A mother bear and her cubs sleep soundly on an outcrop, sheltered only by a starry expanse of dark blue sky. An aura of mystery surrounds the family as they lie, their wild, instinct-driven minds unknown, their beauty stunning before a vast grove of stars.
The surreal scene is titled “Dreaming Above the Universe,” the piece was the winning entry in the Creative Photo Awards 2025 in the annual Siena Awards.
After three weeks of observing wildlife in Cabarceno Natural Park, in Cantabria, Spain, Santander found herself drenched in a June rainfall. The weather offered her chances to experiment with different changes of light. Alongside her partner, she says, she saw the small cubs falling fast asleep on top of their mother as darkness fell.
Waiting for the right moment to snap the shot, Santander says she saw in this family of bears a likeness to herself. “I only thought of the moment that fills me with happiness when I sleep with my little animals,” she said. “I saw myself reflected in the mother with her little ones.”
She used two separate exposures for her picture. On the one hand, she adjusted the parameters in the camera due to the lack of light and opted for a very blue temperature to capture the bears. On the other hand, with the help of astronomical apps like PhotoPills and Stellarium, she was able to locate and capture the Milky Way arch. She then combined them digitally.
The rules of the Siena Awards allow digital editing for creative purposes but require photographers to prove that the photos capture real scenes, explicitly prohibiting the use of artificial intelligence.
“When I saw the photo on my big screen where I work with my images and the little head of one of the little ones next to her mom and the other two sleeping on her belly, I felt like hugging them all!” Santander said. “I felt calmness and balance, and I felt that we were intrinsically connected to our galaxy.”
Through her work, Santander hopes to convey “the importance of learning to respect, let live, and learn to coexist, all on a planet where no one owns or has possession over the lives of others.”
Santander traces her passion for photography to her childhood when she asked her grandparents for a camera at age 9. Around five years ago, she dove into photography more seriously and trained under J. Maria Mellado and Carles Marsal, whom she considers some of “the great teachers in technique and editing.”
Santander’s passion for animals also stems from her childhood, when she began photographing wildlife. She now considers her furry friends her “best emotional teachers.”
“Through my photographs, I want to give voice to those who cannot speak,” said Santander, who lives in Cantabria, in the northern region of Spain.
Winning the Siena Awards’ Creative Photo Awards 2024 has been a megaphone for her to amplify that message. The talent behind “Dreaming Above the Universe” was chosen from 6,500 entries from over 4,000 photographers across 135 countries, a press release from the Siena Awards reported.
But “Dreaming Above the Universe” isn’t where the story ends. The composition is part of a larger series, “Animals Under the Stars,” which depicts how animals behave after sundown.
