NIAF Photo Contest

2018 Photo Contest

NIAF’s sixth annual Photo Contest asked photographers, amateurs and professionals, to submit images that best captured “Made in Italy.” NIAF received more than 150 beautiful, amazing, expressive images. That made our judges job difficult, selecting the top six photos out of 22 semi-finalists, considering technical quality and composition, and expressing the contest theme. Ultimately, the judges chose a Grand Prize Winner and five Second Place winners.

The Grand Prize: NIAF is proud to host the winner and a guest at its 43rd Anniversary Weekend Gala on October 13-14, including round-trip flights, a two-night stay at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, and tickets for all Gala events. All winners will receive one-year NIAF Associate Memberships.

The winning photos will be displayed at the Expo Siciliana during NIAF’s Gala Weekend as well as published in NIAF’s social media pages and in the upcoming winter issue of Ambassador magazine.

Grand Prize Winner


Rome Night Street


Gina Falcone
Potomac, Md.
Photographic equipment: Nikon d3400

“

I captured this moment during an evening stroll (and quest for gelato) on my family’s spring 2017 trip to Rome. Pictured here is my father, Joe Falcone, and a street musician playing ‘Love Theme for Nata’ from Cinema Paradiso on his soprano saxophone. This soundtrack is a family favorite and it was sentimental to hear it being played as we took in the view of the Tiber River and the Vatican lit up at night.”

”

Second Place Winner


Lago Maggiore Boy on Bike


Anthony R. Masso
Juno Beach, Fla.

Photographic equipment: Nikon D750 50mm lens

“

On a recent trip to Lago Maggiore, I walked the back streets and saw beautiful images of all things made in Italy. But none struck me so much as this boy riding his bike in a narrow lane. What could be more ‘Made in Italy’ than the beautiful Italian flag flying, or the artistic religious painting on the wall? Of course, what struck me most was the boy who was certainly made in Italy, racing down the street on his Italian bike! I had a split second to take just one shot and here is the result.”

”

Second Place Winner


Film Set—Streets of Erice, Sicily


Joan Nova
Boynton Beach, Fla.

Photographic equipment: NikonD3200, f5.6, 60mm, 1/200, ISO 1600

“

While visiting Erice, Sicily, in October 2016, my friends and I happened on a film set. The location and backdrop were perfect for this sweeping WWII-themed movie, ‘In Guerra Per Amore,’ and it was very exciting to watch this movie being ‘Made in Italy.’

”

Second Place Winner


An Evening in Assisi


Anthony John Basil
Weirton, W.V.

Photographic equipment: Canon 80D DSLR Camera, Canon 50 mm F 1.8

“

Via Petrosa, Assisi, Italy—The result of traveling an unfamiliar road has an attractive mystery to it. Uncertainty that the destination will not yield an expected path can discredit its validity. Fortunately, a luminous, unknown road ahead will cultivate an imagination that is filled with a lucid vibrancy unlike any other. Our longing for an infinite desire and reaching ultimate satisfaction is continuously prompted by finite desires and limited wonders… Even those of which, that are made in Italy.

”

Second Place Winner


Vines and Land


Steve Bonasia
Hattiesburg, Miss.

Photographic equipment: iPhone 7

“

Taken while on a culinary and wine research trip to La Morra and Barolo, this statue is man-made but most definitely ‘Made in Italy.’ It represents a worker (al Vignaiolo) who was responsible for working the vineyards and harvesting the grapes that were ‘Made in Italy,’ creating the wonderful and delicious wines that identify the unique regions and the country! Sitting high above Piedmont, it is an amazing tribute to the hands that harvested the grapes that have brought so much enjoyment to the entire world.”

”

Second Place Winner


Measurements of Italian Time


Joseph De Francesco
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Photographic Equipment: iPhone 6s

“

Filadelfia, Calabria, Italy—My Uncle Domenico’s Fiat 126 parked in front of a historic villa in the town piazza. A former Fiat test driver, Domenico assessed cars on Fiat’s Lingotto rooftop in Turin—depicted in ‘The Italian Job.’ His skills, knowledge and dedication translated to maintaining his still functional 42-year-old Fiat 126—a timeless classic embodying cultural and ancillary comforts to indulge the mind, spirit and senses. Understated elegance, practicality, with original vibrant Tiffany blue paint coat, are testaments to its grandeur. Candy for the eyes capturing ‘Made in Italy.’

”

Previous Photo Contest


2017 Photo Contest

NIAF’s fifth annual Photo Contest asked photographers, amateurs and professionals, to submit images that best captured “That’s Amore.” NIAF received more than 150 beautiful, amazing, expressive images. That made our judges job difficult, selecting the top five photos out of 22 semi-finalists, considering technical quality and composition, and expressing the contest theme. Ultimately, the judges chose a Grand Prize Winner and four Second Place winners.

The Grand Prize: NIAF is proud to host the winner and a guest at its 42nd Anniversary Weekend Gala on November 3-4, including round-trip flights, a two-night stay at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, and tickets for all Gala events. All winners will receive one-year NIAF Associate Memberships.
The winning photos will be displayed at the Expo Siciliana during NIAF’s Gala Weekend as well as published in NIAF’s social media pages and in the upcoming winter issue of Ambassador magazine.

Grand Prize Winner

Gli Amanti in Siena

Nicole Alexandra Cacchiotti
Melrose, Mass.
Photo Equipment Used: Nikon D7000

“It was early evening in Siena, Italy when people were getting off work, and the streets were starting to darken. As I looked around a corner, I saw a young couple walking quietly side by side. I waited till they approached mid-point, then tilted my camera to frame them between the buildings. Just then, they reached out to take each other’s hand, and I thought, now ‘That’s Amore!’”

Second Place Winner

First Bite

Alberto DeCicco
Niles IL, 60714
Photo Equipment Used: Camera

“‘Amore al primo morso!’ Love at first bite! You’re never too young to find your first true love, especially when it is pizza! At two years old, Mila found amore in the shape of a margherita pizza from Eataly Chicago!”

Second Place Winner

Torvaianica Lovers

Gianlorenzo De Donno
Rome, Italy
Photo Equipment Used: Konica Tomato with Ilford 125

“Two old lovers walking away on the shore of Torvaianica (in the province of Rome), as the love that been in the past is in risk to disappear in today’s world. But they are walking together and so tight that I can feel this love touching me, if I only pay attention. So, it is real, is in all of us, and all we have to do is to spread it out in our world. ‘Don’t Forget That’s Amore!’ Taken in August 2017.”

Second Place Winner

Amore in the Museum

Silvia Silvestri
Milano, Italy
Photo Equipment Used: Canon EOS 1200

“Every first Sundays of the month, all the state museums in Italy have free admission. I was visiting the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, in October last year, and wandering among the countless masterpieces on my way. Suddenly, in the messy crowd, something magic happened: two young lovers, embraced, admiring ‘The Kiss’ by Francesco Hayez, one of the emblematic images of the Pinacoteca and, perhaps, the most widely reproduced Italian painting. Two young dreamers, in love with life, art and future.”

Second Place Winner

Childhood Friends

Angelo Greco
Washington, D.C.
Photo equipment used: iPhone 6

“Taken November 13, 2016, in Gela, Sicilia. Antonio, Calogero and Calogero meet in the communal villa as they have every day for over 50 years! 💚❤️🇮🇹”