In its Fifth Edition and four categories, the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) continues to be a magnet for thousands of innovative photographers from around the world. Newcomers will take up the challenge and seek to bring the Awards to new heights. They will lead the eyes of millions of spectators on a quest for beauty and truth, touching their souls with tales of reality and charm.
The four categories selected for this year’s edition of the Award are bound to inspire participants into a journey that fathoms the nature of man in unseen details and explores the subtleties of our daily lives, to capture unique and outstanding moments in time.
Changes introduced this year seek to strike a balance between the general requirements and the needs of the innovative photographer who knows how to manipulate the lens and make it deliver reality in the manner, moods and impressions he or she seeks. There is no limit to what marvels the imagination and passion of a creative photographer could capture in the world of people seeking happiness, with the images toned by the photographers own culture, conceptions and reflections. Accordingly, this year’s main theme for the Award is "happiness" – the main pursuit of all humanity.
We continue with our tradition of encouraging innovative photographers to let go of any inhibitions and let their creativity freely guide their lenses to capture whatever goes in their minds. We strongly believe that artists and innovators should have the liberty to express themselves in their distinctive and individual manners.
The “wildlife” category is our gift for adventure seekers among the participants; those who thrive on capturing hard-to-get instances that cannot be repeated, to deliver the excitement and thrill of wildlife whether on land, in the air or sea. We recognise that wildlife is so rich and still holds many secrets, and that behind every secret revealed by the eye of a keen photographer there is an exciting story.
Finally, we touch upon one of the most beautiful and intriguing bonds in human life; one that a philosophical dimension and an element of immortality: the relationship between father and son. It is an area that has seldom been explored by photographers despite the rich heritage of expressions, meanings and messages it holds. The “father and son” category will now open the door for promising discoveries.
This concludes this edition’s categories, through which we seek to trigger the senses and imagination of photographers to produce excellent work that is aligned with their goals and ours in terms of promoting the art of photography around the world.