Ann Arbor-based photographer Yana Benjamin will be honored for one of her candid street photographs at the Venice Film Festival at a ceremony on Sept. 6. Her photograph was chosen as a winner of the Manfrotto “Imagine More” Contest from more than 7,000 photos.

The Bratislava, Slovakia-born photographer recently moved to Ann Arbor from San Francisco with her husband, and she opened her portrait and wedding photography business in town.

Benjamin snapped her winning photo through a shop window in San Francisco. A large spiderweb-shaped display used to showcase sunglasses is reflected in the glass as a woman walks by.

“Many of my photos have a quality that is both realistic and surreal,” Benjamin says. The winning image is straight photography that captures a real moment, and she did not manipulate it. However, at the same time, the reflection of the spider web dominates much of the composition, giving the photo a more dream-like or unreal quality.

“I looked for reflections that have some interesting qualities about them. Then I waited there for a moment to happen. I waited for someone to walk by and then took the photo,” Benjamin says of the photos, which is one of a series of “reflection photographs” she has shot.

Her photo is included in a short movie made by Sport Illustrator photographer Bill Frakes, along with photos by other winners, which will be screened at an award celebration hosted by Italian actress and singer Violante Placido. Benjamin is also looking forward to photographing actors and celebrities on the red carpet at the film festival.