winners for hipa’s ‘clouds’ Instagram photo contest announced

The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has concluded the August edition of the Instagram Photo Contest themed ‘Clouds’. Five winners were announced for the competition, which received submissions under the hashtag #HIPAContest_Clouds. The contest winners hailed from; Oman, Egypt, Malaysia, Turkey and Iran.

HIPA Secretary General, Ali bin Thalith said, “The changing elements in nature inspire photographers to keep on their toes and to be prepared to capture awe inspiring moments that mother nature presents us with at any given moment. Clouds are part of the landscape that has captivated a photographers' lens throughout time; an ever changing visual composition and canvas. Congratulations as always to our talented winners, and we look forward to even more of our community getting involved in next month’s competition.”

The Omani Winner Raya Salim Ali Alhajri @raw_ix, said, “I took the photo while hiking in the desert, and I was awed by the sight of the clouds in the sky and its reflection on the sand dunes. This win is very special to me, as it is my first one, and it gave me a wonderful feeling of confidence and happiness and made my vision and aspirations for the future very positive. I have an ambition to develop in the field of photography to produce beautiful and inspiring work.”

The Malaysian winner, Patricia Soon Mei Yung @patricia_soon said, “From the first day of my visit to Shanghai I prepared myself for this photo, but the continuing rain prevented it. Luckily on the last day of my visit, the fluctuating clouds helped me to take the winning photo in black and white.

I have already won many competitions but winning this award has great prestige and value. It inspires me to keep working hard to develop my skills in photography in order to achieve my goal of not only having my own exhibition but also publishing a book of my photography.”