Culture & Education | Sunday 14 June, 2015 1:45 pm |

The fifth edition of the National Geographic Abu Dhabi Moments Awards has, once again, brought the best in regional photography to the forefront. This year in partnership with Almarai for the second year, over 21 000 budding photographers entered their best images depicting the theme “Arab Cities: The City through Your Eyes”, and the three contestants whose photographs provoked the strongest emotions and reactions from the judges walked away with the top honours.

Sanjay Raina, General Manager, FOX International Channels Middle East said: “Nurturing regional talent and providing local and relevant content remains a prerogative for FOX International Channels. This competition is an extension of our commitment to the region, and with each passing year, the talent that emerges from within is truly inspiring.”
Participants truly took the theme of this year’s competition to heart and brought to life the essence of what makes their cities so special. The judges had some really tough decisions to make. That being said, Hussein Mahmoud Mohamed’s photograph depicting Nubian traditional architecture and attire in Aswan, southern Egypt brought to life the vibrancy, authenticity, uniqueness and depth of the city and was the reason for his grand prize win.

Ahmed Sayed Abdellatef Abdelhamed from Egypt with a photograph depicting the Iftar table in Cairo which is set up during Ramadan for the poor and needy, and those who cannot make it home for the meal, came in second place. The winner of the third prize was Ahmed Baidou from Morocco with an image depicting the festival of Sidi Ifni in the south of Morocco.

Hussam Abdulqader, Head of Communications and PR, Almarai Company said: “We were thrilled to see the incredible beauty of our great region displayed in these images. This competition is vital to spur regional creativity and photography by challenging these talents to, not only sharpen their skills, but also showcase their incredible capabilities. Almarai is proud to have partnered with the National Geographic Abu Dhabi Moments Awards yet again for another successful year.”

Award Winning Photographer and judge, Randy Olson was looking for the unexpected and the sense of curiosity from the photographer which he saw very clearly in the wining images.

In addition to having his photograph featured in National Geographic Al Arabiya Magazine, the winner of National Geographic Abu Dhabi Moments Awards has won an 11 day photography expedition to Tanzania, as well as a photography hamper to the value of USD 7,500. Second and third place winners have received photography hampers to the value of USD 5,000 and USD 2,500 respectively.