PHOTOGRAPHY January Winners of HIPA’s Instagram Photo Contest

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

HIPA Secretary General, His Excellency Ali bin Thalith said, “On any given day, at any given moment, we have all taken a family photo. We hold these photos close to our hearts and on display in our homes; framed beautifully in celebration and love. Our photographers have shared with us their precious family moments using creativity, composition and skill. We congratulate this month’s winners and wish the rest of our participant’s success for the upcoming categories.”

January’s winner of the ‘People’s Choice Award’ was Fadhel Almutaghawi @almutaghawi from Bahrain and he said, “The location of the photograph was in the Pushkar desert in India, where I documented the lives of the gypsies. I took the picture before sunrise to get good lighting. I have won many awards in addition to being an experienced coach and judge in the field of photography, but winning this competition means a lot of value, appreciation for my work. I will continue to participate and make my best effort to try to win again."

Another winner, Emir Bağcı @emirbagci from Turkey said, “photo was taken in 2014 in a village near my hometown of Turkey. We happened to meet this family, the two children's forefathers in the picture, where his parents worked in a nearby factory. They warmly welcomed us and invited us to eat bread despite their poverty. It was not the first time I won but it gave me a lot of self-confidence and motivation to work and compete for grand prizes at HIPA."

Winners

Fadhel Almutaghawi, Bahrain / @almutaghawi

Fadhel Almutaghawi, Bahrain / @almutaghawi / Courtesy of HIPA

Hussain Alabdullatif, Saudi Arabia / @7ussain.photo

Hussain Alabdullatif, Saudi Arabia / @7ussain.photo / Courtesy of HIPA

Jaber Gholami, Iran / @jabergholami99

Jaber Gholami, Iran / @jabergholami99 / Courtesy of HIPA

Sohrab Kaveh, Iran / @sohrab_kaveh

Sohrab Kaveh, Iran / @sohrab_kaveh / Courtesy of HIPA

Emir Bağcı, Turkey / @emirbagci

Emir Bağcı, Turkey / @emirbagci / Courtesy of HIPA