The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has concluded the first edition of the Instagram Photo Contest for the year 2018. The contest was titled ‘White’ with a total of five winners announced for the competition, which received submissions under the hashtag #HIPAContest_White. The contest’s winners hailed from; Bahrain, India, Kuwait, Oman and the Philippines respectively.

HIPA Secretary General, His Excellency Ali bin Thalith said, “Sometimes the simplicity of an image turns it into a visual masterpiece that is easy on the eye and appreciated by many. The serenity of the colour white is something that is often reflected in stunning photography which is why we wanted to explore it in this past month’s Instagram Photo Contest. The winners of this edition of the contest were able to deliver breathtaking photographs while maintaining a level beauty and poise. We congratulate all our winners and commend them for their wonderful work.”

Humoud Al Shayji

Kuwaiti photographer, Humoud Al Shayji @ alshayji said, “I took my winning photograph in Hokkaido, Japan last year while trying to take as many high key photographs in the snowy environment. Even though this was not my first time winning in a photo competition, it is a great feeling to win such a lovely award with HIPA. For the coming period, I hope to continue in my quest to help bring humanity and the environment closer through photography. Photography can be a useful tool in trying to convey a good message about the world we live in, and that is something I am very passionate about achieving.”

Joey Reginaldo @sijoeyito (open photo) from the Philippines is another Instagram Photo Contest winner, and he said, “I am a resident of Dubai, and in my opinion the O-14 tower in Business Bay is one of the most iconic and photo-genic buildings in the city due to its cheese-like design. I had already seen other great photos of this building but wanted to show something different through my photography, hence I captured the building from this unique perspective. I consider winning with HIPA to be the most important milestone in my photographic journey, despite winning other online photography competitions in the past. HIPA is one of the most prestigious photographic institutions in the world and I hope to continue to be featured through it in the future. I also aspire to one day become a photojournalist, and my win with HIPA will hopefully propel me towards achieving that.”

Balqees Khalifa Al Khaifi

Full list of winners:

Isa Ebrahim