PHOTOGRAPHY HIPA Announces December Winners of Its Instagram Photo Contest

The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has concluded the December edition of the Instagram Photo Contest themed ‘Homeland’. Five winners were announced for the competition which received submissions under the hashtag #HIPAContest_Homeland. The contest winners hailed from; Turkey, Iraq and Yemen. December’s ‘People’s Choice Award’ winner will receive a brand new CANON EOS M50, courtesy of Canon Middle East.

HIPA Secretary General, His Excellency Ali bin Thalith said, “The love of one’s homeland goes deep. Its instilled in us since the beginning of time; it begins with stories from childhood and grows deeper as we bond to our land over time. Our homeland is where we belong, where we feel whole and where we feel safe and protected.

Visual expressions of belonging to a homeland are amongst the oldest relics dating back to our ancestors etching into the side of caves. Today we share these expressions with you through the impressive photographic submissions we received in this month’s Instagram competition. Congratulations as always to our winners, and we look forward to even more of our community getting involved with in next month’s competition.”

December’s winner of the ‘People’s Choice Award’ was Serkan Daldal @serkandaldal from Turkey and he said, “I took the photo in Ankara Altindag, one of the destinations of Syrian refugees. The region has undergone an urban transformation that threatens the poor and refugees without shelter. For me, the man sitting on the wreckage represents the suffering of asylum and homesickness. I am happy with the appreciation from HIPA for my image and I hope the image will contribute to raising awareness of the refugee crisis.”

The Iraqi winner, Ahmed Abdulameer Lazem @ahmed_photo86 said, “The picture was taken in the Iraqi province ‘Basra’ on 25th October 2019, during the demonstrations of the Iraqi people of demanding their rights. Despite the blocked roads, this father and his daughter insisted that they demand their rights in the best peaceful way by completing the educational march towards the school. With the gravity of the situation, we see the father carrying his daughter in the midst of the smoke of tyre fire, the escalating flames and the chants of the demonstrators.

Winning with HIPA was a challenge for me, and achieving it boosted my confidence and motivated me to make efforts to improve and develop, I hope to reach the level that helps me express my national concerns and pain and communicate my photographic message to the whole world."

Winners

Serkan Daldal, Turkey - @serkandaldal

Photo Courtesy of HIPA

Fatih Mehmet Özdemir, Turkey - @fatih_mehmet_ozdemir

Photo Courtesy of HIPA

Seçkin Yenici, Turkey - @seckin_yenici

Photo Courtesy of HIPA

Ahmed Abdulameer Lazem, Iraq - @ahmed_photo86

Photo Courtesy of HIPA

Mansour Mohsen, Yemen - @mansour_mohsen

Photo Courtesy of HIPA