The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) announced the winners of its ninth season of competition ‘Water’.

Australian photographer Jasmine Carey won the grand prize of USD$ 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 shines 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.

Secretary General, Ali bin Thalith thanks His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council and Patron of HIPA, for his continued support of HIPA and the art of Photography. Bin Thalith also said, “We conclude today 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.”

Bin Thalith also praised the remarkable excellence of the gulf region’s photographers, considering winners from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq took one third of the total prizes, is proof of their talent and dedication to push their creative efforts and making their mark on the International photography scene. 

Grand Prize

The Grand Prize winner, $120,000, goes to 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

First place was François Bogaerts from Belgium, followed by Shantha Kumar Shivam Laila from India in second place, in the third place Buchari Muslim Diken from Indonesia, while Sourav Das from India took fourth place, leaving fifth place to Yousef bin Shakar Al Zaabi from United Arab Emirates.

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.

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