National Geographic announced the winners of the "Moments" competition, in its ninth session, which was launched last June, where Lebanese Zainab Khalifa won the adult category, while Omani Wafaa Abdul Majeed won the category of children. The winners were announced during a press conference held yesterday at the Emirates Towers Youth Center in Dubai. The winning images and a series of short-listed photos were presented under the theme “Markets”, all reflecting the culture of our communities and the rich and vibrant heritage of These simple markets are popular.
Record
This year, the competition achieved a record number of applications, receiving more than 50,000 participants from all over the Arab world and witnessing a significant increase in entries from the GCC. The business jury included two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning National Geographic photographer Mohammed Muheisen and Almarai's chief marketing officer, Hossam Abdulqader. Lebanese Zainab Khalifa was able to win the prize in the adult category, thanks to the consensus of the jury on the beauty of the picture taken in the old markets of Saida. She won a $ 10,000 expedition with the National Geographic team in France's Danube, in addition to a $ 5,000 photographic equipment.
Zainab Khalifa told Emirates Today: “Moments is one of the most well known competitions in the Arab world and I participated in it to deliver my voice. The theme of the Arab markets means a lot to me, especially as I take pictures of the street and the people.” "I believe in my image and that it must reach people to listen to the influential stories it holds behind it." "Uncle Hassan Khayyat had a shop in the old souks of Sidon and practiced for 40 years," Zeinab said. "In the latter part of his life, he was unable to sew because of his inability to see because of problems in his eyes." She added: «Uncle Hassan maintained his presence in the shop, because the latter represents his life, he began to meet with his friends in it, and sitting on the sewing machine without Khaitan, because he did not actually practice his profession, but remember his years of work, and unfortunately died four months ago, and was in the period The latter mentions the shop and the machine very much, and this shows their meaning and value in his life ». Zainab took the picture by chance, as she was passing in the market, and was attracted by the presence of Uncle Hassan in front of his very old shop, so I sat with him and started talking about the shop and sewing, and took the picture spontaneously speaking. Winning the competition saw it as a great motivation for her to complete her career with the lens, pointing out that the competition is an opportunity to continue properly and convey people's images more responsibly.
As for her relationship with the camera, Zeinab pointed out that she started four years ago, as her dream was to specialize in photography, she was unable to special circumstances, and studied nursing, bought a camera from the first salary received, then began to photograph in the street, and taught herself, and then attended a group From the workshops, it has become more trial for its images, in order to produce what is continuously better. Khalifa stressed that the image for her embodies a moment, and the moment carries feelings, and this is what people can feel, noting that she tends to portray the street and documentaries, has worked in the past to reflect the environment, she said: «As a girl from southern Lebanon, I lived The war, I was often looking for a way to convey the voice of the people who suffered the scourge, presented an exhibition entitled (South), and also worked on the stories of Palestinian fishermen, and was shown in Haifa, and had a strong message from within Palestine ».
Color mix
The winner of the junior category, Omani Wafa Abdul Majeed, pointed out that she took the picture in the market of Mutrah, an old market located in the capital, and that was after a long day in the market, where she saw in a narrow alley a man thinking deeply about his business, and from the other side was There is a mixture of colors and forms of trade, and this highlights the identity of Omanis. She stressed that the image highlights the identity of the merchant, and how trade occurs, and everything that holds many of the advantages of the people of the region and their heritage.
Wafa pointed out that she started filming when she was nine years old, when she received the first camera, and was filming events and family joys, but then went out of the family. She said she loves photography because she wants to keep moments in memory, seeking to live different moments from all cultures. She believed that the prize motivated to exercise itself, and increase its discharge in the field of cameras to reach the best, explaining that she loves photographing faces, and will increase her knowledge in this area.
Care for art
The representative of Almarai Abdullah Al-Otaibi told Emirates Today: “The company is interested in supporting and sponsoring this competition, because it supports Arab talent, and aims to stimulate young people to photography, spreading beauty, besieging the image somewhere, and transfer to another place.” He pointed out that they have been sponsoring this competition for eight years, and that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is displaying the winning works that reached the short list in several Saudi cities, in order to publish the competition and publish aesthetics of photography.
50
One thousand participants from all over the Arab world.