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Dubai, June 9, 2020
The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) announced winners of its Ninth season of competition ‘Water’.
Australian Photographer Jasmine Carey won the grand prize of US$ 120,000, while Emirati creativity sparkled with a two-way victory through photographers Yousef bin Shakar Al Zaabi and Rashed Al Sumaiti.
Saudi photographers Abdullah Alshathri and Fahad Faraj Abdulhameid shine in the Mobile Photography through a double win.
Kuwaiti photographers Fahad Al Enezi and Talal Al Rabah along with Iraqi photographer Karrar Hussen completed the Gulf’s visual creativity in a photographic leap that captured one third of the ninth season’s prizes.
The general winner’s scene also celebrated the Indian lens, which managed to win five awards in various categories.
A major human concern
Secretary General Ali bin Thalith said, “We conclude the Ninth season of HIPA, ‘Water,’ man’s oldest friend on the planet. All the inhabitants of Earth know water, but some fear it. The relationship of a fisherman with water is not like that of someone who does not know how to swim. It is completely different from the relationship of the scientific researcher, who is concerned about the frightening acceleration of the melting icebergs underwater. We watch today how the creators of the world see water through their lenses; Water, the major issue that concerns us all, and touches our lives and the survival of our planet.”
Mr Thalith praised the excellence of the Gulf region’s photographers and that winners from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq are proof of their talent and dedication to push their creative efforts and making their mark on the International photography scene.
The Grand Prize
The Grand Prize winner of $120,000 is Jasmine Carey from Australia, for her photo, documenting an intense and amazing moment. A mother of a Humpback Whale sleeps beside her two-week-old baby, taken in the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific.
‘Water’ Awards
François Bogaerts from Belgium won the first place, followed by Shantha Kumar Shivam Laila from India (second), Buchari Muslim Diken from Indonesia (third), Sourav Das from India (fourth), and Yousef bin Shakar Al Zaabi from United Arab Emirates (fifth).
General Awards
For ‘General – Colour’ in first place Fahad Al Enezi from Kuwait, second Yose Mirza from Indonesia, while the Emirati photographer Rashed Al Sumaiti finished in third place.
In the ‘General – Black & White’, in first place was Talal Al Rabah from Kuwait, followed by Polish photographer Anna Niemiec in second, and Indian photographer Sujan Sarkar in third place.
Portfolio Awards
Mexican photographer Christian Vizl Mac Gregor won first place, second place was given to Zhoufan Cui from China, while third place went to Indonesian AthoUllah, followed by Karrar Hussen from Iraq in the fourth place, and finally Italian photographer Fausto Podavini took fifth place.
Mobile Photography Awards
First place went to Apratim Pal from India, followed by Indonesian photographer Budi Gunawan in second place, then Abdullah Alshathri from Saudi Arabia in third place, Saudi photographer Fahad Faraj Abdualhameid in fourth place, and Indian Photographer Navin Kumar in fifth place.
