PHOTOGRAPHY HIPA Judging Week Under Way – Photography Workshops to be Hosted

Judging for the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) is under way in Dubai with nine international judges presiding over submissions of the ‘Life in Colour’ season. HIPA will also host a series of workshops and portfolio reviews by some members of the judging panel during the week to increase interaction with the local photographic community in the UAE. Workshops and portfolio reviews will take place at the Centre of Excellence, Gate Village 2 in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Italian judge and the President of The International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), Riccardo Busi will be hosting a portfolio review for photographers titled 'Portfolio Review for Photo Contest Participation' on Monday, January 12, 2015. Busi has judged over 200 international competitions since 1980, whilst also being on a number of international juries in 22 different countries. He will offer valuable feedback to photographers hoping to enter HIPA and other international competitions.

Riccardo Busi, Italian judge and the President of The International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) / Courtesy of HIPA

Australian photographer Alicia Adamopoulos will present a workshop titled Story Telling in Portraits on Tuesday, January 12 while internationally renowned photographer, Tom Ang, will present a lecture titled Winning Photograph on Wednesday, January 13, 2015. Adamopoulos is a Master of Photography with the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) and an Associate of Photography with WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) in the USA. Alicia has also lectured throughout Australia and online. Ang, a heavyweight of the photographic industry, has written over 20 books on photography including the best-selling 'Digital Photographer’s Handbook', which has sold over half a million copies and has been translated into twenty languages.

L. Alicia Adamopoulos / R. Tom Ang / Courtesy of HIPA

Ali bin Thalith, the Secretary General of HIPA said "We are honoured to welcome our new judges to Dubai for the 'Life in Colour' season judging. Our judges are some of the biggest names in the photographic world, and we have entrusted them with the task of choosing the most spectacular images from the ‘Life in Colour’ season. We also look forward to the three workshops we will be hosting this week, as we expect full attendances by local photographers in Dubai and beyond. These workshops are valuable to the local photographic community, who are very receptive and grateful for the knowledge they receive."

HIPA judges for the ‘Life in Colour’ season:

• Tom Ang (New Zeland, Photographer/Author)

• Riccardo Busi (Italy, President of FIAP)

• Metzakis Manolis (Greece, President of United Photographers Internationals (UPI))

• Gurdas Dua (India, Photographer)

• Alicia Adamopoulos (Australia, Photography Instructor/Judge)

• Volker Frenzel (Germany, German Association President)

• Jassim Al Awadhi (UAE, Emirati Photographer)

• Maggie Gowan (UK, Founder of the British Wildlife Photography Awards)

• Aidan Sullivan (UK, V.P. Getty Images)

The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award was founded in 2011 under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and recently concluded its fourth season of competition 'Life in Colour'. With a grand prize of $120,000 USD and an overall prize pool of $400,000 USD the competition is a tool for promoting Dubai’s vision of artistic and cultural excellence.