DUBAI // A stunning picture of a cloud of colourful powder being thrown by thousands of people celebrating the Holi festival has won the Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed International Photography Award.
It was the first time Anurag Kumar, 29, from Mumbai, India, had entered the competition and on Monday night he walked away with the first prize of US$120,000 (Dh337,113).
“I can’t believe I even got through to the final,” he said.
Photographing the Hindu festival of colour proved to be a real challenge for Kumar, but his hard work paid off.
His winning picture was taken at Nandgaon in Uttar Pradesh in India, where tens of thousands of people had gathered to celebrate the festival.
“It wasn’t an easy picture to take because there were so many people there,” he said.
“But I was determined to get a good photo and I’m really happy it’s won because I never expected it.”
The awards celebrated their fourth year at an open-air ceremony at Dubai International Financial Centre with Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, awarding the prizes.
Dubai resident Mujeeb Rahman, 32, from India, was a finalist in the Life in Colour category.
His photograph of worshippers at a Buddhist temple in Shimla in northern India impressed judges with its composition and detail.
“I’m so proud to be here at this event,” said Rahman, who has a job working in tourism for the Dubai Government. “I’m more of a travel photographer because with my job I’m fortunate enough to go to different countries.
“For me, the main thing I want to capture on camera is the experiences of everyday people in different parts of the world.”
He travelled to northern India with a group of friends as part of a photography holiday and the temple immediately caught his attention.
“We were in the area a number of days and I went there frequently and must have taken thousands of pictures,” he said.
“I’m so thrilled that the judges thought my photo was worthy of being included in this award ceremony.
“Photography is a real passion for me and I’ve been to numerous workshops and courses over the years to improve my skills.”
This year the awards attracted more than 30,000 entries from 166 countries, with judges having to sift through 60,000 photographs before the final ceremony.
Among the international finalists was Zecki Yavuzak from Turkey, who impressed judges with his photograph of a girl drying capsicums during a sunset, also in the Life in Colour section. He received third place in the category.
“It was taken in my home town of Aydin and it’s something you see many people doing,” he said.
“I just thought it was a wonderful scene so I decided to take a picture and enter the awards.
“I didn’t for a second think I would get to the finals in Dubai.”
The other category winners included Aruna Bhat, from India, who took home the Life in Colour award and $25,000.
Sebastião Salgado from Brazil was awarded the $20,000 Photography Appreciation Award.
Scott Kelby from the UK was given the $25,000 award for Photography Research/Report.
Peng Li from China won the Night Photography award.
British photographer Harish Chavda claimed the General category award, and Rudoi Vladimirovich from Russia won the Black and White category.
All three were awarded $15,000 each in prize money.
Ali Khalifa bin Thalith, secretary-general of the awards, said photography crossed borders and cultures.
“What we want to do is make Dubai a world-class location for creativity and the arts and the awards with their international focus allow us to do that,” he said.
nhanif@thenational.ae
