Kazakhstan, Belgium and Japan compete in the men’s 5000m relay final B during the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships at the Ahoy Arena on 17 March 2024 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/International Skating Union/Siena awards festival 2025)

An arm holding a giant gun appears to explode through a wall, while elsewhere a man walks a tiger on a leash. These breathtaking pencil drawings are the work of 31-year-old artist Ben Heine, who lives and works in Rochefort, Belgium. The “anamorphic illusions”, part of the artist's “Pencil Vs Camera” series, appear slightly distorted unless viewed from the exact same perspective in which they were created. Photo: Visual artist Ben Heine at work in his studio while he creates one of his “anamorphic illusions” in Rochefort, Belgium. (Photo by Ben Heine/Barcroft Media)

Debutantes are photographed at the 68th International Debutante Ball at the Plaza Hotel in New York, New York, USA, 29 December 2022. The International Debutante Ball is a traditional family occasion in the New York social season. The ball provides an exciting social setting in which young women and men from all over the world meet one another, have a wonderful time, and form lasting friendships. This year's debutantes represent Belgium, England, France, Greece, Iran, Scotland, and five American states. (Photo by Peter Foley/EPA/EFE)

Cycling jerseys, part of a collection belonging to French cycling fan Gerald, hang from a line during the 4th stage of the Tour de France cycling race from Seraing in Belgium to Cambrai in France, July 7, 2015. Photographing the Tour de France cycling race comes with highs and lows: the buzz from capturing just the right image, the tedium of long journeys, the painstaking set-up of equipment, the breath-taking scenery. Reuters photographers have worked not only to capture the thrills and spills on the roads and mountain passes. They have also shot a set of pictures showing their own quirky view from behind the scenes as they travelled through the Netherlands, Belgium and France. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters)

Figurines representing French Brigade of Lancers are seen on a 40-square-metre miniature model of the June 18, 1815 Waterloo battlefield, in Diest, Belgium, in this picture taken on April 29, 2015. Waterloo enthusiast Willy Smout said he spent 40,000 hours and around 150,000 euros over the past 40 years, to recreate the battlefield as closely as possible in a purpose-built room in his house. (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

Guests enjoy a dinner at the table “Santa in the sky” lifted by a crane and elevated at 50 meters in the air and decorated to match the appearance of a “Santa Sleigh”, as part as the Christmas festivities in Brussels, Belgium, November 25, 2016. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Artists called “Le couple en chocolat” take part in the festival “Statues en Marche” in Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium, July 22, 2018. Living statues are a common sight in many city centres, but it is rare to see such a diverse range of this peculiar form of street art for which performers must keep still for painfully long periods of time to create the desired illusion. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Annelie Vandendael was born in Belgium and grew up in the South of France. After college she came back to Belgium to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Kask) in Genth where she got a master degree in Photography; Images have always been a passion for her. After finishing her studies, she was invited to “La Fabrica”, the Benetton Communication and Research Center in Treviso, Italy. She was also nominated for the photo academy Award in the Netherlands and won the Award of the Roorda Agency, Amsterdam. (Photo by Annelie Vandendael)