Saudi photographers invited to capture the magic of Al Ula

A photography competition aims to tell the story of the region through the eyes of those who live there, with a Dh9,000 commission up for grabs

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  A new photography competition aims to get locals involved in capturing the beauty of Saudi Arabia's Al Ula. All pictures courtesy RCU

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  Keen photographers in Al Ula are invited to submit pictures that show the beauty of the historic region.

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  The contest has five categories: Nature, Monumental, People, Design and Adventure.

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  Judges are seeking images of Al Ula's historic monuments.

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  Winners will get a Dh9,793 commission and a state of the art camera.

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  Images that reflect Al Ula's activities can be submitted in the Adventure category.

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  The region of Al Ula is gearing up to reopen to the public in October.

Budding photographers living in Al Ula are invited to take part in a new competition launched today to mark World Photography Day.

Saudi nationals with an interest in photography who live in the kingdom's Unesco-listed region can enter the Capture Al Ula contest, which launches today, August 19.

Run by The Royal Commission for Al Ula (RCU) in collaboration with Sony, the contest aims to find five talented local photographers who can capture images highlighting the region’s attractions under five different themes.

The themes are Nature, Monumental, People, Design and Adventure, and entrants stand a chance to win a state-of-the-art camera and a photography commission.

Al Ula is gearing up to reopen to the public in October.

Entries in the Nature category can include pictures of Al Ula's flora, wildlife, rock formations and other natural assets. The region's historic man-made monuments such as its Nabataean treasures can be entered under the Monumental category. These will likely need to be from pictures taken previously as access is currently restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

We love the idea of having the stories of Al Ula told through the experiences and eyes of local residents

The People entries can include portraits, group shots or pictures of community life; meanwhile images of key buildings such as Maraya, hotels in Al Ula or the airport fall under the Design category.

Finally, photographs that capture the excitement of the region's adrenalin-inducing activities can be submitted in the Adventure category.

Judges are on the lookout for photographs that champion technique, creativity and the ability to capture a story in one image.

Phillip Jones, chief destination management and marketing officer at RCU, said, "We love the idea of having the stories of Al Ula told through the experiences and eyes of local residents. Who better to help us in our marketing efforts than the proud locals of Al Ula who know the destination better than anyone."

The five winners – one for each category – will get a 10,000 SAR (Dh9,793) commission from the RCU to provide 50 images that will be used in the promotion of Al Ula ahead of its reopening in October 2020. Each winner will also get a professional Sony Alpha 6600M camera.

"Saudi photographers residing in Al Ula are encouraged to submit up to 10 photos in each category during the period of submission – they can be taken from a photographer's recent collection or be captured especially for the competition," explained Saad Almatrafi, official spokesperson, RCU.

Photographers who want to enter the contest can submit images, which must be no less than 2MB, on the Experience Al Ula Instagram page with the hashtags #capturealula and #experiencealula.

Some of the entries received over the next four weeks will also be featured on the Experience Al Ula social media channels. Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, September 23.