Fuyang Zhou wins overall grand prize in HIPA 2013 contest

Chinese photographer Fuyang Zhou has won the overall grand prize of the prestigious Hamdan International Photography Award (HIPA) contest.

Photo contests are the perfect way for photographers to show off their skills and to compare their skills to the ones of other photographers.

There are plenty of competitions in the imaging world, but some are more prestigious than others. Although it is relatively new, one of the most important contests is the annual Hamdan International Photography Award, commonly known as HIPA.

The name comes from the Crown Prince of Dubai called Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the winners of the HIPA 2013 edition have just been announced.

This year, the overall grand prize stands at $120,000 and it has been won by Fuyang Zhou, a photographer from China.

Photographer Fuyang Zhou awarded the overall grand prize in HIPA 2013 photo contest

Fuyang Zhou – overall grand prize winner photo. Credits: Fuyang Zhou.

The overall theme of the HIPA 2013 contest has been “Creating the Future”, joined by three other categories, such as General, Street Life, and Black & White.

Fuyang Zhou’s winning photo consists of a teacher trying to educate a few little children in an improvised school with improper conditions.

The image shows that where there is a will, there is a way: there are kids who want to learn and teachers who want to pass on their knowledge to those who are willing to listen.

Zhou’s shot also includes a small girl who is studying without having a place to sit down. At the same time she is carrying her sibling on her back, which is something too much to ask from someone who probably has not had her 10th birthday, yet.

Ali Kh Al Zaidi is the first prize winner of the “Creating the Future” category

Ali Kh Al Zaidi – Creating the Future winner. Credits: Ali Kh Al Zaidi.

The “Creating the Future” also has a “first prize” winner. The winning shot comes from Ali Kh Al Zaidi from Kuwait, who has submitted a photo of a teacher educating several children.

Although the idea behind Al Zaidi’s photo is similar to the one of Zhou, the “overall grand prize” winning image is simply heart-breaking.

Nevertheless, the richest contest in the world of photography has brought $20,000 into the Ali Zaidi’s bank account.

Photo of an old man wins “Street Life” category for Jianhui Liao

Jianhui Liao – Street Life winner. Credits: Jianhui Liao.

The winner of the Street Life category is also a Chinese photographer. Jianhui Liao has captured a photo of an old man cleaning his cooking pot in the streets.

This shot does not need any comments, as it is absolutely moving. Photographer Jianhui Liao duly-deserves to win the prize and we can only congratulate him on the performance.

Yanan Li wins first prize in “Black & White” category

Yanan Li – Black & White winner. Credits: Yanan Li.

The Black & White category has been won by Yanan Li, another Chinese photographer. The shot depicts a family sharing a small meal in poor conditions, revealing a touching story that will make the viewers to hardly contain their tears.

Winning the B&W category means that Yanan Li has won a prize of $16,000 for the photo selected out of thousands of other shots.

Artistic photo brings Vladimir Proshin first prize in “General” category

Vladimir Proshin – General winner. Credits: Vladimir Proshin.

The last category, General, has been won by Vladimir Proshin, a Russian photographer. The shots looks like it has been captured in another world.

The winning photo, depicting sailors or fishermen, is worth $14,000, who have been awarded in cash to photographer Vladimir Proshin.

The awards ceremony took place at the Dubai International Financial Centre and it featured a couple of special prizes.

A $20,000 award has been presented to Steve McCurry for the photojournalist’s commitment to the world of photography, while Dr Ren Ng has been given $25,000 for founding and developing Lytro and light-field photography, respectively.