photo in Hungary last winter. Deer is quite common here. It mainly lives at forest edges with scattered fields and meadows. As food is scarcer in winter, many deer visit crop fields to feed. Experts (forest officers and national park staff) plant feeding stations at many places in the forests so that deer can get food more easily. I took the photo from a bird hide in a nice little secluded field in the forest.”
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#28 “White House” By Reiko Alice Takahashi
Description: “This photo was taken in Ishigaki Island, Japan. In that summer, the water temperature exceeded 30 degrees, and the zooxanthellae inside the sea anemone had fallen out, causing the sea anemone to fade and weaken. Beautiful white sea anemones are also being affected by global warming.”
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#29 “The Kings” By Igor Altuna
Description: “This photo is taken in Zambia. Two male lion brothers have just killed a buffalo, now they are resting after exertion. They stay close so their food is not stolen.”
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#30 “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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#31 “Heads Or Tails?” By Charles Lynam
Description: “This Giant Otter was one of a large family group of expert fishers. His technique was extremely fast with incredible agility. I watched them for over 30 mins as they caught numerous fish. This was the very moment the otter was able to remove the tail of the fish and start consuming it.”
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#32 “The Laughing Panda” By Dafna Ben Nun
Description: “An adult Giant Panda relaxing on a tree in a Panda breeding center in Szechuan China.”
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#33 “Light Bulb Giraffe & Oxpeckers” By Raad Al Btoush
Description: “Racing against time, we aimed for giraffe silhouettes against the stunning Masai Mara sunset. The taller giraffe played “sunlight bulb” for oxpeckers, aiding in fly removal. A beautiful win-win relationship unfolded before us!”
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#34 “Travels To The Edge – Namib Desert Oryx” By Prince Eleazer
Description: “In the Namib Desert, the oryx climb the 300m tall dunes to catch the cool, moist air blowing in from the Atlantic in the early morning. Catching this rare even requires timing and the right equipment.”
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#35 “Table Manners” By Bence Máté
Description: “Spot-billed pelicans generally catch their favorite prey – fish – in the huge bill pouch while swimming close to the surface. They usually forage alone or in small flocks; however, groups may line up and drive fish towards the shallow waters.”
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#36 “Art Of The San Juan River” By Douglas Bennett
Description: “These unique erosion patterns were formed over the eons by meanderings of what is now the San Juan river as the land form was uplifted and twisted. Located within the American Navajo Indian ancestral lands, these colors and patterns can be found in Navajo Indian weavings.”
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#37 “Pray” By Esteban Biba
Description: “A woman holds a wooden cross and prays in front of the Pacaya volcano, praying that the lava stops and does not reach her home, on May 5, 2021 in San Vicente Pacaya. During the first days of May, the Pacaya volcano threw rivers of lava that remained a few meters from the homes of dozens of people. The residents carried out a seven-week via crusis to ask that the lava go back and not reach their houses.”
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#38 “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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#39 “Out For Prayers” By France Leclerc
Description: “The Bishwa Ijtema, an annual gathering of Muslims that attracts about 5 million pilgrims, is a three-day affair held in Tongi, a small town by the banks of the River Turag, in the outskirts of Dhaka. A balloon seller remains at the station while the arriving pilgrims have already left to reach the gathering.”
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#40 “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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#41 “Invisible” By Marek Biegalski
Description: “The flock of sheep hiding from the sun in the shadows of the trees, on the hills of Tuscany close to Siena, seen from above.”
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#42 “Etosha Twister” By Jodi Frediani
Description: “Bull elephants gather to drink and socialize at a water hole on the edge of the ancient dry lakebed known as Etosha Pan in northern Namibia. They are covered head to toe in the white mineral salt of the pan, giving them a ghostly appearance. A cloud of dust starts to swirl nearby, quickly spiraling upwards into a towering, but harmless twister. Neither the waiting zebra or springbok, or the massive elephants themselves, take notice.”
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#43 “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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#44 “Dead Man On The Bike” By Valerio Bispuri
Description: “A motorcyclist carries a coffin through the streets of the city. It is not known if the crate is full or empty. In Benin, motorbikes carry everything, from sofas to animals.”
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#45 “Skull Smoking” By Daniel Viñé Garcia
Description: “When I visited the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland I never thought that I would get the best image while the volcano was dying out, at that time the volcano was intermittent and every 10-12 hours of eruption it would die out, in one of those times I saw a skull, a skull smoking.”
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#46 “2019 Australian Motogp – Dominique Aegerter” By Dave Hewison
Description: “Dominique Aegerter’s astonishing save after high-siding his bike in the Moto2 category. He managed to take back control of his bike and continue to finish the race – during the 2019 Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island. This photo went viral with over 500,000 views with the MotoGP declaring it possibly one of the best photo’s they’ve ever seen.”
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#47 “The Cloud” By Fabrice Guerin
Description: “In the silence interrupted only by air bubbles, a freediver trains in a freshwater abyss moving from the bottom of a cenote towards the surface. The sulfur cloud beneath him reflects the sun’s rays, creating an extraordinary visual effect: initially, it appears solid, but then dissolves like clouds once passed through.”
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#48 “On The Side Of Dingos” By Doug Gimesy
Description: “The Australian dingo is misunderstood and often persecuted on a massive scale through widespread baiting, trapping, and shooting. However, there are people on their side, such as Lyn Watson from the Australian Dingo Foundation, pictured here with one of her purebred ambassador dingoes named ‘Aussie’”.
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#49 “The Battle” By Jianjun Luo
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#50 “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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#51 ”the Eye” By Pawel Zygmunt
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#52 “Bear Soul” By Reynaud Geoffrey
Description: “Up in a Yukon, all lake and river will freeze during the winter. Due to some infiltration of temperate water from underground, there is some channel who won’t freeze. The Chum Salmons know it, and will come to use thoses channels to spawn during their late and exhausting journey. Grizzly bears will than come there to feed on them up to December by temperature dropping below -30 C. They are know as Ice Bear.”
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#53 “Father Calling” By Karthik AK
Description: “A male endemic and endangered Humayun night frog calling out loud to attract females near a clutch eggs from a female that he fertilized. These male night frogs try to fertilize eggs from as many females as possible. This way they make sure that their genes are passed as the success rate of future of these eggs is very less.”
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#54 “Horse And Girl Happy” By Kadir Civici
Description: “While the horse is eating a carrot, an expression of excitement, happiness and fear all in one occurs on the young girl’s face. Ayse, who has Down syndrome, is very happy when she gets in touch with the horse. Horses are very useful as an alternative medicine in the treatment of children with disabilities.”
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#55 “Amplexus” By Mathieu Foulquié
Description: “With the mating season under way, two common toads get intimately acquainted. Their reproductive embrace is called axillary amplexus. The smaller male clasps the female beneath her forelegs.”
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#56 “Captive” By Marcus Westberg
Description: “A giant panda used for breeding sits alone in a facility in Shaanxi, China. Captive breeding of endangered species can play an important role in repopulating wild habitats, but it can also be a convenient label to hide behind, much like “green,” “renewable,” or “sustainable.” In this case, though there was no doubt that the staff cared deeply for their wards, the feeling nevertheless was that the pandas were economic assets. There were no plans to prepare any of the captive-born pandas for release – all animals were being habituated to humans and used as attractions for paying visitors. To me, this image represents the juxtaposition between the intentions we express and the reality on the ground: a wild animal kept in a cage in the name of conservation.”
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#57 “Bear-Spoilt Eggs” By Jon Langeland
Description: “Brown Bear at Kuril Lake, Kamchatca, catching salmon. The salmon is loosing all the eggs seen a halo of red spots and her life before being able to spawn in the river she was born . After years in the Oceans she got close, but never made it. Photographed lying on the lake beach, focus distance 30-50 m.”
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#58 “Daddy Is Here” By Shing Yaw Lee
Description: “Two chicks waited eagerly for the father to feed them and the male Olive-backed sunbird never disappoint its offspring as it flies frequently to feeds them.”
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#59 “Hyena With Pup” By Johan J. Botha
Description: “Spotted Hyena are common in Africa. It is however not so common to get close to a den with small pups. The pups are black in color when very young. The entire hyena family take responsibility for all pups in the litter. There will always a baby guardian staying behind whilst the other adults went to search for food. The adult caretaker took a nap in this image whilst the pup investigated the immediate surroundings.”
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#60 “The Bear On The North Pole” By Vadim Makhorov
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#61 “Life On The Edge” By Amit Eshel
Description: “Two Nubian ibex face each other on a cliff in the Zin Desert, standing on their hind legs. This rare scene captures a moment of combat between two fully-fledged adult males, where the violence of combat blends with the wild beauty of the desert. After fifteen minutes of battle, one of the two surrenders without serious injuries.”
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#62 “Pelican Perspective” By Bence Mate
Description: “Extreme proximity, a huge pouch, and the perspective produced by a 180 degrees fish-eye lens combine to make this surreal image. The pelican’s bill, which is almost touching the camera, is swollen and colorful because of hormones generated in the breeding season.”
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#63 “Super Big Fish In The Aquarium” By Chen Hang
Description: “Rhincodon typus is the largest fish in the world, but their survival status is in jeopardy. The destruction of the marine environment has led to a drastic reduction of plankton, and the plastic waste floating on the sea may even die if swallowed. There is the world’s largest aquarium here. They are welcoming tourists every day. Although it is “safe” now, when they swim in front of the glass, will they miss the infinity and freedom of the sea?”
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#64 “Sign Of The Tides” By Ralph Pace
Description: “A curious California sea lion plays with a KN95 mask in Monterey, California. California sea lions are notoriously playful and curious animals. A dive site known as the Breakwall is a great place to observe and photograph them from above and below the water as they play and pirouette. With lockdowns in place across California, places like Monterey have been favorable destinations for state travel due to large outdoor spaces with plenty of wildlife.”
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#65 “Infinity Eight” By Marc Le Cornu
Description: “To achieve this shot I was flying the drone from the passenger seat of the ‘Jersey Seafaris’ boat.
Operating the drone whilst the boat was traveling at full speed was a real challenge, but with the ability of the highly skilled captain we were determined to capture a perfect figure of eight.
The image has been appreciated as the figure eight and also landscape as the infinity symbol hence the title.”
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#66 “Light Born” By Sho Otani
Description: “They look as if they have stars scattered all over their bodies. Have you ever seen fry like this before? It was years of experience that allowed me to capture this encounter perfectly. I follow the planktonic organisms to encounter these creatures.”
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#67 “Lopburi Monkey Festival” By Jack Taylor
Description: “Macaque monkeys climb onto a news photographer at the Phra Prang Sam Yod temple during the annual Monkey Buffet Festival in Lopburi province, north of Bangkok on November 28, 2021.”
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#68 “Anthropocene” By Marcus Westberg
Description: “Fear and confusion in the eye of a black rhinoceros as his horns are being removed with a chainsaw by a team of veterinarians, made necessary due to the high demand of rhino horn and the loss of life it results in.”
Image source: sienawards
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