The winners of the 4th season of the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) have been announced last night at the 4th annual awards ceremony under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai. The Ceremony took place at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

image The entrance of the HIPA's 4th Season Award Ceremony 'Life in Color' 2014-2015 / Courtesy of HIPA

HIPA once again proved its place as the best and most prestigious photography award in the world. With a grand prize of $120,000 and an overall prize pool of $400,000, the categories for the 4th season of HIPA are ‘Life in Colour’ (which also serves as the main theme), ‘General’, ‘Faces (Black & White)’ and ‘Night Photography’.

image The Secretary General of HIPA, His Excellency Ali bin Thalith / Courtesy of HIPA

Opening the Award Ceremony, the Secretary General of HIPA, His Excellency Ali bin Thalith said, "Four years have passed since His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched HIPA as an initiative to actively support those dedicated artists and enthusiasts who chose life as their limitless canvas, and the lens as their colourful paintbrush through which they convey the true beauty and power of photography. This initiative aims to inspire creative minds to stimulate their innermost creativity in a way that tackles our thoughts and ignites our sentiments.

Similar to Dubai, HIPA has also achieved international status since its inception. The great quantity of participation is only exceeded by the amazing quality of photographs received both in terms of technicality and aesthetics.

We are delighted to announce that the number of photographs submitted for the 4th season has reached 60,162 with a total of 30,878 participants from 166 different countries around the world."

At the Award Ceremony another dimension of HIPA was presented, showing how photography can make a difference in lives of ordinary people. Inspiring young generation to search for beauty within the hardships of their lives was truly humbling, as His Excellency Ali bin Thalith explains, “Looking forward, the themes of the award have always been in line with the concept of life, reality and the emotions that surround us. With this in mind, and inspired by the humbling yet heart-warming experience the HIPA team had conducting our recent Photography CSR project in Malaysia, we are delighted to announce that the theme of the award’s 5th season will revolve around the universal search for ‘Happiness’.”

Selected from the largest photographic names, the Jury members had a difficult task to choose the best of the best from such high quality submissions. The Jury members were: Riccardo Busi, Tom Ang, Aidan Sullivan, Alicia Adamopoulos, Gurdas Dua, Jassim AlAwadhi, Maggie Gowan, Metzakis Manolis and Volker Frenzel.

Highlights from the HIPA's 4th Season Award Ceremony 'Life in Color' 2014-2015

image The view of the stage / Courtesy of HIPA

image HE Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais is presents the award to Jaime Singlador from Philipines for the 5th place in the General category, on the right HE Ali bin Thalith / Courtesy of HIPA

image HE Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais is presents the award to Antonious Andre Tjiu from Indonesia for the 3rd place in the 'General' category / Courtesy of HIPA

image HE Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais is presenting the award to Ali Rajabi Shomali from Iran for the 2nd place in the 'General' category / Courtesy of HIPA

image HE Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais is presents the award to Harish Chavda from United Kingdom for the 1st place in the 'General' category / Courtesy of HIPA

image HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents the award to Chi Hung Cheung from Hong Kong for the 3rd place in the ‘Faces (Black & White)’ category / Courtesy of HIPA

image HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents the award to Kenneth Geiger from USA for the 2nd place in the ‘Faces (Black & White)’ category / Courtesy of HIPA

image HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan presents the award to Daniel Cheong from France for the 5th place in the ‘Night Photography’ category / Courtesy of HIPA

image HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents the Photographic Research Award to Scott Kelby / Courtesy of HIPA

image HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents the award to Fabrizio Moglia from Italy for the 5th place in the ‘Life in Colour’ category / Courtesy of HIPA

image HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents the award to Mujeeb Hizhakkechalil from India for the 4th place in the ‘Life in Colour’ category, on the right HE Ali bin Thalith / Courtesy of HIPA

image HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents the award to Zeki Yavuzak from Turkey for the 3rd place in the ‘Life in Colour’ category / Courtesy of HIPA

image HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents the award to Zhang Xiangli from China for the 2nd place in the ‘Life in Colour’ category, on the right HE Ali bin Thalith / Courtesy of HIPA

image HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents the Grand Award to Anurag Kumar from India, on the right HE Ali bin Thalith / Courtesy of HIPA

image The celebration of the Grand Award / Courtesy of HIPA

image The group photo with the winners of the 4th season of HIPA / Courtesy of HIPA

The winning photographs will be showcased at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in a gallery space until March 21, 2015. At the same venue, HIPA is proud to present selected photographs by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and patron of HIPA, also a talented and keen photographer.

Click to see the winning photographs.


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