The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has concluded judging for its 11th Season of competition, ‘Nature’.
The six judges presided over submissions in the competition’s four main categories; ‘Nature’, ‘General’, ‘Portfolio’ and ‘Portrait’.
Ali Bin Thalith, Secretary-General of HIPA, said,
"Our Board of Trustees work diligently each year to ensure the selection of the HIPA judging committee is perfectly aligned with the season categories and each judge has the expertise, experience and credibility needed to deliver the level of judging that has become synonymous with the Award. Our diverse team of judges each bring a unique perspective to the judging process and ensure we have a comprehensive and robust review of the submissions. Our judges are dedicated not only to the process but our photographers."
John Stanmeyer from United States said,
"The judging experience with HIPA gave me a unique perspective to understand more about the natural world in an area I know well but that is not completely visually covered for me! In all regions of the world there are amazing aesthetics in terms of diverse natural fauna, wildlife and landscapes. The power of communication is what visual storytelling through photography does. It brings us back to our common denominators and reminds us of this fact, the earth does not need us, we need the earth."
Jaime Culebras from Spain expressed,
"Judging the ’Nature‘ category in a competition of this caliber and global spread, was a truly rich experience! I enjoyed evaluating the large number of photos shared, and it was a real challenge as there are so many new photos that are really superior. I have felt that the world of photography has reached such a huge development in this digital age. The natural world is becoming increasingly important due to the human impact on environmental problems, so I am pleased to see nature chosen as the theme for this year to highlight the natural beauty of our planet and the environmental toll we face."
Sarah Marino from United States explained,
"The judging experience with HIPA was enjoyable for several reasons, the most important of which was the opportunity to see picture-perfect pictures not from familiar landmarks or more famous international destinations, but from lesser known places but equally beautiful, mysterious and surreal. My experience of watching the entries in this competition is reinforced by the fact that attractive and inspiring photographs can be produced even in the smallest corner of nature! And that traveling to distant destinations is not necessary to produce a wonderful work in form and content."
