HIPA – Hamadan International Photography Award.

web: www.hipa.ae

HIPA’s journey continues as we now enter the third session. Four categories have been chosen which will inspire some of the world’s finest and most committed photographers. The Award encourages photographers to share their craft and demonstrate excellence in what is now one of the most coveted Awards in the world.

This session’s four categories are timeless and perfectly reflect the world we live in. They encourage photographers from all over the world to explore  the art-form of photography and demonstrate skills and creativity at a level which will set benchmarks globally.

This year a few changes have been made to promote the finest in creativity and technical ability. The main category entitled “Creating the Future” has immense potential in terms of interpretation. It gives the opportunity to explore limitless possibilities ,think out of the box and produce work of inspirational excellence.

The Street Life category allows photographers to capture the heart and soul of community life and share a myriad of  stories which reflect the many colours of life.

In addition, the magic of Black and White continues to be a popular category as it conveys intense beauty through its uniqueness and timeless elegance.

Categories:

Creating the future

The overaching theme for this session will be ‘Creating the Future’. This is a powerful and evocative subject matter which can be interpreted in many ways. From the moment we are born we embark on a journey where the future is continually being created. Whether we are creating the future for ourselves, or for future generations, the endless possibilities and desire to forge tomorrow is a universal pursuit of mankind, whatever the culture.

HIPA is looking forward to receiving entries from all over the world which capture the inspirational nature of the theme.

General

This category offers photographers the opportunity to express their creativity in their own way. The category offers participants the chance to portray whatever they find inspires them as long as they adhere to the criteria and regulations of the Award.

HIPA is searching for some outstanding pieces of work that inspire and perfectly exemplify the creative process.

This category literally embraces any subject matter and encourages photographers to submit entries that are truly outstanding, reflecting the excellence of the HIPA Award.

Please note that black and white photographs will not be accepted for the General Category as there is a Black and White category especially set aside for this.

Black and White

In the early days of photography, photographers had no choice but to shoot in black and white, as it was the only available medium. Then, in the early twentieth century colour photography made its debut to the world. But black and white photography didn’t die off, instead it flourished.

Indeed, the term ‘Black and White’ just doesn’t do this area of photography true justice. Images are not just starkly black and white but instead a subtle graduation of tones of grey or sepia. The wonderful thing about black and white photography is that it generates a feeling of nostalgia that is sometimes unmatched by coloured photography.

Black and white images require strong accomplished graphic compositions and expert use of light which demands photographic skills at their finest. We especially wanted to retain this category in the 3rd session because of inspiring entries in previous sessions which were truly amazing.

Street Life

To feel the energy, the character and the culture of a nation then getting out in the streets is the fastest way to experience this.

The reality of street life is a candid mirror to the world we live in – it can reflect society, capture split-second personal moments or chart history by documenting the buildings, people and details of an era.

This category allows the photographer free rein to express themselves and the world we live in. The work of Henri Cartier Bresson, Robert Frank and Paul Strand all recorded street life in varied and inspirational ways. This year HIPA too looks forward to receiving a selection of entries which offer captivating perspectives of street life in thought provoking ways.

Prize Details:

Please read the HIPA set of guidelines before submitting your entries. We cannot accept entries which don’t abide by the rules.

1. Submissions open on 21stof March 2013, and close at midnight of the 31stof December 2013. All times and dates are based on UAE times and dates, and no entries will be accepted after the closing deadline.
2. The competition is restricted to entrants aged 18 years and over.
3. Submissions will be accepted exclusively through the “Online Registration” page available on the HIPA.ae website.
4. Competitors must provide HIPA with appropriate titles to their submitted photograph(s).
5. Competitors are permitted a maximum of 4 entries into this year’s HIPA award, 1 for each category available.
6. Upon submitting an entry and accepting the terms of competition, a competitor is therefore legally and morally bound by the photograph and its content. Submissions must abide by all forms of copyright and intellectual property rights, any infringements will be the competitor’s responsibly and not HIPA’s.
7. Competitors must follow basic ethical and legal standpoints in their submissions and not violate or offend issues such as human rights or environmental protection.
8. All submissions must be untagged and free of any form of signature, initial or logo that the photographer may have added.
9. All rights associated to photographs all categories of the award will be protected by the management of HIPA. The HIPA management though takes no responsibility for any technical errors or unforeseen mistakes that may cause damage or late entry of submitted photographs.
10. Submissions which have won previous award(s), OR have been announced as winners of any award(s) OR have been proven to have won any unannounced award(s) prior to the 31st of December 2013 will not be accepted into any category of the award. Submissions which have been used for commercial purposes will also not be accepted into any category of the award and the submitter is therefore liable to any legal costs and/or charges incurred upon false submission.
11. Photographs submitted must be of high quality and be suitable for publication. They must also be in JPEG format and no less than 2 MB in size.
12. HIPA has the legal right to use the winning photographs for promotional purposes. Any promotional work would be done through print, publishing and other forms of written or visual media.
13. HIPA’s judging panel hold the authority to turn down or reject any submission without having to give notice or explanation to the submitter of the photograph.
14. Winners shall receive their prize money within a period of two months subsequent to the awards ceremony and announcements. HIPA holds the right to award the prize money to winners in whichever way is seen as most appropriate. Winners must provide HIPA with their bank account and personal details upon request.
15.  The above rules have been edited in Arabic and English. In the case of any discrepancies, the Arabic version will be relied on as the more consistent.
16. Any submission not adhering to the above rules and guidlines will be deemed ineligible for competition.

Who knows you could be Grand Prize Winner of $120,000.00

@ Mohammed Foeyzur Rahman Dipu.