‘Clouds’ and ‘Home’ Photo Contests bring amazing skills

Venkat Raman
Auckland, December 19, 2022

The winning entries of the ‘Clouds’ and ‘Home’ contests for the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) of Dubai have brought out astounding photography skills of participants across, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

The Contests, held respectively in September and October 2022 recognised five winners in each category from Singapore and Iraq.

Submissions were received under the hashtag #HIPAContest_Clouds2 for the September and #HIPAContest_Home October editions. Other winners were from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Singapore, India, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran and the Philippines.

Winner from India

Shivaji Shekappa Dhute from India won an Award for his entry under the ‘Clouds’ theme.

HIPA Secretary General Ali bin Thalith said that choosing simplified themes was among the priorities of the Awards strategy to provide an opportunity for all photographers to participate, especially those who have started their photography journey as a hobby.

“For them, these themes were easier and more motivating and go through the process of choosing the image and publishing it on their own platforms. Their anticipation, commitment and patience while waiting for the winner’s announcement were very important steps to build their personalities as a photographer and going through these experiences would give them the confidence needed to unveil their photographic skills,” he said.

Mr Bin Thalith said that HIPA is working to ensure that the themes of its competitions cover all fields of visual creativity.

“We congratulate all the winners and advise the rest of the participants to continue developing their skills and choose their works carefully for the competitions, and to be confident that winning will be their ally,” he said.

Amazing Sunset in Singapore

Lim Yean Chin (@cwatichere), the Winner from Singapore said that her photo was taken at the Raffles Marina Lighthouse on the west side of Singapore.

“This location is famous for amazing sunsets. On this particular day, the sunset turned the left half of the sky orange, while the right half of the sky blue. I love taking pictures of captivating nature that inspire viewers. I have won many competitions before, but I was very happy to win this competition as the level of participation was very strong. Winning is a form of recognition of talent and is very important in enhancing self-confidence as well as promoting the winning photographer,” she said.

Ali Rahim Taama (@alir_95), from Iraq, said that his winning photo (‘Home’ competition), was taken at the ‘Chibayish Marshes’ in the city of Nasiriyah in Southern Iraq.

“This is where a southern woman cooks fish for her family on wood. Marsh people were famous for fishing and buffalo herding. I have won before but winning in HIPA cannot be compared to anything else. Like other Iraqi photographers, I have great ambition and I work hard to achieve it despite poor capabilities,” he said.

Winners of ‘Clouds’ competition

 Winners of ‘Home’ competition