DUBAI: The Dubai-based Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Awards honored the winners of its 14th edition earlier this month, giving away more than $1 million in prize money.
The theme of this year’s awards was “Power,” but, as always, photographers could also enter the ‘General’ category (for either black-and-white or color images). There were three further categories this year as well: Drone (video), Portfolio, and Sports Photography. Here, we present a selection of highlights from the winning entries.
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Gianluca Gianferrari
‘Etna’s Paroxysm’
The Italian photographer picked up HIPA’s top award for this stunning shot of the Sicilian volcano Mount Etna, in which he captures glowing fragments of lava and bursts of flame being ejected onto pure white snow. “The striking contrasts create a celestial mosaic, where colors shift under a night sky embroidered with stars,” a statement from HIPA reads. The judges described Gianferrari’s photograph as “a testament to the unpredictable beauty of nature, where destructive power merges with serenity in a fleeting embrace that is eternally captured by the lens of the camera.”
‘POWER’ CATEGORY — 1ST PLACE
Hashem Dardowa
‘The Rise of the Phoenix’
The HIPA judges awarded the Syrian photographer with first place in the “Power” category for this extraordinary image of hope and resilience taken in Idlib province. “Amidst airstrike wreckage, 14-year-old Khaled emerges as Syria Civil Defense workers (the White Helmets) free him from the rubble … as warplanes circle above,” Dardowa’s artist statement reads. “Despite noticeable head wounds and a blood-stained bandage, Khaled manages a faint smile that signals he is responsive and defiant.”
GENERAL: COLOR — 1ST PLACE
Karine Aigner
‘Jungle Keeper’
The US photojournalist picked up the first prize in HIPA’s “General: Color” category for her shot of a male jaguar prowling through a clay lick in “the lush Amazon depths” of Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park. “In the humid gloom, the jaguar's spotted coat gleams against rugged rocks and shallow rippling water,” Aigner said in her artist’s statement. “Even from over 100 feet away, its piercing gaze commands awe, a rare public appearance before quietly slipping back into the dense forest.”
GENERAL: BLACK & WHITE — 1ST PLACE
Ted Grambeau
‘Exploding Swell’
The Australian photographer’s practice is largely based around the ocean, particularly capturing the power of waves and the surfers who ride them. He wrote of this winning image: “On a Pacific reef, a massive swell surges, its waves crashing with unrelenting force. Spray erupts upward, curling in wild arcs before collapsing into the churning sea. The ocean’s raw power is vividly displayed through this magnificent wave, a dream for surfers and a captivating subject for photographers.”
SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY — 1ST PLACE
Vladimir Tadic
‘Victory and Defeat’
“In a boxing ring, a referee grips the wrists of two teenage girls, one of them about to be declared the winner,” the Bosnian photographer, who more commonly focuses on landscapes, wrote of his winning image. “As the referee raises the victor’s arm, she bursts into a moment of pure euphoria … Beside her, the defeated opponent is overwhelmed by disappointment … In that contrast between joy and sorrow lies the essence of competitive sport.”
PORTFOLIO — 1ST PLACE
Ali Jadallah
‘Burden of Survival’
The Palestinian photographer was awarded first place in the “Portfolio” category for his collection of images taken in the Gaza Strip, chronicling two years in which the territory was “engulfed by relentless destruction and death, with its people bearing the heavy burden of survival.” Jadallah’s images ranged from the heartbreaking to the hopeful (a shot of a community coming together to break their fast in Ramadan at a long table laid out in the rubble of their ravaged city, for example), and included this image of medical workers stretched well beyond their limits but still fighting to save a life.
